30. A New Era Is Rising

As Luffy spoke, his body began to shrink slowly.

His body was now smaller than usual but not as bulky as before. Instead of being all muscles and fists like before, now he looked more balanced and sleek.

"This is Gear Fourth: Snakeman!" Luffy declared, his body surrounded by swirling white steam. It was a refined form of Gear Fourth, honed through his use of Observation Haki during his fight against Kizaru.

This version wasn't necessarily stronger than the regular Gear Fourth, but it was better suited for battles against fast opponents like Kizaru.

"Here it comes, Kizaru!" Luffy shouted with a grin, his fist coiling tighter than ever before.

"Gommu gommu no Yamata-no-Orochi!"

he exclaimed, and his fist shot forward with incredible speed, almost too fast to see.

"The punch is even faster now," Kizaru noted calmly, though he was fully aware of the danger it posed.

In an instant, Kizaru's entire body transformed into photons, disappearing from sight. But just as quickly, his light-speed movement was halted by a punch.

With a whoosh and a boom, Kizaru crashed to the ground like a laser beam, creating a violent shockwave.

From the shockwave, photons scattered and coalesced back into Kizaru's human form.

"This was quite unexpected," Kizaru muttered, his eyes flashing dangerously as he wiped blood from his mouth. Luffy's punch had caught him off guard, the fastest one he'd ever experienced.

"Heh, this feels a lot better," Luffy said, retracting his fist and chuckling. His ability to foresee the future, honed through his observation Haki, gave him an edge over Kizaru. If he could bridge the speed gap, he wouldn't struggle against Kizaru as he had before.

"The elasticity of my rubber body, combined with the hardened Armament Haki, lets my punches exceed my body's speed," Luffy explained. "It's like a snake striking its prey."

Rayleigh, observing from the sidelines, remarked, "Luffy's growth in battle is remarkable."

Indeed, Luffy's ability to adapt and improve in combat was exceptional. However achieving this level of skill requires more knowledge and understanding than one might think.

Yet, despite his progress, Luffy hadn't even revealed the full potential of his Gear Fourth form.

And now, it seemed Luffy's Observation Haki surpassed Kizaru's.

"Straw Hat Kid," Kizaru said calmly, then vanished even faster.

For him, speed was a constant. But Kizaru's attitude could dictate his initial speed and firing speed, and now, there was no doubt he had pushed them to the highest level.

Yet, even though Kizaru unleashed his most serious attacks against someone of Four Emperor's calibre, he couldn't suppress Luffy.

They clashed in the air, reminiscent of Rayleigh's battles with Kizaru.

Black-red light, coated in Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki, clashed fiercely. One moved like a rapid stream, flickering and sending out countless piercing strikes.

The shockwaves changed the world's colours. Rayleigh watched from below, relieved.

Luffy's strength exceeded expectations. From being initially suppressed by Kizaru to now exchanging blows evenly, his growth was evident.

Of course, this was partly due to his exceptional qualities. His Conqueror's Haki, physical prowess, and skill development left little room for weaknesses.

The only lacking aspect was experience against formidable opponents, but he was rapidly improving in that regard, too.

Rayleigh couldn't help but feel a twinge of age when he saw how far the young ones had come.

Unlike Rayleigh's calm demeanour, Sentomaru, lurking behind the ruins, wore an expression like thunderclouds.

"I never thought the Straw Hat Kid would become so formidable, even surpassing the old man," Sentomaru muttered, retrieving a transponder snail from his pocket.

Despite his reluctance, it was time to call for reinforcements.

They found themselves completely outmatched in the current situation.

If Rayleigh didn't hold back, joining forces with the Straw Hats and Pluton, they could easily overpower Kizaru.

"I thought it would be a simple task, but it's spiralled out of control," Sentomaru muttered, feeling absurd.

Despite the high status of the Celestial Dragons, outside the Five Elders, few took them seriously.

Admirals were dispatched to the first half of the Grand Line, thinking it was an easy mission. Sentomaru sent Pacifistas as an experiment.

Kizaru came to Sabaody for a casual arrest of pirates, only to face unexpected resistance from a Straw Hat who had barely been at sea for a year.

It felt like something out of a fantasy.

"Moshi moshi," Sentomaru dialled the phone bug directly connected to Marine Marshal Sengoku.

As he began to report the situation, a sword wave sliced through the air, destroying the phone bug before he could finish.

"Brother, just observe the battle quietly. It's best not to interfere and spoil the scene," Rayleigh advised calmly, appearing behind Sentomaru in the ruins with a gentle smile on his face and a long sword in hand.

"Pluton," Sentomaru's expression darkened, but he dared not make a move against Rayleigh.

"Look with your heart. Can't you see a new era unfolding?" Rayleigh's voice held a hint of excitement, but Sentomaru couldn't share his enthusiasm.

If he possessed Kizaru's strength, he might retort, claiming it to be the era of the Marines, not pirates. However, faced with Rayleigh's overwhelming power, he remained silent.

"Luffy and Kizaru are evenly matched. It seems Roronoa's side will achieve victory first. That Vice Captain is quite formidable," Rayleigh remarked, glancing towards Zoro with surprise.

Meanwhile, at the Marine Headquarters in Marineford, Sengoku listened grimly to the distorted sounds from the phone bug.

At that moment, he knew something had gone awry at Sabaody.

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