"Geppo!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Akainu kicked off the air repeatedly, rushing toward Ryūjin at high speed.
In an instant, he closed the distance and appeared directly in front of him.
"Rankyaku!"
Akainu unleashed a fierce kick toward Ryūjin.
Before he could even get close, however, a thick wooden branch erupted from the ground and slammed into him with overwhelming force.
Bang!
"Ugh!"
Akainu spat out a mouthful of blood.
Even with the physique of a Marine Admiral, he could not withstand a Wood Release attack empowered by Ryūjin's Six Paths chakra.
His body flew through the air like a broken projectile.
Bang!
He crashed heavily onto the ground, landing like a discarded corpse.
Every bone in his body felt shattered.
When Akainu finally forced himself back to his feet, his expression darkened instantly.
Ryūjin had already walked over to Kizaru.
Placing one hand on him, a sealing pattern spread outward.
The next second, Kizaru's Devil Fruit power disappeared completely.
"Nani?!"
Kizaru's eyes widened.
"I can't use my ability!"
At that moment, realization hit him.
He finally understood why Aokiji, despite not being restrained with Seastone or suffering severe injuries, had willingly remained by Demonic Eye Ryūjin's side.
His Devil Fruit ability must have been sealed too.
Just like now.
Kizaru subconsciously stared at Ryūjin, shock filling his face.
The bizarre abilities from before were already difficult enough to deal with.
Reality shifting.
Space manipulation.
Wood Release.
The Rinnegan.
But sealing Devil Fruit abilities entirely?
That crossed into a completely different level of terrifying.
Anyone facing an enemy like this would struggle to sleep peacefully.
"Done."
Ryūjin clapped his hands casually, looking as if he had just finished some meaningless task.
"One Admiral equals ten Devil Fruits."
He glanced lazily toward the three Admirals.
"Three Admirals means thirty Devil Fruits."
After a short pause, his expression turned slightly colder.
"Then again, the Marines broke their word last time."
He shrugged.
"So add ten more."
"That makes forty Devil Fruits."
Ryūjin looked satisfied with the calculation.
"Not bad. The three Marine Admirals are at least worth something."
Aokiji and Kizaru's faces darkened immediately.
Could this guy at least pretend to be subtle?
"Demonic Eye Ryūjin!"
Akainu's face twisted with fury.
"Are you openly provoking the Marines?! If you've got the guts, kill me!"
His killing intent surged violently.
"The Marines will never bow to someone like you!"
Ryūjin looked at him like he had just heard something ridiculous.
"Kill you?"
He scoffed.
"If I kill you, I lose ten Devil Fruits."
Then he shrugged casually.
"If you're that eager, do it yourself."
"You bastard!"
Akainu nearly exploded from rage.
"Even if I die, I'll never submit to trash like you!"
With a furious roar, he launched himself toward Ryūjin again using the Six Powers.
Ryūjin snorted.
The next moment, he moved.
Using pure taijutsu backed by Six Paths-level strength, he crushed Akainu effortlessly.
Punch after punch.
Strike after strike.
Akainu was beaten into a miserable state.
Blood covered his body.
His uniform was ruined.
Yet he still kept getting back up.
Still roaring.
Still charging.
Still refusing to stay down.
Until finally, Ryūjin knocked him unconscious.
Looking at the unconscious Akainu, Ryūjin clicked his tongue.
"You really brought this on yourself."
Still, he respected one thing.
Compared to Aokiji and Kizaru, Akainu's sense of justice was absolute.
Extreme and ruthless, sure.
But from the Marines' perspective?
He was far more dependable.
After a brief pause, Ryūjin activated Kamui.
A spatial distortion twisted around Akainu before swallowing him whole.
He vanished into the Kamui dimension.
Ryūjin trusted Aokiji and Kizaru enough to leave them on the ship.
Akainu?
Not a chance.
That stubborn bastard would absolutely try something reckless later.
Possibly even target Nami or Robin to gain leverage.
Ryūjin wasn't interested in dealing with that nonsense.
"Demonic Eye Ryūjin."
Kizaru returned to his usual lazy expression.
"If this is your goal, I'd advise giving up."
"The Marines don't negotiate under threats."
"Hard to say."
Ryūjin took a sip of his drink.
"Without the three of you, can the Marines still keep this sea under control?"
The three Admirals were the Marines' strongest active combat force.
Their greatest military deterrent.
Sure, Sengoku was powerful.
But as Fleet Admiral, he couldn't exactly move around freely.
As for Garp?
That old man had mentally retired ages ago.
Most of the time, he was just messing around.
If all three Admirals disappeared at once, it would be a devastating blow to Marine Headquarters.
Forty Devil Fruits sounded expensive.
But compared to losing all three Admirals?
The choice wasn't difficult.
"Alright."
Ryūjin stood up.
"We're done fighting."
He pointed casually at Aokiji and Kizaru.
"I only sealed your Devil Fruits. That's me being generous."
"But if either of you starts acting stupid, don't blame me for getting unpleasant."
His tone remained relaxed.
The meaning behind it, however, was obvious.
Neither Admiral replied.
They weren't idiots.
Even with their Devil Fruit abilities, they stood no chance.
Without them?
Trying anything would only humiliate themselves further.
This was precisely why Ryūjin didn't bother restraining them more heavily.
His strength made caution unnecessary.
Besides, after watching the world long enough, Ryūjin understood their personalities.
Kizaru was lazy.
Aokiji hated pointless trouble.
