At the end of the day, this whole incident was a real headache.
Because of Cain's relationship with Ace, he couldn't simply be thrown into Impel Down like any ordinary pirate.
But handing him over to the Celestial Dragons would very likely create trouble for Vegapunk as well.
It was a genuine dilemma.
"You really are giving me a headache here," Kizaru said, even as his attack was already closing in.
Light flared around his leg as he drove a kick straight at Cain.
Cain raised a leg to meet it.
Their kicks collided, and Kizaru was forced back several steps, thin cracks spreading beneath his feet.
"With strength like yours, you really are frightening. I imagine beating me wouldn't be hard at all for you, right?"
"Ama no Murakumo Sword!"
Kizaru raised a hand and condensed a dazzling blade of light. Then he swung it horizontally at Cain, aiming straight for his face.
Cain tightened his grip on his staff and met the strike head-on.
Staff and sword clashed, and the ringing sound of metal on metal exploded through the air, scattering the surrounding currents.
Cain deliberately held back a little, letting his body sway as though he were at a disadvantage.
"Not at all! I'm just a small-time pirate. I can't compare to a Marine Admiral like you. Though your condition really doesn't look great. What, been working overtime lately?"
Kizaru didn't slow down at all.
His blade flashed again and again, countless slashes lashing out toward Cain's vital points at terrifying speed.
Cain swung his staff, intercepting every attack one by one.
The staff's afterimages formed an airtight wall, steadily blocking Kizaru's relentless assault.
He only intentionally let one tiny opening slip through. One arc of light grazed his body, not injuring him at all, only burning a slit through his clothing.
Seeing that Cain still had the leisure to chat, Kizaru kept attacking and answered,
"Quite a lot, actually. After all, every Marine across the sea has been mobilized. You probably know why, don't you?"
As the words fell, Kizaru leapt into the air, widening the distance between them.
Crossing his arms, he instantly formed countless dense particles of light around himself, the glow so blinding it blanketed the sky.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
The barrage of light rained down on Cain like a meteor shower.
One blast after another detonated across the ground, smoke and dust surging upward in an instant until Cain's figure vanished completely within it.
Then, through the smoke, Cain burst out at incredible speed and appeared behind Kizaru in the blink of an eye.
His staff was already loaded with power as he brought it crashing down.
Kizaru reacted at once, his body scattering into light particles before re-forming behind Cain the next second.
He raised one glowing finger like a pistol and aimed it at Cain's back.
"Don't move…"
Before he could even finish speaking, Kizaru's pupils shrank.
What he had just targeted was only an afterimage.
The real Cain had already circled to his side, and his staff came down with crushing force, blasting Kizaru apart into a spray of light once again.
Cain lowered his weapon and frowned inwardly.
He had already been sandbagging this much, weakening himself at every turn.
Was Kizaru holding back too?
Cain couldn't help grumbling to himself.
He was cooperating this much—couldn't Kizaru at least act the part properly?
Just hit him seriously, wound him a little, let him fall here dramatically, and then haul him off to Impel Down!
That way, Kizaru could give the Celestial Dragons an explanation, fulfill an Admiral's duty, and punch the clock like usual.
The headache would land squarely on Fleet Admiral Sengoku's desk, which had nothing to do with Kizaru.
So why was he being this uncooperative now?
The light particles gathered again, and Kizaru reappeared.
He rubbed the back of his neck and let out a long sigh.
"Hah… I really should've taken leave instead of coming. This is the most troublesome assignment imaginable."
He knew Cain's real circumstances.
If this had been Akainu or Aokiji, then faced with someone who had attacked a Celestial Dragon, they would have killed him on the spot without hesitation.
But Kizaru couldn't do that.
Cain's secret identity was a Marine secret, and protecting the Celestial Dragons was also part of an Admiral's duty.
Neither side of that equation could be ignored, and that left him trapped in a bind.
Just then, commotion suddenly erupted from the direction Luffy and the others had fled.
Shouting and crashing sounds broke the stalemate.
Cain and Kizaru both turned to look.
Bartholomew Kuma, one of the Seven Warlords, had appeared in front of Luffy's group at some point, blocking their path outright.
Luffy and the others were shocked and immediately took battle stances, but before they could even move, Kuma raised a hand and slapped Zoro away.
Zoro didn't get the slightest chance to resist.
In front of everyone's eyes, he turned into a streak and vanished.
Then Kuma moved again, striking one Straw Hat after another.
Usopp. Sanji. Nami. Chopper. Robin. Franky. Brook.
One by one, under Luffy's horrified gaze, they disappeared without the slightest ability to resist, not even able to say goodbye.
