Kairos Flint and the others had just arrived at the coast when they finally noticed the navy warships slowly approaching in the distance.
Robin, having once witnessed the terrifying force of a Buster Call firsthand, looked visibly uneasy—painful memories clearly resurfacing in her mind.
"As expected. Whenever the Celestial Dragons are involved, the World Government doesn't hesitate to launch a Buster Call," Kairos said calmly, his eyes fixed on the steadily approaching warships.
Still, it was only a Buster Call.
For someone of his strength, fearing a Buster Call would be downright laughable. At most, it was a large-scale cleanup operation—useful for eliminating foot soldiers. But when it came to facing real powerhouses, it was practically useless. All it really did was deliver elite fighters to be picked off one by one.
Take Hawkeye Mihawk, for instance—he could probably sink a warship with a single slash. Two, if a vice admiral stood in his way. Any more than that would be a stain on his reputation as the world's greatest swordsman.
As Kairos was reflecting on this, a deafening explosion suddenly rocked the area. The ground beneath their feet trembled violently as a massive mushroom cloud billowed into the sky.
He didn't need to ask what had happened.
"A fight between Vivi and Kizaru?" he murmured. "Let's hope the Sabaody Archipelago can withstand the impact. It would be a shame if it were leveled before the Buster Call even began."
The Sabaody Archipelago was vast, true, but it was still made entirely of giant mangrove trees. Losing one or two wouldn't be catastrophic. But if dozens were destroyed, that would be another story.
The archipelago was composed of only 79 mangrove roots. If even half of them were damaged, the landmass would shrink dramatically. If the battle between Vivi and Kizaru raged on unchecked, there was a very real chance the island could vanish entirely.
"I have no choice," Kairos thought to himself. "I need to wrap things up here quickly and go assist Vivi against Kizaru."
Letting Vivi keep Kizaru occupied was effective for the moment, but Kairos had no intention of sitting idly by. The Buster Call fleet now heading toward them—he would deal with that himself.
Although the World Government launched the Buster Call in response to him killing a Celestial Dragon, and he was technically the cause of it all, he had no regrets. In fact, he was looking forward to what the Buster Call had to offer.
Ten warships would be dispatched in total.
Each carried roughly a thousand marines—and five vice admirals would be leading the charge.
During the infamous O'Hara incident, both Aokiji and Akainu had been vice admirals and were present.
Now, it seemed Kizaru was the one forced to work overtime.
Whether Sengoku had decided to call in Aokiji or Akainu as backup was unclear. Maybe he believed a single admiral and a Buster Call would be enough to take down Kairos.
If that was the case, it was unlikely that a second admiral would appear.
After all, based on the information the World Government had, Kairos was likely considered to be on par with an admiral. They had no idea he'd already surpassed that level—nor that his companions, including Nami, had also reached emperor-tier strength.
Just then...
"Don't kill me!!!"
Perona, who had been unconscious, suddenly screamed in terror as she jolted awake. Her face was contorted in horror, clearly shaken by some dreadful nightmare.
"Kill you? Want me to kill Moria to celebrate your birthday?" Kairos said dryly. "Now that you're awake, how about you get off Robin?"
Still dazed, Perona looked around, her memory slowly returning. She recalled everything that had happened before she passed out. She had experienced the immense shock of Kairos's Conqueror's Haki—again. No, not just once, but multiple times.
She now realized it was his Haki that had knocked her unconscious.
Her teeth clenched in frustration.
That damned demon!
Back on the ship, when Kairos and Vivi clashed, she had already felt the immense pressure of his Haki and somehow adapted. But this time, it was far more overwhelming—she'd been knocked out instantly.
"You evil bastard!" she snapped at Kairos while floating up using her powers.
"Thank you for the compliment," he replied with a smirk, utterly unbothered by the insult. After all, the title "Demon King" wasn't bad at all.
Meanwhile, the dust from Vivi's Gaia-powered explosion had started to clear. In its wake, two entire mangroves—and the land they supported—had been utterly obliterated.
Now, only open sea remained where those trees once stood.
