"Hmm… You guys actually have some tricks up your sleeves. I guess I'll get a bit more serious… Just try not to die too quickly."
Kizaru chuckled, drawing a second lightsaber from the void. Though he wasn't as purely dedicated as Mihawk, he was still a swordsman of great swordsman caliber, and playing with dual blades wasn't difficult for him.
"World, go on the offensive! We'll provide cover!"
Redfield barely had time to warn them before Kizaru, wielding dual blades, appeared before the escaping prisoners at a speed no less than his own. Yet, he did not immediately start a massacre.
"Good afternoon."
Kizaru greeted the prisoners with a leisurely smile. Terrified out of their wits, the prisoners instinctively nodded.
"G-Good afternoon..."
Some quick-witted prisoners even forced a smile, hoping that as long as Kizaru wasn't planning to cut them down, they could survive.
"It was supposed to be such a beautiful afternoon. Unfortunately, some annoying pests have ruined my pleasant tea time with Gion. Tell me, don't you think these troublesome fellows deserve to die?"
Kizaru said with a smile. Based on his understanding of Dragon, any prisoner with some redeeming qualities had already been taken away. Those left behind were either utterly vile scum or beyond salvation.
If not for their potential value in preserving Devil Fruits, Kizaru wouldn't have hesitated to send them all straight to hell.
"Attack!"
The prisoners' expressions changed dramatically as two individuals, seemingly Zoan-type Devil Fruit users, rapidly transformed.
Anyone locked in the Eternal Hell of Impel Down was, at the very least, once a Supernova-level threat. It was no surprise that both Zoan users had awakened their Devil Fruits.
With their enhanced combat abilities and incredible resilience, they should have been able to hold off Kizaru...
However, just as the other prisoners began retreating, hoping to put some distance between themselves and Kizaru before using their Devil Fruit abilities to fight back—
"Dual Blade Style: Glimmering Arc Slash!"
Facing two awakened Zoan users, Kizaru grinned slightly, his intersecting light blades tracing two dazzling arcs through the air.
The next moment, the two prisoners, who had just finished transforming, froze in place. Their massive heads detached from their necks, followed by a fountain of blood spraying into the sky.
No matter how resilient their life force was, a clean beheading from Kizaru meant absolute death.
"Crimson Thorns!"
Fortunately, at the critical moment, the fastest among them, Redfield, arrived in time. His umbrella sword, moving so fast it left only afterimages, tore through the air with a sharp whistle, stabbing toward Kizaru in a barrage of a hundred strikes.
At that moment, Redfield had regained the imposing presence of the Red Count, the Aloof Red . His umbrella sword, imbued with Armament Haki, became an unstoppable divine weapon. Even a Fleet Admiral would fall before him!
"Thunderstorm Slash!"
Shiryu, too, fought to suppress his deep-seated fear of the Marine monster and swung his blade in a fierce assault. If Redfield's umbrella sword was the pinnacle of speed, then Shiryu's swordsmanship was the epitome of slaughter.
The instant he struck, an overwhelming killing intent surged from his being, as if with his blade in hand, there was no one in the world he couldn't kill!
If Redfield had merely regained his former glory, then Shiryu was performing beyond his limits.
His desire for freedom overpowered his fear of Kizaru. At this moment, his strike reached the level of a true Great Swordsman.
Even the proud Redfield couldn't help but take notice. If Shiryu could maintain this mindset and refine this strike to its peak, he might truly have the potential to become a top-tier powerhouse.
"Dual Blade Style: Shimmering Torrent Cascade!"
Faced with a combined assault equivalent to two Great Swordsmen, Kizaru showed a hint of excitement and swung his light swords, slashing toward both Redfield and Shiryu.
The overwhelming sword pressure crashed down like an avalanche or tidal wave. Redfield, with his exceptional Observation Haki, instinctively withdrew his blade and dodged the moment Kizaru swung.
But poor Shiryu, who had just delivered a strike so powerful even Redfield was impressed, found himself up against Kizaru's near-overwhelming sword attack. Even though his scalp tingled in dread, he had no choice but to brace himself for impact.
The torrential sword pressure surged toward him. Shiryu's attack lasted barely three seconds before it was completely shattered.
Clang!
The difference in power was too vast. Even though Shiryu had given his all, he couldn't withstand it. Both he and his sword were sent flying by Kizaru's terrifying slash.
The residual flying slashes tore countless wounds across Shiryu's body. Just moments ago, he had glimpsed the level of a Great Swordsman, yet in the blink of an eye, he was sent crashing to the ground like a discarded rag doll.
His famed sword, Thunderstorm, slipped from his grip. But at this point, Shiryu no longer had the mind to care about the blade he had once cherished as his life.
Lying on the ground, gravely injured, his broad, diamond-shaped face was filled with bewilderment and disbelief.
How could there be such a vast gap?
It was natural that he hadn't been a match for this monster in the past. But he had already broken past his limits, unleashing the strongest strike of his life—yet he still couldn't withstand even a single slash from Kizaru.
What was even more absurd was that Kizaru had attacked both him and Redfield simultaneously, meaning this slash was only half of Kizaru's true power.
