Kizaru Unleashes, Speed is Power

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Continuous explosions shook the entire Sabaody Archipelago. A violent gale swept past, revealing a landscape covered in endless fractures.

"Hoo... hoo..." With his chest heaving violently, white mist rose from Xuanye's body, and his forehead was drenched in sweat. Feeling the exhaustion weighing on his limbs, Xuanye raised his head and cast his gaze toward the center of the explosion.

Cracks spread across the ground, as if mountains had been moved and seas filled, completely altering the terrain. In a crater of crimson, pulverized earth, a blood-stained figure was currently sitting up, bent over and gasping heavily for air.

That flabby, comical face was now smeared with blood, and his clothes were in utter disarray. The man looked as though he had just crawled out of a pile of corpses, sending a chill through anyone who beheld him.

"Tch... He actually didn't die! It seems you've made some progress over the years." With a slightly pale complexion, Xuanye had expended a considerable amount of energy, and half of his stamina was already depleted. After all, maintaining such ultra-high speed was something even he found difficult to sustain for long.

"Crack, rumble..." With pitch-black soles wrapped in fierce Armament Haki, a torrent of compressed flames exploded beneath Xuanye's feet, sending gravel flying in every direction and creating a visually striking spectacle.

"Cough... cough..." Covering his mouth, Kizaru spat out a mouthful of blood. He slowly straightened up, an ugly expression on his face, and rasped, "Over the years, you aren't the only one who has grown stronger. Don't worry, I can still hold out for a while."

With a trace of sarcasm, Kizaru wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and a dazzling radiance began to erupt from his entire body.

"I must admit, among the Marines, you are the only one who has ever given me pressure. To be honest, I'm still somewhat afraid of you, but precisely because of that, I've grown much stronger."

"Huh? You understand me that well?" Surprised, Xuanye wore a wicked smile.

"Who knows! A lunatic like you cannot be judged by common sense. Settling accounts after the fact is something you are fully capable of doing. I certainly don't want to die inexplicably at some point in the future."

Shrugging, Kizaru took a step forward, the battered aura around him gradually intensifying.

Golden light dazzled the eyes as a layer of light particles, akin to divine armor, slowly enveloped Kizaru's entire body, transforming him into a human-shaped beacon of light—sacred and extraordinary.

"Divine Light Armor."

"Then let's see just how strong you are!" Observing Kizaru's abnormal aura, Xuanye narrowed his eyes, his entire body instantly tensing up.

"Well now, Xuanye, have you ever heard that speed is power? Tell me, Xuanye, have you ever been kicked by light?"

As the brilliance flared blindingly, Xuanye's pupils contracted. In his vision, a glowing, cross-shaped right leg shattered the atmosphere and descended.

"Armament!" Too late to deploy a full defense, Xuanye could only condense a layer of pitch-black Haki over his head.

"Bang..."

The sound of clashing gold and iron echoed as the scene froze in place, as if time had stopped. Kizaru was suspended mid-air, his right leg radiating brilliant golden light as it kicked squarely into Xuanye's head.

"Whoosh..."

A shockwave pierced through everything, sending Xuanye flying backward like a shooting star.

"Boom... Bang... Bang..." Amidst a sky full of smoke and dust, the ground shattered entirely. A massive ravine tore through the earth, extending a thousand meters away.

"Pfft..." At the end of the ravine, buried in ruins, Xuanye lay among the rubble, coughing up a mouthful of blood, a look of lingering astonishment on his face.

"Cough... cough..." Standing up, Xuanye shook his dizzy head, raised his gaze to look at the glowing figure of Kizaru in the distance, and said calmly, "Is this what you call power?"

"Speed is power. What do you think?"

Before Xuanye could even register how Kizaru had moved—appearing as suddenly as if he had always been there—another flash of golden light filled his vision.

"Bang..." With both hands wrapped in Haki, Xuanye gritted his teeth and crossed his arms defensively in front of his head.

With a deafening crash and an explosion of golden light, Xuanye was sent flying backward once again.

"Swish..." Vanishing instantly, Kizaru appeared right above Xuanye, descending from the sky with a foot concentrated with ultra-dense photons.

Staring intently, Xuanye clenched his fist, wrapped it in blazing flames, and unleashed a terrifying eruption of fire as he met the attack head-on.

"Boom..." With a deafening roar, the ground exploded violently. Countless boulders were blasted into the air, and terrifying fissures tore across the earth in an instant, forming a gigantic crater on the surface.

In the mid-air above, countless streams of golden light converged, gradually forming a single figure.

"Cough... cough..." Amidst the dust, Xuanye bent over and spat blood, finding it difficult even to breathe.

"Rain of Light."

A curtain of light rose as countless rays of golden light rained down, completely blanketing the massive crater and delivering an indiscriminate bombardment.

"Boom... Rumble..." The continuous explosions caused the entire Sabaody Archipelago to tremor relentlessly. Billions of dust particles roared into the air, and countless fragments of rock scattered in all directions, leaving the onlookers gaping in sheer shock.

A full minute passed—a full minute of unceasing bombardment—before those endless points of light finally faded away.

"Hoo... hoo..." Draped in a layer of sacred light armor, Kizaru halted his attack and breathed heavily.

He believed that even if Xuanye wasn't dead, he certainly wouldn't be in good shape. Severe injuries were guaranteed, for Kizaru had absolute confidence in his power.

Even the spectators held their breath, staring unblinkingly at the smoke-filled crater.

This time, they truly comprehended the terrifying might of the Marines' highest combat power—it was nothing short of moving mountains and filling seas. If they ever encountered this level of power in the future, they would flee without a second thought.

"Gulp... That bastard couldn't be dead, could he?" In the distance, Spider-Ghost swallowed hard, his hands tightly clenched into fists.

Suddenly, Kizaru's expression shifted. The relaxed look in his eyes instantly vanished, replaced by renewed gravity.

"A terrifying lunatic."

"Sizzle... Sizzle..." From within the smoke and dust came a continuous burning sound, followed by the gradual emergence of golden-red flames.

The scorching high temperature caused ripples to distort the air.

Amidst the endless flames, a bizarre and miraculous divine bird stood in mid-air, flapping its majestic wings and looking down upon the entire battlefield with regal detachment.

"Screech..."

An overwhelming, boundless will suddenly crushed downward. Noble, fierce, cruel, and ferocious—it swept across the entire Sabaody Archipelago like an absolute monarch.

"Crack..." Suddenly, a mass of dark clouds rolled downward, blotting out the sun. Dark red lightning crackled through the sky, and violent gales swept through every corner.

"Thud... Thud..."

In the distance, the crowd watching the battle began to collapse one after another. Looking across the field, faces were drained of color, mouths foamed, and eyes lost all focus.

More and more people fell. Within mere moments, save for those with exceptionally strong wills, everyone else lay unconscious like corpses.

"Conqueror's Haki!" In the shadows, a silver-haired old man let the wine bottle in his hand slip and shatter on the ground. He stared in utter shock at the miraculous, mythical giant bird hovering in the sky, a creature that belonged only in dreams.

"This Conqueror's Haki is even more tyrannical than Roger's. Is this brat really human? Why is there such endless destruction and feral brutality hidden within it?"

With a grave expression, the old man fixed his gaze firmly on the giant bird in the sky. At that moment, his previously nonchalant attitude vanished completely. This fellow was someone who must never be provoked in the future.

"Roger, perhaps you were right. Huaxia, the descendants of the dragon... are truly this terrifying."