Complaining was one thing, but Kizaru still had to head to Enies Lobby.
Fortunately, he wasn't far from it.
Standing lazily at the bow of the warship, he adjusted his sunglasses and said in his drawn-out tone:
"Fire a cannon toward Enies Lobby~"
The sailors who had served under him for years immediately understood.
They quickly adjusted the artillery—
Boom!
A single cannon shot roared across the sea, streaking toward Enies Lobby's sky.
It wasn't meant to hit anything.
It was a signal.
—
On Enies Lobby—
The thunder of artillery echoed from afar.
Everyone instinctively looked toward the sea.
In the distance, warships bearing the flag of the World Government were already assembling in formation.
The shadow of the Buster Call fleet loomed over the horizon.
Ten warships.
Five Vice Admirals.
Total annihilation.
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy.
The Straw Hats, still suppressed under Leno's Conqueror's Haki, felt the despair thicken in the air.
Nami's face turned pale.
"Th-that's… a Buster Call…"
Usopp swallowed hard.
"They're going to wipe out the entire island…"
Even Sanji's cigarette trembled slightly between his fingers.
Lucci, struggling to push himself up from the ground, revealed a cold smile despite his injuries.
"So that idiot Spandam actually triggered it…"
"This island is finished."
Luffy clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead.
He didn't fully understand the scale of the Buster Call.
But he understood one thing—
His crew was in danger.
Robin was in danger.
And the man standing in front of him was mocking everything.
—
Leno glanced toward the approaching fleet and smirked.
"Perfect timing."
He lowered the pressure of his Conqueror's Haki slightly—not out of mercy, but so they could fully feel what was coming.
"Do you know what a Buster Call represents?" he asked calmly.
"It means complete erasure."
"No escape. No survivors."
His gaze swept over the Straw Hats.
"Today, because of you, this island will sink into flames."
"Because of you, countless Marines and civilians will die."
"Because of you… Robin will once again witness a nation destroyed."
Each sentence struck like a hammer.
Robin's pupils trembled.
Ohara.
Flames.
Warships.
Screams.
The memories she had buried deep surged back violently.
Luffy roared:
"Shut up!!!"
But Leno's voice cut through him like a blade.
"You think you're saving her?"
"You're just dragging her back into the same nightmare."
He leaned closer to Luffy, eyes cold and merciless.
"You're weak."
"You can't protect your crew."
"You can't protect Robin."
"You can't even stand up under my Haki."
The words were more brutal than any physical blow.
Zoro gritted his teeth, trying to force his body to move.
Sanji slammed his foot against the ground, veins popping.
Nami's nails dug into her palms.
This wasn't just suppression of strength—
It was psychological execution.
Leno wasn't trying to kill them.
He was dismantling their confidence.
Crushing their belief.
Destroying their sense of invincibility before it could truly form.
—
Luffy's head hung low.
His fists trembled.
Steam from Gear Second had long since faded.
For the first time since setting out to sea—
He felt it.
Powerlessness.
Not against a single enemy.
But against the world.
—
Leno straightened up.
"Remember this feeling, Straw Hat."
"This despair."
"This humiliation."
"If you want to challenge me… or the world…"
"Grow stronger."
His eyes flickered with something unreadable.
"Otherwise, next time—no one will be able to trade themselves for your life."
Behind him, Robin bit her lip.
Domino watched Leno with unwavering devotion.
Kalifa lowered her gaze, silent and obedient.
In the distance—
The cannons of the Buster Call fleet began to fire in unison.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The sky darkened under smoke and fire.
And for the Straw Hat Pirates—
This was their darkest hour yet.
The Marines knew exactly what their Admiral was about to do.
Not even half a moon has passed and he's already posing again.
Soon, a cannonball roared toward Enies Lobby.
Kizaru's body flickered into golden light, reforming atop the flying shell. Hands in his pockets, he rode the projectile straight toward the island at blinding speed.
His primary order was to secure Nico Robin.
As for the pirates on Enies Lobby—well, the incoming Buster Call would handle that.
Meanwhile, the Marine Headquarters' Buster Call fleet had already set sail. Massive warships carrying elite soldiers and Vice Admirals were racing toward Enies Lobby.
Given how close Marineford was, they would arrive very soon.
—
—
On Enies Lobby, after hearing Leno's words, Luffy clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles cracked.
His eyes burned with fury as he glared at Leno.
"Teme (bastard)! Let Robin go! I'll duel you!"
Leno scoffed and reached out—
Casually, humiliatingly, patting Luffy's cheek.
"A duel? What right do you have to negotiate with me? Hm?"
"You threaten a woman? What kind of man are you? Fight me one-on-one if you've got the guts!"
