Regret was regret.
But no matter how much he thought about it, Kizaru couldn't figure out how Leno had found this secret base.
And how he had gotten mixed up with Stussy of CP0.
Because judging from Stussy's behavior, she clearly hadn't betrayed them.
Besides, even if she had, Leno had been at Amazon Lily earlier.
How could he possibly appear here directly?
He had even seen Stussy just a few days ago.
It made no sense.
But no matter what, as a Marine Admiral, he absolutely could not allow Leno to step even half a foot into the laboratory!
"'Fallen One' Leno…"
Kizaru spread his hands lazily.
"This isn't a place you should be coming to."
"Care to tell this old man how you found it?"
Leno lazily lifted his eyelids and glanced at Kizaru.
He completely ignored the question and instead let out a scoff.
"Borsalino, just you alone? You think you can stop me? Isn't that a bit too disrespectful?"
Just as Kizaru was about to respond—
Sentomaru arrived at the shoreline with a squad of Pacifistas.
He raised his massive axe and roared at Leno:
"Leno! Leave immediately! I can pretend none of this ever happened! Otherwise, don't blame me for getting rough!"
Behind him, several newly deployed Pacifistas glowed with red light in their eyes.
They had already locked onto Leno and his crew.
"Pacifistas?"
Leno looked at the machines—familiar, yet somewhat different in design.
A hint of interest curled at the corner of his lips.
"Looks like I came to the right place. You think these scrap heaps and the two of you are enough to make me leave?"
He slowly stood up, and an invisible pressure spread outward.
Even without releasing Conqueror's Haki—
"I came here today. If I don't get what I want, I'm not leaving."
"Then there's nothing to talk about," Kizaru sighed.
The next second, his body turned into light.
"Then I'll just have to… ask you to leave!"
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Countless dazzling light bullets rained down, covering Leno and his crew!
This time, to protect the research base—
This wasn't just "glancing shots."
"Air Quake!"
Domino shouted as she stepped forward.
Both fists wrapped in vibrating halos as she punched toward the sky!
Crack—!!!
The atmosphere shattered as invisible shockwaves violently collided with the rain of light!
"The Tremor-Tremor Fruit…" Kizaru's expression grew more serious.
When Sengoku and Akainu returned to headquarters, they had already reported the abilities of Leno's crew.
So Kizaru knew.
But seeing it with his own eyes still shocked him.
"Perfume Femur!"
Hancock kicked toward a Pacifista that had approached!
Crack!
The Pacifista's arm turned to stone.
"Flower-Flower: Dazzling Bloom!"
Robin activated her ability, countless arms sprouting across another Pacifista's body.
Kalifa, Perona, Bonney, and Little Alice each displayed their own abilities.
They clashed with the remaining Pacifistas and base guards.
Bonney felt uncomfortable—but her attacks showed no mercy.
The battlefield plunged into chaos!
Meanwhile, Leno directly confronted Kizaru.
"Ame no Murakumo Sword!"
A blade of light formed in Kizaru's hand as he slashed at Leno at light speed!
"Still haven't learned your lesson, Kizaru!"
Leno casually threw a punch—
Shattering the light blade into pieces!
"Is that so? This is the real attack, Leno!"
A fully charged laser shot straight at Leno's head.
Light speed—too fast!
Leno's expression sharpened as he roared:
"Break for me!"
Before the laser could hit him, it turned into harmless light.
If he hadn't grown stronger, that attack might've actually caused him some trouble.
"What a troublesome ability…" Kizaru's figure flickered constantly, changing positions.
If close combat didn't work, then he'd just kite.
Laser after laser rained down.
But Leno's Observation Haki wasn't weak—predicting and dodging them wasn't difficult.
And most of the attacks simply became nourishment, absorbed by Leno.
This absurd offense-defense combination left Kizaru with a headache.
If he attacked, he was feeding Leno stamina.
If he didn't, Leno would come after him.
The frustrating battle continued.
Despite Sentomaru and the Pacifistas fighting hard—
Kizaru was holding back.
There was no helping it—Leno was too strong. He didn't want this to turn into a life-or-death battle.
Not just Leno—even his crew alone was enough to overwhelm them.
Domino's control over the Tremor-Tremor Fruit had improved significantly.
Holding off some of Kizaru's attacks was no problem.
Hancock, Robin, and the others were pushing the Pacifistas and guards into retreat.
They weren't the Straw Hat crew—completely suppressed by Pacifistas.
Sentomaru already had several wounds and was panting heavily.
Even Kizaru's expression grew increasingly serious—not entirely an act.
Because even at full strength… he couldn't stop Leno.
If this continued, Leno would definitely break through.
"Looks like just us isn't enough to stop you…"
After being forced back once again by Leno's "Annihilation of All Things," Kizaru spoke with a hint of helplessness.
He and Sentomaru exchanged a glance—both seeing the same helplessness in each other's eyes.
If they couldn't protect it, they couldn't let Leno take it either.
Then… destroy the entire base.
Just as that thought formed—
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion erupted from deep within the laboratory!
A tall, muscular figure radiating terrifying aura smashed through the outer wall—
And stepped out.
He had sharp horns, bulging muscles, and held a massive kanabo in his hand.
His appearance was identical to one of the Four Emperors—
Kaido of the Beasts.
The only difference—
Was the "K" tattoo on his chest.
"This is… Kaido?!" Sentomaru exclaimed.
Kizaru's pupils shrank.
He didn't believe this was the real Kaido.
"K? Vegapunk's clone?"
At that moment, Vegapunk's voice came through a miniature communicator.
Confirming his guess.
"Borsalino, this is K-Kaido. One of the failed prototypes."
"He has major defects. He can only fight at full power for half a day before his body collapses from the strain."
Vegapunk's tone was calm.
A "failure" to him was a level others could never reach in their lifetime.
(Caesar: Are you insulting me again?!)
Vegapunk didn't care about the base at all.
If it was destroyed, so be it.
Compared to that—
He was far more interested in Leno.
"You must make use of this half-day. Defeat Leno—or at least severely injure or capture him!"
"I'm very interested in his body structure and Devil Fruit abilities!"
Kizaru looked at the "Kaido."
Then at Leno, who remained calm and composed.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"Vegapunk… what a troublesome problem you've given me…"
He didn't want a life-or-death battle.
But now he had no choice.
Might as well take this chance to see Leno's true strength.
If nothing else, Vegapunk's curiosity—
Was something he shared.
Kizaru's gaze sharpened as he issued the command:
"K-Kaido! Target—'Fallen One' Leno! Eliminate him!!"
"ROAR—!!!"
The "Kaido" let out an earth-shaking roar.
His crimson eyes instantly locked onto Leno.
Terrifying Conqueror's Haki mixed with a beast-like aura pressed down on him.
A failure was still a failure—
It only possessed battle instinct.
Barely any intelligence.
It stomped forward, shattering the ground—
And swung its kanabo down at Leno!
"Thunder Bagua!!!"
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