Chapter 122: North Blue – Admiral Kizaru's Test

Kizaru, also known as Borsalino, was one of the three Admirals of the Marine Headquarters, alongside Akainu and Aokiji.

He had the powers of the Glint-Glint Fruit, a Logia-type Devil Fruit that gave him control over light. His personality was hard to read, and he followed the philosophy of "unclear justice."

In battle, he loved to toy with his opponents, often feigning weakness while muttering things like "Oh, how scary," only to kick one of the Supernovas out of commission with a single blow.

The Supernovas, in this context, referred to pirates whose bounties exceeded 100 million berries, who would gather on Sabaody Archipelago six years later.

Takumi spotted Kizaru's warship from a distance.

The Admiral's unmistakable appearance made him easy to recognize immediately.

As their ship and Kizaru's warship passed close by, Enel made brief eye contact with Kizaru.

Unable to hold back, Enel grumbled, "Man, this guy's got such a punchable face…"

"He's an Admiral of the Marines," Takumi responded calmly.

"Wait, what?" Enel froze. "A Marine Admiral?"

Kizaru, stroking his chin thoughtfully, eyed both Takumi and Enel. He had already ended his call with Sengoku.

Observing the faint sparks of electricity flickering around Enel and noting the propellers on the ship, Kizaru smiled to himself, "Ah, I see. He's using electricity to make the ship fly. Must be a Logia-type, with control over lightning."

His gaze then shifted to Takumi. Though they had never met, Kizaru recognized the boy's appearance and equipment. "Huh? Isn't this the kid that's caused all those arguments between Garp and Akainu?"

Takumi: "…"

Enel's forehead was slick with sweat. After Garp had spooked him earlier, he now naturally assumed that Kizaru was even stronger than Garp, and a sense of dread started to creep in.

Takumi ignored Kizaru's comments.

Kizaru continued, "Oh, by the way, I've been meaning to ask—have you two seen Garp recently?"

"Garp?" Enel glanced at Takumi. Seeing that Takumi wasn't responding, he answered, "You mean that Marine Vice Admiral?"

"Yep, that's him," Kizaru replied in his usual, lazy tone.

Enel pointed toward the direction of Lvneel Kingdom and said, "He's on that big island over there."

Enel just wanted to get rid of Kizaru as quickly as possible. If a Vice Admiral like Garp could beat him up, then there was no way he wanted to mess with an Admiral. No chance.

"Oh, well, thank you," Kizaru said, watching as Takumi's ship started to sail away. But then, Kizaru raised his hand, and a small ball of glowing yellow light began forming at his fingertip. "But before you go, let's see what kind of strength a brat like you, who caused so much trouble for Garp and Akainu, really has."

With that, Kizaru fired a beam of light directly at Takumi's ship.

Kizaru wasn't aiming to kill Takumi. He knew Takumi wasn't a pirate, so he just intended to sink the ship and call it a day.

Seeing Kizaru's move, Takumi couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed.

Enel, meanwhile, was visibly irritated. "What's this guy trying to pull?!"

Even though Enel didn't want to fight Kizaru, he knew that if he didn't do something, the ship would be destroyed. And with both of them being Devil Fruit users, falling into the sea would be disastrous.

Without hesitation, Enel struck his golden staff against the drums on his back. A massive, snarling Thunder Dragon, charged with 60 million volts, erupted from the drums and surged toward Kizaru's light beam.

But, to Enel's shock, the laser beam passed straight through the Thunder Dragon and continued hurtling toward the ship.

"Seriously? It didn't work?" Enel gasped, looking toward Takumi for help.

Takumi, however, seemed completely unbothered. In fact, he even flashed Enel a casual wink, as if telling him, You handle this.

Feeling a mix of frustration and fear, Enel didn't have time to think. He quickly transformed, becoming a massive thunder god, and grabbed the laser just before it could hit the ship, crushing it in his hand.

"What the hell was that?" one of the Marines on Kizaru's ship shouted. "That thing's huge!"

"Is that a Devil Fruit user? This is insane…"

"Admiral Kizaru, is that an enemy? Should we… attack?" a nervous Marine stammered.

Kizaru waved off his subordinates and continued to watch Enel. "Oh my, turning into a monster, huh? How terrifying."

"Are we doing this?" Enel asked, his voice uneasy.

Takumi responded calmly, "No. Stand down."

After a brief pause, Enel returned to his normal form but kept a close eye on Kizaru.

Kizaru smirked. "Hmm, I'd love to test you guys out a bit more, but I need to pick up Garp. Looks like we'll have to part ways for now."

Part ways, huh? Takumi thought with a cold smile.

Though he didn't want to waste time, Kizaru had nearly destroyed his ship just now.

It wouldn't sit right to let him go without a little payback.

And so…

Takumi raised his hand, conjuring a crackling orb of electricity. In an instant, he hurled a Lightning Cutter toward Kizaru's feet.

Kizaru had initially planned to block it, but as the attack neared, he sensed something unusual. He quickly turned to light and vanished into the air.

Boom!

The Lightning Cutter struck Kizaru's warship, shattering it into pieces. Marines screamed as they were flung from the wreckage into the sea.

Takumi's intention was simple: to give Kizaru a taste of his own medicine.

Hovering in mid-air, Kizaru watched Takumi's ship sail further away. Scratching his head, he muttered, "Hmm, that kid's lightning is a bit different from the other guy's. These youngsters today are something else, aren't they?"

Back on the ship.

Enel stared at Takumi in awe.

He recognized that move—back on Sky Island, it had clashed with his 200 Million Volt Thunder God and held its own.

But this time… this time it felt even more powerful. The difference in intensity was shocking.

Had Takumi been holding back when they fought on Sky Island?

Enel swallowed hard, anxiety creeping into his mind.

Takumi, completely unaware of Enel's thoughts, yawned. He was starting to feel sleepy.

"Just keep heading that way," Takumi instructed lazily.

"Y-yeah, sure," Enel stammered, still stunned.

Takumi pulled out a deck chair, laid it on the deck, and covered his face with his hat, settling in for a nap.

Enel watched him for a moment, then took a deep breath.

In that moment, he made the smartest decision he'd ever made: There's no running from this. The Blue Sea's full of dangers, and sticking with this crazy guy… it's probably the safest bet I've got.