Chapter 95: Admiral

"Armament Haki, huh..." Kizaru's expression shifted slightly. As he'd suspected, this guy really did know how to use Armament Haki. He'd had a hunch when he sensed the man's Observation Haki earlier. This guy was probably from the New World. Both his Armament and Observation Haki were at a high level. Blocking his kick not only required powerful Armament Haki, but also the ability to predict his attack trajectory with Observation Haki. Otherwise, even if he saw it coming, he wouldn't be able to block it.

Indeed, Linton realized that the Battle Princess was probably using Observation Haki. It seemed she could use all of his abilities except the ocular jutsu. With Observation Haki added to the mix, her predictions were even more accurate. Even with Kizaru's speed, as long as she could anticipate the attack, she could easily block it.

"What? He actually blocked Admiral Kizaru's light-speed kick?" The Rear Admiral behind him was so surprised he was speechless. But this wasn't the time to be shocked. Snapping back to reality, he shouted, "Fire!"

"Bang, bang, bang..." Gunfire erupted as a barrage of bullets flew towards Linton. Naturally, they weren't worried about hitting Kizaru. After all, he had a Logia Devil Fruit; how could he be hit by bullets?

"I'll handle this," Linton quickly said. Otherwise, the Battle Princess wouldn't know where to dodge.

Closing his eyes, Linton reopened them, his Rinnegan now in place.

"Shinra Tensei!"

A shockwave erupted, not only pushing back the unprepared Kizaru but also deflecting the bullets aimed at Linton, sending them scattering in all directions.

"Ah!" "Ah! I've been hit!" Cries of pain soon followed. Surrounded by Marines, the randomly flying bullets were bound to hit someone. Marines fell to the ground, struck by the ricocheting bullets. Seeing this, the Rear Admiral panicked.

"What's going on?" The Rear Admiral couldn't understand Linton's attack pattern at all.

"Cease fire." Kizaru's body slowly materialized in the air, transforming from beams of light back into his solid form. This was the power of his Logia-type Glint-Glint Fruit. "This guy is no ordinary pirate. I'll deal with him; you just provide support."

Before Kizaru could finish speaking, Linton took the initiative and charged towards him. The Battle Princess was that aggressive; she wouldn't stop until the enemy was defeated. However, Linton noticed that she prioritized her targets. Despite the numerous Marines firing at him earlier, and the screen filled with notifications, she still attacked Kizaru first. He didn't know if it was a matter of queuing or threat level.

"Laser..." Kizaru remained calm, raising his hand to fire a beam of light towards Linton. However, the moment he made the move, Linton's body was already preparing to dodge, as if he had predicted the attack. This was, of course, thanks to Observation Haki.

The light beam passed right by Linton's side. He had easily dodged the attack without even slowing down. Kizaru's expression changed. This guy's mastery of Observation Haki was incredible, perhaps even stronger than his own. But there was no time for surprise, as Linton had already closed in.

A black-coated fist came flying towards him. Kizaru knew he couldn't use his elemental form to take this hit, so he quickly put his hands up in defense, also using Armament Haki to resist the attack.

A loud "boom" echoed as Kizaru was sent flying, his hands stinging with pain. He hadn't expected the opponent's strength to be so great. Thankfully, he wasn't seriously injured; his hands just hurt a bit. Kizaru looked up and saw Linton still standing where he was. He was certain now that the opponent was stronger than him.

With a flash of golden light, Kizaru stabilized himself. The surrounding Marines were stunned to see Kizaru being knocked back. Admiral Kizaru couldn't take down this pirate?

"What are you standing around for? Attack..." The Rear Admiral wanted to rouse the stunned soldiers, but before he could finish, an overwhelming pressure pressed down on him, interrupting his words.

The Rear Admiral froze, looking at the soldiers around him who suddenly started foaming at the mouth and collapsing. After a series of thuds, only he and Kizaru were left standing.

"Con... Conqueror's Haki?" The Rear Admiral said in disbelief.

Of course, this was Linton using Conqueror's Haki. There were simply too many Marines attacking him, and chasing them down one by one would take too long. So, he used Conqueror's Haki to take out these small fry and prevent them from interfering. The Battle Princess clearly agreed with this approach. It seemed that at least in terms of defeating enemies, she was open to discussion.

Another wave of battle-end notifications flooded the screen. Basically, all the soldiers who had attacked Linton were down. Now only the Rear Admiral and Kizaru remained. Seeing the Rear Admiral clearly affected by the Conqueror's Haki, Linton said, "Let's clear out the small fry first."

