Sabaody Archipelago — Lawless Zone
Not long after encountering the three Boa sisters, Ren Kuro ran straight into the Marines.
"You're… going to fight the Marines?" Hancock froze, clearly not expecting Ren Kuro to step in for them.
As for Gin Ichimaru—
she couldn't read him at all.
At first glance, he seemed like an ordinary man.
But the more she looked, the more she sensed something dangerous beneath the surface.
Like a venomous snake lying in wait—
ignore him, and you'd pay a fatal price.
"Of course," Ren Kuro said with a light smile, his expression warm and calm. "Otherwise, how am I supposed to save you?"
"But… that's a Marine Rear Admiral!" Hancock's beautiful face showed clear worry. Ren Kuro didn't look much older than her, and instinctively, she doubted he could stand against someone of that rank.
"Relax. Just stay behind me," Ren Kuro said confidently. "It's just a Rear Admiral. What's there to be afraid of?"
"…What?!"
"Did he just… look down on a Rear Admiral?"
"Who is this guy? Has he lost his mind?!"
The three sisters stared at him in disbelief. He looked far too young to speak like that.
At that moment—
under Rear Admiral Megan's command, a large group of Marines rushed in and quickly surrounded the area.
"Report! Rear Admiral Megan—those three girls are escaped slaves from Mary Geoise!"
One of the Captains immediately identified them.
"Excellent. We've finally found you." Megan grinned, a cigar hanging from his lips.
In his eyes, there was only absolute justice.
And capturing criminals—
was the purest way to uphold it.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken," Ren Kuro said as he stepped forward alone, facing the entire Marine force. "They're not slaves."
"And you are?" Megan narrowed his eyes.
"If you intend to take them away…" Ren Kuro's expression turned cold. "Then I suggest you leave."
A warning.
And a final courtesy.
"Leave?" Megan sneered. "Interesting."
Pirates ran from Marines.
They didn't challenge them.
And anyone who did—
was simply asking to die.
With a flick of his hand, Megan gave the order.
Click—
Every soldier raised their rifles at once. Cannons were turned toward Ren Kuro in perfect unison.
One wrong move—
and they would fire without hesitation.
"Take one more step," Megan warned coldly, "and that will be considered an act of hostility against the Marines."
"Oh my…" Gin Ichimaru's lazy voice drifted in. "If you're going to open fire on Ren Kuro, I can't just stand by."
Having already faced Rayleigh, Gin had grown even more fearless.
To him—
these Marines were nothing.
The next instant—
his spiritual pressure exploded outward without restraint.
Like a deep-sea tsunami, it swept across everything.
Reiatsu filled every inch of space.
The air trembled violently, as if it could no longer withstand the pressure.
So dense was the spiritual energy—
it began to take on a visible form, like a vast ocean of power.
It felt as if a torrential rain of energy had fallen from the sky.
Countless droplets of pressure crashed down upon the earth.
"W-What is this…?!"
Megan's face twisted in shock.
It felt like he had been thrown into a solid ocean.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't breathe.
Even his blood felt like it had stopped flowing.
"Damn it… I've lost control of my body!"
His face flushed red as panic surged within him.
If not for sheer willpower—
he would have collapsed already.
"This is insane—what kind of power is this?!"
"Even Conqueror's Haki couldn't be this terrifying!"
"I… I can't breathe—someone help me!"
—
The Marines' eyes rolled back.
They stood frozen in place, like statues.
They couldn't even breathe.
Crack—
Under the crushing pressure, the rifles in their hands shattered.
It was as if a mountain had descended upon them, crushing their very spines.
"…Hm?"
Gin tilted his head slightly, still smiling.
"They've already collapsed? How disappointing. That wasn't even interesting."
That gentle smile—
to Megan—
looked like something straight out of a nightmare.
Even a Marine Rear Admiral—
was nothing more than an ant before a captain of the Gotei Thirteen.
From the very beginning—
they had never been on the same level.
In the blink of an eye, every Marine soldier except Megan lost consciousness.
The crisis—
was resolved effortlessly.
Megan collapsed to the ground, gasping weakly, barely clinging to life. The pressure still suffocated him, and even the Den Den Mushi slipped from his grasp.
"I gave you a chance," Ren Kuro said as he walked up to him, eyes cold as ice. "You just failed to take it."
He wasn't a kind man.
Three months ago, he had already killed Vice Admiral Onigumo.
From that moment on—
he had chosen to stand against the Marines.
And now—
he wouldn't spare Megan either.
Before Megan could even speak—
a chant flowed from Ren Kuro's lips.
"Scattered bones of beasts…
Spire… red crystal… steel wheels…
Movement is wind… stillness is void…
The sound of lances clashing fills the empty castle…"
"Hadō #63—"
"Raikōhō!"
Ren Kuro brought his hands together.
Violent spiritual power surged from his palms—
condensing into a blazing storm of lightning that exploded outward.
In just a few seconds—
the roaring thunder swallowed Megan whole.