On the distant dock, Vice Admiral Momonga, Kizaru's most loyal subordinate, stared intently at the yellow flash darting through Water 7.
Holding his breath, he watched as Kizaru fell behind Tanuki, unable to believe that Admiral Kizaru, who had eaten the Flash Fruit, could be outmatched in speed by a mere pirate!
Admiral Kizaru, you have to do it! You're the fastest speedster on the seas—how could you possibly be left behind by a mere pirate?
Yet no matter how much Vice Admiral Momonga cheered for Kizaru, Kizaru remained one step behind Tanuki.
Although Kizaru's speed was unbelievably fast, even difficult for his Observation Haki to track, it still fell slightly short against spatial teleportation.
Slow was slow, and that tiny delay was enough for Ivan to easily kill the corrupt officials.
In fact, it wasn't just Vice Admiral Momonga; other Marines also clenched their fists, loudly cheering Kizaru on.
"Admiral Kizaru, you can do it!"
"You're the fastest man on the seas—catch him!"
"Justice will prevail!"
However, their cheers had no effect. The gap remained, and as Ivan gradually grew more proficient with the Flying Thunder God Technique, his speed increased slightly, widening the distance between the two even further.
At some point, the Marines fell silent, watching the ruined Water 7 in despair.
Could it be that the situation was already beyond saving?
This time, with one admiral and two vice admirals deployed, they still couldn't capture Tanuki. This dealt an extremely heavy blow to the Marines!
But suddenly, beams of light flew in from the horizon, forming Kizaru's figure. The moment he appeared, his previously lazy demeanor was gone:
"Quickly, find all locations in Water 7 marked with the letters 'Shadow Garden' and destroy them! Tanuki relies on these marks to teleport!"
With that, Kizaru turned into light again, chasing after Ivan.
After Kizaru left, Vice Admiral Momonga clapped his hands. "So that's how it is! Quickly gather all forces and destroy all the Night Garden letters in Water 7!"
"Yes, sir!"
All the Marines responded excitedly, quickly dispersing to every corner of Water 7 to try and destroy Ivan's Flying Thunder God Marks.
Soon, the Marines discovered that Ivan's marks were all on small knives, which made their work more efficient.
But just as they had successfully destroyed a small portion of the knives, they immediately encountered resistance.
To their surprise, the resistance came from the citizens of Water 7!
Groups of Marines were surrounded by the citizens, who prevented them from continuing to destroy the Flying Thunder God Marks.
The Marines grew frantic and questioned them in confusion, "What are you doing? We're the Marines, capturing a pirate!"
Their question was like lighting a fuse, causing the residents to erupt.
The residents took out prepared eggs and vegetable leaves, throwing them at the Marines while shouting their own questions.
"Lord Tanuki is saving Water 7! He's only killing the wicked!"
"Exactly! Where were you Marines when those corrupt officials were bullying us? Now that Tanuki-sama is about to kill those pests, you finally show up!"
"That's right! If you're not the bad guys, then what are you? Damn Marines, damn justice!"
This left many Marines flushed with shame, unable to face the residents.
Finally, a little girl broke free from the adults trying to hold her back and rushed forward. Her words completely crushed the Marines:
"You're bad! Tanuki-sama is good! I hate you!"
Children speak without filter, yet their words are sincere. The little girl's statement was like coating a dagger with poison and stabbing it into the chest of every Marine.
Now, their faces turned deathly pale, completely losing their fighting spirit.
Where the people's hearts lie, justice lies!
Now, Tanuki was justice!
At the last gang hideout, a scorching Heat Vision swept through, cutting dozens of gang members in half at the waist. Ivan finally stopped, sitting on a table and panting heavily.
In just over ten minutes, he had pushed himself to the limit.
Whether it was using Flying Thunder God to evade Kizaru's attacks or excising the rotten 'flesh,' it had drained an immense amount of his energy.
At this moment, he was truly spent.
But the result was good—he had achieved an unprecedented feat: precisely killing hundreds of people right under an Admiral's nose!
Whoosh!
Light coalesced in front of Ivan, forming Kizaru's figure. His lecherous face was somewhat gloomy, his tone heavy and filled with reproach:
"Young man, you've really given me a tough problem. Fleet Admiral Sengoku won't let me off easily now.
But, young man, having expended so much stamina, you shouldn't be able to escape anymore.
After all, as far as I know, that awakened Space Fruit Ability User in the Night Garden can't let you teleport for extended periods."
Ivan's expression shifted slightly. From Kizaru's words, it seemed the Marines attributed both Flying Thunder God and teleportation skills to an awakened Space Fruit Ability User.
He didn't refute it, merely sneering, "Admiral Kizaru, Fox and I are not the same. Flying Thunder God has no distance limit."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kizaru's expression changed drastically, and he kicked toward Ivan at lightning speed.
But before the beam could reach him, Ivan's figure vanished from the spot, leaving Kizaru alone, staring blankly at where Ivan had been, lost in thought for a long while.
...
The events at Water 7 quickly spread across the seas. The next day, the World News Agency reported the entire incident, even including photos of Tanuki battling Kizaru in the newspaper.
Upon learning of this, everyone's first reaction was disbelief.
After all, Kizaru, with his light speed, had been the fastest man on the seas for decades. How could someone now, while being pursued by Kizaru, precisely kill hundreds of people?
How was that possible?
However, no matter how much people refused to believe it, this was the truth. The substantial increase in Tanuki's bounty especially confirmed it.
After this battle, Tanuki's bounty directly rose to 390 million Berries. Although not as high as Fox's 500 million Berries, such a rapid increase was unheard of!
People wondered what kind of Devil Fruit Ability User Tanuki was to possess speed surpassing Kizaru's.
Then, a rumor began to spread: within the Shadow Garden, there was an awakened Space Devil Fruit user who could grant others the ability to teleport instantly.
Fox used this ability to assassinate a Celestial Dragon, and Tanuki used it to purge the upper echelons of Water 7.
Aside from this Space Fruit ability user, the abilities of Fox and Tanuki are equally astonishing.
Fox's Devil Fruit ability is suspected to be the Natural Element: Earth Earth Fruit, while Tanuki's power is even more mysterious—able to fire lasers from its eyes and possessing an incredibly robust physique, suggesting it is also some kind of unknown and mysterious Devil Fruit.
After this news spread, the World Government grew even more wary of Shadow Garden. The task of tracking down Shadow Garden's whereabouts has now been elevated to a core mission for both Cipher Pol and the Marines!
Even discussions about Shadow Garden have reached the highest echelons of power within the World Government—the Gorosei's conference!
...
At the World Government headquarters in Mary Geoise, within the highest authority conference room near the Flower Room, the Gorosei are embroiled in a dispute over the issue of Shadow Garden!
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