One piece :Nox ( Before Dawn)

Bonnie, barely supporting her wounded body, moved aside, continuing to watch the battle between the man and the machine. Although she wished for Sal to get into trouble, she still hoped for his victory—otherwise, her journey would end here.

The Pacifista's eyes glowed red, and it was the first to launch an attack. Its mouth opened, revealing a cannon barrel, and a laser beam shot toward its target. Sal dodged to the side and charged at the opponent.

The long sword in his hand was enveloped with Armament Haki, turning it black. With one motion, he sliced through the second laser beam, causing it to explode like fireworks.

Then the blade struck the Pacifista. Even before it could defend itself, its shoulder was slashed with a deep wound, almost a meter deep. Sparks flew from its mechanical lines. After the successful attack, Sal evaded another laser beam, but the opponent pulled him closer.

The man and the machine clashed again. The previous round had already demonstrated the difference in strength between the two adversaries.

Sal loosened his grip on the sword. He had to admit, the defense of the Pacifista was truly impressive. Even surrounded by Armament Haki, it was impossible to cleave it in half. The opponent possessed a deadly aura, as piercing as the laser beams.

In a battle with a weaker opponent, the Pacifista would undoubtedly finish them off instantly with just one laser beam. Unfortunately, its own cumbersome clumsiness and monotonous attack patterns played a cruel joke on it.

Thrall continued to attack the Pacifista, and his advanced Observation Haki easily allowed him to dodge the laser strikes. The black blade swept upward.

— "Mountain Destruction."

A powerful strike directly to the Pacifista's palm robbed it of one-third of its offensive capabilities. Its only remaining arm swung, flinging Sal back, and several laser beams successively rained down on him.

Sal deftly maneuvered in the air and landed softly. With a swing of his long sword, he created an energy shield that successfully deflected the laser beam, causing it to veer off course.

Bonnie felt both anger and relief as she saw the battle situation completely shift in Sal's favor. It irritated her that this bastard Thrall was so strong that he outsmarted the opponent and easily claimed victory, denying her the chance to watch the Pacifista's struggles.

Fortunately, today did not seem to be her last day. Preoccupied with her thoughts, Bonnie didn't notice a beam of light explode near her, knocking her to the ground. Her already wounded body spilled out several gulps of blood again, and she instantly shouted a curse:

— "August D. Sall, even if I die, I won't leave you alone, even as a ghost."

Seeing this, Sal wasn't planning to prolong the fight. The noise of the battle could attract other enemies. With one motion, Thrall raised his sword, and the black long blade flashed with black lightning. This was Armament Haki compressed to the limit—the highest level of Armament Haki technique.

Sal's eyes gleamed with a murderous coldness.

— "Shattered Sea."

The powerful black energy of the sword burst forth, dispersed the beam of light, and the remaining force split the Pacifista in two. The internal mechanisms of the machine lay exposed, and with a spark of electricity, a powerful explosion occurred.

"Shattered Sea" absorbed more than half of the Armament Haki, but only this technique could cut through the Pacifista.

Sal sheathed his sword and walked over to Bonnie with a smile on his face.

— "Miss Bonney, do you need my help?"

Jewelry Bonney, covered in dirt, turned her head stubbornly and said:

— "I don't need your help, please leave..."

Without waiting for a response, Sal lifted Bonnie. If he had ignored this stubborn girl, she might not have survived even until the Marine patrol's arrest. Any pirate could have killed her.

As for the Marine patrol's arrest, considering the connection with Kuma, everything should be fine, right?

Seeing herself being lifted, Jewlery Bonney only glared fiercely at the man standing before her. Seeing this, Sal realized he wasn't suitable for communicating with such a woman, so he figured he should find a more secluded place to hide her.

— "Don't worry, Miss Bonney, I will find a place to leave you."

Hearing this, Bonney sighed in relief and said:

— "You saved me on your own accord, I won't be grateful."

Suddenly, Bonney's face twisted, her eyes widened, and she said:

— "Ki... Kizaru..."

Bonnie's reaction made Sal realize something was wrong. Expanding his Observation Haki, he noticed someone had appeared behind him. This caused him anxiety. This person must have been so strong to approach him unnoticed...

His body couldn't defend itself in time, so he had to reinforce his defense with Armament Haki and release Bonney.

A flash of light, and Sal's figure disappeared before Bonnie, leaving her stunned as she listened to Kizaru's slow words:

— "As expected from the monster who killed the Celestial Dragons, he dismantled the Pacifista like a toy. Such a dangerous person cannot be left alive."

Completely ignoring her, Jewelery Bonney glared angrily at Kizaru. Deep down, she was filled with worry for the one who got her involved in this. Would he face death?

Kizaru squinted his eyes and observed the figure that had knocked down several trees and flew almost 10 kilometers before disappearing from sight. Only then did he have the opportunity to look at Bonnie and slowly say:

— "Jewelry Bonney—another problem. Before the war begins, we cannot lose Kuma, one of the Seven Great Strong Seas."

Kizaru had no intention of paying any more attention to this troublesome girl and, transforming into a beam of light, flew away.

At this moment, Jewelry Bonney felt deeply helpless, both before the Pacifista and Kizaru...

Sal was knocked back by the Lightning strike, and the powerful force threw him 10 kilometers, destroying everything in his path until he crashed into a Red Tree in the 35th district, causing the tree to shake for several seconds.

— "Cough, cough..."

Sal, unharmed, jumped off the tree and saw Kizaru in the distance, who had transformed into a beam of light, pursuing him.

This Lightning strike instantly activated the substitute puppet, and one could imagine how powerful it was. Thrall's face twisted with anxiety; he hadn't expected the worst.

The lightning strike was definitely Kizaru's full-force attack; it wasn't a random strike that he could use on a supernova.

If Thrall hadn't had the substitute puppet, he would have been caught off guard by this attack and might have found himself in great danger.

A flash of golden light, and Kizaru's figure was suddenly beside him. Seeing that Sal was unharmed, he couldn't hide the surprise in his eyes.

— "What are you, a monster? I hit you with all my strength, and you're unscathed. This is too much."

Seeing this, Sal retorted with disdain:

— "I don't want to be called a monster. The real monster here is you, Borsalino."

Suddenly, Kizaru's pupils narrowed, as if he had discovered something incredible, and he said in bewilderment:

— "You really resemble him. What is your connection to Roger?"

As a "young man" who once followed Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr in his youth, he had fought Roger's Pirate Group many times and would never forget how Roger looked.

[SS-level character Kizaru experiences normal emotions towards the host, low level of surprise, experience increased by 10,000]

[Level-Up: Level 46 137/22,000]

Leveling up. This restored much of Thrall's stamina and Haki and activated the magic enhancement necklace, adding its power to his own.

[Level 46 + 10]

Sal clenched his fist, feeling his physical strength grow. His hand touched the blade, hesitated for a moment, but continued to wield the long sword. It's not time for Ace right now.

— "Don't worry, Kizaru, I'm not Roger's descendant or relative."

Seeing this, Kizaru patted his chest, feigning a scared expression, and said:

— "Good, because if I killed you, I'd be worried that the remaining pirate crew of the Pirate King would seek revenge."