Under another giant mangrove tree on the Sabaody Archipelago, a large man hung up a Den Den Mushi.
This man was Sentomaru, the person who had just called Borsalino.
Standing opposite him was the crew of Monkey D. Luffy.
After being beaten by Renji earlier, Luffy, Trafalgar D. Water Law, and Eustass Kid had split up completely.
By now even Luffy realized how insufficient their strength was, and the Straw Hat crew had decided to leave the Sabaody Archipelago for the time being.
"Seriously," Sentomaru complained impatiently. "The old man must have mistaken the watch Den Den Mushi for a communication one again. I have explained it so many times, but he still cannot remember."
"So he is another old guy?"
Luffy walked up to Sentomaru with a slightly annoyed look.
"People who are older always do things that make others angry."
Hearing that, Sentomaru looked as if he had found a kindred spirit.
"Exactly. Those old men are impossible to deal with. They clearly know more than we do, but their actions always make no sense. You teach them something many times, and they still do not learn."
For a moment Sentomaru began venting all his frustrations, becoming more enthusiastic the longer he talked.
"We should leave quickly," Nami whispered nervously as she stepped beside Luffy.
"Leave?" Luffy asked in confusion. "Why? He is interesting."
Nami forced herself to stay calm. "Because he is with the Marines."
"The Marines?"
Luffy looked surprised.
"Look around him," Nami said.
Following the direction she pointed, Luffy saw many Marine soldiers surrounding Sentomaru, all staring at the Straw Hats.
If Sentomaru gave the order, they would rush forward immediately.
"You tricked us!" Luffy shouted angrily. "You are actually with the Marines!"
"I am not a Marine," Sentomaru replied with dissatisfaction.
"I would like to be one someday, but not yet. I have a much more important job."
Then he froze for a moment before quickly waving his hands.
"I never said I was the leader of the security unit protecting Vegapunk!"
The Straw Hat crew looked stunned.
Even Luffy sensed that something strange had just happened.
Nico Robin spoke calmly. "Then the Den Den Mushi call earlier must have been to Vegapunk."
"Impossible," Sentomaru scoffed. "The island where Dr. Vegapunk works has powerful electromagnetic interference. Unless you use a special Den Den Mushi, you cannot reach him."
They had learned an important piece of information.
Unfortunately it was not particularly useful to them right now.
Robin continued calmly, "Then the call must have been to the Marine Admiral arriving at Sabaody."
"How did you know I called old man Borsalino?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Sentomaru covered his mouth.
"I never told you that he is coming here!"
An Admiral was on the way.
That information was extremely important, especially for the Straw Hats.
They had already encountered Kuzan before.
The overwhelming helplessness they felt back then still lingered in their memories.
If Borsalino arrived, they would stand no chance.
"Run!" Luffy immediately ordered.
Roronoa Zoro, Sanji, and the rest of the crew reacted instantly.
They turned to flee.
The Sabaody Archipelago had become far too dangerous.
Escaping first was the wisest decision.
"Run?" Sentomaru sneered.
"Do you really think you can escape?"
As he spoke, a massive figure over seven meters tall suddenly appeared in front of the Straw Hats.
"How… how is that possible?"
"Is that him?"
The figure resembled a huge bear-like man.
"Bartholomew Kuma?" Zoro's pupils shrank.
Among the Straw Hats, he understood Kuma's power the most because he had once taken all of Luffy's pain upon himself.
That was not an enemy they could defeat.
If it truly was Kuma, they would not even need to wait for the Admiral to arrive.
Realizing this, Zoro immediately drew his three swords.
"Run!" he shouted.
It was obvious he intended to stay behind and buy time for the others.
"Run?" Sentomaru laughed coldly. "Do you think you can escape?"
"Move, Pacifista."
He did not call the giant "Kuma." Instead he used another name.
Pacifista.
Unfortunately the Straw Hats did not notice the difference yet.
"Target locked."
"Searching database."
"Identities confirmed: Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy, bounty three hundred million berries. Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, bounty one hundred twenty million berries. Cat Burglar Nami…"
The giant quickly scanned and identified them.
Then it raised its hand.
Zoro prepared for the paw-shaped shockwaves he had seen before.
But they did not appear.
Instead, something resembling a cannon barrel emerged.
A moment later a golden light gathered at the tip.
"Move!" someone shouted.
The laser fired.
It exploded near the Straw Hats.
Fortunately the blast radius was small, and thanks to their quick reactions none of them were hit.
"That is not Kuma's technique," Zoro muttered in confusion.
"Did he hide his real abilities before?"
The attack style was completely different from what he had seen before.
"Ah?"
Sentomaru finally spoke again with a puzzled expression.
"Who told you that was Kuma?"
"This is a Pacifista."
"It is a new type of humanoid weapon."
"We only copied Kuma's appearance because his body was strong enough."
"I see."
Hearing this explanation, Zoro relaxed slightly.
Most of the crew showed similar expressions of relief.
Only Luffy still looked confused.
Seeing everyone's reactions, he scratched his head.
"So what exactly changed?"
"What is special about that thing?"
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