Kizaru frowned.
Even though he and Kuma were privately close, in public he still had to maintain the stance of a Marine Admiral.
So he coldly demanded to know what exactly this Warlord thought he was doing.
At his side was Sentomaru, the most tight-lipped man in the world, who was every bit as "tight-lipped" about his connection to Kuma as one could expect.
He blurted out directly, "Kuma, what the hell are you doing?!"
Faced with Kizaru and Sentomaru's questioning, Kuma's face remained expressionless.
His voice was distant and indifferent, maintaining the proper line between a Warlord and the Marines.
"As long as it isn't something the World Government has specifically ordered, we are under no obligation to coexist peacefully with the Marines. My actions require no explanation to you."
"Damn it!!"
Luffy could only watch helplessly as his crew was sent flying one after another, to places unknown, with no idea whether they were even safe.
The feeling of helplessness and despair spread through him in an instant.
He stood there all alone, trembling.
Soon, Kuma turned and slowly walked toward him, raising a hand to strike.
This time, at last, it was Luffy's turn.
Cain was still keeping Kizaru occupied from the side, but his eyes never left Luffy.
He watched quietly as Kuma slapped Luffy away and Luffy's body vanished into the sky.
Cain's heart ached at the sight, and his nose stung faintly.
But when he thought about it again, this really was for his foolish little brother's own good.
Only by going through this tempering could they truly grow.
Only then could they stand on this brutal sea.
'So, Luffy, just go in peace.'
'The road ahead is dangerous, but there will be a reunion someday.'
'Go on, Luffy. Bring your future wife back with you.'
"Honestly, every last one of them got blasted away. Now this is just going to make things even more troublesome."
Kizaru pressed a hand to his forehead and immediately eased off his attack, breaking away from the fight with Cain.
At this point, everyone left here was basically an acquaintance.
Continuing to fight would only stir up more unnecessary trouble.
The Straw Hats had all been sent flying, and Cain couldn't be casually arrested.
Kizaru quickly weighed the problem in his head.
What mattered most now was finding a way to satisfy the Celestial Dragons and give the World Government an explanation—without actually arresting Cain.
But Cain was standing right in front of him.
As a Marine Admiral, he couldn't just ignore the main culprit who had assaulted a Celestial Dragon.
That left him in an impossible position.
"How exactly am I supposed to explain this to those people, Cain?" Kizaru asked helplessly, genuine worry on his face.
"So that's what I'm saying! You can just take me down right here and lock me up in Impel Down. Then you get the credit, and the Celestial Dragons get their explanation too. Everybody wins."
Cain immediately stepped forward and volunteered himself with an eager face, clearly desperate for Kizaru to just do it already.
Kizaru looked at him like that, yet still only shook his head and didn't move.
At that moment, after finishing with Luffy, Kuma slowly walked up behind Cain.
His aura was perfectly steady, betraying nothing at all.
Thanks to Observation Haki, Cain had already seen Kuma's next move.
He had even heard the words Kuma was about to say.
His heart instantly sank.
'Oh no.'
Sure enough, Kuma stopped, then spoke in a clear voice that carried right to Cain's ears.
"If you could take a trip, where would you like to go… Pirate 'Pink Cain'?"
"Hey, hey, hey, don't pull that on a friend! And stop saying that embarrassing title out loud! Can't the Marines change it already?!"
Cain's scalp prickled.
He immediately twisted aside to avoid Kuma's incoming palm and shouted in total refusal.
Hearing that nickname spoken aloud by someone else was pure humiliation!
Kizaru, seeing that, couldn't help but laugh.
"Even though I already knew the Fleet Admiral and the others gave you that title, hearing someone seriously say it out loud for the first time really is funny!"
As the words fell, Kizaru raised a hand again, light gathering for another attack.
This time, he had no intention of holding back.
By now Kizaru had already made up his mind.
The simplest solution was just to have Kuma send Cain flying too.
The situation was already a complete mess, so he might as well let the ringleader disappear along with the rest.
That way, even if the Celestial Dragons were still dissatisfied, the main culprit would be gone and the Straw Hats effectively destroyed, which counted as an explanation.
As for the rest of the troublesome aftermath, the higher-ups could sort it out.
At worst, he'd put in some overtime and arrest a few hundred pirates to pad the report.
"Hey, hey, hey, are you serious? You too now?"
Seeing Kizaru suddenly come at him, Cain hurriedly retreated, dodging Kizaru's attacks while also having to guard against Kuma behind him.
He was suddenly caught in a two-sided pincer!