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Vice Admiral.
Marine Headquarters had promoted Kyle to Vice Admiral, a clear reward for capturing Roger.
Sengoku personally conducted the promotion ceremony. It was brief, mainly because Kong had been far too busy to attend.
At the same time, officers like T-Bone, Bullet, Crocodile, and others saw their ranks adjusted based on their strength.
Bullet, T-Bone, Crocodile, Evans, and Chaden were promoted to Major.The rest advanced to Captain.
Compared to Rear Admiral, the rank of Vice Admiral granted far more freedom and a much wider operational scope.
Three days passed.
Kyle continued refining his control over the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, using lightning to stimulate his own cells and push his already powerful body even further.
Lightning body tempering.A technique he had developed himself.
Compared to unleashing high-voltage currents to obliterate enemies, this subtle stimulation required far finer control.
Meanwhile, Marine Headquarters was busy preparing to transfer Roger to Loguetown.
"The date's set. One week from now."
Kuzan brought the news when he stopped by yesterday.
In truth, Kyle had known even earlier than him.
"The whole world's on alert right now," Kuzan said with a sigh."Executing the Pirate King is a huge deal. It could trigger uprisings from other major pirates."
Kyle nodded. The tension at Headquarters was obvious, even at a glance.
"Once Roger's executed, everything will settle down," Kuzan added."We'll finally be able to rest."
Kyle just smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
He knew better. Roger's death wouldn't bring peace.It would mark the beginning of true chaos.
Compared to the coming Age of Great Pirates, the current era was almost gentle.
That afternoon, Sengoku contacted him via Den Den Mushi.
"Be ready at all times. You'll be escorting Roger to Loguetown."
"Understood."
There was no doubt he'd be assigned. Escorting Roger required the Navy's strongest elites.
Later that day, dark clouds suddenly swallowed the skies over Marineford.
Boom!
Thunder roared, lighting up Marine Headquarters in flashes of white.
"This is going to be a big storm," Crocodile said quietly.
Kyle looked up at the sky in silence.
He could feel his connection to the lightning above. With a single thought, those bolts stretching thousands of meters could become his weapon.
This storm, however, wasn't his doing.It was completely natural.
The wind howled. Waves churned violently in the inner bay.
Boom!
After fifteen minutes, a thunderclap split the sky and rain came crashing down, drumming against Marineford's streets.
The storm had arrived.
Everyone remarked on how sudden it was.
In the residential area, Kyle sat cross-legged in midair.
A careful look revealed that his body hovered a foot above the ground. An invisible barrier surrounded him, blue arcs of electricity flickering across its surface as rain failed to touch him.
"This weather just feels ominous," Rosinante muttered.
The others stood in various poses, leaning against pillars, smoking cigars, lost in thought. All of them watched the rain.
Boom!
Another thunderclap echoed across Marineford.
Kyle's eyes suddenly sharpened as he looked toward the plaza by the inner bay.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, Kong frowned deeply as he reviewed documents.
Suddenly, he looked up and stared out the window.
Rain poured down in dense curtains, orderly yet chaotic.
Then, in the very next second—
"Woooooo—!"
A low, urgent, ear-splitting alarm suddenly tore through the air, echoing across all of Marineford. Countless Marines snapped their heads up at the same instant.
The Inner Bay Plaza.
Rain poured down in sheets. Thunder rolled endlessly, and behind the Gates of Justice, lightning stretched into a long, blinding arc that split the darkness.
A towering figure stood atop a mound of Marine corpses.
His long hair, wild like a lion's mane, cascaded all the way down to his calves. A blade gleamed in each hand. Blood dripped steadily from the edges of both swords, splashing into the pooled rainwater below with sharp, ringing sounds.
Ahead of him, waves of Marines rushed out, faces tight with fear and tension.
"Enemy attack!!!"
The scream cut through the storm, backed by the relentless, heavy alarm that seemed to pound directly against every heartbeat.
"The enemy has appeared in Marineford! Inner Bay shoreline plaza!"
"How many?!"
An officer clutching a Den Den Mushi stood drenched in rain, sweat streaming down his forehead. The moment his eyes landed on the massive figure standing atop the corpse pile, his entire body began to shake. Shock and terror flooded his face.
"Only… only one!"
Lightning flashed, illuminating the man on the mound in stark white.
"That guy… could it be?!"
"Golden Lion Shiki!!!"
"The enemy is Golden Lion Shiki alone!!!"
The shrill cry of terror jolted Marineford awake in the storm.
Golden Lion Shiki.
One of the three great legends, standing shoulder to shoulder with Pirate King Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard Edward Newgate as the most powerful pirates of the era.
Even a three-year-old knew his name.
"Zehahahaha!"
"So you're saying Roger got caught by some no-name brat?"
"You weak Marines love exaggerating, don't you? Telling boring jokes and playing cheap tricks."
Shiki's cold laughter rang out as he stood calmly, gazing down at the forces before him.
A sudden ripple spread outward, sending Marines stumbling backward in terror.
Faced with a man of legend, ordinary soldiers and officers alike did not dare take a single step forward.
"If Roger is going to die, then he should die by my hand!"
With a furious roar, Shiki leapt into the air. The mound of bodies beneath his feet shattered apart as he dove straight toward the Marines ahead.
The long blade in his right hand slashed downward. A ferocious cutting wave split the curtain of rain, releasing an overwhelming, razor-sharp force.
"Help! Someone help!"
The Marines in front were driven to the brink of panic.
The attack covered nearly everything they could see, moving faster than thunder itself. There was nowhere to run.
Boom!
The air ahead suddenly flared with blinding light. A pillar of blue lightning crashed down, striking the ground in front of them.
In the next instant, a figure appeared beneath the lightning.
He raised his hand and threw a punch.
Hum!
The air trembled. Rain exploded outward as a wide area was forcibly cleared. The massive slash was stopped dead.
Blue arcs of electricity shot outward, massive lightning bolts twisting across the sky, bathing everything nearby in stark brilliance.
"That figure is…?!"
"Vice Admiral Kyle!!!"
"..."
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