One Piece: The user of the Nen-Nen Fruit, who overturned the sea.

There was nowhere to escape.

Kizaru took a deep breath, looked at the group of powerful figures in front of him who were in no way inferior to himself, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and gathered dazzling golden light at his fingertips.

Since we can't escape, we have no choice but to fight.

At least before I get killed, I have to take someone down with me.

As a naval admiral, he still has that much backbone.

"The Yata Mirror—!"

Dozens of beams of light shot out from his fingertips, flying in all directions.

This is one of Kizaru's signature moves, using light-speed attacks to simultaneously cover multiple targets.

Wherever the beam of light passed, the air was instantly heated to thousands of degrees, emitting a piercing hissing sound.

But before those beams of light could touch anyone, they all crashed into a semi-transparent barrier.

Golden light exploded on the surface of the barrier, as dazzling as fireworks.

The barrier remained completely still, without even a crack.

As the rain of light dissipated, Kizaru saw Roy walking down from mid-air step by step.

His black sword, Qiushui, was still hanging at his waist, but thick black smoke was already billowing from his right hand.

"Kizaru, your Glint-Glint Fruit is indeed very fast."

Roy spoke calmly, as if stating something common knowledge that everyone knows.

"But in my field, speed is useless."

Kizaru could feel the surrounding air becoming viscous.

It wasn't a physical viscosity, but rather a sense of mental pressure coming from all directions.

Each of his movements required several times more effort than usual, and the speed at which his Glint-Glint Fruit could transform into its elemental form was also noticeably slower.

Roy's telekinetic domain, combined with the mental suppression of the Soul-Soul Fruit, is simultaneously sealing off his abilities on two levels.

Kizaru gritted his teeth and forcibly activated the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit, his body transforming into an extremely dazzling golden light in an attempt to break through the domain.

He had never pushed himself to this speed before; the sense of time around him began to blur due to the extreme speed.

But just as he was about to break through the edge of the domain, Roy's figure appeared out of thin air in front of him.

"Dark-Dark Fruit - Sealed"

Roy's right hand, enveloped in thick black mist, grabbed Kizaru's shoulder.

The moment the black mist touched Kizaru's body, the golden light on his body suddenly went out.

Kizaru's body was forcibly reverted from its elemental state back to a physical form. He looked down at his hands, which were no longer glowing, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Black mist chains spread from Roy's palm, wrapping around Kizaru's shoulders, chest, and limbs, binding him completely.

The parts bound by chains had their Pika Pika no Mi (Glint-Glint Fruit) abilities completely sealed.

Kizaru could feel the Devil Fruit power still within him, but it was like being trapped in an airtight iron box, unable to release it no matter what he did.

"My ability—" Kizaru's voice was so hoarse it didn't sound like his own.

Roy loosened his grip, but the black mist chains did not dissipate and continued to wrap around Kizaru.

Kizaru knelt on one knee, panting heavily.

After the Glint-Glint Fruit was sealed, his physical abilities were only slightly stronger than some vice admirals.

The internal injuries inflicted by Barrett earlier were starting to ache intensely, and the wound on his side inflicted by Hawkeye was also bleeding profusely.

Kaido, carrying the Eight Guardian Rings, walked over, looked down at the disheveled Marine Admiral, and spat:

"Should I give him a good whack?"

Knock them unconscious and take them back.

"The Glint-Glint Fruit is great. We'll take it back and have the professor extract its power; that would give us another top-tier Logia-type."

Barrett also reverted to human form, clenching his fists as he walked over:

"That old bastard just ambushed me with the Yata Mirror. If Roy hadn't blocked it with his barrier, I would have been shot in the eye. I'll have to take him back and deal with him slowly."

Kizaru knelt on the ground, listening to them discuss how to deal with him, and a smile that looked more like a grimace stretched across his face.

He knew he had failed today.

With Beehive Island and the Beast Pirates, nine top-tier fighters besieging Bullet Island, let alone one of his admirals, even if all three admirals were present, they might not be able to hold it.

