– Bellamy –

The old Kuma would have been a terrifying opponent to fight if one thought about it. The ability to remove enemies from the equation at will and the mobility afforded to him by his teleportation were just the beginning. Tack on his Warlord class physical parameters, even before Dr. Vegapunk's modifications as well as his mastery of haki, and he'd have been an absolute beast in his prime.

Accordingly, we hadn't rushed into battle without running through a lot of mental simulations beforehand. Urouge might have slept through most of them, but Brunhilde hadn't. And I knew for a fact that the former Rear Admiral had informed her captain of all the relevant details.

When we were first planning our little rescue operation, there'd been two scenarios we definitely wanted to prevent. The first had been Kuma scattering our crews to the four winds, much like he'd done to the Straw Hat Crew during the Sabaody debacle. Fortunately, this one had been relatively simple to prevent. Mostly thanks to Law's Shambles ability and good coordination. Kuma's lack of a conscious mind having robbed him of his observation haki while we had full access to ours…yeah, that hadn't hurt either.

The second nightmare scenario would have been Kuma warping away and thus stymying our efforts to rescue him. Admittedly, I'd judged that risk to be small, but small didn't mean negligible. As far as I knew, after his stint on Sabaody, Kuma would end up as a slave of the World Nobles until his rescue by the Revolutionaries. Meaning, should we fail to secure his person now, our future chances of success would have looked rather bleak.

Thankfully, Kuma was not in his prime at the moment. He was nowhere close to it, in fact. If he had been, I probably wouldn't have suggested this operation to begin with. Mani sealing off his abilities effectively turned him into a sitting duck. Hence, it wasn't long before cheers broke out all around the clearing as Kuma was finally brought down and secured.

"That went well, midget. A little too well, for my liking." Urouge frowned.

"Miffed that you didn't get to play?"

"That too, but my gut doesn't like this."

"We probably should have killed those marines earlier, Springtrap-ya."

"They were unconscious." I pointed out but Law was unmoved.

"Unconscious men wake up. Dead men don't."

Maybe that would have been the smart thing to do. It probably had been. However, executing helpless individuals who posed no threat didn't sit right with me. Call it naivety if you wished, but for me that had been a red line separating the pirate from a monster.

"Too late now." I shrugged. "Muret did inject them with an anesthetic, so they should still be sleeping by the time we get out of here."

"Either way, let's skedaddle, midget. I know we said we'd spring whatever trap the marines laid, but I'd rather not do so while escorting fragile cargo."

"Agreed, Monk-ya."

I didn't get to voice my own endorsement of the idea, because Aisa chose that moment to go ramrod straight. Neither that nor the way she mechanically turned her head to face me spoke of good things to come.

"Bellamy, we need to leave! He's coming! And fast!"

"Who's coming, Chibi-ya?"

"The guy from Marineford. The yellow one."

Kizaru. It had to be. Or at least, that was the only name that came to mind. And if it was him, that left us with no time to lose.

"Bonney! You're in charge of the evacuation! Get your dad out of here and our ships ready to sail!" I called out to our pink-haired ally, who had up till this moment been fussing over Kuma. "We'll hold the line here!"

Giving me a grim nod, Bonney got our crews organized in record time, hollering and sometimes physically manhandling them into high gear. Meanwhile, I gathered a rearguard. Though, considering that the incoming Admiral was fully capable of simply flying past us, it was more of a bait than anything else.

We hadn't ruled out a marine admiral being dispatched, but we had – perhaps foolishly – thought it unlikely. Not with the heightened tensions in the New World. Not with the Marine HQ on the other side of the Red Line. I had expected a buster call.

We arrayed ourselves facing the direction of approach. Urouge, Brunhilde, Law, Nero, Laki, Aisa and me. It was a lineup worthy of respect. One that was likely overkill against most threats the world had to offer. Against an Admiral, it didn't feel like enough.

We felt him before we saw him.

At first, he was a blip at the edges of my sensory range. A second later, he was almost on top of me. My mind briefly mulled over what this said about Aisa's range, that her warning came several minutes ahead of the light logia's arrival. Then, I was focusing everything on activating my Coil Chassis and transforming my body into polished silver…

"Ah, you didn't think that would work twice, did you?"

…when Kizaru landed next to me, lightly pivoting to kick me into a tree, through it and into the next.

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– Aisa –

"So, how does it feel like to be kicked at the speed of light?" The yellow guy asked, before seemingly realizing that his intended conversational partner wasn't there anymore. "Oh right. He's not here anymore. Oh well."

