At this moment, Vir had already arrived in front of Kuma.
Kuma's face was expressionless, as if they were complete strangers.
But it didn't matter.
Vir would make sure they got familiar!
The moment Kuma spotted Vir in his line of sight, a dangerous glint flashed in his eyes.
He swept his hand through the air, and a small but incredibly fast Ursus Shock came flying toward Vir.
Yet Vir paid it no mind.
He continued walking toward Kuma as if nothing had happened.
Just as the paw-shaped shockwave was about to smash into Vir's head—
*Snap!*
A snap of his fingers!
With that sound, a violent surge of electricity erupted from Vir's body in an instant.
The incoming Ursus Shock vanished on the spot.
A visible electromagnetic pulse swept past Kuma in the blink of an eye.
In that instant, Kuma's body began to tremble and distort unnaturally.
Countless arcs of electricity crackled violently across his frame.
It looked like he was about to explode at any moment.
Seeing this, Kizaru couldn't stay idle any longer.
He knew just how important Kuma was to the Science Division.
Well... even if his usefulness had mostly been squeezed dry by now.
But he was still a major asset to the Marines! There was no way Kizaru could let Vir just wreck him like that!
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light~?"
A slow, yet unmistakably sleazy voice whispered beside Vir's ear.
But Vir merely smirked.
He made no move to dodge or defend.
Because—
"Thunder Bagua!"
The moment Kizaru moved, Kaido moved as well.
This kid, no matter how you looked at it, was the Beasts Pirates' strongest shield!
Sure, the shield had some holes in it... but it was better than nothing!
How could Kaido let Kizaru do anything to him?
As Teacher Kaido always said—Haki reigns supreme above all! So his Observation Haki was no joke.
The moment Kizaru even thought of attacking, Kaido had already taken action.
Now, as Kizaru watched the spiked club—larger than his own body—swinging toward him,
And saw the terrifying, horned Kaido glaring at him like a demon...
Without another word, Kizaru immediately—
Noped the hell out.
He retracted his kick, turned around, and fled without hesitation.
Not a shred of reluctance!
Pure efficiency and adaptability.
The hell with this! Trading 1,000 damage for 8,000 in return?!
'I shouldn't have even come! What a waste of time!'
Grumbling, Kizaru returned to his original position.
'Well, this is just great. Now this brat's got himself a big daddy protecting him.'
'How the hell are we supposed to catch him in the future...?'
It wasn't just him—the entire Marine brass was starting to get a headache.
Meanwhile, Kuma trembled a few more times before his head drooped, and he stood motionless.
At this point, Kuma was basically an electronic device.
Like a robot.
And against such things?
Electromagnetic Pulse has something to say.
One move. Instant shutdown. Maximum efficiency.
And thanks to Vir's control, it didn't even cause much damage. Perfect.
Vir had short-circuited him because he planned to take him back for treatment.
If they fixed him up here, this stubborn mule might still refuse to leave.
The chance was small, but better to eliminate the possibility entirely.
Grabbing Kuma by the collar, Vir glanced at Shiki and gave him a nod.
Though visibly annoyed, Shiki took action.
Under his control, everyone rose into the air once more.
Including Whitebeard's Moby Dick, which, though heavily damaged, wasn't completely destroyed.
Every other ship had already been reduced to scrap—only the Moby Dick, thanks to its sturdy build, could still be repaired.
"Hey, brat! Don't you dare go anywhere else later! First, you're going back to reattach Jina's arm! You hear me?!"
Shiki glared at Vir, his voice full of menace.
But Vir didn't even spare him a glance, pissing Shiki off even more.
"Don't worry, Father-in-law! I've already made arrangements!"
Marco whispered from the side, even giving Shiki a wink.
His face radiated pride, completely unashamed...
Shiki actually looked a little impressed.
"Hmph... Well, you're average in looks, average in strength, average in height, average in hairstyle, and even your fashion sense is painfully mid."
"But since you at least care about Jina, I'll allow it."
With that, Shiki nodded in reluctant approval.
But his words did not make Marco happy.
In fact, his head drooped so low it looked like he'd been hit by a Negative Hollow.
Marco: 'Am I really that mediocre...? Maybe I shouldn't even exist.'
Meanwhile, Vir—
With Kuma slung over his shoulder, floated midair.
Kuma's massive frame made Vir look almost tiny in comparison.
Seeing that everyone was airborne, Kaido—with Yamato on his back—transformed into his Azure Dragon form.
Yamato, now seated atop him, officially became this world's first dragon rider.
She really didn't want to ride Kaido—she'd been trying to escape this whole time.
But Kaido wasn't having any of it.
He held onto her tightly, as if afraid she'd vanish.
The three former Impel Down powerhouses also levitated, carried by Vir's "float" ability.
One by one, the figures hovered in the sky.
Vir, carrying Kuma, stayed at the lowest—or rather, the frontmost—position.
Below him lay the ruined Marine base.
The massive plaza was riddled with cracks.
Within those fissures, white ice had formed and spread.
Corpses littered the ground, while countless white-coated medics rushed about the battlefield.
The Marine higher-ups watched the gathered pirates with grim expressions.
And then there was Akainu, lying on the ground, staring at the departing pirates—desperate to speak but unable to utter a word.
Sweat beaded on his forehead from sheer frustration.
What he was so anxious about?
Chiba's whereabouts.
He wanted to ask, but his body wouldn't let him!
And just then—
Vir, positioned at the very front of the group, reached into the empty air before him.
As everyone watched in confusion—
A figure was pulled out of thin air!
The moment this person appeared, Akainu's eyes widened in shock.
Even Sengoku's expression darkened.
Because the person Vir had just yanked out was none other than Chiba—unconscious, covered in wounds, blood dripping from his body!
Not long ago, Chiba had performed a great deed in front of everyone, boosting the Marines' morale.
He was also Momousagi's cousin.
And after everything that had happened, they'd realized this kid had potential.
Future Admiral material, no doubt.
Emotionally and logically, the Marines couldn't just abandon him.
Now that Vir had captured him, their faces twisted further in dismay.
Just as Sengoku and the others assumed Vir would use Chiba as leverage—or worse, execute him on the spot to traumatize the Marines—
Vir spoke.
"I like this kid!"
"I'm taking him as my disciple!"
"Once he's learned enough, I'll send him back!"
With that, he flew off toward Amazon Lily—carrying both Chiba and Kuma.
His words, however, left the Marines utterly dumbfounded.
You... like him?
Is he gonna eat Chiba or something?!
And in Sengoku's arms, Rogu wept openly.
For the first time in his life, he truly hated himself...
For not being crazy enough.