Sanji's knightly pride couldn't endure Leno's behavior. He shouted in rage.
Leno turned to him, a teasing smile curling his lips.
"Oh? Vinsmoke family's little brother~"
"I hear your sister Reiju is quite the beauty… You call yourself a knight, right? I wonder… when the time comes, will you be able to protect her?"
Sanji's expression changed instantly.
"You bastard! Don't you dare touch Reiju!"
Leno ignored him and shifted his gaze to Nami, whose face had gone pale.
"I heard your hometown was destroyed by the Arlong Pirates. Your adoptive mother, Bellemere, was killed?"
"I'm curious. Why did you let the other fish-men go? Like that one called Hachi."
"H-he didn't do anything bad! He was forced by Arlong!" Nami's voice trembled.
Leno nodded slowly, as if enlightened.
"Oh~ So you're saying Bellemere's death had nothing to do with Hachi? Nothing to do with the other fish-men? It was all Arlong alone, right?"
"Without those fish-men thugs, would Arlong have amounted to anything? Hachi never did anything bad? Then why did he help Arlong oppress your village?"
Leno clicked his tongue.
"Tsk tsk. An adoptive mother really is just an adoptive mother…"
"She dies and no one even thinks of revenge. As far as I know, Arlong isn't even dead. He's eating well in a Marine prison."
Leno's words pierced straight into Nami's heart.
Every sentence was like twisting a blade.
She wanted to argue—but she couldn't.
None of it was technically false.
That made it worse.
Her face turned white as paper.
"You…! Bellemere is my mother! I—"
"Spare me." Leno cut her off coldly. "Being a mother isn't about what you say. It's about what you do."
"You spent your childhood stealing money across the seas. You know better than anyone what Arlong did. Don't you want to kill him yourself? Heh… how laughable."
He shrugged and turned away from the nearly broken Nami.
Truth didn't matter.
What mattered was making them hurt.
He cast a pitying glance at Usopp and Chopper lying on the ground.
That look said everything—and nothing.
Then he decided to twist the knife one last time.
He crouched beside Usopp and whispered in a voice only he could hear:
"Sogeking… go chase your dream of becoming a brave warrior of the sea."
"I'll take good care of your Miss Kaya for you. You wouldn't want her ending up like your mother, would you?"
He even patted Usopp's shoulder.
Usopp glared up at him, fury burning in his eyes—
But he said nothing.
Seeing that, Leno's gaze flickered with contempt.
This Usopp was still the coward—not the God Usopp of two years later.
After finishing, Leno felt oddly empty.
Like after a brief thrill.
"You're too weak… so weak I can't even muster interest."
He turned and walked toward the three women, his voice carrying across the battlefield.
"Next time… if you still want to live, trade one of your own again."
"A pirate crew surviving by relying on women… good luck~"
The words "relying on women to survive" shattered whatever composure the Straw Hats had left.
Every pair of eyes locked onto Leno.
"We're not a crew that survives because of women!"
"Oh? Aren't you?" Leno shrugged. "If you say so."
That dismissive attitude hurt even more.
He walked past the heavily injured Lucci and casually kicked him aside—
Like nudging a stray dog on the roadside.
"If you want to save Kalifa… come find me."
Then he strode away with Domino, Robin, and Kalifa.
Ignoring the Straw Hats' furious, humiliated, powerless stares.
—
Just then—
A slippery, mocking voice rang out.
"Oho~ what an unexpected delight~ to run into you here~"
"Leno!"
Golden particles suddenly shimmered in the air before him, rapidly gathering into a human shape.
The familiar teasing tone drifted into his ears.
"Have you… ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
Leno's lips curved into a knowing smile.
The moment Kizaru's voice appeared, Leno's leg was already coated in jet-black Armament Haki—ready.
"So it's you, slacker."
He blocked Kizaru's light-speed kick head-on.
The collision exploded with violent energy.
"You sure you're not related to Luffy? Every time he's in danger, you show up. You're not his second uncle, are you?"
Light-speed force clashed against condensed Armament Haki.
Energy crackled between them.
"Hm~?"
Behind his sunglasses, Kizaru's eyes flickered with surprise.
"What are you mumbling about? Second uncle?"
He genuinely hadn't expected Leno to react—let alone block him cleanly.
This rate of growth…
Was outrageous.
(Koby: Outrageous? Seems average to me.)
Of course, Kizaru hadn't used full force either.
He pressed slightly harder with his foot, and the two separated abruptly.
Leno slid back farther across the ground.
"Leno~ you've been hiding quite deeply~ Everyone misjudged you, didn't they~"
Still that irritating, sing-song tone.
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