Aisa always wanted to be a brave shandian warrior. It had been her dream ever since she knew what a dream was. Mom had been a brave warrior. Grandpa said so. Mom would have been proud, he said. Dad had often said that Aisa was like Mom, just smaller. Every time he said that, he'd looked a little happier. And when Aisa had first told him that she'd become a brave shandian warrior, he had smiled and patted her on the head.

"I believe you." He'd said. "You can do it."

Then he'd gone off one day to join Mom. Far away where they'd hunt with the ancestors forever. Watching over Aisa from above. At first, Aisa had been really sad that they'd left her behind, but as she grew older, she had understood. That whenever members of the tribe went to join the ancestors, that their voices disappeared. That bonfires were lit and that farewell feasts were held in their memory. That they weren't coming back.

When Bellamy came around and when Aisa ended up staying on his ship by accident, she hadn't expected that she'd truly get the chance to follow her dream. So, Aisa had trained really hard, eaten all her vegetables even when Hewitt gave her extra helpings, and went to bed on time. She'd learned a lot too from lots of people. Things like how to use Fishman Karate to control her lightning better. How to use mantra properly. Aisa had learned how to be strong.

She didn't feel very strong.

"Now that's one down. Who do I pick next?"

Not at all.

Was this what her parents had felt like when they'd faced Enel? Scared? Frozen? Overwhelmed? Had they thought of her and grandpa, just like Aisa was thinking of them now? Were they watching her now? Aisa hoped they were.

"Room."

"Ah, ah, ah. Now none of that." The yellow guy wagged a finger, before using one to shoot a laser at Law. Urouge blocked it. "Did you get faster, big guy?"

"And you're slower. Getting old, are we?" Urouge quipped, though Aisa could see beads of sweat running down the back of his neck.

"It really is a pain. Work tires me out so much more quickly nowadays." The yellow guy nodded. "With that in mind, mind letting me kill you so I can go take a nap?"

"You'll have to go through me first, Admiral Kizaru!" Brunhilde declared, stepping up to join her captain. She was scared too. So was Laki. They all were. But she stepped forward all the same.

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"Don't worry, I'll kill you too. You and the other traitor, if only to stop Spandam whining to me all that time."

Aisa would too. Like brave shandian warriors had done for years and years and years. Brave shandian warriors like Mom and Dad had been. Like Laki was now.

And like Aisa was going to be.

"FIFTY MILLION VOLT VARI!"

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– Bellamy –

Fuck, that kick hurt. Breathing hurt. And that despite my Coil Chassis granting me a high level of resistance against blunt force trauma. Off in the distance, I could hear the explosive sounds of combat and the blue flashes of light signifying that Aisa had gotten involved. I needed to be back there. Now.

My Thunder Cloak flared to life as I sped through the foliage, pushing my geppou enhanced soru to its limits. I arrived to a scene of desperation. The two minutes I'd been away had left the clearing in ruins, with craters and scorch marks everywhere.

"Aisa, fusion!"

My team mascot answered my call, flowing into me as I ran past her. Immediately, the current running through my coils increased tenfold and the effects of my Thunder Cloak with it.

"Hoh? Now isn't that interesting."

Kizaru tilted his head to the side at my approach, turning away from where he'd been pummeling Brunhilde. And when he pointed his index finger in my direction, I knew precisely what hell he was about to unleash upon me. Now, I'd made the painful realization earlier that Kizaru was better at observation haki than I was. Fortunately for me, what he wasn't was better than Aisa. When the lightshow started, I let her instincts guide me, wading through the storm mostly untouched. Much to the admiral's surprise, I might add. Watching his eyes widen in incredulity gave me almost as much pleasure as ramming my fist into his nose would have given me.

Alas, he hadn't reached his rank for nothing, and I was prevented from caving his face in by an open palm blocking my way. Following two more fruitless attempts, I decided to disengage and regroup with my allies. Oddly enough, the admiral let me go unmolested.

"Everybody good?" I asked, not taking my eye off our enemy while the others staggered to their feet.

"Just peachy, captain. Absolutely peachy." Nero replied, wrenching his dislocated shoulder back into place. "Though, how do we keep running into these situations?"

"Beats me. Someone up there obviously hates me."

"Or I could have simply volunteered when Doflamingo let it slip that you were traveling to Sabaody." Kizaru drawled. "The Fleet Commander usually wouldn't agree to send someone like me to deal with someone like you, but the higher ups decided otherwise. You pissed off a lot of important people, Springtrap Bellamy. A Royal Warlord, a bunch of World Nobles, and most importantly, me. I still owe you for that little swim."

