Chapter 504: You Actually Shot Me!? (Two-in-One Chapter)
"I haven't seen the person you're looking for. Ask someone else..." Hawkins put away his fortune-telling cards and said to Kizaru.
Kizaru scratched his head and said, "Oh... if I can't find Sentomaru, then I've got nothing to do... Since I'm idle anyway, I can't just let a wanted criminal like you off scot-free, can I? Basil Hawkins..."
At this moment, the Marines had a thorough understanding of the rookie pirates with bounties over 100 million who had appeared on Sabaody Archipelago. From the moment he saw Hawkins, Kizaru had already recognized him!
"Speed is weight. Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
As soon as Kizaru finished speaking, he made his move, delivering a side kick aimed directly at Hawkins' head.
"!" Hawkins felt a flash before his eyes, and before he could even react, an immense force sent him flying!
With a loud crash, Hawkins crashed straight into a nearby building.
However, Kizaru didn't stop there. A sudden flash of light appeared at the tip of his right index finger, and a laser beam followed, striking the spot where Hawkins had been sent flying. A powerful burst of light erupted, and the building exploded as if hit by high explosives, sending rubble flying everywhere!
"Captain!" The crew of the Hawkins Pirates watched in horror, unable to help but cry out.
But then, amidst the sound of rubble shifting, Hawkins emerged unscathed from the debris, saying, "Don't worry, I'm fine!"
Kizaru looked at Hawkins, who seemed completely unharmed, and found it very strange.
"Truly extraordinary..." Hawkins extended his right hand, and two charred straw dolls crawled out from his arm, falling to the ground. Hawkins said, "But it's okay. The person I encountered last time was just as powerful, so since that day, I've prepared plenty more... It should be fine... right?"
Just then, a groaning sound was heard, and a large, bulky figure stumbled and fell from behind Hawkins, landing right in front of him and Kizaru.
This person was the Monk Urouge, his face and body covered in wounds and blood, looking utterly miserable.
And the one responsible for all this was an even larger figure!
This person had a round, plump body with slender limbs and wore a bear-eared hat on his head.
"Th... that's the former Warlord... the Tyrant Bartholomew Kuma!?"
The crew of the Hawkins Pirates stared in shock at the towering figure...
Meanwhile, the Monk Urouge, lying on the ground, also saw Kizaru and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "You... you're Admiral Kizaru, aren't you!?"
"Oh? You know me, old man!" Kizaru replied noncommittally.
"D... damn it!" Urouge struggled to his feet, saying, "A Warlord ahead and an Admiral behind—today really is unlucky... Could it be that I'm doomed to die here?"
Hawkins, upon hearing this, glanced at Urouge and suddenly spoke, "Not necessarily. Your face doesn't show any sign of death... Strange, why does it seem like you also have the look of someone with a benefactor?"
Urouge smiled bitterly, "Are you Basil Hawkins from the North Blue? With enemies closing in, you still have the mind to joke?"
As they spoke, the towering Bartholomew Kuma was slowly approaching Urouge and Hawkins. But just as he was about to get close, a figure suddenly lunged forward, striking Kuma on the head and sending his massive body flying with a crash into the building opposite.
Someone else had joined the fray this time—the Red Flag X Drake!
"Oh ho, Rear Admiral Drake?" Kizaru recognized Drake at first sight.
"Kizaru!?" Drake only then noticed Kizaru's presence. He had been focused on the massive Bartholomew Kuma earlier, and only after making his move did he see Kizaru, realizing the situation was dire.
Hawkins glanced at Drake and grew even more puzzled, as he saw the same facial features on Drake!
Could it be that if the three of them were together, they might receive help and escape successfully?
Just as Hawkins was thinking this, the Monk Urouge began to go all out. His body suddenly swelled like a balloon, becoming as tall as Bartholomew Kuma.
Throwing off his monk's robe, Urouge revealed his muscular build. His hands were clad in boxing gloves, and he delivered a powerful punch straight at Bartholomew Kuma!
On a tall building above them, another rookie pirate among the Supernovas, the Scratchman Apoo, saw this and couldn't help but laugh, "Now this is going to be a good show!"
………………
Meanwhile, in another direction, Luffy and Trafalgar Law, who were fleeing, also encountered another Bartholomew Kuma!
Like Hawkins and the others, they thought they were facing the real former Warlord, the Tyrant Kuma.
"Wh... why is he here!?"
Nami was stunned at the sight of Kuma, while Zoro and Trafalgar Law broke out in cold sweat, immediately gripping their weapons tightly.
However, the Tyrant Kuma before them silently removed his gloves and extended his right hand, aiming it at Luffy and the others.
The next second, a powerful flash of light burst from Kuma's palm! With a soft whoosh, the light shot toward where Luffy and the others were standing!
"Watch out, it's a shockwave!"
