'Damn, this young man!'
"Hey, hey, are you for real?"
Although Kizaru's expression was still as sleazy as ever, his entire being was clearly on high alert.
The Armament Haki condensed on Cyrus's hand and sword was already shimmering with a deep purple light that looked like rippling water.
Even he could feel the danger.
'At this age, his Armament Haki has reached this level?'
'Where did this guy pop out from?'
Before coming here, even though Kizaru knew his opponent might be a Logia user, he hadn't paid it much mind.
After all, how strong could a young man who had just set out to sea be?
Not to mention Kizaru didn't know about Cyrus defeating Chinjao, even if he had, he wouldn't have cared too much.
But now, seeing the aura of Conqueror's Haki on Cyrus and the flowing Armament Haki on his hand...
This was definitely a major problem.
As for Cyrus, he was now channeling all Three Colors of Haki.
He had also reined in his Observation Haki, which had been covering a vast area, and was focusing it entirely on Kizaru.
Unlike Aokiji, Kizaru's greatest threat to him was his speed.
And this time, Cyrus didn't plan to activate Indomitable to fight Kizaru; that was too dangerous.
So, he would fight Kizaru in his normal state.
Of course, he didn't expect to defeat Kizaru in his normal state, but he just needed to be able to hold him off.
Naturally, he also had to display the necessary deterrence.
[Swordsmanship (Complete Mastery)]
[Armament Haki (Complete Mastery)]
[Observation Haki (Complete Mastery)]
[Conqueror's Haki (Proficient)]
Ever since awakening his Conqueror's Haki, he had been trying to use Conqueror's Haki Emission in his attacks.
But his control over Conqueror's Haki was still insufficient.
Even when he fought Chinjao in an attempt to learn this technique from him, it was clear that Chinjao didn't know it either.
Or perhaps, if Chinjao had mastered this technique, then decades ago, he would have absolutely had a place among the truly great pirates on the sea.
Of course, it was also possible that after being wrecked by Garp's punch, he had become a miser over the years and had no intention of getting stronger.
However, his Armament and Observation Haki had both improved significantly.
His method of continuously using Haki was something others couldn't replicate.
In this process, there were always those flashes of inspiration, allowing him to grasp some techniques for using Haki.
As these techniques accumulated, the proficiency of his Two Colors Haki also improved rapidly.
When he had encountered Aokiji before, he had suffered a loss fighting a slightly serious Aokiji in his normal state.
Even when he went all out with his abilities, there was still a considerable gap between him and Aokiji.
But after that, his strength had improved a lot.
Even his physique had been greatly enhanced.
'So, shall we give it a try?'
The look in Cyrus's eyes as he watched Kizaru gradually filled with excitement.
Kizaru, on the other hand, was rendered speechless by the look in Cyrus's eyes.
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
Kizaru began to show off.
But as his voice fell, a blade wreathed in terrifying Armament Haki was already before him.
The blade of light seemed to absorb all the light around it.
As a black slash descended, it seemed to leave a black scar in space itself.
Kizaru's body split apart directly, turning into golden light and reappearing in the air.
"How scary! If I had been any slower to dodge, you might have killed me!" Kizaru said with pouted lips, and at the same time, he made his move.
"Yasakaninomagatama!"
He formed a hand sign, and a dense barrage of light spheres rained down from the sky, shooting towards Cyrus.
Cyrus looked up at Kizaru, allowing the light spheres to pass through his body.
The places that were pierced burned with flames and regenerated.
"Admiral Kizaru, either bring out your real skills, or turn around and leave."
Cyrus raised Flame and pointed it at Kizaru.
"Young man, don't be too arrogant."
Although he still had that pouting, sleazy look, it was clear that Kizaru was also getting serious.
Or rather, he felt he was losing face.
He was an Admiral, after all, even if he hadn't been in the position for long.
There weren't many people on this sea who dared to speak to him like that to his face.
Although he knew that Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Garp had designs on this young man before him, giving him a little lesson should be fine, right?
With this thought, Kizaru's body turned into light, then condensed beside Cyrus, kicking towards him.
However, before he could even execute the kick, Cyrus's left arm, wreathed in Armament Haki, was already raised in a blocking motion.
Bang!
Golden specks of light burst forth.
A leg transformed into a yellow ray of light collided with Cyrus's Armament Haki-clad left arm.
Feeling the force of the kick, Cyrus glanced sideways at the astonished Kizaru.
Boom!
Flames erupted, spreading in all directions. Even the sky above was set ablaze.
And this Flame Domain was still expanding.
Light burst out from within the flames.
Before Kizaru's body could reform from light, the rapidly colliding flames had already spread to his position.
As the flames enveloped him, a black blade materialized out of thin air within the fire.
Then, a figure wreathed in flames emerged from the fire.
He turned sideways, dodging the slash.
The Flame Slash landed in the sea.
The high temperature and the slash tore the ocean apart.
Seawater evaporated, and giant waves crashed to either side.
...
In the distance, the ship that had brought Pink over bobbed on the churning sea.
The people on the ship stared blankly at the scene unfolding above the distant island.
A giant fireball had appeared in the sky.
The ship beneath their feet was utterly insignificant in comparison to this fireball.
"Retreat!"
Without a shred of hesitation, Violet gave the order to withdraw.
...
At this moment, neither Kizaru nor Cyrus had the time to bother with the ship.
"Admiral Kizaru, I prepared this just for you. You can't leave!"
As Cyrus's voice rang out, the black blade and the Light Sword clashed.
Gripping a very long Light Sword, Kizaru assessed his surroundings.
As someone who had mastered extremely powerful Observation Haki and possessed vast combat experience, Kizaru already understood the situation.
With Cyrus at its center, an absurdly large space was filled with flames.
And within these flames, Cyrus could use the fire to materialize his body anywhere.
But using an ability like this would undoubtedly take a massive toll on one's body.
Devil Fruit users wouldn't use their abilities this way.
Or rather, most Devil Fruit users were simply incapable of using their abilities in such a manner.
If he couldn't create distance from Cyrus, he would be stuck with him in the center of this domain.
"Don't get cocky, young man!"
As Kizaru's words fell, his body had already transformed, and a leg made of light kicked at Cyrus's head.
Flames exploded. Cyrus's body, just like Kizaru's, shifted its position even though his sword-clashing posture hadn't changed.
His foot pierced through Kizaru's chest.
A large hole appeared in Kizaru's chest, but Cyrus didn't feel his kick connect with anything.
As expected.
It was a technique even Katakuri could master, so it was highly likely an Admiral had mastered it too.
This high-level Observation Haki was too much of a boost for Logia Types.
But the good news was, he was also a Logia Type!