Chapter 129: The Law of Reassurance
Seeing Sentomaru's sorry state, Kizaru could not help but sigh.
"I told you not to be careless, Sentomaru. With your ability, you wouldn't have ended up like this otherwise."
"I'm not in a sorry state!"
Sentomaru immediately snapped back, his voice full of stubborn pride.
"These are just scratches. I took them on purpose."
His body was covered in cuts, and blood had already begun staining the bandages the Marines were rushing to wrap around him. No matter how he tried to act tough, the injuries were not as light as he claimed.
Then his eyes shifted toward Kizaru.
"But what about you, Old Man? Are you really all right?"
Sentomaru was not stupid.
Kizaru looked as lazy and unbothered as ever, but he was clearly putting on a show. That blow from behind had not been light. Even if he had escaped by turning into light at the last moment, he could not have come out completely unharmed.
Long ago, Zephyr had once said something to him.
"Borsalino, you rely too much on your ability. One day, that habit will hurt you."
Those words indirectly pointed out Kizaru's weakness.
Against ordinary enemies, the Glint-Glint Fruit made him almost untouchable. His speed was unmatched, and his Devil Fruit development was second to none.
But in battles against opponents of similar strength, relying too much on the advantage of his ability meant his physical body had fewer chances to be tempered.
And the moment Kizaru chose to turn his back and take Issho's strike in order to save Sentomaru, he gave up the greatest advantage of his Devil Fruit.
His speed.
No matter how fast light was, a body that had to take a hit directly was still a body.
Kizaru did not answer Sentomaru's question.
Instead, he spoke in his usual drawn-out tone, as if nothing had happened at all.
"Oooh… this is troublesome. Everyone here is a monster. How scary."
Sentomaru said nothing more.
The wounds on his body were shallow, but there were too many of them. If left untreated, the blood loss alone would become dangerous. He tensed his muscles slightly, using his control over his body to slow the bleeding while the nearby Marines hurried forward with emergency medical kits and began bandaging him.
Issho did not stop them.
He stood beside Axel instead, shielding him from any sudden attack.
"Are you all right?" Issho asked.
"I'm fine," Axel replied, though his face was pale. "I'll treat myself first."
Issho understood what he meant.
Axel's "treatment" referred to using his ability to stabilize the injuries inside his body. When Issho first learned that Axel could do something like that, even he had been surprised.
Axel did not waste time.
Two of his ribs had broken, and one seemed to have pierced into his lung. His chest felt tight. Each breath came fast and shallow, dragging pain through his body. The lack of oxygen, combined with the injury and exhaustion, made his limbs feel weak.
If he had not already experienced oxygen deprivation during Zephyr's training, he might have fainted on the spot.
He forced his mind to focus.
First, he used his ability to adjust the broken ribs, guiding them back toward their original position and locking them there as best he could.
Then he gathered the stagnant blood inside his chest.
"Cough… cough!"
Axel bent forward and spat out a clump of dark red blood.
It splattered against the ground.
The internal injury was temporarily stabilized.
But stabilized did not mean healed.
Putting the bones back in place would not change the fact that they were broken. His body still needed time.
On the other side, Sentomaru had just finished being bandaged and was in no condition to continue fighting either.
The two of them seemed to reach a silent agreement.
They remained where they were, resting while waiting for their bodies to recover enough for the next round.
Kizaru and Issho, however, moved at almost the same time.
Both took a step forward.
The battle began again.
This time, Kizaru deliberately avoided direct clashes.
Instead of continuing their sword fight, he switched to mobile shooting. Beams of golden light shot from his fingers and body, slicing through the battlefield at terrifying speed. It was obvious he was trying to avoid another violent collision with Issho's blade.
The light beams tore toward Issho faster than sound.
An ordinary person would have been pierced before they even realized they were under attack.
Issho, however, dodged with calm precision.
His blindness did not make him slow. He moved as if he had already known where each beam would pass before it arrived. When the attacks became too dense to avoid, he carved open a path with his sword. When that was not enough, gravity bent the battlefield itself, resisting the beams and throwing their paths off course.
