Chapter 149: Till the Upcoming

~ Support & Read 15 Advanced Chapters on My Patreon!

~ Drop some Power Stones 💎💎

<><><><>

The dazzling, chaotic battle had just begun. Admiral Kizaru, propelled skyward, swiftly adjusted his position, firing five brilliant laser beams at Ian on the ground below.

Crackle! Crackle! Lightning flashed.

Ian, using Sonido, evaded the lasers, his gaze fixed coldly on Kizaru hovering above.

Meeting Ian's eyes, Kizaru felt a shiver run down his spine, a premonition of danger washing over him. Without hesitation, he initiated his Pika Pika no Mi transformation, intending to relocate to another mangrove island and put some distance between them.

However, before he could even complete his elemental shift, Ian was behind him, his speed exceeding even that of light.

The combined speed of Sonido and the partial lightning enhancement from his Devil Fruit Template outstripped even Kizaru's light-speed movements. After all, lightning naturally traveled at the speed of light.

"Ama no Murakumo!"

Kizaru swiftly formed a blade of solidified light, his Observation Haki guiding his attack as he thrust the gleaming sword towards Ian.

Clang! A sharp, metallic sound echoed through the air, and Kizaru's eyes widened in disbelief.

Shock and astonishment painted his face. He had traversed the seas for decades, facing countless foes, but he had never encountered anything like this.

His Ama no Murakumo, forged from the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit and reinforced with Busoshoku Haki, boasted the hardness of steel and the sharpness of a razor. It could effortlessly slice through flesh and bone, cleaving through anything that lacked Haki protection. Yet, Ian had blocked it with his Zanpakuto, not only stopping the attack but also, impossibly, severing his prized light blade.

Recalling Ian clash with Red-Haired Shanks months prior, where their swords clashed and split the sky above the New World, a cold sweat broke out on Kizaru's skin. His hair stood on end, and without a second thought…

He hurled the remaining half of Ama no Murakumo at Ian, then transformed into light and retreated. Yet, once again, Ian was upon him.

"Damn it! Don't underestimate me!"

"I'm getting serious now!"

In a flash, Kizaru transformed into a beam of light, soaring into the sky. He positioned his hands before him in a peculiar gesture.

Hum!

A brilliant golden light converged, forming a miniature sun in the sky. Immediately after, countless beams of golden light rained down – a relentless barrage of laser fire.

"Yasakani no Magatama!"

"Finally decided to get serious, have you?"

Ian calmly observed the descending golden rain. Even faced with Kizaru's devastating attack, he stood his ground, making no attempt to defend himself.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!

Golden sword energy and Kizaru's lasers collided, creating a chain of explosions that painted the sky with fire and light, a scene of apocalyptic proportions.

In the world of One Piece, Haki was paramount, especially Busoshoku Haki, which granted the ability to touch Logia users in their elemental forms.

For those who hadn't mastered Haki, Logia users were incredibly formidable opponents. However, they weren't invincible.

Besides elemental weaknesses, seastone, and seawater, there was another way to combat them: elemental attacks.

Pitting natural forces against each other, it became a contest of raw elemental power.

Coincidentally, Ian possessed access to over a dozen Devil Fruit abilities through his template system, including snow, sand, heat, and lightning – all elemental forces. Ian slowly clenched his right fist.

Above, dark thunderclouds gathered, the air crackling with electricity. A blinding golden lightning bolt flashed, and a fearsome Kirin, a mythical thunder beast, materialized, descending upon Kizaru with terrifying speed. The Admiral's face paled in terror.

A deafening explosion rocked the Sabaody Archipelago, sending shockwaves through the air and causing the very ground to tremble. People screamed in terror as blinding light and deafening thunder filled the sky, the clash of two ultimate attacks.

Sabaody Archipelago, composed of seventy-nine massive Yarukiman Mangrove trees, was enduring an unprecedented assault. The earth and sky quaked, the very atmosphere shattering and reforming.

