The dark red flash of the blade swept past, sending Kizaru, who held his Ama no Murakumo horizontally before him, and Akainu, who had his arms crossed and infused with Armament Haki, flying backward.
'Has this guy gotten that much stronger since the North Blue?'
As he flew backward, Kizaru looked at Cyrus, who was holding his post-swing pose with a face full of astonishment.
It had not been that long, and although Cyrus had displayed formidable strength and Devil Fruit abilities back then, Kizaru had still been able to estimate his power.
But now, his Devil Fruit powers were merely supplementary, as he was fighting them entirely with Haki and his sword, and just like that, he had put the Admirals at a disadvantage.
Akainu's arms, coated in Armament Haki, were unharmed by the blow, but the force that penetrated through them was impossible to negate, preventing his body from reacting in time.
'This technique....'
Akainu was no stranger to Conqueror's Haki, and knowing Cyrus possessed it was one thing, but this was a technique he had only seen used by the likes of Sengoku and Garp.
'It was an advanced application of Conqueror's Haki, and the fact that this lawless man had mastered it at such a young age made him incredibly dangerous.'
'If possible, he had to be left here or captured,' a thought that made Akainu's expression turn grim.
Compared to the two Admirals' shock, Dark King Rayleigh, who was watching from a distance, shot to his feet and stared in astonishment toward the fight.
"Divine Departure?" His Observation Haki had picked up what Cyrus shouted as he swung his sword, but he quickly corrected himself.
"No, that's not Divine Departure!"
Rayleigh narrowed his eyes, recalling the mechanics of Cyrus's slash just now.
Divine Departure was a signature move of his former captain, Roger, which was essentially a special technique that infused a sword with Conqueror's Haki, and having been with Roger for so long, Rayleigh was very familiar with it.
This slash looked like a cut infused with Conqueror's Haki, but the truth was different, as Roger's move was an advanced technique of Conqueror's Haki Emission, whereas Cyrus was simply infusing his blade with Conqueror's Haki and swinging it through sheer force.
Even so, the raw quality of Cyrus's Conqueror's Haki left Rayleigh deeply shaken.
Because Cyrus hadn't mastered the infusion technique for long, yet he could already unleash such immense power simply because his reserves and the potency of his Haki were incredibly high!
...
Meanwhile, the global Den Den Mushi broadcast had just begun, with screens lighting up on many islands across the sea, and the very first image to appear on these newly connected feeds was Cyrus sending two Admirals flying with a single slash.
Those who recognized Kizaru and Akainu stared blankly at the projected screens, wondering what on earth was going on, but right now, there was no one to explain the situation to them.
Boom!
Flames filled the entire screen with golden laser beams flashing within before the projected camera angle switched, revealing three figures entangled in a fierce battle below.
There was magma billowing with thick smoke and fire, golden beams shooting everywhere, and a figure wielding a longsword of flame, but the camera angle kept shifting constantly.
Because of this, the people watching the screens were getting dizzy from the shifting perspectives, though Morgans, who was orchestrating everything, knew this was just because the News Birds were being buffeted by the battle's shockwaves.
Still, compared to landing this massive scoop, losing a few News Birds was nothing, even if the financial hit was enough to make the avian president's heart ache.
...
Back on the Sabaody Archipelago, the battle raged on as the two Marine Admirals stood firmly between Cyrus and the pile of Celestial Dragons.
In this situation, Akainu and Kizaru couldn't simply use their Elemental Transformations to dodge Cyrus's Flame Slashes, because if they did, the attacks would fly straight into the group of nobles.
By forcing them to play defense and hold back, Cyrus, even in his normal state, managed to suppress two Marine Admirals for a time, but this dynamic also meant the Admirals no longer needed to hold back their own frontal counterattacks.
Boom!
A fist glinting with black lightning collided with an incoming magma fist, sending a massive shockwave spreading out in all directions as neither Cyrus nor Akainu took a step back.
Wisps of black lightning sparked between the fist and the magma, and under the crushing impact, the magma fist began to deform and twist.
Suddenly, golden light flashed, and a leg of pure energy swept horizontally toward Cyrus, forcing him to bring down his flaming sword to block Kizaru's kick, but the sheer momentum sent both the blade and Cyrus flying away.
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?" Kizaru asked, speaking only after landing the kick with one hand casually in his pocket.
His tone had become sleazy again, mostly because that single strike had finally sent Cyrus far away from the Celestial Dragons.
"Well, I was just kicked," Cyrus's voice rang out as a burst of flame appeared in the air not far in front of the two Admirals.
While the version of Cyrus that had been sent flying in the distance exploded into a shower of sparks.
"I told you, my flames are everywhere, and if I want, I can use them to appear anywhere."
Cyrus rested his sword on his shoulder and looked relaxed, but inwardly he sighed, realizing that the two Marine Admirals had fully recovered their composure.
His earlier advantage existed because the two of them hadn't quite adjusted to his tactics, or rather, they simply hadn't taken him seriously enough from the start.
Even with his mastery of Conqueror's Haki, fighting two prime Admirals in his normal state without pushing his body to its absolute limits was just too strenuous once they coordinated.
Conqueror's Haki had made him much stronger, but facing the combined assault of two Admirals in their prime was overwhelming, making him think this must be the kind of treatment Whitebeard would get in the upcoming war.
Granted, Whitebeard would have to deal with Aokiji as well, and ultimately lost while dragging around a sick body, but the pressure was comparable.
"Looks like I'll have to get a little serious," Cyrus said, looking at Kizaru, whose expression had relaxed again.
"Oh? Are you saying you weren't taking this seriously when you were fighting us just now?" Akainu demanded, his already stern face turning ugly with anger.
The magma user had more or less gauged this guy's strength, knowing he was powerful enough that it wouldn't be easy for the two of them to keep him here.
But for Cyrus to say something like that after showing such power was a blatant sign of disrespect.
"You'll see in a moment," Cyrus replied, his expression unchanging.
His eyes narrowed, and a powerful burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body, released without a single drop of restraint!
The Haki rose up as if it were a physical force, rushing skyward to completely disperse the clouds that had gathered from the intense heat of their earlier clash.
Blinding sunlight shone down on Grove 1, illuminating the dense Conqueror's Haki behind Cyrus that looked like a deep black fog twisting and dancing in the air.
Rip!
Cyrus raised his hand and tore off his ruined shirt to reveal his muscular upper body as his black hair whipped about in the aura's updraft.
He held his sword horizontally before him, gripped the steel with his left hand, and slid his palm along the edge, causing the metal to become blindingly bright and translucent, as if the weapon were now forged entirely from pure, distorting flame!
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