Compared to the earlier sword exchange, this battle placed far less pressure on Issho.
It suited his purpose.
Delay.
Buy time.
From the moment they left until now, only a little over an hour had passed.
That was not enough time for Hawkins and the rescued people to sail far. Issho needed to keep the Marines' attention here, drawing their eyes away from the ship so it would not be noticed.
For Kizaru and Issho, the pressure of battle had lessened.
For the Marines nearby, it was the opposite.
Compared to the previous blade duel, Kizaru's Devil Fruit attacks made the battlefield look far more terrifying. Golden beams streaked across the air. Gravity crushed the ground. Sword auras split apart the light. The Marines did not dare approach and could only retreat again and again.
Of course, some still thought about using the chance to ambush Axel.
Those people collapsed the moment they attacked.
Axel did not even look at them.
Foolish.
His reflexive defense was a subconscious calculation that activated automatically. It would function even when he was asleep or unconscious, let alone when he was merely injured.
While Issho and Kizaru were locked in fierce combat, a tall and beautiful figure suddenly stepped into the battlefield.
A famous blade, Konpira, flashed from its sheath.
Clang!
She blocked Issho's sword.
Then, with one casual swing, she released a massive sword aura that forced Issho back.
Axel broke out in a cold sweat the moment he saw her.
Vice Admiral Momousagi.
The woman who had once taught him the Resting Sword Technique.
Under normal circumstances, seeing her would have delighted him.
But in this situation?
Just imagining what might happen sent a chill through Axel's spine.
The Marines' morale surged the moment she appeared.
"It's Vice Admiral Momousagi!"
"I never thought I'd get to see her in person!"
Momousagi's reputation in the Marines was no small thing.
She was one of the very few female Vice Admirals whose strength and charm were both widely acknowledged. Vice Admiral Tsuru had once held a similar position in people's hearts, but time had left her with only stern dignity.
Momousagi, however, was different.
Her appearance alone seemed to calm the Marines.
Kizaru let out a quiet breath of relief inwardly.
Outwardly, he was still the same infuriating man.
"Oooh… Vice Admiral Momousagi. What brings you here?"
"Vice Admiral Tokikake went to the World Government to handle some formalities," Momousagi said. "I was waiting on Grove 35. I noticed the disturbance and came to see what was happening."
Then her gaze shifted.
It landed on Axel.
And stayed there.
It was not gentle.
It was the kind of gaze that could cut a man open without a blade.
Axel could feel the deep malice pouring from it.
Fortunately, Momousagi had her back to Kizaru, so he could not see her expression. Otherwise, he would never have said what he said next.
"Vice Admiral Momousagi, I'll handle this man," Kizaru said. "You arrest that brat. I barely managed to injure him—"
He did not finish.
Because Momousagi moved.
Bang!
Her Haki-coated kick landed directly on Kizaru and sent him flying.
The entire battlefield froze.
Kizaru flew a short distance before turning into light midair, reforming, and landing steadily on the ground. He looked at Momousagi with genuine confusion.
He clearly did not understand why she had kicked him.
Sentomaru reacted first.
"You bastard!" he shouted, furious. "What are you doing, attacking your own ally?!"
Momousagi turned her gaze toward him.
For a moment, Sentomaru went quiet.
Then she spoke, her voice firm and domineering.
"That brat is one of ours."
She paused.
"He is a Marine."
A Marine?
One of ours?
Are you kidding?
That thought appeared in Sentomaru's mind and in the minds of nearly every Marine present.
Did she even know that most of the injured Marines lying around had been beaten down by this so-called "one of ours"?
Ignoring Sentomaru, who looked as if his worldview was about to collapse, Momousagi walked toward Axel.
She stopped in front of him.
Then she looked down at his pale face and bloodstained mouth.
"Vice Admiral Tokikake told me his friend Issho was a man overflowing with justice," she said. "He told me I could feel reassured leaving you with him."
Her tone became colder.
"So this is what reassurance looks like?"
.....
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