Blinding golden light, brighter than the sun, intertwined with destructive lightning, making it impossible for those below to see.

Across the archipelago, giant mangrove trees splintered and collapsed under the relentless barrage, a scene of utter devastation.

"Run!"

"Monsters are attacking the island! We can't stay here! We'll all die!" Panic erupted, engulfing the entire archipelago.

Countless ships streamed out of the various ports, desperately fleeing towards the open sea.

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion echoed from above Grove 24, sending a wave of terror through the area.

"Captain Bonney, why are you still eating?!"

"The sky is falling!" A large, burly pirate in overalls cried out in terror.

"It hasn't fallen yet, has it?"

On the second floor of a restaurant, Jewelry Bonney, a Supernova with a bounty exceeding 100 million berries, continued devouring her pizza, seemingly oblivious to the chaos unfolding outside.

Seeing his captain's nonchalant attitude, the pirate in overalls grew increasingly frantic.

"Hahaha… Relax. If we can't escape, we might as well enjoy a good meal before we die!" Bonney laughed, her outward calm betrayed by the tremor in her eyes.

"Two monsters… One's a Marine Admiral, and the other… if it's not Rayleigh, then who is it?" While Bonney pondered, the burly pirate scooped her up and ran, ignoring her struggles.

"What the hell is that lightning? Doesn't Admiral Kizaru have the Glint-Glint Fruit? Why is he using electricity?!" The members of the Kid Pirates cried out in alarm.

"This is bad, this is bad! It's terrifying even from this distance. If we get caught in the crossfire, we're dead!" Bepo, the Heart Pirates' navigator, paced nervously. "I don't know what's going on, but that's definitely not Admiral Kizaru!"

"Another unknown player has entered the field?" Trafalgar Law, stated with certainty.

"Damn it…"

Capone Bege slammed his fist on the ground in frustration. "First, it was Rayleigh, then Bartholomew Kuma, now Admiral Kizaru and that lightning… How many monsters are going to show up today? It's all because of the Straw Hats!"

...

Meanwhile, on Grove 13, adjacent to Grove 12, a lone figure stood outside a small, isolated bar, his brow furrowed in worry.

"That lightning doesn't belong to Kizaru. Who is it? Could Luffy and the others be…? No, Rayleigh is with them. They'll be fine." Shakky muttered to herself, her voice filled with concern.

At the battleground on Grove 72, Rayleigh, who was guarding Robin and Luffy, suddenly shivered. The island beneath them had vanished, replaced by a vast expanse of seawater.

The battle had ended, the terrifying auras dissipating.

The violent shockwaves subsided, the sky cleared, as if nothing had happened. However, from high above the clouds, a shocking sight would have been revealed. Sabaody Archipelago, once a lush expanse of seventy-nine mangrove trees, was now riddled with craters and debris.

Grove 1, the location of the Human Auctioning House, Grove 8, where human traffickers congregated, along with Groves 2 and 3, the most chaotic and lawless areas of Sabaody, had been completely obliterated, wiped off the map. Elsewhere…

Countless golden particles coalesced, reforming Admiral Kizaru. He stared at the massive crater in the ocean, his eyelids twitching. Before he could react, Ian before him vanished, leaving behind only an afterimage.

"What?!"

Kizaru's eyes widened in alarm. His Observation Haki flared, warning him of danger, but it was too late.

A flash of blue-white light, and a familiar voice whispered in his ear, tinged with amusement.

"Speed is power, they say. So… have you ever been cut by the speed of light?" Whoosh!

Silence.

It was as if the world itself had been cleaved in two, the sky and earth suddenly shifting out of alignment. Kizaru's body, bisected at the waist, was separated by the disjointed landscape.

Without a sound, Ian reappeared behind Kizaru, who stared in shock and disbelief.

