Renji wore a benevolent smile. Despite not releasing any aura of power, his mere presence made the Straw Hat Pirates feel as if they were in hell, their minds stretched to the point of near-collapse.
Renji's words spread faintly. If Nami wasn't in a wheelchair, she would have probably collapsed to the ground, her legs giving out.
"Luffy-senpai? Everyone? What's wrong? Who is this guy?"
Bartolomeo was utterly confused. He didn't understand how the atmosphere, which had been harmonious a second ago, had suddenly changed like this.
"Admiral Seiryu, why are you here?" Law asked, pulling out his Kikoku, his expression grim.
"Why am I here? You're quite humorous." Renji chuckled, and in the next instant, his figure appeared directly on the deck from mid-air.
"!!!"
Seeing Renji suddenly approach, the Straw Hat Pirates all instinctively jumped back a few steps.
"Renji!" Luffy gritted his teeth, squeezing Renji's name out of his mouth.
"Oh my, my name isn't that hard to pronounce, Luffy."
Renji looked at Luffy. Through his Heavenly Six Eyes, he could clearly see that Luffy's Haki had improved significantly since their last meeting.
Renji then teased, "How is it? Isn't my teaching much more useful than Rayleigh's?"
As Renji's words fell, the atmosphere on the ship instantly froze.
"No! Luffy, don't be reckless!" Sanji and the others frantically shouted, but it was too late.
Boom!
A powerful Conqueror's Haki surged wildly from Luffy, even astonishing Law next to him.
"Straw Hat's Haki... is that strong."
"You killed Rayleigh!"
The anger in Luffy's eyes seemed to turn into tangible flames erupting from them.
A large amount of steam rose and enveloped Luffy's body, which began to swell violently. Powerful Armament Haki covered him, and he entered Fourth Gear state.
However, this time, Luffy did not shout out the name of his Fourth Gear technique as he usually would.
"What, am I wrong? Your Haki became so strong, that's thanks to me, isn't it?"
Facing the enraged Luffy, Renji remained as calm as he was at the beginning, as if Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates were nothing more than insignificant ants before him, unable to stir the slightest ripple in his heart.
"This person is Renji, who defeated Luffy-senpai twice? An Admiral! How dare he attack Luffy-senpai? It's unforgivable."
Bartolomeo was the first to lose his temper. He formed hand signs, conjured a barrier, and was about to attack Renji. However, Luffy stopped him at that moment.
"Stop! This is between him and me, don't interfere."
"Luffy-senpai!"
Despite his reluctance, Bartolomeo obeyed Luffy's words.
Law, on the other hand, was not having it. "Straw Hat, this is not the time to act on impulse. Against this extremely dangerous guy, we should unite all forces beneficial to victory."
Renji watched the few people who were already bickering before the fight even began. Suddenly, his perception stretched into the distance.
There was a strong Haki presence there, it seemed... was that Sabo?
Renji thought of something amusing, and his expression became playful.
"Please wait for me for a moment, everyone."
With that, Renji's figure vanished, leaving behind the bewildered crowd.
"He? Just left like that?" Sanji looked into the distance, puzzled.
"He really seems to have left. Thank goodness, we're saved." Nami let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if she had come back to life.
"Something's wrong, Straw Hat, let's get out of here quickly." Law's expression remained extremely serious, even urging them without retracting his Room.
"He vanished. So fast!" Luffy panted heavily, couldn't sense Renji's presence.
Just as he was about to deactivate Fourth Gear—
Boom!
On the distant sea, a ship erupted with a violent sound.
"Let go of me, Sabo, don't worry about me." Koala was restrained in mid-air by a blue-white force, and no matter how much she struggled, it was useless.
"Admiral Seiryu! Let her go, come at me!"
Sabo looked at the man before him as if facing a great enemy, holding a pipe wrench in one hand and forming a dragon claw with the other, his entire body exuding Haki.
"Alright."
Renji readily agreed, casually manipulating his Cursed Energy to throw Koala into the sea.
"Koala!" Sabo rushed forward to catch her.
Renji, seeing this, shook his head slightly. "You're the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army, yet you're still so reckless."
A faint voice sounded by his ear, and Sabo's expression changed dramatically.
"His speed..."
Before he could react further, a hand gripped Sabo's nape, terrifying Haki and power intertwined around it. No matter how much Sabo struggled, he remained completely motionless.
"Behave yourself." Renji said with a laugh, his palm gripping Sabo's neck as if carrying immense force, slamming him onto the deck.
Boom... Crackle...
A strike combining the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Blue, Armament Haki, and Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Before anyone could react, it heavily struck the deck. The entire ship was instantly hit hard, countless splinters of wood flew out, and then it exploded with a roar.
"What's going on over there?"
The Straw Hat Pirates looked at the sudden sound from afar, somewhat confused.
Law was still urging Luffy, "Straw Hat, how many more times do I have to tell you? Get out of here quickly, otherwise that Renji will soon..."
Before Law could finish speaking, a familiar figure reappeared above them. The difference was, this time he was holding a person.
Thud!
He threw Sabo onto the deck.
Renji looked at Luffy and chuckled. "Why are you just standing there? This is your brother."
"Brother?!"
Luffy was utterly bewildered, secretly rejoicing that he was still in Fourth Gear. Otherwise, even if he actively deactivated it, he would fall into a period of weakness.
"He is?"
"Sabo!"