Kizaru's expression changed as his body swiftly transformed into light, allowing him to dart away in a flash and evade the barrage of shadow clone shuriken.
"Scary, scary~ To think you have such terrifying abilities!" Kizaru said in his usual mocking tone, his lips pursed in exaggerated fear.
Watching Kizaru's elemental transformation, Namikaze Minato recalled the words of the First Hokage: "Some people in this world possess a unique ability to turn their bodies into elements. Ordinary attacks can't harm them!"
Though their battle had been fast and intense, Minato hadn't managed to land a solid hit on Kizaru yet.
In that case—
"Sage Mode!"
Minato formed hand seals, and his eyes began to change—orange pigmentation spread around his eyelids, while his pupils turned golden, resembling the eyes of a toad.
"What's this?"
Kizaru's expression shifted slightly. Through his Observation Haki, he could sense that his opponent's aura had changed, becoming far more dangerous.
"Flying Thunder God: Second Step!"
"What?!" Kizaru's heart jolted as Minato's speed once again caught him off guard.
Previously, Kizaru had noticed that Minato always threw one of those peculiar weapons before teleporting. But this time, Minato had vanished without any warning, instantly reappearing behind him.
In his hand was a massive spiraling orb of chakra.
"Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!"
BOOM!
Like a miniature nuclear explosion, blinding white light erupted, swallowing Kizaru whole and carving out a crater over ten meters wide in the ice.
From within the explosion, a streak of yellow light shot out, landing three hundred meters away and reforming into Kizaru's figure.
His striped suit was now tattered, and a trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth, making him look uncharacteristically disheveled.
His eyes locked onto Minato with shock as he muttered, "H-How did you do that?!"
He was certain Minato hadn't used Armament Haki, yet the attack had still injured him. If not for his Logia intangibility and its partial damage mitigation, he would have been severely wounded.
Another baffling question lingered—how had Minato appeared behind him without throwing a kunai first?
Minato smiled, now certain that Sage Mode could harm Kizaru.
The Flying Thunder God Technique allowed him to teleport to any marked location. When he had initially dragged Kizaru across the battlefield, he had secretly imprinted eighteen seals onto Kizaru's clothes.
That was why he could instantly appear behind him.
However, there was a catch—when Kizaru turned into light, the seals gradually faded. To attack again, Minato would need to reapply them.
This meant the battle wouldn't end easily.
As Minato and Kizaru continued their high-speed duel, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, aboard the Marine command ship, noticed something.
With more of Lín Xuán's forces being tied down by Marine officers, the number of people around Lín Xuán himself was dwindling.
A plan formed in his mind.
He turned to a messenger and ordered, "Inform the Warlords—it's time for them to join the battle!"
"Yes, sir!" The Marine saluted and rushed off.
Sengoku then turned to Garp, his voice grave. "Garp, prepare to move."
Garp raised an eyebrow. "You want me to take advantage of the chaos and rescue the Celestial Dragon?"
"Exactly," Sengoku affirmed.
Garp tilted his head, thinking for a moment before replying, "Saving a Celestial Dragon, huh… Not really feeling it. Can't someone else do it?"
"YOU—!" Sengoku nearly exploded in frustration before forcing himself to stay calm. "This is our best chance to catch them off guard! If we miss this opportunity, rescuing the Celestial Dragon will be near impossible!"
Garp sighed dramatically. "Fine, fine. Since you're begging me, I'll help you out this once."
Sengoku: "..."
Who the hell is begging you?! (For the most thrilling novels, visit Feilu Fiction!)
You're a Marine! Isn't this your damn job?!
But since Garp had agreed, Sengoku decided not to argue further.
Meanwhile, the messenger had delivered the orders to the Warlords' ship.
Crocodile and the others were far from pleased.
If they had a choice, they would've avoided fighting Lín Xuán's group entirely. After all, if the Marines failed to eliminate them today, who knew what kind of vengeance Lín Xuán—a man bold enough to capture and publicly execute a Celestial Dragon—would unleash later?
But as Warlords, they enjoyed privileges granted by the Marines. They couldn't just ignore their obligations.
Reluctantly, they stepped onto the battlefield.
The first to act was Crocodile.
Transforming into a sandstorm, he surged into the fray, targeting the First Kazekage, who was currently overwhelming eight Marine Vice Admirals.
Crocodile had watched for a while and assumed the First Kazekage was the weakest link.
Big mistake.
The Second, Third, and Fourth Kazekages all turned their icy gazes toward him.
This sand-controlling fool had just attacked their predecessor?
While only the Second Kazekage had any real connection to the First, the others still saw it as a direct insult.
In an instant, all three Kazekages flashed to the First's side, staring coldly at Crocodile.
Crocodile suddenly felt a chill.
…Did I just kick a hornet's nest?
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T/N:
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