Zoro's charged slash had already arrived.
But it still had no effect at all.
kane sent him flying with a single kick.
Even so, Zoro got back on his feet almost immediately.
"How could I fall here? I still haven't become the world's greatest swordsman!"
"How laughable. A trash swordsman who hasn't even fully grasped the Breath of All Things still wants to surpass Mihawk?" kane's icy voice rang out.
Zoro froze instantly.
"The Breath of All Things?" It seemed he had thought of something.
"Special Attack: Smoke Star!"
Usopp's voice rang out.
But before his smoke projectile could even be fired, kane had already appeared beside him.
"The current you is still far inferior to your father."
kane's words made Usopp's body stiffen.
By the time he reacted, kane had already kicked him.
Usopp was sent flying at once.
And the direction he flew in was exactly where Ace was.
Then kane's gaze shifted to the two remaining members of the Straw Hats.
Nami and Chopper!
Fear showed in both their eyes.
The kane before them was exerting enormous pressure on them.
But after only one glance, kane moved his eyes away.
Because over there, Zoro seemed to have gained some new insight.
Then his voice rang out: "So this is the Breath of All Things? I can feel everyone's breathing, even the rhythm of the air itself."
But when he faced kane again, he realized he could not capture kane's presence at all.
He instantly understood that the gap between them was simply too great.
Still, as a swordsman, he had never lacked the courage to draw his blade.
His body lowered halfway.
"One-Sword Style Iai: Lion's Song!"
Zoro charged at kane at incredible speed.
"Not bad. You've gained some understanding. But to me, it's still completely useless."
kane moved after him, yet arrived first.
In an instant, he appeared before Zoro.
Under Zoro's disbelieving gaze, kane punched him in the abdomen.
Zoro's iai slash stopped halfway.
A wave of searing pain struck him immediately, and then he was sent flying.
He spat out blood in midair.
He landed beside Usopp and temporarily lost consciousness.
kane then came before the other two and kicked each of them once.
Just like that, all four of them fell in front of Ace.
After a brief moment of rest, Ace had already struggled back to his feet.
"Still going to struggle pointlessly?"
kane's heavy blow once again injured Ace, who was already at his limit.
He dropped to his knees on the ground.
He no longer had any ability to resist.
kane stopped looking at him and instead turned to the four Straw Hats.
"As fodder, you should know your place. Since when did you lot become bold enough to act wild in front of me?"
In just that short span of time, Ace, the three main fighters of the Straw Hat crew, and Usopp had all been crushed by kane with thunderous methods.
Aside from Ace, who took a bit more effort, the others were hardly worth mentioning.
kane continued walking forward.
"Wait!"
kane paused for a moment.
Then a figure stepped in front of him.
A gleam flashed through kane's eyes.
Then he looked a little dissatisfied.
"Nefertari Vivi, what exactly do you mean by this?"
"Vice Admiral, they're all good people. Please don't arrest them!"
"Are you joking? I'm a Marine. They are pirates!"
"But they haven't done anything bad." Vivi's tone was extremely firm.
During this time, Vivi had already come to understand deeply what kind of people the group escorting her really were.
She absolutely would not allow the Marine vice admiral before her to take them away.
"That's why I gave them a chance to pay ransom. You should know—not every pirate who pays ransom to me gets to leave."
Vivi was startled.
She had not expected Vice Admiral kane to say such a thing.
She suddenly recalled Nami's evaluation of him.
Money-loving. Desperately money-loving. And now that kane had said this—
"Vice Admiral, I'm willing to pay the ransom for them."
kane paused.
Then at last, a smile appeared on his face.
"Very good. Not bad. At last, someone sensible has shown up. As expected of Cobra's daughter."
Vivi relaxed inwardly, feeling that although kane's strength was terrifying, he did not seem too hard to talk to.
"Vice Admiral kane, did you really save this country?" Vivi then asked the question that had been weighing on her heart.
To her, this matter was truly important.
It mattered even more than her own life.
"Don't make me sound so noble. I was only doing a job for money."
Vivi was stunned.
She immediately understood that this was a roundabout admission.
A huge joy instantly welled up in her heart. To her, this was undoubtedly the best possible news.
"Thank you, Vice Admiral kane. You are a hero!" Vivi immediately bowed deeply in gratitude.
"Stop. Don't put a halo on me. If you really want to thank me, then add a bit more money."
Vivi's body stiffened.
kane ignored that and began doing the math.
"The Straw Hat brat's bounty is thirty million. Double the bounty makes sixty million. That ship is worth fifty million, so doubled that's one hundred million. As for the others, seems like they still don't have bounties yet."
At this point, kane shot an annoyed glance at the people behind Vivi.
"Seriously no improvement. I told you last time to work harder, and yet you still don't have any bounty. Completely useless!"
kane's shout made Vivi jump.
Sanji and Zoro stared at kane with eyes full of rage.
This was already the second time they had been insulted like this.
The two of them wished they could dig a hole and crawl into it.
Everyone present looked somewhat dazed.
Was this really the same Marine vice admiral who had just displayed such terrifying might?
After shouting, kane finally felt a little better.
Then he continued calculating.
"Now then, I've finished educating them. Let's continue. Right, where were we?"
"You were talking about the ship and Luffy," Vivi said, the corners of her mouth twitching.
"Oh! I remember now. I'm old, so my memory isn't great. That makes a total of one hundred sixty million. But, you know, for an old man like me, teaching young people a lesson isn't easy. Let's call my personal service fee forty million. No problem with that, right? And also…"
"There's more?" Vivi's eyes widened.
kane looked displeased.
"How could there not be? Didn't you see that kid Zoro suddenly gain enlightenment? That's my contribution. You have to pay training fees for that. Not much—fifty million will do."
Vivi was already starting to regret this.
"What kind of joke is that?!" Zoro's face turned red.
"Shut up. I wasn't talking to you, you unprogressive idiot!"
kane's imposing aura pressed down heavily.
Zoro finally shut his mouth.
kane looked very satisfied.
"There's one more thing. No matter what, I am still a Marine vice admiral, and now I'm doing this in front of so many Marines, so this matter is rather inconvenient for me. Let's say fifty million for reputational damages. Not much, right? That brings the total to three hundred million beri."
Seeing Vivi's troubled expression, kane looked dissatisfied.
"What, not acceptable? I'm already offering t
his because I'm in a good mood."
"It's not that. I just don't have that much money," Vivi said.
"That's fine. Put it on account. Just tell Cobra when you get back. He'll know what to do," kane said with a smile.
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