Chapter 34 - Borsalino versus Sakazuki, Part 1

-The next day.

The bright sun slowly rose from the sea, escorting the magnificent rays of its golden light, and began illuminating the entire world.

Today, many people are looking forward to an unparalleled event, a battle between two destructive Logia type Devil-Fruit users. It was, of course, the first of the last two matches between marines most elite recruits. A battle between Magma, the Logia Devil-Fruit, — hailed by some to be the most destructive of its kind, — against Light, another Logia Devil-Fruit, not the least inferior.

The audience seats were full, and likewise, in front of the many Video Transponder Snails around the world that were showing live scenes of the said event.

Crowds had gathered in thousands, all eagerly waiting, and some energetically cheering for their favorite.

"Who'd you think is gonna win?"

In the audience platforms where seats had been arranged for the participants, a beautiful girl sat leisurely, and next to her sat a tall, younger looking boy, also in the same manner.

They were, of course, Lilly and Victor.

Last evening, they had their fair share of fun, and had even arrived at the stadium before everyone else.

It was difficult to say for the reason, whether they were excited for this epic showdown like everyone else, or they simply had an incredible sleep that made them wake up early, and arrive at the same time. One may never know the answer.

"Hmm… I say Sakazuki…" Victor answered following Lilly's question. "I'll even bet, this lazy bastard will give in after some time…"

"Heehee…" Lilly laughed at Victor's remark. "You're right, but I heard the Fleet Admiral had met him last night…"

"Oh…" Victor raised a brow, gesturing her to continue.

"Hmm… like you said, it was because he might actually pull off some crazy stunt like that…"

"I doubt that'll stop the guy… He may seem lazy, but I know the guy is smart... At the very least, I bet him to play around no more than two hours… Well, unless Sakazuki actually defeats him…"

"Yeah… Well, it's about to start…" Lilly responded, seeing the arrival of the referee, followed by a tall looking man.

The referee and Borsalino both went straight to the battle ring, and as for Sakazuki, he was already there, waiting for them.

"Sakazki Kun… Please don't stare at me like that… Very terrifying..." Borsalino commented his extremely irritating phrase as soon as stopping in front, five meters away from Sakazuki.

"Humph… I admit, you're stronger, maybe, even stronger than him… But you should admit defeat now. It's not that I look down on you… You're simply not my opponent…" Sakazuki responded with his usual still expression.

"I feel offended… Sakaski Kun… However much as I want too, I'm afraid I simply... Cannot...give in…" he said while readying himself for the referee's signal, "Not yet atleast…"

"BEGIN!!!" The referee's announcement rang loud. He had already arrived at the stands, immediately after escorting Borsalino. After all, the following battle was not something anybody could spectate from at close range.

*BOOM*

And not long after, many echoes of explosive collisions thundered, while the audience sitting over the walls, and in front of the screens cheered.

Just as expected, it was epic, and it didn't take even a minute for the battle to turn most impressive. It was indeed the real monster showdown that everybody, from far and near, had been impatient to witness.

Borsalino seemed to be giving his all, successfully keeping up with Sakazuki's merciless attacks.

And Sakazuki, — well —, he was being himself.

Nonstop, continuous gatling chunks of magma fired from his fists, but the Glint-Glint fruit user kept on either dodging them or intercepting with his own barrage of light beam attacks.

Sakazuki's attacks were more destructive, however, Borsalino made up for it with speed.

However, Sakazuki, he may not be as fast, but he wasn't slow either. He kept up, unceasingly executing his most proficient Rokushiki technique, the *SORU*, moving likewise with unbelievable speeds.

A lot of the civilian watching were confused, because all they saw for a while was one golden and one blurry figure, moving fast, forming one after-image after the other.

But the trained eyes of Kong and the others clearly saw behind the silhouettes.

It was the golden figure of Borsalino, who appeared and disappeared shooting laser bullet-like attacks, while dodging Sakazuki's magma shots. And Sakazuki, who was displaying his mastery over one of the marine's most powerful combat techniques, also dodging while shooting magma bullet-like attacks from his fists.

"These two are really something…" Garp spoke to his long-time comrades. His munching had now long stopped, as his eyes were moving up and down, left and right, following the instantaneous movements below, with a serious expression.

"This lazy fellow... his Devil-Fruit development is amazing... If only he'd put more effort into his body..." In Tsuru's eyes, Borsalino was an outstanding genius with Devil-Fruit development. However, the same cannot be said about his physique.

"I tried... *Sigh* I'm trying..." Zephyr groaned, "Borsalino this kid... his character is directly the opposite of his Devil-Fruit..."

*BOOM*

*VOOSHHH*

*BOOOM*

*BOOOM*

*VOOSH*

*VOOSH*

*VOOSH*

The flashy battle continued for more than five hours, and gradually, both parties began showing signs of fatigue.

After all, they were not at the powerhouse Admiral level yet, who could battle 10 days and 10 nights straight.

"It's amazing… How can they fight so long without taking a break…?" A middle aged woman who stood in front of a large screen, at an island located inside the North-Blue-Sea said.

"Maama, Paapa… I want to become a marine when I grow up… I want to shoot lasers like that unpleasant man on the screen…" A little boy standing in between her, and another man, commented childishly. His eyes were sparkling watching the extraordinary battle.

"Well, Dany, then you must finish all the vegetables mommy makes… if you want to be strong like those people…" The man next to him spoke while gently patting his head.

People all around the world watching the battle were having different debates, some were enthusiastic, happy for their protectors had young, powerful people to ensure their safety for a long time to come.

At the same time, some were worried, — no doubt these were the pirates and criminals, — anxious about their future because their enemies were getting more, extremely more capable.

And inside the stadium, the loud cheers of the audience did not diminish at all, as they kept their cheering momentum. Some for their favorite, while others, simply because of the pure entertainment.

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Sakazuki seems to have been able to succeed a blow to Borsalino.

They saw a golden beam of light coming down like a meteor, before crashing with a *BOOOOMM*, to the battle ground.

The ground cratered immediately before spreading a shockwave from the center, then dust and debris followed swallowing whatever was inside.

The culprit of this mayhem, Sakazuki, did not plan to give Borsalino even a second to breathe.

Midair, he unleashed a barrage of consecutive *GEPPO's*, and came head-down like a rocket.

*BOOM*, the ridiculous descend even broke the sound barrier, and more importantly, his *Dark Hound* technique was already charged up to be lashed down.