Neither was suicidal enough to test him.
"Get on the ship."
Ryūjin waved lazily.
"We're leaving."
He flew onto the pirate ship first.
Aokiji and Kizaru followed without resistance.
"Admiral Kizaru!"
Nami greeted him with visible curiosity.
"My name is Nami. I'm the navigator on Ryūjin-san's ship. Please take care of me."
Compared to Aokiji's arrival, she seemed much more relaxed now.
Kizaru scratched his cheek helplessly.
"Little girl, I think we'll be the ones under your care from now on."
Robin simply smiled quietly from the side.
Soon after, Ryūjin ordered the ship to leave Sky Island.
Sitting casually on the deck with a drink Nami had prepared, Ryūjin looked toward Kizaru.
"Admiral Kizaru."
He leaned back comfortably.
"Call Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
Kizaru sighed but didn't argue.
After all, something this massive couldn't stay hidden.
Taking out a Den Den Mushi, he dialed.
After a short moment, the line connected.
"This is Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"Kizaru here," Kizaru said.
"What's the situation?"
Before Kizaru could continue, another voice cut in.
"Alright, Kizaru. That's enough."
Ryūjin casually grabbed the Den Den Mushi.
"Let me talk."
Marine Headquarters.
Fleet Admiral's Office.
The moment Sengoku heard Ryūjin's voice, his expression changed drastically.
A bad feeling settled immediately.
Could even Kizaru and Akainu together not stop him?
Had Demonic Eye Ryūjin really reached that level?
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
Ryūjin's lazy voice echoed through the Den Den Mushi.
"Long time no see."
"What's wrong? You don't sound happy hearing from an old friend."
"You are not my friend, Demonic Eye Ryūjin."
Sengoku's tone became heavy.
"What did you do to Kizaru and Akainu?"
"Relax."
Ryūjin sounded almost amused.
"They're alive."
"They're just my prisoners now."
Crack.
Sengoku's fist clenched tightly.
Three Admirals captured.
This was humiliation on a historic scale.
"Same rules as before."
Ryūjin continued casually.
"Ten Devil Fruits per Admiral."
"Plus another ten because you idiots broke the agreement last time."
"So."
"You owe me forty Devil Fruits."
His voice lowered slightly.
"And Sengoku, I'm not exactly known for patience."
"If you try any clever nonsense again..."
The air around Sengoku seemed to freeze.
"The three Admirals won't be coming back."
"And I'll personally erase Marineford."
"I'll wipe Marine Headquarters off the map."
Bang!
Sengoku slammed his fist onto the desk.
His expression turned ugly.
The previous threat had at least carried some restraint.
This time?
Ryūjin wasn't hiding anything.
It was direct.
Overbearing.
A complete disregard for Marine authority.
But with three Admirals in enemy hands, Sengoku had no room to explode.
He had to stabilize the situation.
"Demonic Eye Ryūjin."
Sengoku gritted his teeth.
"What do you think the Marines are?"
"We don't have forty Devil Fruits lying around!"
"That's impossible."
"Impossible?"
Ryūjin laughed.
"Vegapunk's artificial Devil Fruit research says otherwise."
"You think I don't know where those test fruits come from?"
"And CP0 to CP9?"
"You really want to pretend the Marines don't hand Devil Fruits out?"
Sengoku fell silent.
The accuracy of Ryūjin's intelligence genuinely shocked him.
Even Vegapunk's classified research had been exposed.
"Our reserves exist," Sengoku admitted reluctantly.
"But those are strategic resources."
"Even I can't access them freely."
"Not my problem."
Ryūjin shrugged.
"You've got two months."
"Forty Devil Fruits."
"People for payment."
"And if you screw around again…"
His voice turned cold.
"You'll lose your Admirals permanently."
Click.
The call ended.
Kizaru sighed deeply.
"Forty Devil Fruits, Demonic Eye Ryūjin."
"Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku can't gather that easily."
"The Marines won't compromise."
"You're expecting too much."
Ryūjin smirked.
"If that's true, then the three of you better get comfortable."
"Because you're never going back."
After ending the call, Sengoku sat in silence for several moments.
Then he picked up another Den Den Mushi.
"This is Kong."
"Commander-in-Chief," Sengoku said immediately, "this is Sengoku."
The situation had escalated beyond him.
Three Admirals captured.
This was no longer something a Fleet Admiral could handle alone.
"I need to report something important."
"Face to face."
Kong immediately understood the severity.
"Come."
Holy Land, Mariejois.
Commander-in-Chief's Office.
Sengoku sat across from Kong, his expression grave.
"Commander-in-Chief," he began, "you know of Demonic Eye Ryūjin, correct?"
"The man who defeated several Warlords and captured an Admiral?"
Kong nodded.
"Of course."
Then his expression shifted.
"This is about him?"
Sengoku hesitated briefly.
"After Aokiji was captured, I sent Akainu and Kizaru together."
His jaw tightened.
"I underestimated Ryūjin's strength."
Kong's face darkened immediately.
"You mean…"
"All three Admirals are now in Ryūjin's hands?"
Even he found it difficult to believe.
"That monster…"
"Is he really that strong?"
Without a word, Sengoku handed over Ryūjin's intelligence file.
Kong read silently.
Swordsmanship.
Space manipulation.
Lightning control.
Wood Release.
Flight.
Reality-shifting abilities.
And countless unknown powers.
The deeper he read, the worse his expression became.
"What kind of monster…"
"No," Kong muttered.
"Is he a god??"