"How's your condition?"
Makoto looked toward Sakiko as he asked.
Sakiko nodded.
"I can still fight."
Just then, the entire ground suddenly began shaking.
Powerful shockwaves erupted from the distance.
They weren't the result of some extraordinary Devil Fruit ability, but rather the pure collision of Haki between two king-level powerhouses.
Sakiko and Asuna's expressions changed slightly.
Both girls understood that they would be completely helpless against opponents of this caliber.
If Sakiko fought with everything she had, she might be able to contend with an Admiral-level powerhouse for a short time.
But Asuna had no chance whatsoever.
Her base attributes were simply far too low.
"You two should rest inside my cursed technique's spatial dimension for now. Leave the rest to me."
Makoto opened a Spatial Gate.
Neither girl wasted time arguing with him. They immediately stepped inside.
They understood that Makoto wouldn't make such a declaration unless he possessed sufficient confidence in his own abilities.
Besides, they were both curious to see just how powerful Makoto had become.
...
Once the girls entered his cursed technique's spatial dimension, Makoto used Geppo (Moonwalk) to ascend into the sky.
From above, he watched Garp and Whitebeard exchange blows with enough force to shake the entire battlefield.
Within a radius of 50 meters around the two, nobody could survive.
Even the ground beneath them had been hammered into enormous craters more than ten meters deep by the shockwaves from their attacks.
Ironically, this meant that nobody could get close enough to rescue Ace anymore.
In the original storyline, the reason Luffy had managed to save Ace was that both Garp and Sengoku had deliberately held back.
Garp was a legendary Marine Vice Admiral, a powerhouse capable of chasing the Pirate King across the seas.
Yet somehow, he had been sent flying by a single punch from his grandson, who hadn't even mastered Haki.
As for Sengoku, he had maintained his charging stance the entire time Luffy obtained the key and prepared to unlock Ace's handcuffs.
He had even been considerate enough to provide illumination for Luffy and Ace.
Only after confirming that Luffy could unlock the handcuffs did Sengoku finally throw a halfhearted punch.
His performance had been so misleading that Blackbeard subsequently underestimated his strength and recklessly attacked him.
The result?
Sengoku had nearly wiped out the entire Blackbeard Pirates with a single counterattack.
However, the current battlefield was completely different.
The Players' interference had placed the Marines at an enormous disadvantage.
Although Garp had managed to stabilize the situation temporarily by confronting Whitebeard with his own strength, that wasn't enough to reverse the war.
Sengoku still didn't dare leave his position.
He could only continue guarding Ace, maintaining the Marines' most important remaining advantage.
Meanwhile, the other Seven Warlords of the Sea were still putting on a show without making any genuine effort.
At this point, the only person who might be able to reverse the entire battle was Kizaru.
Sengoku naturally understood that as well.
He immediately began pressuring the Admiral.
"Kizaru! If you don't hurry up and defeat those bastards, the entire Marine force will suffer catastrophic losses because of your irresponsibility!"
Kizaru's expression turned ugly.
"So scary..."
Although he continued complaining, his body had already begun moving instinctively.
He had a persistent feeling that the Players in front of him were specifically targeting him.
Every one of their arrangements and defensive measures seemed designed to counter his surprise attacks.
Given Kizaru's usual personality, he would never willingly charge into such an obvious trap.
Unfortunately, he was running out of alternatives.
He could only grit his teeth and take the risk.
After dodging Marco's attack, Kizaru activated Yata no Kagami once again.
Before the Players could react, he entered the pathway of light and accelerated toward them at astonishing speed.
During this process, Kizaru moved at nearly the speed of light.
Nobody could possibly intercept him through ordinary means.
However, the Players were clearly well aware of this limitation.
They had never intended to interrupt Kizaru while he was traveling through the light pathway.
Instead, a short Player among their group simply closed his eyes.
Floating high above the battlefield, Makoto felt his mind stir slightly.
He had detected powerful Observation Haki from that Player.
Although it wasn't as advanced as Makoto's own, it had already approached the threshold of Future Sight.
'Looks like Kizaru is about to have a rough time.'
Makoto quickly reached his conclusion.
And reality unfolded exactly as he expected.
Kizaru appeared behind the Players.
His enormous foot, coated in Armament Haki, swung toward one Player's back.
Throughout the entire attack, the only opening occurred during the brief instant when Kizaru deactivated his elemental transformation and applied Armament Haki.
Anyone capable of reacting during that tiny window would undoubtedly rank among the strongest fighters on the seas.
That was precisely why Kizaru had dared to take this risk.
