"Whoosh!"
With a blinding flash, Kizaru's foot smashed into Vincent Fox mid-air.
At that moment, Vincent had no way to dodge.
This was the downside of not being able to fly.
Still, his danger sense only sent out a mild warning.
That meant Kizaru's kick wouldn't cause serious damage.
After all, Vincent's defense was simply too absurd now.
At this point, probably only slashes like Mihawk's could genuinely threaten him.
"Boom!"
A thunderous impact echoed across the battlefield.
Vincent was blasted away by the force of Kizaru's kick.
The admiral's strength was undeniable.
Vincent's body slammed into the plaza, stirring up a cloud of debris as he carved out a crater in the ground.
Cheers erupted from the surrounding navy soldiers.
On the cannon platform of the third artillery point, the marines wiped sweat from their brows.
"W-We're saved…"
Had Kizaru not arrived in time, they might've ended up like the last two artillery teams completely annihilated by that terrifying monster.
Down in the plaza.
As the smoke and dust cleared, Vincent's figure emerged from the rubble completely unscathed.
The cheers of the marines abruptly died in their throats. One by one, their eyes widened, their expressions frozen in disbelief.
"No way… he's fine?"
"He tanked a direct hit from an admiral… without a scratch? What kind of monster is this?!"
"Is the Whitebeard Pirates full of freaks or what?!"
Terror gripped the hearts of many marines. Despite being on the same battlefield, none dared approach Vincent.
Even Kizaru looked at him with shock.
"Quite the frightening crew… Whitebeard Pirates."
Vincent turned his gaze toward Kizaru and suddenly grinned.
"Kizaru, your so-called lightspeed kick isn't that impressive after all."
The moment his words fell.
Vincent launched himself from the ground, charging straight toward Kizaru.
He was counterattacking.
"You're underestimating me, huh…"
Kizaru narrowed his eyes and let out a low murmur.
"Heavenly Sword of Ama-no-Murakumo!"
A mass of photons gathered in Kizaru's hand, quickly forming a gleaming blade of pure light.
Smart old man.
He could tell that Vincent's body was ridiculously durable comparable to a Yonko like Kaido.
Normal attacks would be useless.
Only piercing weapons stood a chance of inflicting real damage.
Seeing Vincent rush in, Kizaru raised his light blade and thrust forward.
A chill surged down Vincent's spine. His skin tingled. Goosebumps broke out all over his body.
His danger sense was screaming at him.
It meant that Kizaru's Ama-no-Murakumo sword could genuinely hurt him.
Of course, Vincent wasn't stupid enough to just ram into it.
Instead, he swung a powerful kick, knocking the light blade aside.
Kizaru's "light-speed" abilities didn't mean all his attacks moved at light speed.
If they did, he'd be invincible by now.
In reality, Kizaru only reached that speed while teleporting. His actual strikes were merely faster than average.
After deflecting the sword, Vincent closed in with explosive speed.
Though Kizaru stood over three meters tall, making Vincent at only 180 cm look like a child beside him…
In this moment, Vincent was far more menacing.
With a roar, he drove a devastating punch toward Kizaru's forehead.
"Boom!"
The punch created a deafening shockwave.
The sheer force of it vaporized the air around them. The aftermath alone killed several nearby marines.
To think the aftershock alone could do that…
The raw power behind Vincent's fist was unimaginable.
But…
It was useless against Kizaru.
His body turned into light, not even bothering to dodge. Vincent's punch simply passed through him like air.
"You haven't mastered Armament Haki, have you?"
Kizaru's voice rang out.
"No matter how powerful your punch is… it won't work on me."
Vincent's face darkened.
He immediately backed off and widened the gap between them.
Watching Kizaru's glowing body slowly reform, Vincent frowned.
Logia fruit users really were broken.
Ordinary physical attacks meant nothing against them.
Even if he doubled his strength, he still couldn't land a hit.
Only Armament Haki or Seastone could bypass that intangibility and strike their real bodies.
Seastone…
Suddenly, something clicked in Vincent's mind.
His gaze scanned the chaotic battlefield below.
He remembered that Smoker the White Hunter wielded a weapon made of pure Seastone.
That thing could neutralize Devil Fruit powers.
Even Luffy, the main character of One Piece, had suffered terribly at Smoker's hands because of it.
Without hesitation, Vincent jumped away and dove into the chaos of battle.
He had spotted Smoker not far off.
Kizaru raised an eyebrow.
"He's ignoring me?"
With a flick of his finger, he fired a laser toward Vincent's back.
"Whoosh!"
A searing yellow beam of light shot out.
But Vincent had already sensed the attack through his danger sense.
With a swift sidestep, he narrowly dodged the beam.
Kizaru wasn't surprised.
This young man's strength was terrifying but what disturbed him more was the uncanny feeling he gave off.
It was as if Vincent didn't belong to this world at all.
Just as Kizaru prepared to continue his pursuit.
A gust of wind whipped past his ear.
Reacting on instinct, he raised his arm to block.
"Thud!"
A heavy kick struck from behind.
It was Marco, the Phoenix.
"Kizaru, your opponent is me."
Marco smirked as he landed in front of him.
Kizaru's face remained calm, but inwardly, he sighed.
This guy again…
Marco had the power to go toe-to-toe with him, and that pesky regeneration made him incredibly difficult to deal with.
Meanwhile.
Vincent had nearly reached Smoker.
The White Hunter was still deep in the fight, but he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of impending doom…
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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