"I'd be more than happy to give you a repeat performance. Preferably somewhere where your men can't fish you out."

"Can you imagine? I was the laughingstock of the entire HQ. Vice Admiral Garp wouldn't stop laughing at me for weeks." Kizaru whined in his usual tone. "You really hurt me. Emotionally."

"How about I hurt you physically as well? Provide you with the complete package?"

"Bravado doesn't suit you." Kizaru scolded. "Then again, I suppose it is the role of the elder generation to chastise the young. Come. I will beat some respect into you."

"We'll see about that!"

Sparks filled the air as Laki's plasma bolts battled against Kizaru's lasers, providing covering fire as we rushed him. Sadly, my Spring Gatling failed to break through his guard. Urouge's Karmic Retribution failed to even leave a mark. And Brunhilde's attempt to have Law teleport her inside Kizaru's reach resulted in the admiral swatting the mini-sized giant away like an annoying insect. Undeterred, the former Rear Admiral grew back to a normal human size to try and impale Kizaru upon her spear against Urouge's pillar.

"Ama no Murakumo." Said spear was promptly cut in two by a sword of light, the shining blade continuing on in a beautiful crescent arc to bite into her vulnerable neck.

"Not on my watch, Yellow-ya." Had Law not teleported her to safety, it was likely that Brunhilde wouldn't have gotten away with only a severed carotid artery. And if Urouge and I hadn't drawn his attention away from our good doctor immediately afterwards, she likely would have bled out right then and there. But distract the Admiral we did, and my friend received a kick to the abdomen for his troubles. Unlike me, however, Urouge wasn't sent flying. His muscles swelled as the self-proclaimed high priest trapped the offending leg in a vice like grip and refused to let go.

"Can you please let go?" The politely worded request was accompanied by a blade being slipped through the pirate's ribs. Urouge's answering grin was a bloody one, made all the more so by Kizaru stabbing him a few more times in painful but not immediately lethal spots.

"Not…a snowball's chance in hell."

"In that case, do greet Mr. Snowball for me." Kizaru said, bringing his right arm down. It didn't get very far before it was needed elsewhere. "…I could've sworn I blocked that."

"So, you're not untouchable after all." I smiled, my black fist pressing against his blade. Meanwhile, his split lips began to bleed. Kizaru didn't seem to care, idly spitting out a tooth before cocking his head to the side.

"And you look a little stiff, captain Bellamy. A side effect of whatever you did, I suppose?" Kizaru asked, paying no heed to how Law transported Urouge to safety. "An afterimage? No, too slow. A shockwave? No, those feel different."

"It's called quantum mechanics, jackass!" The two of us engaged in a close-quarters brawl, as I intentionally tried to stay inside his kicking range. Unfortunately, but not unsurprisingly considering the state of my right arm, he landed more of his, scoring a dozen solid hits in the span of a few seconds to my zero. What I did manage to do was grab hold of both of his wrists once they were buried in my gut.

"Surprise!" Much like she'd done to Mad Treasure, Aisa took full advantage of the opening, leaping out of me to target Kizaru's diaphragm. "Fishman Karate: Thousand Brick Fist!"

Then, she quickly retreated back to the safety of my coils, sending out a sudden surge to flood millions of volts through me into the Admiral. For his part, he weathered the storm by insulating his arms with haki and lightly kicking me away.

"That actually stung a little…oh, hello." Whatever he had been about to say was interrupted by two blue beams piercing through the space Kizaru's chest should have occupied. "Was that a linear Rankyaku? How rare."

"Of course, you'd know kami-e." Nero muttered in annoyance. "Couldn't you just stand still? You're a logia."

"And that rankyaku was laced with armament." Kizaru protested, crossing his arms in an emphatic no. "I'm not a masochist. I'd rather deal out pain than receive it myself, thank you very much."

"Sadist." Nero accused, causing the Admiral to put on an affronted air.

"I'll have you know; it's a perfectly normal attitude. Though, if you want to be on the receiving end so badly, I can oblige." The words were said in a casual tone, with no change in pitch or intonation. He could have been talking about the weather for all the hostility held within them.

Yet, by the time had finished speaking, he was over a dozen meters away, one hand trying to shove his light sword into Nero. Something which my friend had barely prevented by interposing a flash dial between death and his heart.

The other was gouging out Nero's eye.

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