"Oh, it does seem to be the case. However..." Kizaru stroked his chin, pretending to be deep in thought.
"According to our orders, we indeed have to completely destroy Germa 66. This is a bit tricky," he continued, sounding troubled.
Based on the regulations issued by the World Government, no department under the World Government, including the Navy, had the authority to deal with member nations without explicit authorization. However, the order from Admiral Sengoku was to sink Germa 66 entirely. The contradiction between these directives didn't sit well with Kizaru. Being a seasoned veteran of the Navy, he was well aware of the underlying issues.
Kizaru suspected that Sengoku wanted him to take a side in this conflict. The choice seemed to be between siding with the World Government or with the Navy.
"Issho, I'll hold off Nicholas as much as I can~~~" Kizaru turned to Admiral Fujitora, speaking in his usual nonchalant manner. "How much time do you need?"
"If there's no interference, twenty seconds," Fujitora replied confidently, his hand already gripping the hilt of his sword and beginning to draw it out. Deep purple gravity waves coiled around the blade as it emerged from its sheath.
Fujitora opened his eyes slightly, revealing his whites. He knew Nicholas was powerful, but with Kizaru holding him off, Fujitora was confident he could sink Germa 66 into the North Blue within seconds.
"Rest in peace," Fujitora murmured to himself.
With his sword fully drawn, he slashed towards the sky, releasing a spiraling purple gravity wave. Moments later, a bright red light appeared within the dense clouds, staining them crimson. To the shock of all onlookers, a massive meteor, several times larger than the previous ones, broke through the thick clouds, flaming as it plummeted towards the sea.
The terrifying force stirred the sky, mixing the clouds that had been split by the clash between Kaido and Sengoku.
"What a huge meteor!"
"Hey, are you kidding me?"
"That's Admiral Fujitora for you. Nothing is impossible. But it's falling so fast, and in this position... Germa's done for!"
Navy soldiers who weren't engaged in battle watched the descending meteor with certainty.
Judge looked up at the massive meteor, which was staining the sky red as it hurtled towards them, his face filled with panic.
"Let's deal with the meteor first," Nicholas said with a hint of resignation. Even if they used every Germa soldier for a suicide attack, it wouldn't be enough to destroy the meteor. Germa had no means to counter such a devastating attack.
With a thought, Nicholas sent a lightning blade shooting into the sky, aimed at the meteor.
In an instant—
The lightning blade struck the meteor, cleaving it in two with an explosive force that shattered it mid-air. The resulting smoke and debris quickly enveloped the sky, and fragments of the meteor rained down into the sea, creating countless splashes.
Seeing the meteor shattered, Judge breathed a sigh of relief. But then—
From the high sky, five more meteors, as large as the previous one, broke through the clouds and descended, wrapped in intense flames.
With the appearance of the five meteors, Fujitora calmly sheathed his sword and looked up at the falling meteors, saying, "It might be strenuous, but it should suffice."
"More?" Judge's eyes widened in disbelief. Five such destructive attacks at once seemed an excessive measure against him.
Just as Nicholas was about to attack the meteors again, Kizaru intervened.
Sharp whistling sounds filled the air as countless dazzling light bullets formed a barrage, targeting Nicholas.
Nicholas, forced to defend against Kizaru's surprise attack, had to momentarily halt his efforts to destroy the meteors.
Judge and his men could only watch helplessly as the meteors drew closer.
In this critical moment, Judge decided to make a desperate move.
Under his command, all the cannons on Germa's giant snails abruptly turned and fired at the meteors. The barrage of shells struck the meteors, causing explosions that successfully shattered their outer layers.
Having summoned the meteors, Fujitora didn't remain idle. His Observation Haki locked onto the giant snail ships of Germa.
"Gravity Blade: Armageddon."
A vertical gravity field descended from the sky like enormous elephant feet, crushing the massive snail ships under immense pressure, breaking them apart.
Within moments, dozens of giant snail ships were destroyed by Fujitora, their blood dyeing the sea blue-green, mixed with debris and cylindrical glass capsules.
Witnessing this, Judge's eyes burned with fury as he glared at Fujitora. The years of effort poured into Germa had been obliterated in an instant.
Fujitora, with his eyes half-open, seemed to "stare" back at Judge across the sea.
…
A magnificent sword of light, the Ama no Murakumo, formed in Kizaru's hand. Without hesitation, he slashed at Nicholas.
Based on the Navy's intelligence on Nicholas, Kizaru knew how formidable he was. His goal was to prevent Nicholas from using his Rumble-Rumble Fruit abilities. Although Kizaru wasn't a master swordsman, he could still stall Nicholas effectively.
Thus, he had attacked at the speed of light just as Nicholas was about to make his move.
The blazing light sword sliced through the air, aiming directly at Nicholas's head.
Nicholas's eyes glowed red as a lightning sword appeared in the path of Ama no Murakumo, blocking Kizaru's strike.
In the same instant, Nicholas's free hand unleashed a burst of lightning, piercing through Kizaru's body.
"I underestimated you," Kizaru's expression changed slightly.
Despite being prepared, he hadn't anticipated Nicholas's powerful Observation Haki and quick reflexes.
This meant—
Relying solely on his swordsmanship, he was no match for Nicholas.
Kizaru's body, pierced through and through, dissolved into countless points of light, retreating swiftly.
In the distance, light particles reassembled into Kizaru's form.
As soon as he reappeared, Kizaru unleashed hundreds of light bullets towards Nicholas.