The light reflecting off Jozu's diamond skin was dazzling, rendering most of Kizaru's standard light-based attacks useless.
Kizaru noticed this immediately, his lazy expression tightening into a frown.
I never imagined the properties of the Glint-Glint Fruit could be used like this, he thought, surprised.
He instantly realized the gravity of the situation and decided it was time to get serious.
"Ooh, Vice Admiral Momonga," Kizaru's casual drawl cut through the tension.
"Mind if I borrow your sword for a moment? pirates nowadays are just so~ scary."
In a flash, he was beside the Vice Admiral and back in front of Jozu, now holding a standard Marine-issue katana.
Armament Haki instantly enveloped the blade and a killing intent washed over Jozu.
Momonga gave a grim nod, his hand resting on the now-empty scabbard at his hip.
He never thought he'd see the day an Admiral was pushed this far by a mere pirate commander.
Kizaru was finally taking this seriously.
He knew this next exchange would decide everything.
"Have you ever been slashed at the speed of light?" Kizaru murmured, his voice deceptively indifferent, before his body abruptly vanished again.
The sheer speed of the Glint-Glint Fruit was a nightmare in combat.
One moment he was there, the next he was gone, making it nearly impossible to track his movements.
Jozu's pupils constricted.
A profound chill ran down his spine as his instincts screamed a warning.
A black blade was already swinging for his neck from behind!
He reacted instantly, trying to twist away, but it was already too late.
"An Admiral stooping to sneak attacks?!" Jozu roared, bracing for the impact.
As he spoke, the massive Diamond Club in his hand vanished as if it had never been there.
He turn around, his gaze locking onto the empty space before him.
He spread his fingers and clawed viciously at the air itself.
A sharp cracking sound echoed, as if the very fabric of space was shattering like glass.
A web of fissures spread out from his fingertips, dense and intricate as a spider's web, distorting the air around them into a turbulent vortex.
The Haki-coated longsword, which had been closing in for the kill, suddenly slowed as if it had been plunged into invisible quicksand, unable to advance another inch.
Kizaru's expression shifted from lazy confidence to alarm.
Damn it! his mind screamed.
Only now did he remember—Jozu also had the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!
The next moment, Jozu grinned, his clawed fingers tightening into a fist.
He yanked at the fractured air, and a shimmering aura of tremor energy surrounded his hand.
"Tremor Impact!"
With a furious roar, Jozu channeled all of his strength into a single, full-powered punch.
The shimmering force field around his fist erupted, surging toward Kizaru with terrifying might.
The very sky seemed to tremble under the oppressive energy.
BOOM!
Kizaru's light-body exploded on impact in a shower of brilliant particles.
The borrowed sword clattered to the deck.
But of course, his body reformed just moments later.
He snatched his sword from the air and thrust it toward Jozu once more.
"Again?!" Jozu shouted, throwing another punch.
With a dull thud, the sword was stopped cold, blocked by Jozu's fist.
Because of the unique tremor field, the two never made direct contact, their blows clashing against an invisible, vibrating barrier.
"Heh, my fists are made of quakes!" Jozu laughed, pouring more power into his attack, trying to overwhelm Kizaru with sheer, brute force.
"How terrifying," Kizaru remarked, a flicker of genuine surprise in his eyes.
"To be pushed this far by a mere commander."
Yet, he showed no panic.
His Observation Haki flared to life, mapping out the entire battlefield in his mind.
After a brief moment, a smirk touched his lips.
He abruptly retracted his sword, his body vanishing from sight.
Simultaneously, the sword reappeared, thrusting up from beneath Jozu at an impossible, tricky angle aimed right for his lower back.
The attack was so sudden, so fast, Jozu had no time to react.
"What?!" His expression twisted in shock, his eyes wide with disbelief.
So fast! he thought, unable to comprehend how Kizaru had redirected the attack.
It defied logic.
Sssshhk!
A soft sound sliced through the air.
Jozu hardened the targeted muscles into diamond, but the Haki-infused blade still pierced through, slicing his clothes before sinking into his flesh.
A long gash opened on his back, and crimson blood welled up, staining his uniform.
Such powerful Haki! Jozu thought in horror.
He'd never faced an opponent this strong before.
Kizaru twisted the blade.
Before Jozu could even counter, a flash of golden light put the Admiral directly in front of him, the sword now aimed straight for his heart.
The blinding speed left Jozu no time to think, only to react.
He refused to yield.
Summoning all his strength, he clamped his Armament Haki-coated hand around Kizaru's blade.
Blood dripped steadily from his grip, but he held on with stubborn defiance.
"My teacher once told me something very important," Kizaru murmured softly, his voice oddly calm.
"I replied, 'You don't understand the Glint-Glint Fruit.'"
His tone was filled with a strange mix of pride and newfound understanding.
He looked at Jozu, his eyes laced with a pitying disdain, like a scientist observing a lesser specimen.
"Now that I've fought someone with the same power, I finally understand what he meant," Kizaru's voice carried a hint of emotion, as if he was truly grasping the lesson in that moment.
"Haki is the foundation of everything."
His gaze grew resolute.
He shook his head, looking down at the struggling commander.
"So now I'll pass his words to you: never rely too much on your Devil Fruit."
As the words fell, a cold, ruthless glint flashed in Kizaru's eyes.
He gripped the hilt with both hands, preparing to drive the blade through Jozu's heart with all his might.
Yet, at that critical moment, a primal sense of life-and-death danger screamed through his body, sending an involuntary chill down his spine.
This was no mere premonition; it was an absolute certainty of annihilation.
Without a second thought, he abandoned his sword, leaving it in Jozu's bloody grip, and threw himself backward in a flash of light.
And not a moment too soon.
"Murakumogiri: Yokozuna!"
A massive, bone-chilling arc of white energy tore through the sky, carrying an indescribable pressure—as if the world itself was being split in two.
It moved so fast it arrived in the blink of an eye, slashing mercilessly through the exact spot where Kizaru had stood just a moment before.
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