He sprang into action, appearing in front of the Rear Admiral in a flash. The Rear Admiral had just recovered from the shock of the Conqueror's Haki when he saw Linton approaching and instinctively used a finger pistol.

With a "bang," the Rear Admiral was sent flying, crashing through a nearby wall. Linton heard another battle-end notification. As expected, taking out a Rear Admiral was still quite easy. Reinforced with Armament Haki, his monstrous strength wasn't something an ordinary person could withstand. And the Rear Admiral's attack was simply too slow to even touch Linton.

As he was watching, Linton suddenly ducked. A beam of light flew past his head. The attacker was, of course, Kizaru. He hadn't had time to save the Rear Admiral and could only attack Linton. Unexpectedly, Linton dodged his attack as if he had eyes in the back of his head. This Observation Haki was extraordinary.

"How terrifying," Kizaru said, finally getting serious. "Conqueror's Haki, a power possessed by only one in a million. You're truly not an ordinary person. But I've never heard your name. Where do you come from?"

Linton knew what Kizaru was suspicious of. He probably thought he was connected to the Revolutionary Army. After all, a super strong individual suddenly appearing out of nowhere, someone they'd never heard of before, was something only the mysterious Revolutionary Army would do.

Linton didn't have time to explain his identity to Kizaru. He gave him a slight smile and softly uttered, "Universal Pull."

Suddenly, Kizaru felt a powerful force pulling him towards Linton, losing control of his body. He quickly transformed into light, but even as a beam of light, he was still being pulled towards Linton.

Seeing Linton's black fist ready to strike, Kizaru knew this wouldn't work. He quickly reverted to his physical form, channeling Armament Haki, and threw a punch towards Linton.

"Boom!" Their fists collided. Kizaru felt a sweetness in his throat and almost coughed up blood. His hand was numb from the impact, the force of this punch even stronger than before. However, he also noticed that Linton's Armament Haki hadn't reached the highest level. It seemed to have reached its peak in terms of hardening, but it hadn't reached the level of internal destruction. His injury was purely due to the opponent's overwhelming strength.

Kizaru no longer dared to underestimate Linton. As he flew backward, he raised his hands above his head, emitting a blinding golden light.

"Can't beat me head-on, so you resort to magic? I can do that too," Linton said, already forming hand seals. Clearly, his Observation Haki had anticipated Kizaru's move.

"Yasakani no Magatama!"

"Wood Style: Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees!"

They both launched their attacks almost simultaneously. Kizaru unleashed countless light orbs towards Linton, while a wall of interwoven wood appeared in front of Linton. The light orbs exploded against the wooden wall, but the wall had the ability to automatically regenerate. As soon as it was damaged, it immediately began to reweave itself. In the end, the countless light orbs failed to break through the wooden wall and were completely blocked.

"Hey, hey, this isn't what I had in mind! Just use an offensive jutsu and charge in!" Linton was still arguing with the Battle Princess when suddenly, with a loud "boom," Kizaru broke through the wooden wall, wielding a shining sword and slashing towards Linton.

"You dare come at me yourself?" Linton's eyes flashed. Suddenly, a massive Susanoo emerged from his body. Even before it fully formed, it threw a punch towards Kizaru. Notably, the Susanoo's hand was also coated in black, a combination of Armament Haki and Susanoo. However, Linton didn't know how this was achieved. The Battle Princess could do it, but he currently didn't know how.

She had already used this ability in the battle against Whitebeard, but Linton couldn't. Later, during his fight with the swordsman Byar, his Susanoo was pierced twice precisely because he didn't know how to use Armament Haki with it.

Anyway, Kizaru was completely unprepared for the sudden appearance of the black giant. Before he could react, a fist slammed into him, sending him flying like a rocket. He soared past several giant trees, disappearing from Linton's sight.

Meanwhile, several Supernovas were struggling to cope with the Marine siege. Besides Kizaru, the Marines had also dispatched numerous Pacifista robots to encircle them. These PX models were no pushovers; they were the Navy's most advanced technological creations.

"Damn it, we were too focused on the Admiral. Escaping won't be easy," said Urouge, the "Mad Monk" Supernova.

"Same here," X Drake said. If they didn't leave soon, the Admiral would be back.

"The Admiral..." Urouge muttered.

As they were talking, something suddenly came crashing down from the sky. Before they could react, it whizzed between them and slammed into a nearby giant mangrove tree with a loud "thud," creating a massive crater.

"What was that?" Urouge was dumbfounded.

X Drake was even more shocked, having recognized the figure in the crater. "That's... Admiral Kizaru. No way..."

(End of Chapter)

She had already used this ability in the battle against Whitebeard, but Linton couldn'