Unfortunately, he happened to be facing a group composed of exactly that kind of opponent.
The short Player instantly sensed Kizaru's incoming attack.
Using his Telepathic Communication Talent, he transmitted images of the impending strike directly into his teammates' minds.
Now, the entire team knew exactly what Kizaru was about to do!
Almost instantly, everyone sprang into action.
A tall man coated his entire body in Armament Haki and lunged toward Kizaru's incoming leg, preparing to seize it.
Another Player raised an electromagnetic cannon made with Seastone and aimed directly at the position where Kizaru would inevitably appear.
Meanwhile, the woman with the high ponytail had already prepared to release the Shikai of her Zanpakuto, ready to deliver a finishing blow at any moment.
Only Spink remained completely calm.
He watched everything unfold as though the entire situation was already under his control.
And in a sense, it was.
At the final moment before his attack connected, Kizaru abruptly abandoned the strike.
He transformed back into light and disappeared.
His Observation Haki was certainly not weak.
Although he hadn't reached the level of Future Sight, his extensive combat experience allowed him to recognize the trap.
He therefore made the sensible decision to withdraw.
Unfortunately, his retreat caused Marine morale to plummet once again.
The soldiers could hardly believe what they were seeing.
It was understandable that Akainu and Aokiji had been rendered helpless after falling victim to a surprise attack.
But how could Kizaru, who had escaped that fate, also be powerless against these enemies?
Was the Marine force truly destined to suffer a crushing defeat today?
"Kizaru! What are you doing?!"
Sengoku roared in fury.
Kizaru simply rolled his eyes and ignored him.
At this point, Kizaru was no longer thinking about slacking off.
Instead, he understood that he absolutely couldn't afford to suffer another injury.
If he fell as well, the entire Marine force would truly collapse.
Even if he couldn't defeat these Players directly, he could still use his light-speed movement to keep circling them.
As long as he kept them occupied, they wouldn't be able to continue sniping Marine soldiers, which would help prevent further casualties.
If Sengoku joined the fighting as well, the Marines might still be able to maintain their position.
The biggest problem was that the Whitebeard Pirates still possessed numerous division commander-level fighters.
Marco, for example, had already noticed Kizaru slowing down and was once again charging toward him to interfere.
'If only the Warlords would actually fight seriously...'
Kizaru immediately abandoned that unrealistic thought.
While dodging the Players' Seastone bullets and punching Marco away, he continued searching for a solution.
Suddenly, he spotted Makoto out of the corner of his eye.
...
By now, Makoto had completely abandoned any attempt to conceal himself.
After mastering Future Sight and internal destruction through Armament Haki, he had already become one of the strongest fighters on these seas.
His only real weakness was that his Conqueror's Haki remained relatively underdeveloped.
But fixing that was merely a matter of activating Making Fake Become Real again.
What Makoto was currently considering was how this entire situation would ultimately end.
He already knew part of Spink's plan.
However, the possibility of Imu appearing hadn't frightened him into retreating.
On the contrary, he was considering how to extract the greatest possible benefits from the chaos.
Just then, Kizaru approached him.
The Admiral examined Makoto with curiosity.
After confirming that he couldn't recall seeing this person before, he finally spoke.
"You're the one who helped rescue Sakazuki and Kuzan earlier, aren't you? I don't know your name. Did you come from one of the branch bases?"
"Something like that."
Makoto also examined Kizaru with considerable curiosity.
This was his first time interacting with the character at such close range.
At 3.02 meters tall, Kizaru would normally have looked extremely imposing standing beside Makoto.
However, he deliberately lowered his position in the air until he was only about a head taller.
That small gesture revealed quite a lot about him.
Beneath his lazy, easygoing appearance, Kizaru was actually an extremely perceptive and considerate individual.
"What a wonderfully lazy answer... I like your attitude."
Kizaru continued with a relaxed smile.
"How about helping us deal with those pirates over there? Give us another proper display of your strength."
"Once this is over, the four of us can recommend you for the next vacant Admiral position."
"Just look at the mess our Fleet Admiral has made. After this disaster, he'll almost certainly have to step down."
"Whether Sakazuki or Kuzan becomes the next Fleet Admiral, that would leave an Admiral position open for you."
Makoto raised an eyebrow.
He was just about to marvel at how skilled Kizaru was at winning people over when an unexpected system notification appeared before him.
[Ding, you have triggered a B-rank Faction Mission.]
[Do you agree to help Kizaru eliminate the pirates and secure victory for the Marines?]
[Upon completing this mission, you will receive a permanent identity as a Marine Admiral in this world, together with all the authority, privileges, responsibilities, and obligations appropriate to that position.]
