Boom! Boom! Boom!
The forest trembled as explosions lit the battlefield. In the chaos of dust and fire, Kizaru flashed forward, materializing right in front of Shirogai.
Both hands gripped the Totsuka-no-Tsurugi as he swung it down in a blinding arc, his lazy drawl stretching into something sharper.
"Shirogai, a pirate this young with power on par with the Four Emperors… should just vanish early."
Shirogai's eyes narrowed. For once, the Admiral had caught him off guard.
This was not what he expected. After the deterrence of his death ray moments ago, he had assumed Kizaru would keep his distance for a while. But the Admiral had anticipated that exact assumption—and struck without hesitation.
Kizaru was holding nothing back. Against an opponent he considered his equal, restraint was suicide.
Whoosh!
The divine blade sliced through Shirogai at light speed, cleaving him in two.
But his body only shimmered and dissolved—an afterimage.
A voice, calm and amused, spoke behind Kizaru.
"As expected of you, Kizaru."
The black-purple crescent of Moon in the Well flashed, leaving afterimages that carved toward Kizaru's waist.
Shirogai's speed was not just blinding—his mind was moving just as fast.
"The reaction time of young people is truly terrifying to an old man like me," Kizaru muttered, twisting away.
His left foot, clad in Armament Haki, kicked the blade aside.
A reddish-yellow glow burst to life in his right hand, condensing into a massive laser. He fired point-blank.
Bang!
The beam tore through Shirogai's body. A perfect circular hole appeared in his chest, revealing the forest beyond—yet no blood spilled.
"Death Light Speed Kick!"
Shirogai didn't flinch. His counter-kick slammed into Kizaru, launching the Admiral across the battlefield.
Kizaru's body split into light, streaking through the air before crashing into the distant jungle.
Boom!
Trees fell in waves as the impact shook the island.
Shirogai hovered in midair, black-purple light flickering around him. Looking down at the gaping wound in his chest, he smirked.
"Hehe… rich combat experience, as always."
Even as he spoke, the hole in his chest closed, vanishing without a scar.
Whoosh!
Kizaru reformed above the treeline, brushing off debris. His weathered face carried an expression of weary annoyance.
"This is really troublesome. I actually have no way to deal with you."
For Kizaru, it was a rare admission. Normally, the Glint-Glint Fruit made him untouchable. Against most opponents, a single laser could end the fight. Even the strongest pirates hesitated to take his attacks head-on.
Against Whitebeard or Kaido, he might not win, but he could keep them at bay—darting in and out, striking from a distance, forcing them into a frustrating stalemate. If he chose to leave, almost no one could stop him.
But today, facing Shirogai—someone who also wielded the Glint-Glint Fruit—he finally understood what others had felt when facing him.
It was infuriating.
"Ahh… I'm just a working man," Kizaru sighed dramatically. "Why do I get these assignments?"
Still, he wasn't ready to quit just yet. His stance shifted.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
He abandoned risky close combat, unleashing a storm of light bullets from above. The sky blazed with golden destruction.
"Yata no Kagami!"
When Shirogai transformed into black-purple light to close the gap, Kizaru reflected himself across the battlefield, avoiding every strike. He was playing for attrition.
It didn't work.
Shirogai pursued relentlessly, his photon form chasing like a shadow.
"You're really giving me a headache," Kizaru muttered, vanishing again.
The memory of that earlier death ray still clung to him like a shadow. Every instinct told him to avoid a direct hit, no matter what.
For a moment, the fight reached a stalemate.
Then Shirogai stopped midair, smiling faintly.
"Kizaru, aren't you losing a bit of an Admiral's dignity by running away like this?"
Kizaru reformed in the sky, head tilted as he peered through his sunglasses. His tone was almost mocking.
"An Admiral's Dignity? What's that worth? Do you think pirates surrender just because I tell them my title?"
Shirogai chuckled. "Fair enough. Strength is the only truth."
He was starting to think Kizaru's worldview might fit this chaotic era better than the rigid ideals of Akainu or Aokiji.
Then Kizaru's gaze shifted to something far away, his eyes glinting. "That guy's here?"
Without warning, he hurled another barrage downward.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Shirogai let the light bullets pass harmlessly through his photon body. But one of those bullets shimmered strangely—Kizaru's figure burst from it, foot wrapped in Armament Haki.
"Light Speed Kick!"
The blow sent Shirogai crashing into the forest below.
A deep voice rolled across the frozen air.
"Ice Age!"
In an instant, the island transformed into a frozen wasteland. The sudden, bone-piercing chill could only mean one thing.
Admiral Aokiji had arrived.
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Milestones
100 Power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
200 Power stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
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