In the sky.
Golden light flashed, and Kizaru materialized.
He looked at Kong Tai, his chin tilted forward, and muttered, "That was close! I almost got buried in there."
As he spoke, he looked down at the collapsing mine, revealing a network of tunnels like an ant colony, and pondered.
"Is this the target for today?"
"It truly cannot be known to the outside world!"
From these mines, he could even see countless skeletons in pits specifically used for disposing of bodies. He reckoned that the number of people who had died in these mines over the decades must be considerable!
"Don't kid me, alright!"
Kong Tai retracted his gaze from below and turned to Kizaru, "You old man, you're truly terrifyingly strong!"
After a night of fighting, other than the initial "Tsurugi Gaeshi" that left three shallow wounds on him.
This guy was completely unharmed.
Although Kizaru couldn't defeat him, he also couldn't defeat Kizaru.
Teleportation might seem invincible, but to wound someone, the moment you teleport, you have to swing your sword, right?
For strong individuals with potent Kenbunshoku Haki and rich combat experience, this instant was enough for them to react.
His spatial domain currently couldn't restrict such powerful individuals.
And his devil fruit's development was indeed at an extremely high level. Even if he entangled his Ryuo-infused blade and struck the guy, it wouldn't inflict much damage.
To decide the outcome against these top-tier Logia users, one could only wear them down, wear them down until their stamina decreased, and until they could no longer maintain elementalization. Otherwise, it would be truly difficult to win.
On the sea outside the small island, ten warships were anchored.
These warships had long since moved away from the shallow waters due to the wind pressure from Kong Tai and Kizaru's battle.
And outside the infirmary of one of these warships, officers from all ten ships stood uniformly in the corridor, their gazes fixed on the infirmary door, their expressions unusually grave.
Although the doctors had said the four Vice Admirals were not in mortal danger, as long as the infirmary door didn't open, their hearts would remain anxious.
As for going ashore to assist Vice Admiral Onigumo and Admiral Borsalino, forget it!
They would only be a hindrance if they went, they were self-aware enough of that.
Just then.
Creak—!
The infirmary door suddenly opened from the inside. The officers quickly stood up and surrounded it.
They asked the doctors emerging from the infirmary, "How is it? Doctors, are the four Vice Admirals alright!"
"They're fine. Fortunately, they were brought in promptly, otherwise, surgery would have been difficult."
"It's also fortunate that there were enough people on board to find matching blood. Otherwise, we would have had to return immediately to provide treatment."
"And the four Vice Admirals..."
The leading doctor removed his gloves and waved his hand, "Don't worry, the wounds are deep, but not fatal. They've woken up now, you can go in and see them."
As he spoke, he parted the crowd and led the other doctors who followed him out.
The night's rescue had also exhausted them quite a bit. It was time for them to get some good rest.
He muttered to himself as he walked, "That silver-haired guy is truly terrifying! He managed to injure four Vice Admirals so severely, reportedly with just one blow."
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shiver, as if that overwhelming, world-conquering Haki that had stunned him was about to descend again.
Being stunned was not a pleasant experience.
In the infirmary, over a dozen Captains entered, while other officers waited outside the door.
In reality, the Marines on the ship had already woken up, but the Vice Admirals were still unconscious. Vice Admiral Onigumo and Admiral Borsalino were still on the island fighting the silver-haired pirate. They couldn't make a decision for the time being and could only wait, waiting for the Vice Admirals who had the authority to give orders to wake up.
After entering the room, the Captains looked at the Vice Admirals leaning against the four medical beds and collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, they quickly lined up and bowed to the Vice Admirals.
"Good morning, Vice Admirals Hikanosuke, Momonga, Dobberman, and Strawberry!"
Hikanosuke, smoking, had his usual smile on his face, his eyes narrowed as if he hadn't opened them. He looked at the Captains and asked.
"What's the situation outside now?"
A Captain stepped forward and said sternly, "Lord Onigumo is still fighting with the blue-haired pirate, and Lord Borsalino is fighting with Kong Tai in the center of the island."
"Because the battle between Lord Borsalino and Kong Tai is too fast, we can't see clearly. We don't know their current situation."
"However..."
"However, what?"
Dobberman, whose face seemed about to drip with gloom, asked.
The Captain hesitated for a moment before speaking, "However, Lord Onigumo doesn't seem to be in very good condition. From his fight with the blue-haired pirate, it seems the opponent has infinite stamina, and Lord Onigumo has sustained quite a few injuries."
"Blue-haired?"
Momonga's face showed confusion, then he seemed to recall something, and a flicker of understanding flashed in his eyes.
"Could it be that little girl Kuina from that silver-haired pirate crew? If I remember correctly, her bounty is only twenty million Berries?"
"To have grown to the point where she can injure Onigumo so quickly."
He exclaimed with admiration.
No one in the infirmary could answer Momonga's question.
The Captain looked at Momonga and asked, "Um, um... Vice Admirals, will the 'Buster Call' still be carried out?"
This was their main mission this time, and the question they had been waiting all night for.
Never before had a Buster Call been like this. They had been here for half a day, and not a single cannonball had been fired.
"Buster Call!"
The Vice Admirals were stunned.
They had almost forgotten the primary objective of this mission.
Before they even landed on the island, Borsalino had given them instructions: the target was not the silver-haired crew, but the island itself.
In past Buster Calls against great pirates, they would bombard from a distance. Even if the great pirates possessed Conqueror's Haki, their Haki couldn't reach that far, thus posing no threat to the soldiers on the warships.
But this silver-haired guy was different. He could fly and teleport, appearing directly on their ships.
At such close range, the burst of Conqueror's Haki could stun not only the lower-ranking Marines but even some officers with insufficient willpower.
Momonga pulled away the blanket covering his legs and sat up.
"Vice Admiral..."
The Captain looked at Momonga with concern.
Momonga stood up, took the Navy's justice cape from the side, and waved his hand, "I'm fine, these injuries won't stop me from walking."
As he spoke, he draped the coat over himself and turned to look at the three Vice Admirals lying on the beds, saying, "I'll go take a look. You all get some rest."
Facing Kong Tai's slashes, he was the last one to be hit, so he was relatively lightly injured and could still walk. However, Hikanosuke and the other two couldn't even move.
After speaking, he took the lead and left the infirmary with the Captains.
The three Vice Admirals lying in bed tried to struggle to sit up, but the pain in their chests told them it was best not to move. They could only watch Momonga's retreating back with unconcealed unwillingness.
They had truly lost this time against Kong Tai.
His slashes gave them the feeling of facing an Emperor-level attack alone.
Strong...
Outrageously strong.
If their Armament Haki hadn't blocked ninety-nine percent of the damage, they would likely have been cut in half on the spot.