Makoto froze slightly.
'There are missions like this too?'
However, he quickly accepted the situation.
After all, this was only the third world he had entered.
It wasn't surprising that he had yet to encounter many of the mission types available in the Main God Space.
This also suggested that the promises Aokiji and Akainu had made earlier might not have been officially recognized.
Otherwise, if a mission granting an Admiral position was classified as B-rank, their earlier promises should at least have triggered a C-rank mission.
Looking at the notification, Makoto fell into thought.
He wasn't particularly interested in the status or authority of a Marine Admiral.
He had already obtained practically everything he wanted from the One Piece world.
However, the word Faction made him consider a completely different possibility.
'If I can officially join the Marine faction, does that mean I can stay in the One Piece world permanently?'
'Or perhaps I could enter this world whenever I wanted?'
Otherwise, what would be the point of giving him the title of Marine Admiral?
Surely the Marines wouldn't tolerate one of their Admirals disappearing every other day.
Or perhaps Makoto would become an Admiral in name only, leaving the actual responsibilities to his deputy?
Just as these possibilities crossed his mind, a voice suddenly sounded inside his head.
Unexpectedly, it belonged to Spink.
"Friend, has Kizaru offered you something particularly tempting?"
"I suggest you remain rational. We already have the advantage here, and Red-Haired Shanks and Blackbeard will eventually join our side as well."
"The Marines have absolutely no chance of winning anymore."
"At this point, the wisest choice would be to protect yourself or simply leave this world."
Makoto raised his head.
His gaze met Spink's across the distant battlefield.
The short Player beside Spink still had his eyes closed.
However, Makoto could sense mental links extending from him, connecting several people together.
'This ability...'
Although it didn't seem particularly threatening, it looked extremely useful!
While admiring the technique, Makoto concentrated his mental energy and projected his voice in response.
"You're right, but only if I decide not to interfere."
"Since you have an expert in Observation Haki on your side, you should already know how many Players' possessions we've collected."
"Your side might be somewhat stronger overall, but you're still nowhere near powerful enough to completely dominate this battlefield."
"If I intervene and interfere with Whitebeard, or even stop him outright, your side will collapse too."
"Don't believe me? Want to give it a try?"
Spink's expression darkened.
"Do we really have to become enemies?"
"If you've suffered any losses or there's something you want in return, you can come find me at the Tavern afterward. I'll make sure you're properly compensated."
That was exactly what Makoto had been waiting to hear.
"All right. I'm not asking for much."
"Give me 30 Fate Value and five Emergency Escape Cards, and I'll agree to stay out of the fighting."
There were five Players on Spink's side.
Makoto estimated that they possessed at least 30 Fate Value between them.
As for the Emergency Escape Cards, those were intended for the newcomers currently sheltering inside his cursed technique's spatial dimension.
Since Makoto had already promised to keep them alive, he wasn't about to casually break that promise.
It wasn't even about the rewards anymore.
This was more a matter of Makoto's personal principles.
He didn't want to abandon every moral boundary he possessed simply because he had entered the Main God Space.
If he allowed himself to do that, even he couldn't predict what kind of person he might eventually become.
Spink fell silent once again.
Because of the distance between them, Makoto couldn't tell whether Spink was furious at his outrageous demands or calmly considering whether the price was acceptable.
Finally, Spink spoke slowly.
"Kitano-kun, we're all members of the Tavern. Is there really any need to push things this far?"
"You may not understand just how important this experiment is to the entire Tavern."
"If you interfere with my plans, you won't merely be facing my anger."
"You'll be facing the wrath of the entire Tavern."
Makoto frowned slightly.
'So now he's trying to intimidate me with the entire Tavern?'
Hearing those words, Makoto had to admit that Spink's approach was working.
At his current level, Makoto was confident that he could defeat practically any Veteran.
He could even contend with Professionals who were considerably stronger.
However, when faced with an enormous organization like the Tavern, he still felt a certain amount of caution and respect.
After all, possessing territory and an established Guild within the Main God Space represented a level of influence that Makoto had yet to experience personally.
But if he simply retreated because of a single threat, he would probably never be able to hold his head high within the Tavern again.
More importantly, Spink had actually called him by name.
'When did he figure out who I am?'
Makoto possessed far too many secrets.
Although he hadn't revealed all of his abilities during the recent fighting, even the information he had already exposed would be enough to attract considerable attention if it spread.
With Makoto remaining silent, the situation fell into a tense deadlock.
And at that very moment, another unexpected development occurred.
Blackbeard and his crew finally lost their patience and revealed themselves!
…