Outside the research institute, the Marine team led by Kuzan stood on high ground, gazing at the distant sea.
Above them, a dark red light continuously surged out from within the research institute.
Although the Marines were very close to the Conqueror's Haki, they were not affected by it in the slightest.
Not only them, but Vegapunk and others in the research institute were standing next to Kenji, and they were also completely unharmed.
This Conqueror's Haki was fierce but controlled with exquisite precision, unlike the Conqueror's Haki released by Saturn, which was an indiscriminate shockwave attack.
And the Marines who landed on the island, in fact, recognized this as their Admiral Shirojishi's Conqueror's Haki the moment the dark red light burst forth.
After all, they had seen Kenji use Conqueror's Haki more than once or twice, so recognizing it was no problem at all.
However, similar to the soldiers guarding the warship, the Marines on the island also did not say much, and they had no doubts about Kenji's purpose in taking action.
Of course, Kenji had not given any attack orders. So, the Marine personnel present at this moment all showed expressions of surprise, discussing the Conqueror's Haki light in front of them and "guessing" which mysterious powerhouse was behind this Conqueror's Haki.
These veterans who had followed Kenji for many years did have some acting skills. At least the World Government personnel were bewildered by their attitude, thinking that a terrifying powerhouse had suddenly appeared.
'Kenji-san, what exactly does he want to do?' Kuzan had just dismissed the World Government personnel, and the look of confusion on his face had not yet faded.
He couldn't understand why Kenji would suddenly make a move out of nowhere. And even if he made a move, he specifically targeted those World Government CP spies.
The Marine could handle the matter of attacking the CP spies, but what they never expected was that the ultimate target of that Conqueror's Haki was the Five Elders, who held the highest authority in the world?!
These doubts only made Kuzan feel shocked. But what completely overturned his worldview was that Saturn actually withstood Kenji's Conqueror's Haki impact.
He had never heard that the Five Elders possessed such powerful strength.
"Kenji-san's Conqueror's Haki is so powerful that even Charlotte would be suppressed by it; perhaps only those powerful monsters can withstand it."
"Saturn actually blocked it… he's probably a monster too."
Before joining the Marine, Kuzan's understanding of the Five Elders was limited to knowing that they were important figures who controlled the highest authority in the world.
This battle today broadened his horizons. He even vaguely felt that he seemed to have touched upon some truth of the world.
If the Five Elders' strength were exposed, it would probably scare many people, right?!
Kuzan stood up excitedly, moving to a higher and more convenient spot to observe, and seriously watched the battle on the distant sea.
Although Kenji was in the research institute, far from the coast, the true battlefield was on the sea. This peculiar situation was commonplace for the Marines, they had seen it many times in recent months.
In fact, it had only been less than a year since Kenji reached this level of strength.
Aside from his old subordinates who had always followed Kenji, the impression others in the outside world had of Kenji still remained at the image of a long-serving Vice Admiral.
Even though there had been multiple news reports of Kenji pursuing and subduing Legendary Pirates in the past year, years of ingrained impressions are not so easy to change.
Moreover, those were ultimately paper news, not seen with one's own eyes, making it difficult to have a truly groundbreaking impact on one's inner perception.
Therefore, the World Government personnel did not have too many doubts about Kenji, believing that the possibility of this Admiral Shirojishi launching an attack was low. Admiral Shirojishi did not possess such formidable power.
In fact, after hanging up the communication, those CP spies even felt a bit of sympathy for Kenji and the Marine who had landed on the island—it must be very hard for the Marine personnel alone to deal with such a powerful enemy, right?
They hoped that Admiral Shirojishi, who had been a Vice Admiral for decades, wouldn't get killed.
The last time a Marine Admiral was killed was... well, it wasn't that many years ago, and many people in the World Government and Marine still remembered it.
"The Marine Admiral hasn't come out yet... Could it be that he's being suppressed by that powerhouse?"
Near the coast, on a warship, several CP spies observed Egghead Island with binoculars, trying to find the Marine Admiral.
These warships were far from the port, surrounding Egghead Island from other directions.
In fact, the entire island was surrounded by a large number of warships, and those previously affected by the Conqueror's Haki were the warships at the island's port and in the nearby area.
The more distant warships and World Government personnel, naturally, were not affected or impacted much.
The surviving warships and soldiers quickly realized that they couldn't support the Five Elders' flagship, as the Conqueror's Haki there was too fierce.
"If I go to support, can I withstand it?" The personnel on the warship asked themselves.
"Anyway, I can't withstand it."
So these people quickly reached a consensus. Support was impossible, they could only do some minor work on the side.
"Quickly ascertain the situation on Egghead Island and report detailed intelligence to the CP0 officer."
With this objective, the lower-level CP spies on each warship demanded that their ships approach the island, to better observe and monitor the situation in the island's interior.
To their surprise, using high-powered binoculars, they discovered some suspicious activity after getting closer.
For example, through the binoculars, they could see some individuals in Marine uniforms loitering near the research institute.
"Those people... are they Marine?"
However, before they could observe and confirm again, a sudden, powerful pressure instantly shocked everyone present. Suddenly, a dark red Haki permeated the entire area.
The spreading red light mist seemed poisonous. Anyone it touched immediately rolled their eyes and fell to the ground, the entire process taking less than a second.
On the surface, it seemed like a super potent venom, the kind that kills on contact. The actual situation, however, was even more intense than the effects of poison.
When this Conqueror's Haki spread, its effect was simply to knock out anyone it encountered.
Living creatures were instantly knocked unconscious, and even inanimate objects could not escape their fate of being struck.
The warship's hull, the ship's mast, and everything else were pockmarked and covered in cracks from the impact of the dark red light.
It could be said that wherever the Conqueror's Haki swept, not a blade of grass remained.