But he didn't expect that he wouldn't even be able to escape.

The Dark-Dark Fruit—he had seen this ability in intelligence reports; it was Blackbeard Teach's signature ability, capable of causing any Devil Fruit user to lose their power the moment they come into contact with it.

"I didn't expect you to use Teach's abilities," Kizaru said hoarsely.

Roy looked down at him: "Things are unpredictable."

Kizaru remained silent.

He closed his eyes, waiting for what would happen next.

Whether they are taken back to Beehive Island as experimental subjects or executed on the spot, they are doomed to die anyway.

Roy beckoned to Barrett: "Tie him up and take him back."

Barrett grinned and was about to step forward when a voice came from the edge of the square.

"Captain Roy, please wait a moment."

Everyone turned their heads at the same time.

Vegapunk walked from the direction of the laboratory, his white lab coat fluttering slightly in the sea breeze.

He walked up to Roy, first glancing down at Kizaru kneeling on the ground, then turning to Roy and bowing deeply.

"PhD?"

"Captain Roy, I would like to ask you to let him go."

Roy looked into Vegapunk's eyes.

From those aged yet still bright eyes, Vegapunk's inner emotions were clearly perceived through his Observation Haki.

In Roy's view, a pure person like Vegapunk wasn't the type to easily ask for favors.

He was the world's number one scientist, with extremely high self-esteem and pride deep down.

The fact that he was willing to humble himself to plead for a naval admiral shows that this friendship was indeed extraordinary.

Roy quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit is indeed precious. If he were to trade his life for a top-tier Logia-type Devil Fruit, it would definitely be a worthwhile deal.

However, if Kizaru's life is traded for a grudge in Vegapunk's heart, then this deal is not worthwhile.

Vegapunk's value far exceeds that of a Glint-Glint Fruit—

He is the one who can replicate all Devil Fruits, the one who can analyze Ancient Weapons, and the one who can make Beehive Island's technological strength far surpass that of the World Government.

Giving up a fruit for him is not a loss.

Furthermore, letting Kizaru go would make the Marine Headquarters owe Vegapunk a favor.

Regardless of whether this favor will be useful in the future, it will at least leave a mark on Vegapunk's mind.

"Alright," Roy said. "For the sake of the Doctor, let him go this time."

Although Kaido and Bullet looked unhappy, they didn't say anything more.

They knew that Roy never changed his mind once he made a decision, and Vegapunk's words just now were indeed difficult to refute.

Having agreed to play Vegapunk, Roy originally wanted to extract Kizaru's genetic sample—

Just draw a few vials of blood, then go back and have Vegapunk separate the gene sequence of the Glint-Glint Fruit.

But before he could speak, Vegapunk seemed to read his mind and pulled a sealed cryogenic tube from his pocket, containing a vial of golden blood.

"I already had the genetic sample of the Glitter Fruit."

Vegapunk adjusted his glasses.

"Borusalino would perform a routine medical check-up every time he came to check on the progress of the experiment."

I habitually preserved his blood sample—just a professional habit of a researcher.

Roy paused for a moment, then laughed: "Doctor, you really are forward-thinking."

"Rigorousness is a fundamental quality of scientists."

Roy removed the black mist chains from Kizaru's body.

With the seal on the Dark-Dark Fruit broken, Kizaru stood up again, and a faint golden light slowly returned to his body.

He moved his wrist, which was numb from being constricted, and silently glanced at Vegapunk.

Those eyes, which were usually squinting, were now fully open.

Roy saw Kizaru's eyes clearly for the first time—

Those weren't sharp, murderous eyes, but rather the tired eyes of a middle-aged person, their edges worn smooth by time and helplessness.

"PhD."

Kizaru's voice was hoarse, and he could only utter those two words before he could say no more.

Vegapunk waved his hand at him:

Let's go.

The next time we meet, we'll be enemies.

Kizaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Then he transformed into a golden ray of light and soared into the sky.

In the blink of an eye, it disappeared at the edge of the horizon.