It was unclear how long it would take for new mangroves to grow and restore that lost land.
Elsewhere, on a different mangrove platform, Kizaru's figure appeared.
He looked disheveled—his sunglasses were cracked, parts of his uniform torn.
"Kids these days are terrifying. I should really consider early retirement," he muttered, watching Vivi charge toward him once more. "Otherwise, I'm going to die at the hands of monsters like you."
He wasn't exaggerating.
He could tell Vivi was no older than twenty, yet she possessed strength that rivaled—or even exceeded—that of a marine admiral.
If more people like her kept showing up, old veterans like him wouldn't last much longer.
Kizaru summoned the Ama-no-Murakumo Sword and clashed with Vivi's massive dragon-like beast, exchanging blow after blow.
He was no longer holding back.
He could tell her physical abilities far exceeded his own, and her mastery of close-quarters combat was pushing him back repeatedly.
From his analysis, she had clearly reached the level of an emperor.
And judging by her form, she likely possessed a previously unknown Zoan-type Devil Fruit. Her strength had skyrocketed.
If he hadn't been using Observation Haki to anticipate her moves and switch to his light-elemental form just in time, he might have already been seriously injured.
Her Armament Haki was clearly advanced—hardened and infused—and could definitely pierce through defenses.
"Gaia's Wrath!"
Vivi charged another massive energy bomb, around five meters in size, and hurled it at Kizaru.
She could cast this attack almost instantly by consuming stamina—and she could control its size at will.
This made Kizaru's job even harder. He kept dodging while she relentlessly pursued him.
Whenever he tried to counterattack with techniques like Yasakani no Magatama or laser beams, she simply blocked them with her Shield of Courage—and responded with another volley of Gaia energy bombs.
These relentless, seemingly free attacks made Kizaru's situation miserable.
He never expected to be forced into a situation like this just because of a sudden "overtime" assignment. Had he known, he would have passed it to Akainu without hesitation.
Explosions echoed across the illegal zone of the Sabaody Archipelago, where the civilians had long since fled.
Thankfully, the battle hadn't taken place in the residential areas. If it had, mass evacuations would have been necessary.
Despite Vivi's dominance, she couldn't finish Kizaru quickly—thanks to the elusive nature of his Pika Pika no Mi.
Back on the other front—
Kairos stood watching as the Buster Call warships closed in.
Once they reached a certain distance, the ships halted. Their cannons all turned toward the Sabaody Archipelago, ready to fire.
"They're not planning to come any closer," Kairos said, observing the warships preparing for bombardment.
That was fine with him.
If he had tried to close the distance using Geppo earlier, it would have cost him unnecessary energy. Now, this was the perfect moment to strike.
He unsheathed his blade.
With a swing, a massive wave of sword energy erupted from his weapon, roaring toward the nearest warship.
Onboard, Vice Admiral Flying Squirrel noticed the incoming slash and immediately launched himself into the air using Geppo. His pupils shrank as he readied his weapon, coating it in both hardened and entangled Haki.
He blocked the attack with all his strength.
The moment the two forces clashed, his expression soured.
This wasn't just any attack—it was the slash of a supreme swordsman.
And worse, the sword wave hadn't even been infused with Haki. If it had been, he wouldn't have stood a chance.
"Redirect it!"
Flying Squirrel grit his teeth and forced the attack off course, sending the slash veering into the sky.
He landed back on the warship, heart heavy.
That slash made one thing clear: there was a supreme swordsman on the island.
If they proceeded with the Buster Call, they might provoke him further.
Unless, of course, this swordsman didn't want to offend the Navy and chose to leave quietly.
But that seemed unlikely.
Most supreme swordsmen had a fierce pride—they didn't back down.
On the shore, Kairos gave a small nod.
"Impressive. You managed to block it," he said with a faint smirk. "Now let's see how you handle the next one."
He raised his blade again.
This time, he unleashed a devastating slash empowered by Conqueror's Haki, Armament Haki, and ghostly spirit energy—all intertwined at their peak.
With a mighty swing, a second sword wave even more powerful than the first tore through the air toward the warship.