Sanji shouted, and everyone reacted quickly, leaping away from their spot. The laser beam struck the ground where they had been, triggering a massive explosion.
"Hey, that's not a shockwave at all!" Luffy yelled at Sanji after dodging.
"If it's not a shockwave, then what is it?" Sanji was puzzled.
"That's... a Dynamic Laser!" Luffy, Chopper, and the okama Bon Clay all said together, their eyes sparkling as they drooled.
Then the three idiots linked arms and started dancing and singing on the spot: "Dynamic Laser! Dynamic Laser!!"
"Coup de Vent!!" The cyborg Franky clasped his hands together and fired a Coup de Vent at the Kuma before him, sending him flying with a single blast.
"Gear Second!" Luffy stopped fooling around, his body steaming as he prepared to get serious.
"Room!" Trafalgar Law flicked his fingers, opening his operating room space.
Zoro drew his sword and held it in his mouth, ready for battle, but he felt a bit puzzled. The Kuma before him seemed different from the one they had encountered on Thriller Bark.
That's right, if Ian were here, he would immediately recognize that both the ones Hawkins and Luffy were facing were actually Pacifistas!
……………………
"Karmic Retribution!" Urouge was now pummeling the Pacifista they had encountered with his fists. His heavy punches were incredibly powerful, forcing the Pacifista back step by step.
When Urouge delivered a final, devastating punch that sent the Pacifista crashing to the ground, he thought the battle was over.
But the next second, a brilliant flash of light appeared, and a laser beam pierced through Urouge's arm!
"Ugh!" Urouge screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground.
The Pacifista slowly got up, a circular hole in its right palm smoking.
"That's... Kizaru's laser?" Drake was inwardly shocked to see this, realizing how far the Pacifista project had come...
Kizaru noticed Drake's surprise and said, "Rear Admiral Drake... or rather, former Rear Admiral, were you investigating that? Why not try it yourself?"
Drake remained expressionless. As a former Marine Rear Admiral, he naturally knew about the Pacifista project and understood that "that" referred to the Pacifista.
Just then, after incapacitating Urouge, the Pacifista turned its attention to Drake. In its eyes, everyone before it was a mission target, with no specific focus.
Drake spun around, his hands transforming as he grabbed the Pacifista's incoming fist. His entire body then shifted into a fierce dinosaur form, opening its massive jaws to bite down on the Pacifista's head.
A Zoan-type fruit, an ancient species!
With immense biting force, the Pacifista's head was torn and bleeding. However, the Pacifista, feeling no pain, retaliated as long as it could still move. It extended its hand and pressed it against Drake's dinosaur neck, firing another laser beam that pierced through the muscles of his neck and shot into the sky!
Severely wounded, Drake had no choice but to deactivate his transformation and leap away.
Meanwhile, Urouge, who had been watching Drake's fight, was marveling at the rare Devil Fruit he had just witnessed when Kizaru appeared behind him, delivering a light-speed kick to his waist!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Urouge's massive body was sent crashing through several buildings by Kizaru's kick, finally landing in the rubble, his condition unknown!
"Demon Form!" Hawkins assumed his combat stance, transforming into a fearsome scarecrow and launching an attack at Kizaru. However, Kizaru blinded him with a flash of light, then followed up with a barrage of laser beams that struck Hawkins' body.
The three Supernovas were utterly crushed under the combined assault of Kizaru and the Pacifista. The Scratchman Apoo, watching from the high building, realized the danger and quickly stepped in to help.
He played music with his body, producing a pleasant melody that distracted Kizaru. Finally, he beat his chest, sending out a sonic wave that detonated Kizaru's body!
Kizaru fell to the ground with smoke rising from his chest, but the Scratchman Apoo didn't think he could actually take down a Marine Admiral. He had only intervened to create an opportunity for Hawkins and the others to escape. That was all the help he could offer, so he quickly fled as well.
This was a classic case of "strike and run"...
However, as he fled, Kizaru's lower half stood up while his upper half turned into light and reassembled. Watching the fleeing Apoo, he said, "Oh my, you startled me!"
"Yata no Kagami!" Kizaru clasped his hands together, creating a brilliant light path that refracted between the surrounding buildings, reaching the Scratchman Apoo. He then traveled along this light path, instantly appearing above Apoo and delivering an axe-kick of light, sending Apoo crashing from midair into the ground!
While Apoo was hit, Kizaru instantly moved to Drake's position. Before Drake even knew what had happened, Kizaru kicked him into a nearby building.
Then, Kizaru appeared before Hawkins, pointing his finger and firing another laser beam that pierced through Hawkins' body. Although he was curious about how Hawkins remained unharmed by the laser, Kizaru knew that Hawkins' defensive ability likely had a limited number of uses. So he fired laser after laser at Hawkins, continuously depleting his puppet substitutes.
