"You really don't understand your own limits, do you?" Enel sneered as he glanced at Niji, who had collapsed and taken his last breath. "Pathetic. I barely had to lift a finger, and you're already dead."
Judge stood frozen, staring at Niji's lifeless body.
Ichiji spoke indifferently, "He's dead."
"He was too weak," Yonji added with equal disdain. "Niji couldn't even hold out."
Due to the genetic modifications, the brothers had lost their emotions long before they were even born. To them, there was no bond of brotherhood, only strength and weakness. And in their eyes, only the weak perished—the strong survived.
"Niji is dead?!" Judge was horrified.
His children were supposed to be his tools to dominate the North Blue, and losing even one of them was a significant setback.
Judge's face paled at the thought, while his other two sons prepared to continue the fight.
For Ichiji and Yonji, a command given was a command to be executed—even if it meant their deaths, they wouldn't hesitate.
Seeing his two remaining sons about to throw themselves into a hopeless battle, Judge urgently shouted, "Stop! All of you, stop this right now!"
Meanwhile, the lone Marine sailor on the small boat could hear some of the shouting from the main deck, but with the battleship being so large, he still had a long way to go before he could see what was happening clearly.
However, he heard Judge loud and clear.
Not wasting any time, the Marine sailor immediately turned the small boat around and sped back toward his ship.
But he hadn't gotten far when a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, destroying the boat and the sailor along with it.
Back on the Marine warship, Kizaru stood on the deck, shading his eyes with his hand as he watched the explosion in the distance.
"Oh dear, how terrifying," Kizaru muttered to himself, seeing Enel's lightning strike take out the lone sailor. "They really went ahead and did it, huh."
Another Marine, pushed forward by his comrades, nervously asked, "Admiral Kizaru, sir, it looks like Takumi's crew is over there with Germa. What should we do now?"
Kizaru rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment, and then casually pulled out a small black Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
"Um, Admiral, you pulled out the wrong one," the Marine next to him said awkwardly.
The crew had grown used to Kizaru's habit of pulling out the wrong Den Den Mushi—it had happened countless times.
Kizaru glanced at the Marine and put the eavesdropping Den Den Mushi back in his pocket. He rummaged around and pulled out the right one, which could connect him to Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
"Moshi moshi, is Sengoku there?" Kizaru casually greeted as the Den Den Mushi connected.
Soon enough, Sengoku's voice came through, "Kizaru? Have you arrived in the North Blue yet?"
Kizaru chuckled, "Yep, I'm here, but I've run into a bit of trouble."
Sengoku hesitated, sensing bad news, "What trouble? Did you find Takumi and his crew?"
"Oh, I found them alright," Kizaru said nonchalantly, "But it looks like they've allied with Germa."
"What?!" Sengoku's voice came through sharply, and Kizaru could almost see him standing upright in shock. "Takumi's crew allied with the Germa Kingdom? Are you certain?"
If true, this would be an even bigger problem than expected.
"Not entirely sure," Kizaru replied. "I sent someone over to negotiate, but they were killed—Enel fried him with a lightning bolt, and no one from Germa tried to stop it."
"Why didn't you intervene?"
"I wanted to, but I couldn't get there in time."
Sengoku: "..."
"I'm requesting backup," Kizaru said lazily. "If Takumi's crew and Germa have formed an alliance, I can't handle it alone."
"There's no one available at headquarters to assist right now..." Sengoku paused, seemingly in thought. "I'll contact the North Blue garrison to send reinforcements. Where exactly are you?"
Before Kizaru could answer, a sudden explosion echoed from Germa's flagship.
"What's going on?" Sengoku asked through the Den Den Mushi.
"Seems like there's some trouble over on Germa's side," Kizaru said with a sigh. "I'll have to call you back."
With that, he ended the call. Golden light began to radiate from his body, and in an instant, he turned into a beam of light, vanishing from the deck.
He reappeared moments later on the deck of Germa's flagship.
Ichiji and Yonji were already lying defeated, while Judge was being held by Enel, his staff pressing against Judge's throat.
Seeing Kizaru arrive, Judge immediately called out, "Kizaru! Admiral Kizaru, save me!"
"Don't move," Enel warned, glaring at Kizaru. "If you take one step, I'll unleash a thunderstorm that will send everyone in this area to join that blue-haired fool."
"Oh my, how terrifying," Kizaru responded calmly, raising his hands slightly in mock surrender. "So it seems there's no alliance between you and Germa after all—faulty intel, it appears."
"Who cares about alliances or intel?" Enel snapped. "You knew we were here the whole time, so why pretend otherwise? Do you think the Thunder God is that easy to fool?"
"I never said you were easy to fool," Kizaru said, suddenly dropping his raised hands.
Enel's eyes narrowed, but before he could react, Kizaru vanished once more.
"You know," Kizaru's voice echoed from behind Enel, "When you make threats, you have to consider who you're up against. Ever been kicked by the speed of light? No? Well, now's a good time to find out."
Kizaru's right leg glowed with intense golden light, and with a swift movement, he kicked toward Enel.
But the kick passed right through Enel's elemental body, smashing into the deck instead, carving out a huge gap as if a blade had sliced through it.
Enel grabbed Judge by the collar and dragged him along, narrowly dodging the attack.
"Damn nuisance!" Enel growled, tossing Judge aside. He couldn't kill Judge—at least, not until the ship modifications were completed.
But as soon as Judge was out of his grasp, Kizaru reappeared in front of Enel, delivering another swift kick.
This time, too, Kizaru's kick passed through Enel's elemental form. But when Enel reformed on the opposite side of the deck, he noticed a shallow cut had somehow appeared on his left arm.
Kizaru looked at him, still calm, "Looks like this will take more than a simple light kick."
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