Vladimir neither dodged nor defended himself, appearing completely unaware of the attack.
But at that very moment, Whitebeard suddenly threw a punch from below.
BOOM!
Fine cracks tore open in the fabric of space. The tremendous shockwave traveled through the air and struck right behind Vladimir.
SMASH!
Redfield, who had only half-materialized, was instantly shattered into nothingness by that distant strike.
"Whitebeard... since when did you become so fond of meddling in others' affairs?"
His voice echoed from every direction, impossible to locate.
"Gu la la la! I simply couldn't bear to watch you blinded by your own power." Whitebeard laughed heartily, speaking with bold confidence. "You have fallen, Part!"
"Do not call me by that name!"
Enraged, the Red Count materialized directly in front of Whitebeard and threw a vicious punch straight at him.
"You are old and decaying! How could you possibly defeat me in my prime?!"
"Then come and try!"
Whitebeard did not back down, meeting the blow with a punch of his own.
BOOM!
The collision of two waves of Conqueror's Haki instantly unleashed a violent hurricane. Anyone within hundreds of meters who lacked sufficient strength was blown flying far away.
"An Emperor-level battle has begun!" someone shouted in alarm. "Retreat! Get back!"
Others fled — but not Vladimir...
He remained standing calmly at the bow of his ship, watching coldly. "Do you take me for nothing? Chains of Heaven!"
SWISH!
From countless golden rings of light, numerous chains shot out with blinding speed. They wrapped around the two combatants six times, then suddenly tightened.
Both Whitebeard and Redfield stiffened, their expressions turning sharp.
Their battle instincts, honed through decades of combat, screamed danger — these chains were deadly.
Just as they were about to be fully bound, both erupted with Haki simultaneously.
"Armament Encasement!"
An invisible armor manifested around their bodies, blocking the Chains of Heaven before they could make contact.
"Your Armament Haki is quite strong... but how long do you think you can hold out?" Vladimir spoke leisurely, completely in control.
As his words fell, the chains began to constrict further, growing stronger with every passing second.
Redfield's eye twitched. Such strange and bizarre abilities... what kind of power is this?
He wasn't truly afraid of the chains; he had ways to escape. What bothered him far more was the true nature of the King of Heroes' powers.
Whitebeard, too, remained unyielding. He strained against the bindings, pulling with brute force until the chains were stretched taut, seemingly on the verge of snapping.
But that was only at first. As time passed, the chains grew ever tighter and more powerful. Even Whitebeard began to feel a growing sense of unease.
"Well done, King of Heroes! You have performed a great service!"
A loud shout boomed from the sky. In the next instant, a blazing golden sun appeared high above.
Radiating light brighter and hotter than the actual sun itself, it hovered in the air, unleashing its power of light to the absolute limit.
"You pirates... you have been given far too much time to prepare. Now, accept the judgment of Justice..."
In a flash, the entire world turned blinding gold.
Everyone was instantly blinded. Three full seconds passed before the golden light receded, condensing back into a single point in the sky — a tiny speck of golden radiance, like the light at the dawn of creation.
"Super · Yasaka Magatama!"
The cold voice rang out. Immediately after, a massive fan-shaped rain of light poured down upon the land.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
In an instant, the entire battlefield was engulfed by the attack.
"Super · Yasaka Magatama!"
A huge golden star blazed above the heads of the countless combatants.
The rain of light bullets fell in a wide fan formation, covering almost the entire battlefield.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Screams erupted everywhere. Hundreds of projectiles were fired in a matter of seconds, forming a density that made escape nearly impossible.
Seeing this, Redfield glanced sharply at Vladimir. "King of Heroes... I never expected you to be in league with the Marines!"
Everyone had heard Kizaru's shout clearly: "Well done! You have performed a great service!"
The King of Heroes binding Whitebeard and him with chains, followed immediately by Kizaru appearing to rain destruction down upon them... paired with those words, anyone would draw the same conclusion.
Vladimir, however, remained perfectly composed. "Truly despicable... deliberately confusing everyone and trying to smear my name."
With the Star That Knows All, Sees All, he had foreseen everything. He knew the Marines would eventually strike — though Kizaru had arrived sooner than expected.
Watching the rain of light heading straight for him, Vladimir channeled his magical power into his Golden Armor, forming a defensive barrier around his body.
This was an innate ability of the armor: immunity to elemental attacks. While not 100% invulnerable, with this barrier active, Kizaru's attacks felt no more dangerous than a gentle tickle.
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