Hawkins' substitutes soon ran out, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, clutching his chest as he knelt on one knee. Kizaru realized that Hawkins' ability seemed to be exhausted, so he let the tip of his finger glow with laser light, preparing to deliver the final blow...
Four rookies with bounties over 100 million—Hawkins with 249 million Berries, Red Flag X Drake with 222 million Berries, Scratchman Apoo with 198 million Berries, and the Monk Urouge with 108 million Berries—had all become notorious pirates in recent times. Yet, against a Marine Admiral, they were no match at all!
It was absolute overwhelming power!
Despair! Hawkins looked at Kizaru's glowing fingertip and felt an unprecedented sense of despair. The gap in strength was too great!
The feeling Kizaru gave Hawkins now was exactly the same as when he had encountered Ian in the North Blue... The difference was that Ian had let him go back then, but now, facing Kizaru, he was about to die!
"Could it be that my fortune-telling was wrong..." Hawkins thought, closing his eyes, ready to accept Kizaru's final blow.
However, just as Kizaru was about to fire the laser, a shadow suddenly fell over his position.
"Th... that is...!?"
Kizaru looked up and saw a massive ship flying in the sky above him, or more precisely, gliding through the gaps between the Yaruman Red Trees!
And this ship, Kizaru was all too familiar with, because just before he left Marine Headquarters, it had still been docked at Marineford's port!
The Ark Maxim! That kid Ian had indeed come!
"What is that?" Hawkins also looked up, staring blankly at the underside of the ship appearing above them. Urouge, Drake, and Apoo, bleeding from the mouth and crawling unsteadily out of the rubble, also noticed the strange ship above.
It was the first time they had ever seen a ship that could fly.
When the ship reached a position directly above them, it gradually stopped. Then everyone heard an enraged voice coming from the ship.
"Damn it!! Kizaru, you actually damaged my ship!!!?"
Hearing this voice, Kizaru's usual smiling, good-natured expression vanished, replaced by a dark scowl. Meanwhile, Hawkins and the others were stunned!
Who was this person on the ship, daring to curse at a Marine Admiral like that!?
But they also noticed that the underside of the flying ship had two small, round holes...
"It wasn't Kizaru!" Hawkins immediately realized this when he saw the holes, turning to look at the Pacifista, who was also staring up at the sky. He remembered that the two laser beams fired earlier by the "Tyrant Kuma"—one hitting Urouge and the other hitting Drake—had both been angled upward!
No way! Was this ship so unlucky that those two laser beams, after shooting into the sky, had both struck its underside?
"Ian, get down here!" Kizaru no longer held back, shouting upward, "You dared to flee Marine Headquarters! I've received the report, and I must capture you! Since we've met here, I'll deal with you as well!"
Hawkins' heart skipped a beat when he heard Kizaru's shout: "I... Ian!? Could it be that he's here!?"
For some reason, upon hearing that name, Hawkins suddenly felt a wave of relief, knowing he was saved!
"The fortune-telling wasn't wrong... The benefactor must be him..." Hawkins thought.
Sure enough, after Kizaru's shout, a head poked out from the ship's railing. Hawkins' eyesight was sharp, and he immediately recognized the face—it was none other than the Warlord, Black Dragon Ian!
As for Drake, Urouge, and Apoo, their hearts sank. First, a former Warlord, the Tyrant Kuma, and now another new Warlord had appeared on the island. Was this the end!?
They didn't have Hawkins' fortune-telling ability, so they thought they were doomed...
Ian had also arrived at Sabaody Archipelago. He had been planning to fly the Ark Maxim over the canopy of the Yaruman Red Trees to find Rayleigh's location. But then, two laser beams shot up from below, piercing the hull of the Ark Maxim and causing a malfunction in the control system of the Wind Dial!
Ian was no stranger to laser beams, and he immediately realized that Kizaru was below. However, he mistakenly thought that Kizaru had seen his ship and attacked it on purpose.
With a "live fast, die young" attitude, Ian, believing it was a provocation from Kizaru, naturally wasn't about to back down. He ordered the Ark Maxim to descend, intending to "discuss things" with Kizaru!
When he poked his head out from the railing and saw Kizaru below, he also noticed the Pacifista present. He was momentarily stunned but quickly realized that the figure below was definitely not Kuma, but a Pacifista!
Damn! Maybe those two laser beams were fired by the Pacifista, not Kizaru...
Crap! Perhaps Kizaru hadn't even seen him, and he had just revealed himself voluntarily...
Ian scratched his head, wondering how this had turned out...
But since he had already appeared, Ian couldn't back down. He spread his Flame Wings and flew out of the ship, descending to the ground.
At the same time, Enel jumped down with him!
As they landed, Drake and the others saw Ian and Enel. When Urouge saw Enel, he was completely stunned!
"God!? You're here!?"