Chapter 13: Straw Hats in Despair

At this moment, Ling Bai happened to spot the Tyrant Bear.

This was the real Tyrant Bear, unlike the Pacifistas, a book clutched in his hand.

"Almost forgot about him," Ling Bai muttered.

With the Tyrant Bear's appearance, Ling Bai realized his sole purpose here was to save the Straw Hat Crew, the source of this catastrophe. Dragon must have requested this of the Tyrant Bear, or perhaps it was the Bear's own agenda.

"I can't let you do this," Ling Bai declared.

He thought of the Snake Princess. In the original story, Luffy was whisked away to Amazon Lily by the Tyrant Bear.

There was no doubt, then, that Ling Bai needed to intervene.

But a thought struck him. What if Luffy hadn't been sent there?

Ling Bai wasn't Luffy's fan. More accurately, since Ling Bai's arrival, Luffy had gradually begun to live in his shadow.

On the other side, Kizaru unleashed his attack!

A deafening explosion sent countless pirates scrambling in all directions. Marines, seizing the opportunity, began capturing pirates en masse.

"Damn... Is it true all the worst pirates are gathered here?" Kizaru muttered, stroking his chin in surprise.

"It's Kizaru!"

Hawkins, the first Supernova to encounter Kizaru, wasn't paralyzed with fear like the others. Instead, he was performing a divination.

"Boss, it's Kizaru! What do we do?" his terrified underlings cried.

"The divination reveals a zero percent chance of victory," Hawkins muttered to himself, "a hundred percent chance of defeat, but a zero percent chance of death or capture."

"Yo yo, Hawkins," Kizaru greeted, raising his radiant right leg and casually sweeping towards Hawkins. Hawkins made no attempt to dodge.

The next second, Hawkins' body contorted grotesquely before being launched like a cannonball by Kizaru's kick. The colossal impact shattered a massive tree.

In a blink, Kizaru vanished.

"Bonney, long time no see,"

"The World government doesn't want to see you become a pirate."

Kizaru addressed Bonney, whose expression contorted. Kizaru didn't attack, however, instead appearing before a surprised Apoo in an instant.

"Hee-hop!" Apoo, unlike Hawkins, wouldn't wait to be pummeled. He launched a preemptive attack on Kizaru, but the outcome remained the same. Kizaru sent him flying with a single sweep.

Next, the monk who broke the precepts.

Next, undercover Drake.

...

With an Admiral's power, dealing with this group of Supernovae who can't even use Armament Haki is child's play.

A crushing force emanated from the dimension-crossing technique.

"Next up, the Straw Hat brat."

"Vice Admiral Garp, forgive me."

With a helpless sigh, Kizaru vanished in a burst of light.

On the other side, Luffy and his crew were still desperately fighting the two Pacifistas.

But for them, it was like facing the tyrannical Bartholomew Kuma again!

With the horrifying experience fresh in their minds, Zoro and the others were acutely aware of Kuma's menace. But now, it felt like a nightmare come true.

What terrified them even more was that two Kuma robots had appeared!

Even though they couldn't understand what was happening, they could barely handle one, let alone two!

"Everyone, fall back!"

Luffy roared. This was the first time he had ever uttered such words to his crew. The sheer power of the Kuma robots filled them with despair, forcing Luffy to be rational for the first time. He knew they couldn't handle a single Kuma, let alone two!

However, he was unaware that these "tyrant bears" were merely mass-produced tools of the World Government. A genuine Bartholomew Kuma could paralyze them with a single blow!

And how weak was Luffy feeling right now? Utterly powerless.

Despair fueled their escape when a force materialized, plunging them deeper into the abyss.

Kizaru had arrived.

"You dared to touch a Celestial Dragon."

Kizaru surveyed the scene, mirroring his actions from the original story. He stepped on Zoro's back, raising his right leg as if to crush him. This sent a wave of fear through Luffy and the others. Brook and Usopp desperately attacked Kizaru, but his Logia powers rendered their attacks useless.

The Straw Hat Pirates sank deeper into despair.

"Zoro!"

Luffy was paralyzed by a mix of fear, anger, and helplessness.

"Master!"

At that critical moment, Sentomaru stumbled upon the scene, flustered.

"Sentomaru?"

Kizaru expressed surprise.

"Bullet and Shiryu are here!" Bonney exclaimed frantically. "All four Impel Down escapees are in Sabaody Archipelago, and they've abducted the Celestial Dragons!"

"What?!"

Kizaru, usually nonchalant, displayed a rare look of shock. However, his surprise stemmed not from the Celestial Dragons' capture, but from the presence of Ling Bai and his crew.

"This complicates things," Kizaru muttered, adopting a serious tone.

Suddenly, a figure zipped into view.

It was Silvers Rayleigh, the Dark King!

With a powerful kick, he blasted Kizaru's leg away.

"Get Zoro out of here!" Rayleigh commanded Usopp while engaging Kizaru in a leg-lock duel.

"So the rumors are true," Kizaru acknowledged. "Silvers Rayleigh, you are indeed in Sabaody Archipelago."

"It seems it's time to clear a path for the new generation, Kizaru."

By letting Luffy and his crew flounder, Rayleigh was forced to intervene.