High in the sky, the collision of the two attacks stirred up a hurricane, forcing the fish-men, Marines, and CP Agents to the ground.
The surrounding shrubbery and forests swayed violently under the turbulent air currents.
The earth cracked, hills shattered.
The entire coastline was permanently altered by their brief exchange, carved into a vast plain.
"It's just like a natural disaster..."
After the storm passed, Kuina got up from the dusty ground, her starry eyes gazing fervently at Sakura in the sky.
The agents and Marine soldiers on the shore charged forward, clashing with the Fish-men.
"Huh? Why is there a kid here?"
A Marine wielding a broad-bladed rapier rushed out of the dust and paused upon seeing Kuina.
"Idiot! What kind of ordinary kid would be with pirates?!"
A Lieutenant Commander behind him pushed him aside and raised his longsword towards Kuina without hesitation.
'This wicked little pirate brat actually dared to space out on the battlefield? She must be dealt with severely!'
"Die!"
The roaring Marine Lieutenant Commander raised his longsword and swung it down.
Clang!
The crisp sound of the sword guard hitting the scabbard echoed. Kuina's figure had already appeared behind the two men.
"Don't look down on me just because I'm a girl! One Sword Style: Maha Slash!"
Her finely honed body executed a combined technique of Soru and swordsmanship.
A strange breeze swept over the two Marines. As they stood bewildered, a dull gray light flashed.
"Urgh!"
A huge gash opened on their chests, spraying blood as they crashed to the ground.
"D-Damn it! Lieutenant Commander Hogue was taken out!"
"She's just a little girl! How?"
"Don't underestimate her! She's a crew member of that Higanbana!"
Seeing Kuina dispatch an officer so easily, the charge of many soldiers faltered.
The surrounding fish-men's morale soared, pushing the CP Agents and Marines back step by step.
"Well now, I can't let you slaughter our soldiers so easily~"
Dragging out his words, Kizaru's figure appeared before the many Fish-men. A giant cross of light bloomed in the sky, almost filling everyone's vision.
"Kizaru!!!"
Sakura's gaze shifted. She turned the Kumotsuna in her hand, intending to launch an attack at Kizaru.
"Yo, beautiful lady."
"For the sake of my salary, I can't let you interfere with my colleague!"
Accompanied by the man's elegant words, a hand imbued with Haki reached for Sakura's waist.
A chill surged to her heart. Observation Haki screamed warnings.
Within milliseconds, Sakura used Kami-e to contort her body.
Hyena's arm grabbed the iron cloud spewed by the Kumotsuna beside her. The next instant, that section of iron cloud simply vanished.
Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Vanished?... No, did it shrink?"
"Perceptive."
From within the man's smile, his arm suddenly elongated, snaking back through the air like a serpent to grab Sakura's arm.
"Damn...!"
Sakura hurriedly coated the captured arm with her Armament Haki.
A blue-green aura erupted from the point of their collision. Sakura felt the Haki she used for protection simply disappear.
"I haven't introduced myself yet. My code name is Hyena. I ate the Jougi Jougi no Mi, a Paramecia-type, making me a Ruler Human!" (T/N: Ruler-Ruler Fruit. Ruler as in measuring tool.)
As he spoke, Armament Haki flowed between Hyena's fingers, shattering Sakura's Haki armor and allowing his palm to make direct contact with her.
"Well then, Child's Scale~"
Under a haze of illusory light, Sakura's body rapidly shrank, stopping only when she reverted to the size of a five or six-year-old.
"Mmph! It's too late!"
The sudden physical change prevented Sakura from aiding the distant Fish-men. Kizaru's technique had finished charging.
"Yasakani no Magatama~"
In that instant, silence, sudden and absolute.
Countless, myriad brilliant streams of light descended from the heavens, illuminating the world.
Then, dyeing the churning, dusty earth a golden yellow.
Enveloping all things, covering everything.
Kuina stared at the falling radiance, her hand gripping the Muramasa trembling. "So this is the power of the strong on the seas, hahaha..."
The girl's figure weaved through the battlefield where agents and Fish-men intertwined. She leaped up suddenly, ready to swing her sword at the streams of light.
"Huh?!"
Jinbei, who had just sent a Rear Admiral flying, saw her insane action, his eyes bulging.
He quickly used a wild charge to plow a path, grabbed Kuina, held her in his arms, and started sprinting.
'For heaven's sake, didn't you see who's flying up in the sky before you raised your sword to slash?'
"Oh, a crew member of that one?"
Kizaru's Observation Haki detected the commotion on the battlefield. He deliberately tilted the cross of light in his hand, giving special attention to Jinbei and the two.
"Hey~ flashy bastard~ don't bully my kid!"
A clear, childlike voice echoed in the sky. In the light-filled world, a ferocious silhouette forged from darkness spread its jet-black wings.
The massive body shot into the sky in fury, scattering a vast number of light feathers, lifted by the wind, transforming into a surging darkness that devoured the light.
As the saying goes: In desperate times, you can always trust Leviathan.
"This is not good~ a Mythical Zoan?"
Kizaru's eyes behind his sunglasses widened slightly. Then he saw...
The sky-blotting night sparrow glided down from mid-air. Darkness converged into brutal dark flames burning on her wings.
Then, the straight, blade-like wings whistled shrilly, slashing down fiercely towards him.
"It's useless~ no matter what, I am light..."
Boom!
The collision of darkness and light triggered a violent explosion. The moment the light was torn apart, everyone clearly saw a figure being sent flying.
It crashed onto the ground, forming an enormous crater.
"H-hit... He was hit!"
At this moment, whether Marine, CP Agent, or pirate, all stared wide-eyed at the sky. Shocked screams echoed across the entire island.
"Are you okay, Kizaru, that guy..."
Hyena, hovering in mid-air using Geppo, also had cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
"Hey, CP guy, where are you looking?"
The originally elegant man's pupils contracted. He turned his head mechanically.
The girl in front of him had somehow multiplied. The two figures held raised sword-axes behind them, Haki surging.
Just witnessing the power that distorted the air was enough to make one's heart palpitate.
Hyena gritted his teeth, mobilizing his ability at the fastest speed of his life: "Sprint Ruler..."
"Spear of Elbaf: Ikoku Sovereignty!!!"
A spear of light connecting heaven and earth erupted from the point where Sakura's sword-axes met. The impact destroyed everything in sight.
Hyena used Kami-e to contort his body into a near-arc, a semi-circle, yet the Haki that penetrated his body still ravaged his flesh.
The sound of shattering bones was incessant, but his ability activated at the last possible moment, allowing him to step out tens of thousands of meters in a single stride.
"Tch, he escaped from the Ikoku?"
Sakura's raised fist was still in its childlike state, so she concluded the other had escaped the Ikoku.
Her gaze swept back over the battlefield. The Fish-men were in very bad shape. Kizaru, who had been smashed into the ground earlier, kicked away the rubble and walked out of the crater.
Thoughts racing, Sakura made a judgment: "Leviathan, evacuate us!"
The night sparrow circling the sky heard Sakura's command. It scattered large handfuls of feathers, plunging the entire coast into darkness.
Then, it proceeded to swallow the Fish-men on the shore one by one, finally picking up Sakura in its beak. A coating bubble swelled around its body.
It plunged into the sea and quickly disappeared into the deep ocean.