From the shadows of the clock tower, a figure slowly emerged. He had a lazy smile on his face, a look that belonged to the man who would one day casually kick away the Supernovas. 1
Faced with Kyle's direct challenge, he showed no surprise at being discovered. Instead, he lazily raised both hands in a mock gesture of surrender.
It was Marine Vice Admiral Borsalino, the man who had eaten the Glint-Glint Fruit! 2
However, Kyle's response was even faster than his words.
Kyle also raised his right hand, pointing his index finger forward. A tiny, blinding point of light, brighter than the sun, instantly condensed at his fingertip. The next moment, the point of light vanished. A beam of light—just as focused, just as fast, and even hotter than Borsalino's—shot out in retaliation.
"Oh, my," Borsalino's tone rose slightly, and for the first time, a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
Boom—!!!
The deafening roar was so loud that it even drowned out the sounds of Garp's battle with the Golden Lion in the distance.
The moment the golden beam struck the top of the towering clock tower, it was as if an invisible, giant hand had wiped it from existence. There was no fiery explosion and no flying debris. The entire top of the tower was instantly vaporized by the extreme energy, leaving only a massive, smooth, glass-like crater. Wisps of smoke mixed with steam rose from the melted stone.
The power of this single strike was several times more terrifying than Borsalino's sneak attack.
Every conscious Marine in the plaza turned pale with horror. They stared blankly at the empty space where the tower's peak used to be, unable to speak a word.
In a flash of light, Borsalino's figure re-formed dozens of meters away from the destroyed clock tower. He glanced down at his uninjured body, then looked up at the man who stood untouched by the storm. His lazy expression finally turned somewhat serious.
"How frightening~" he drew out his words, his usual carefree tone now carrying a hint of real concern. "You really are the monster who gives the Gorosei headaches. This is… a bit too strong, don't you think? Wave Guiding King, Kyle." His sarcastic tone was designed to annoy anyone who heard it.
Before he could say more, a bone-chilling cold spread through the crowd without warning.
"Crack… crunch…"
The falling rain froze into ice crystals before it could even hit the ground. The puddles at Kyle's feet began to freeze over at a visible rate, and a layer of stark white frost spread rapidly across the plaza.
A tall, slender figure emerged from the crowd of Marine officers and slowly walked forward. His face was young and resolute, and his eyes burned with a passion that was the complete opposite of the chilling aura his body gave off.
"I haven't forgotten how you made a fool of me last time!"
The young Kuzan stared intently at Kyle. He kept his hands in his pockets, appearing casual, but the cold air constantly pouring from his body revealed his restless state.
"I can't believe you actually had the nerve to show up at Marineford!"
The embarrassment from their confrontation years ago was a disgrace he had never forgotten. Now, facing his rival again, Kuzan's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists. He was ready for a fight, and his spirit soared.
Kyle's gaze shifted from Borsalino to Kuzan, and a playful smirk touched his lips. "How many years has it been? Are you still holding a grudge over that?"
"You bastard…!" Kuzan's face instantly turned red, and veins bulged on his forehead.
Just as he was about to lose his temper, another terrifying wave of heat, powerful enough to set the air on fire, surged from another direction.
A man with a stern face and a cigar in his mouth walked silently to stand between Kuzan and Borsalino. The three of them subtly formed a triangle, surrounding Kyle. He didn't waste time with words, only staring coldly at Kyle with eyes that seemed to burn like volcanic magma.
"Dangerous criminals like you are pure evil," Sakazuki's voice was deep and hoarse, filled with undeniable killing intent. "You should be completely purged right here!"
Justice allows no exceptions. Threats must be eliminated before they can grow.
The three future Admirals of the Marines were present. 3
Before he even finished speaking, Sakazuki's right arm had already transformed into hot, dark-red magma.
"Great Eruption!"
There was no testing the waters, no hesitation. His first move was his strongest one.
Boom!
The enormous magma fist, like a moving volcano, trailed black smoke and heat waves as it slammed toward Kyle. The ground in its path instantly melted, and the air was scorched and distorted. The pouring rain evaporated into a cloud of white mist as it neared the fist, creating a harsh hissing sound. This single strike was meant to block all of Kyle's escape routes, its power so immense it seemed determined to wipe the entire plaza, along with Kyle, off the map.
But Kyle stood his ground. If these were the three Admirals at their peak, he knew he would have a hard time escaping unharmed. But this was different. The three had only recently graduated; their power was still far from its peak. 4 There was no need to dodge.
Faced with the moving volcano that could melt steel, Kyle finally moved. He brought the black-gold naginata, which had been resting casually on his shoulder, down in front of him.
In the next moment, the entire world seemed to go silent.
Sizzle—!
Black and gold lightning, like ferocious dragons, erupted from Kyle's body and coiled frantically around the ancient naginata. It was the Coating of the Supreme King!
Facing Sakazuki's full-power attack, Kyle responded with a simple, clean slash. There was no fancy technique, no unnecessary wind-up. He simply let his arm guide the blade in a straight line.
Hiss—
When the black-gold lightning met the magma fist capable of turning steel to vapor, there was no earth-shattering collision. Instead, it was like a soap bubble popping. The magma fist silently vanished, disintegrating into nothingness from the point of contact with the blade. The scalding magma, the scorching heat, and the will to burn everything were completely devoured by that one, seemingly ordinary slash.
And the power of the slash didn't stop there.
A slash of pure, condensed Haki, black and gold, detached from the blade, tore through the rain, and shot straight toward Sakazuki.
"What?!"
For the first time, an emotion called "shock" appeared on Sakazuki's eternally stern face. He didn't even have time to react before the deadly attack struck him in the chest.
Boom!!!
Sakazuki was hit as if by a meteor. His body folded backward into the shape of a shrimp as blood and his cigar flew from his mouth. He became a black blur, flying backward at several times the speed he had charged forward. He plowed a deep trench in the ground before finally crashing into a distant, already damaged Marine office building.
The entire building shook violently before collapsing with a deafening roar, burying him completely under the rubble.
One strike.
Just one strike.
The future Marine Admiral "Akainu," a man who would one day strike fear into the hearts of countless pirates, was defeated in an instant, his fate unknown.
The Marine officers watching from a distance fell silent. Their mouths hung open, and their eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets. They stared blankly at the smoke-filled ruins, then back at the man who stood calmly with his naginata, as if he had just swatted a fly. Their minds went blank.
What did they just witness? That was Sakazuki! An elite from the Marine training camp, a monster among monsters! And yet…
"Haoshoku… Haki…" Vice Admiral Tsuru's voice trembled slightly. She stared at the naginata in Kyle's hand. The black-gold lightning slowly fading from it made even her, a seasoned strategist, feel a shiver deep in her soul.
This was no mere Devil Fruit ability, nor was it some advanced martial art.
This was a power that only a select few, those who stood at the apex of the world and possessed the qualities of a king, could ever hope to master.
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