"Mo-Mo Fruit: Hundredfold Iceberg!"
At last, the slow-reacting World made his move. He hoisted a massive ice block, roughly ten feet wide, and hurled it toward Kizaru as if it were a mere toy.
However, as Waldo activated his Devil Fruit ability, the ice block rapidly expanded in the air. Within mere seconds, it had transformed into a true iceberg, crashing down toward Kizaru.
The massive impact force of the falling iceberg was terrifying. Even a giant, known for their immense strength, would be crushed into pulp beneath such a monstrous weight.
"Throwing things around like that... is very rude..."
Kizaru calmly lifted his head. Under the prisoners' ecstatic gazes, he extended his hand without dodging, as if he intended to take the "iceberg" head-on.
"Looking to die?"
A cruel grin appeared on World's frostbitten face. The ice block, enlarged by his Momo Momo no Mi, didn't just gain a hundredfold increase in weight—the scariest part was the kinetic energy behind it, also amplified a hundred times.
Even for a top-tier powerhouse like Kizaru, the consequences of taking such an attack head-on would be getting flattened by the iceberg!
"That guy..."
Even Redfield's face showed a flicker of anticipation. For the lone-wolf Red Count, pinning hopes on someone else was an almost unthinkable notion.
Boom!
The scene the prisoners expected—Kizaru getting smashed into a pancake—never happened. Instead, what they saw was Kizaru holding up the iceberg with one hand, his face full of amusement.
Compared to the massive iceberg, Kizaru's figure was as insignificant as an ant.
And yet, this seemingly tiny Kizaru effortlessly held up the iceberg World had thrown as if it weighed nothing more than a sponge.
"You've got to be kidding me!?"
"How strong is this guy!?"
"A monster… a Marine monster!"
The prisoners shrieked in terror. After one overwhelming display of power after another, their fear of Kizaru had sunk deep into their bones.
If not for their desperate desire for freedom, some might have already chosen to surrender.
"…It'd be a shame if this thing crushed the flowers and plants. I should return it to you."
Grinning, Kizaru tightened his grip, muscles subtly bulging, and with a sudden burst of power, he hurled the colossal iceberg right back.
The massive iceberg howled through the air as it descended. Having witnessed Kizaru's terrifying strength firsthand, even the most arrogant prisoner wouldn't dare guarantee they could survive getting crushed.
Thankfully—
"Let me handle this! Saw Mountain!"
A prisoner with a pointed head leapt high into the air, curling into a disk-like shape and spinning rapidly toward the iceberg.
He was a Paramecia-type Saw Saw Fruit user—no matter how tough a material was, he could slice through it.
Screech, screech, screech…
The high-speed rotating saw-man quickly sliced through the iceberg's outer layers. But to his shock, the interior of the iceberg was coated in an impenetrable layer of Haki.
His previously unstoppable saw was utterly useless against Kizaru's Haki. By the time he realized something was wrong, the iceberg was already plummeting toward World's head.
"Momo Momo: Hundredfold Heavy Punch!"
World roared, eyes wide, throwing both fists forward to meet the impact.
With his strength amplified a hundredfold, he should have been able to shatter the iceberg.
Unfortunately for him, when Kizaru had thrown the iceberg, he had infused it with Haki. The saw-man couldn't cut through it, and World couldn't break it either.
Rumble…
The immense weight of the iceberg forced Waldo to stagger backward, his feet sinking deep into the ground as two deep trenches formed behind him.
By the time he finally stopped the iceberg, more than half his body was buried in the ground.
"Hmm, quite persistent. Since you're all so stubborn, I should spice things up a bit!"
Kizaru stroked his chin thoughtfully, then casually opened his Dimensional Chat Group.
[Kizaru: @Orochimaru, you there?]
[Orochimaru: What do you need?]
[Kizaru: How many snakes can you send over for some fun? Not too weak, though—otherwise, they'll just die too quickly.]
[Orochimaru: Just summon Manda. It alone will be enough. If even Manda can't handle it, summoning more won't change anything.]
[Kizaru: Got it. @Kobayashi, record this—transfer the Dimensional Coins from my account to Orochimaru.]
[Kobayashi: Noted!]
…
Although Kizaru didn't think the escaped prisoners had the guts to attack him again, standing around doing nothing for too long felt awkward.
After finalizing the deal with Orochimaru for Manda's services, he refocused his attention on Impel Down.
In just the short span of ten seconds, it seemed the prisoners had erupted into a brief conflict—some, having been utterly terrified by Kizaru's overwhelming power, wanted to surrender.
Redfield, however, refused.
The argument quickly escalated, and Redfield, without hesitation, slaughtered all the prisoners who had attempted to surrender, successfully restoring "morale."
"World, that technique you used earlier to amplify your strength—can you use it on me?"
Willing to change his lone-wolf nature and collaborate with World in pursuit of greater longevity and freedom, Redfield was uncharacteristically open to cooperation.
"Your body wouldn't withstand it."
Waldo shot Redfield a glance, his voice gruff.
The Momo Momo no Mi was indeed a powerful fruit, but the human body had its limits.
°°°
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