The distorted reality flickered and returned to normal, as if it had all been an illusion. But Kizaru's body remained divided, severed in two.

Both halves of his body plummeted towards the ground, then dissolved into golden light, flickering and reappearing some distance away.

"This… this is…"

Kizaru, reformed and seemingly unharmed, wore an expression of unmasked horror. Since acquiring the Glint-Glint Fruit, this was the first time he had been struck by an attack he couldn't even react to.

It was simply inconceivable.

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit, possessing the speed of light, along with the burning intensity of magma and the chilling paralysis of ice, stood at the pinnacle of Logia powers.

Yet, Ian, wielding only a fraction of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's lightning element, had displayed power rivaling, if not surpassing, his own. It was a complete overturn of his understanding. If he remembered correctly, Ian also had access to sand, snow, and wind? This was unfair!

"Elementalization… really a fascinating power. It seems only Busoshoku Haki, opposing elements, or perhaps… soul-based attacks can truly harm a Logia user."

Observing Kizaru's unharmed form, Ian pondered, his gaze fixed on the Admiral.

"..." Kizaru, no longer his usual lackadaisical self, was visibly shaken, a sheen of sweat on his brow.

While Ian's attack hadn't caused any lasting damage, it had thoroughly frightened him. He only allowed himself to be hit by weaker opponents, toying with them for amusement. Against someone like Ian, or any Haki user in the New World, he would never intentionally allow himself to be struck. He had had no intention of being hit just now, yet it had happened. His speed and Observation Haki had been utterly useless.

This was truly terrifying.

If Ian had imbued that attack with Busoshoku Haki, he would have been cleaved in two, killed instantly.

"Let's play again sometime!"

Standing atop a giant mangrove tree, Ian smiled and waved farewell to the retreating golden light. They would meet again soon, at the upcoming war.

"Damn it, there won't be a next time!"

Kizaru roared in frustration.

Despite emerging relatively unscathed, he felt an unprecedented weakness coursing through his body. Since acquiring the seemingly invincible Glint-Glint Fruit, he had never felt so drained, his power completely depleted.

If he could, he would never face Ian again. Somewhere on Sabaody Archipelago…

Kizaru collapsed onto a thick cloud bank, exhausted. He pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed. Moments later, the call connected.

"Borsalino… what in the world happened? I sent you to apprehend a criminal who assaulted a Celestial Dragon, not demolish Sabaody Archipelago!" Sengoku's voice roared from the other end.

"I couldn't help it, Sengoku-san…"

"There was an unforeseen… complication. If I hadn't escaped, I would have been… a martyr for justice!" Kizaru whined, feigning distress.

"Borsalino, what complication?!" Sengoku demanded. Kizaru replied, "The Black Winged Devil… that monster… he's here at Sabaody!"

"What?!"

Sengoku's eyes widened in shock.

"Sengoku-san… I'm feeling rather… unwell. I request a paid leave of absence… for a month… no, a year…" Kizaru pleaded, hoping to avoid the upcoming war with Whitebeard. They could always send Garp instead.

"Don't even think about it! We're on the verge of war with Whitebeard! You stay put, and I'll send reinforcements…"

"In that case, should we issue a mandatory summons to… him? He's a Warlord too!"

"If he agrees, he could handle Whitebeard alone, and we wouldn't have to lift a finger!" Kizaru offered, suggesting increasingly ludicrous ideas.

"Do you think that's possible? If he wanted to attack Whitebeard, he wouldn't have joined forces with him to defeat Kaido and Big Mom. The order from above is to avoid Fighting him. If we anger him…"

"He might join forces with Whitebeard. The World Government wouldn't be destroyed, but it would be weaken."

"Wouldn't that be… convenient? We wouldn't have to listen to those fools anymore, and we could…"

"Shut up, Borsalino…"

...

Support & Read 15 Advanced Chapters. Ahead of the rest!

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)

There is 9 Exciting Fanfics already Available on my Patreon!