"It seems you're not going to let them off the hook, are you, Kizaru?" Rayleigh's voice gained a note of solemnity.
"Give me a break. If we don't capture these kids, we Marines won't be able to save face in front of the Celestial Dragons at Mariejois. Can you just stop getting in the way?" Borsalino tilted his neck, his tone showing a hint of impatience.
Facing the Dark King Rayleigh, Borsalino had no confidence in victory, so the best scenario was mutual non-interference.
In the original plot, Luffy would definitely have made the Straw Hat crew run away at this point, but with Backan blocking the way, Luffy and the others dared not make a move. Only Chopper was currently trying to stop Zoro's bleeding.
Boom! Rumble!
Just as everyone was locked in a tense standoff, a massive explosion erupted from the distance, causing the ground to tremble slightly, accompanied by flashes of white light.
"You bastard! Run! Keep running!"
"I'll chase you to the ends of the earth! No matter where you flee!"
Faint but audible voices drifted through the air.
Boom! Rumble!
A deafening roar sounded. A Yarukiman Mangrove Tree, designated No. 9, was abruptly sliced in half, its upper section snapping off at the middle. Countless splinters burst out, and the gigantic trunk of the upper half crashed down, crushing everything in its path, causing untold destruction and casualties, and kicking up a huge cloud of dust and a fierce shockwave.
"Hehehehe! Die! You contemptible wretch!"
Looking into the distance, a man like a black dot was floating in the sky, unleashing powerful, visible shockwaves that constantly battered the town and the ground below. Air pressure rolled, leaving deep pits and trenches in their wake, stunning countless people who fled in panicked disorder.
"Now, that's just excessive, ne~ Another monster has arrived." Borsalino pouted, scratching his head slightly.
"What reckless behavior." Rayleigh shook his head gently.
"That man is…" Sentomaru looked at the figure in the air, his expression grave.
"What kind of madness has the Captain gotten into now?" Backan was stunned.
"T-t-tree... A Yarukiman Mangrove Tree…"
Usopp, Chopper, Brook, and the others were horrified, practically speechless.
To snap such a colossal tree in half—is that even human? That's a monster!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Several massive boulders flew from the distance and slammed heavily onto the ground, sending dust flying.
In no time, two nearby boulders suddenly vanished, revealing two figures.
"Huff… Huff… Huff…"
One of them knelt on the ground, his pale face covered in large beads of sweat that dripped onto the dirt. The tattered black robe he wore was already soaked, and his exposed left palm was half-gone, the bandage stained red.
"Hah... How is it? C-can you keep going?" The other man, his mouth bleeding and his clothes shredded, rushed over with a limp, a long, gruesome wound across his chest.
"Huff… Huff… No, I… I can't... Huff…" The first man gasped violently, nearly collapsing.
"Those two guys…" Backan, seeing the pair in the distance, his eyes lit up. He immediately reached for the huge axe on his back, his arm muscles bulging like coiling dragons. With a fierce roar, he flung the massive weapon at one of the men.
Whoosh!
The giant axe tore through the air, screaming as it flew, turning into a black streak.
Clang!
A pitch-black hand shot out like lightning and clamped firmly onto the sharp axe blade. The giant axe, spinning rapidly in flight, came to an abrupt halt, trembling intensely.
At the same time, a surge of frost appeared, instantly freezing the entire axe solid.
Crack! Snap! Pow!
The fingers flexed, and power burst forth. Tiny cracks rapidly spread across the axe until it was completely riddled with them. With a crisp sound, the giant axe shattered, breaking into dozens of large and small fragments that tumbled to the ground.
"Diego Backan!"
The man's eyes were bloodshot, his body covered in gore. He ground the name out from between his teeth, filled with seething hatred.
"Prince Benson, my Captain has been missing you dearly. And this little mouse, Mando, Oliver misses him very much too. Why don't you both stay and be our guests!" Backan curled his lips into a sinister grin.
That's right, these two were Benson and Mando, who had escaped from the town on Levende Island. They hadn't managed to get away after all; Aeridar had been pursuing them the entire time, chasing them from the New World all the way to this spot.
Mando was completely exhausted. Now, with Backan blocking their path, Benson looked at the pirate, his face cold. Just as he was about to speak, the corner of his eye caught sight of several people in another direction.
"Admiral Kizaru!"
"A Warlord of the Sea, the Tyrant Kuma! No, that's a Marine Pacifista!"
"And… The Dark King - Rayleigh!"
Scanning the figures present, Benson was nearly paralyzed. What the hell is going on here?
Seeing Benson's momentary distraction, Backan's eyes gleamed. He instantly charged forward, slamming a fist down hard towards the Prince's head.
"Watch out!"
Sensing the fierce whistling wind, Benson immediately reacted, raising his own fist to meet the attack.
Boom-thud!
A massive power burst forth, the resulting sharp impact turning into a wild whirlwind that spread outward. The ground instantly cracked, fissures rapidly radiating away from the point of impact.
As the two fists collided, frost constantly spread up Backan's arm, while brown rust slowly appeared and crept up Benson's arm.
"Such powerful cold!"
"Is his body… rusting?!"
Both men were startled and quickly pulled their fists back.
Fortunately, both Backan and Benson had covered their arms with Armament Haki, and the frost and rust were instantly shaken off.
"Usopp! Brook! Hurry and take Zoro!" Seeing Backan distracted, Luffy frantically shouted, "Everyone! Just find a way to run! We're no match for these people right now!"
"Giving up so quickly? That's annoying," Borsalino grumbled, pouting.
Luffy's voice snapped the rest of the Straw Hat crew into action. The group immediately scattered, fleeing outward.
"Thanks, old man!" Luffy yelled, turning his head as he ran.
"I wish you a safe journey!" Rayleigh waved with a smile.
"Yata no Kagami!"
Light gathered in Borsalino's hands, forming a shape like a mirror. A dazzling beam shot out and refracted in mid-air, creating a track of light.
"It's so bright!"
Usopp, who was carrying Zoro, instinctively covered his eyes with his hand.
"It's light! Is something about to happen?" Brook sensed that something was amiss.
At that moment, Borsalino's body dissolved into countless particles of light and merged into the beam.
And almost simultaneously, Rayleigh drew a long sword from beneath his cloak, vaulted forward, and with a single slash, actually cut the light beam in two.
Borsalino stumbled as his body reappeared.
"I won't let you chase after them," Rayleigh declared, brandishing the long sword in his hand. "It's been a long time since I used a sword."
"My, my~ Ama no Murakumo!"
Borsalino's face turned cold. Without another word, he brought his hands together, and light flashed, pulling apart to form a long, glowing sword, which he immediately brought down in a cleaving strike toward Rayleigh.
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over here ——— pa-tre-on.c-om/AlexandrusTL [remove the hyphen for normal access]