"What's going on over there?"
"Those are gunshots!"
The sound of machine-gun fire and cannon blasts spread clearly across the outskirts of Alubarna.
Residents nearby gradually stopped what they were doing and looked toward the ruins in the distance.
"That's Captain Igaram!"
Someone recognized the familiar curled hairstyle immediately.
The crowd stirred.
Igaram was the captain of the Royal Guard.
If even he was fighting seriously, then something terrible had happened.
People instinctively began moving farther away while continuing to watch from a distance.
Meanwhile—
inside the ruins—
Igaram's expression grew heavier.
He knew his attacks were useless against Kairos.
But he couldn't stop.
At the very least, he had to hold Kairos here until reinforcements arrived.
His curled hair shifted again.
More gun barrels extended outward with metallic clicks.
Then—
rustle… rustle…
A familiar sound suddenly reached his ears.
Sand being kicked aside at high speed.
Igaram immediately turned toward the desert.
Two long trails of flying sand were racing toward the ruins from different directions.
Fast.
Very fast.
One came from the sky.
The other from the ground.
"Igaram! Hold on!"
A sharp cry echoed overhead.
The man dressed in white suddenly transformed mid-run.
Bird-Bird Fruit.
Falcon Form.
His body burst upward into the sky before diving toward the battlefield at terrifying speed.
Pell.
At the same time—
a dark figure shot across the desert like a black arrow.
Sand exploded behind him with every leap.
Dog-Dog Fruit.
Jackal Form.
Chaka.
The two guardian deities of Alabasta had arrived.
The surrounding residents instantly recognized them.
"It's Lord Pell!"
"And Lord Chaka too!"
Some people felt relief.
Others became even more frightened.
For all three royal protectors to gather at once—
just what kind of enemy were they facing?
One man hurriedly grabbed a telescope from nearby and looked toward the ruins.
The moment he saw the figure standing there in a black trench coat—
his face turned pale.
"K-Kairos…"
The telescope nearly slipped from his hands.
"The pirate fighting them is Kairos!"
The crowd exploded into panic.
Some immediately turned and ran.
Others backed away while trembling.
Kairos ignored all of it.
His attention rested entirely on Pell and Chaka.
"They finally made it."
A faint blood-red color slowly surfaced in his eyes.
The Assassin's mental technique quietly circulated.
Kairos pulled Mugen from the sand.
A strange darkness spread faintly around him.
Igaram immediately became alert.
Pell and Chaka were almost here.
At most—
ten seconds.
As long as he held out for ten more seconds, the three of them could fight Kairos together.
Then—
a cloud drifted across the sun.
The light dimmed slightly.
A shadow passed over the ruins.
And in that instant—
Kairos disappeared.
Igaram's pupils contracted violently.
Gone.
Completely gone.
Not even Observation Haki could catch where he moved.
Cold sweat exploded across Igaram's back.
Then—
wind.
A sharp gust suddenly appeared behind him.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
Igaram's body knew an attack was coming.
But his mind couldn't keep up.
He couldn't dodge.
Couldn't turn.
Couldn't even raise his weapon in time.
Bang!!
A heavy impact struck the back of his head.
Igaram's vision instantly turned black.
His body swayed once before collapsing face-first into the sand.
Kairos calmly withdrew Mugen.
The back of the blade—not the edge—had struck Igaram.
Otherwise, that blow would have split his skull apart.
"Igaram!!"
Two furious voices roared at the same time.
Pell descended from the sky.
Chaka burst through the ruins from the ground.
Both of them arrived simultaneously—
exactly ten seconds later.
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