First Contact

As soon as Kizaru confirmed receipt of his next orders, the communication broke down. When the roll call ended, Borsalino looked at the soldier who had come to attention. The soldier was waiting to report to his superior, and once he was granted permission to speak, he began to explain the situation.

Marine: "Sir, I wanted to inform you that we received a communication from the medical frigate. Saint Rosward, Saint Sharlia, and Saint Charlos just woke up. They will not have any lasting effects from their injuries; however, according to recent reports, they are furious about the events. They will inform the world government."

Kizaru: "Alright, what else?"

The Admiral's lack of interest in the Tenryuubito seemed to trouble the soldier, but Kizaru didn't care much about their business. Tracking down pirates, he believed, was the Marine's main mission—not being their watchdogs.

"As for the pirate prisoners," the Marine continued, "they are all being taken to our HQ on Grove 66 for questioning."

Kizaru: "Have they all been apprehended? Is there any resistance left?"

Marine: "At first glance, there are no more fights. We have launched an alert signal to the population so they can evacuate the area, making it clear that anyone remaining on the scene will be considered suspicious."

To complete his law enforcement mission quickly and return to Marineford, Kizaru deployed his Observation Haki. Admittedly, he was not an expert in this field, but he was able to sense individuals in a certain area.

Once his Haki was deployed, Kizaru visualized in his mind all the people present in his sector. He recognized, without much difficulty, all the soldiers under his command.

To facilitate reconnaissance and avoid unpleasant surprises, each soldier was ordered to move in pairs—officially for their safety, unofficially to facilitate recognition by Observation Haki users.

Nothing seemed out of place until his Haki detected a suspicious life form. The presence was secretly perched on the roof of a building near his position. Once the intruder's position was confirmed, Kizaru positioned his hands near his chest, as if holding an invisible sphere.

Kizaru: "Yata no Kagami."

General POV (Omniscient)

As soon as Kizaru uttered these words, his body vanished, much to Tanya's shock. A blinding light appeared in his place.

Using the various windows available, Kizaru "ricocheted" his light body off them and almost instantly positioned himself behind Tanya.

"A little girl?" Kizaru wondered. "How could she climb up here?" What surprised the Admiral most was the outfit the little girl wore—a sort of green military uniform and a cap covering her blonde hair. She wasn't very tall, standing somewhere between 140 and 150 cm (4'7" to 4'11").

Tanya, still in shock, scanned the area for the man in yellow. No spell she knew of could perform such a feat.

Years of experience on various battlefields in her previous life had allowed Tanya to develop what she called her "survival intuition." This intuition often helped her survive traps and ambushes set by the enemy.

It was this same intuition that told her the man in yellow was now behind her.

Recalling the man's height, Tanya immediately used a Body Strengthening spell to jump higher. Without strengthening, she wouldn't even reach Kizaru's knees.

As soon as the spell was applied, she jumped while twisting midair, aiming for the Admiral's stomach.

Kizaru had not expected this reaction. However, his Haki immediately sensed the danger, as a powerful killing intent radiated from the small body before him.

Upon reaching her opponent's stomach, Tanya quickly formed a Mage Blade on her right arm and aimed a sideways slash from left to right.

Sensing the incoming attack, Kizaru took a quick step back, dodging at the last moment.

"Damn," Tanya muttered. Seeing that she had missed, she threw herself toward the street below.

Kizaru watched as the young girl leaped into the void, landing safely with a small crater forming beneath her feet.

"She must have consumed a Devil Fruit," Kizaru thought, watching his troops surround the girl.

Tanya prepared for battle. The situation was complicated—she was surrounded by infantrymen who didn't seem to be mages, and on the other side, there was the supernatural being who moved at the speed of light.

She couldn't fly away like before, nor could she afford to engage fifty men in hand-to-hand combat. She bet on her magic shield, seeing that most of the soldiers carried guns. Her only concern was whether the shield would be strong enough to stop rifle bullets.

As she reached for her Luger, a voice from the soldiers ordered her to freeze. An order she, of course, ignored.

The moment she grabbed her Luger, the soldiers opened fire. But to Tanya's satisfaction, the bullets were stopped by her magic shield. Looking at the ground, she noticed they weren't using modern ammunition, but minié balls, similar to those of old rifles from her past world.

"Let's see," Tanya sneered. "That's not how you're going to hurt me." She began approaching the soldiers with a maniacal smile, frightening some into dropping their guns.

Kizaru, still observing from the rooftop, couldn't believe a little girl was scaring his men—especially since she wasn't using any form of Haki. The most mysterious aspect was her abilities. How could she survive such a fall while deflecting gunfire? What kind of Devil Fruit had she eaten?

Seeing that bullets had no effect, the soldiers began to retreat until one of them shouted, "Seastone net!" Immediately after, a shot was heard, and a net was launched in Tanya's direction, ensnaring her.

"What is this?" Tanya muttered, followed by victorious shouts from the soldiers. They had captured the last threat in the vicinity.

Tanya didn't understand why they were celebrating—it was just a simple net.

"Well, it doesn't matter," she murmured. Activating her Mage Blade, she channeled energy, sensing the net was more resistant than an ordinary one. Once her spell was ready, she slashed upward, slicing through the net effortlessly.

The soldiers were paralyzed with fear.

"A demon!" some soldiers screamed. "A monster!"

Kizaru understood the threat this little blonde posed. These powers weren't related to any known Devil Fruit, and that was what worried him most.

Taking advantage of Tanya's focus on his men, Kizaru once again used "Yata no Kagami" to position himself behind her. Curiously, her protective sphere did not interrupt his movement—his body, being intangible, bypassed the shield completely.

Obviously, Tanya wasn't expecting this either, because when she turned around, Kizaru saw pure surprise in her eyes. Seeing an opportunity, Kizaru struck her at the back of the neck with his elbow, knocking her unconscious instantly.

"YEEAAHHHHH! Long live Admiral Kizaru!" the soldiers cheered in celebration.

Kizaru, however, looked pensively at the small body lying on the ground.

As the adrenaline faded, Kizaru felt a slight pain in his stomach. Looking closer, he noticed a cut—not deep, but still concerning. Placing a hand on the wound, he felt blood.

"She managed to wound me without Haki? And I'm a Logia...?" Kizaru thought, staring at his bloodied hand. "I need to take her to HQ for further study."

Kizaru: "Tie her up very firmly, especially around the arms, and bring her to my ship."

Marines: "Yes, sir!"