On the bridge of the flagship, the teacup in Kizaru's hand began to tremble violently. He looked up, his gaze meeting the bright, smiling eyes of the young man hovering in the air before him. A jolt of pure panic, like a cat having its tail stomped on, shot through him.
I knew it. I just had to run into this monster again, was the only thought left in his mind.
"Admiral Borsalino! It's 'Strange Tail' Takero!" the adjutant beside him shouted, his voice tight with nervousness. "He's come to meet us head-on! Please, give us your orders!"
Orders? What orders could he possibly give? Kizaru's only wish was to turn into a beam of light and be anywhere else in the world. His own respected teacher, Zephyr, had lost to this boy. What chance did he have?
But he knew he couldn't run. Behind him was a direct command from the Five Elders themselves, an order that could not be disobeyed. Before him were the expectant eyes of nearly ten thousand Marines spread across dozens of warships. He, Borsalino, an Admiral of the Marines, was completely cornered.
"This is… such a bother…" Kizaru sighed, slowly setting down his teacup. He stood, knowing the fight to come was unavoidable. "All ships! Lock on to the target! Fire at will!"
As the order was relayed, the cannons of more than thirty warships swiveled in unison, all aiming at the single, tiny figure in the night sky.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
In an instant, a steel storm ten times denser than the initial barrage erupted from the sea, converging on Takero from all directions. It was a terrifying display of firepower, more than enough to sink an entire island.
And yet, from within the billowing smoke and fire, that arrogant voice rang out once more. "Hey, hey, Flashy Guy, is this all the firepower you've got for my welcome party? It's not even enough to scrub my back!"
As the flames dissipated, Takero reappeared, completely unharmed. He casually dug a pinky finger into his ear, his face a mask of disappointment.
"Since you're not going to put on a good show," he said, his eyes drifting up to the full moon, "…I'll show you something really fun."
A deep, primal sense of crisis unlike anything he had ever felt before flared in Kizaru's heart. "All hands! Highest alert!" he commanded.
But it was too late.
In mid-air, Takero slowly spread his arms, as if to embrace the night sky. His heart began to pound like a war drum—THUMP-THUMP, THUMP-THUMP!—a savage, ancient power awakening from the depths of his bloodline.
"ROAR—!!!"
A beastial roar, utterly inhuman and filled with primal ferocity, tore from his throat.
Under the horrified stares of tens of thousands of Marines, Takero's body began to twist and contort in a way that defied all reason. His muscles swelled and expanded at an impossible rate, like an inflating balloon. Thick, silvery-white fur erupted from beneath his skin, covering his entire body in seconds. His face elongated into a monstrous muzzle, vicious fangs sprouted from his jaw, and his black eyes were consumed by a bloody, crimson glow.
Ten meters. Twenty meters. Thirty meters.
In just a few breaths, the young man was gone, replaced by a terrifying giant ape that stood nearly a hundred meters tall, a colossal beast of silver fur and crimson eyes, silhouetted against the cold moonlight.
"ROAR!!"
The giant ape let out another deafening roar, sending a powerful shockwave across the sea that rocked the ships and could be felt by Tesoro and the others miles away on the island.
"What… what… what is that thing?!" a young Marine on the flagship shrieked, his mind breaking at the sight of the mountain-sized creature looming in the sky.
"MONSTER—!!!"
Kizaru was completely stunned. His jaw hung open, his signature lazy expression completely forgotten. A Zoan-type? No, a Mythical Zoan? It can't be! This is something else entirely… a racial ability? He frantically tried to process what he was seeing. He said he was a Saiyan… what in the world is that race?
Just then, a notification sounded in Takero's mind.
[Ding! Great Ape transformation detected… System auxiliary intervention in progress… Host's sanity successfully preserved…]
"ROAR—! THIS POWER! IT'S INCREDIBLE!!!"
Even with his mind intact, the magma-like power surging through him—more than ten times stronger than his normal state—still made Takero unleash an exhilarating roar. He lowered his mountainous head, and his two crimson, searchlight-like eyes locked onto the Buster Call fleet below, which now looked like a collection of toy boats.
Then, he moved.
A fist larger than a warship descended with terrifying, unstoppable force, aimed directly at the flagship Kizaru was on.
"EVERYONE, GET OUT OF THE WAY—!!!" Kizaru screamed, but it was useless.
CRUUUUNCH—!!!!!!
With a sound that seemed to churn the very sea, the colossal warship was smashed in the middle like a child's toy, utterly annihilated by a single blow. Countless Marines were swept into a vortex of splintered wood and churning water before they could even scream.
"BOOM—!!!"
Another punch. Another warship met the same fate.
Takero was ecstatic, wildly unleashing the beast's power. Every punch sank a ship. Every roar sent shivers of fear through thousands of soldiers. The cannonballs that rained against his mountain-like body were less than tickles. Even Kizaru's lasers, fired at full power, did little more than leave a small scorch mark on his thick, white fur.
In the face of the Great Ape, the dreaded Buster Call fleet—a force that could erase an entire country from the map—was utterly weak and helpless.
Kizaru transformed into a desperate golden flash, narrowly dodging a sweeping backhand from the giant. He looked down at the hellish scene of destruction, at his colleagues drowning in the cold, dark water, and for the first time in his life, he felt an emotion he had only ever heard about: despair.
How were they supposed to fight this? This wasn't a battle. It was a slaughter.
"Retreat!" he yelled into the Den Den Mushi, his voice cracking with desperation. "All surviving units, retreat now!"
He knew then that he never should have come. He should have stayed home, had a nice cup of tea, and taken a nap.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku," he thought with pure, undiluted bitterness, "you have really, really screwed me over."
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