"Vice Admiral Ronse… is dead?"
From afar, a crowd of Marines had also been watching the battle unfold.
They'd just witnessed the towering figure of Ronse easily two or three times Vincent's size get slammed to the ground and killed in two punches.
Gulp.
Someone audibly swallowed, unable to find the words to describe this unknown pirate who had appeared out of nowhere.
"Monster…"
No one knew who muttered it first, but everyone nearby nodded in agreement.
"A real monster. Looks like only an admiral could deal with him…"
"When did the Whitebeard Pirates get someone like this? Could he be borrowed from the Red-Haired Pirates? I heard the two crews are pretty close…"
"No way, absolutely not!"
"He feels stronger than even Marco the Phoenix. Might be the true number one under Whitebeard."
"Admiral Kizaru is fighting that pirate now. Aokiji's injured. Only Akainu's left unscathed…"
Their murmurs trailed off, with more and more eyes drifting toward Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Akainu standing high above the battlefield.
Back in the fray, having finished off two sneak-attacking vice admirals, Vincent casually wiped the iron-scented blood from his knuckles and strode forward.
He remembered these two clearly they were notorious for ambush tactics.
On this battlefield, Onigumo had once successfully ambushed Aokiji, helping Kizaru defeat him.
As for the other one, he'd been stomped into the ground by Whitebeard and shattered into pieces by the man's sheer quake power.
With that thought, Vincent looked back briefly, his eyes landing on the Moby Dick and the man behind Whitebeard Squard, also known as the "Great Whirlpool Spider."
"Who's that brat? Never seen him before," Whitebeard asked as he leaned on his massive bisento, eyeing Vincent.
"I don't know either. Judging by his outfit, he's probably new… but his strength…" Squard hesitated.
"He's strong. Gurararara! As expected of one of my sons!" Whitebeard bellowed with a hearty laugh.
Squard gave a stiff nod, saying nothing more. His eyes flickered with hesitation as he stared at Whitebeard's back, something dark swirling in his thoughts.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Vincent suddenly accelerated, heading straight for Kizaru.
"Captain Marco!" he called out.
Every step he took sent shards of stone flying from the ground, each one echoing with explosive force.
"You brat…" Marco recognized the familiar yet changed figure sprinting toward him. Unsure of Vincent's purpose, he still barked, "Get out of here! That man's an admiral! Even though I've drained a good chunk of his stamina, he's still insanely strong. You can't beat him!"
Vincent merely shook his head and stepped in front of Marco.
"What are you waiting for? Run!" Marco snapped again, seeing Vincent unmoving.
Vincent gave a helpless smile and walked up to him. With a small gesture, he beckoned Marco to lean in.
Marco blinked, then instinctively bent slightly.
Vincent whispered a few things into his ear.
Marco's face changed instantly, a mix of disbelief and confusion flashing across it.
"How do you know that?!"
Vincent leaned in again and gave him a short explanation.
Marco's eyes darkened with suspicion but also understanding.
"Man, you guys are getting pretty cocky. I'm still standing right here, you know~" Kizaru's laid-back voice interrupted, his tone tinged with mockery.
Marco glanced at Kizaru, then made a decision.
He was going to trust Vincent, just this once.
His expression relaxed as he put one hand on his hip and drawled in a Kizaru-like tone, "Oya~ so tired. I think I'll sit this one out. Let our rookie here play with you for a bit."
With that, his hands turned into blazing blue wings and he zipped off into the sky in a flash of green-blue light.
"How rude. Leaving without my permission?" Kizaru muttered, the glow on his hands intensifying as he began charging his signature technique.
Yasakani no Magatama!
But just before he could fire, Vincent struck.
He exploded forward, appearing right beside Kizaru in a blur, his right fist howling through the air toward the admiral's head.
A Serious Punch!
In that split second, Kizaru dissolved into golden light particles, barely dodging the attack.
Boom!
The punch missed but the shockwave blasted past him and crashed into the Marine ranks behind.
The battlefield was instantly cleared.
Dozens of Marines were sent flying, coughing blood, their bones shattered. Some didn't even survive the blast.
"You bastard… Ame-no-Murakumo!" Kizaru growled, his left hand glowing as he summoned a radiant sword of light.
Out of all his abilities, this was the one that could focus his power into a concentrated point one of the few attacks that could actually hurt Vincent.
Vincent wasn't about to just stand there and take it.
He rolled to the side with a graceful dodge, avoiding the deadly beam sword entirely.
As the two clashed, neither side gaining the upper hand, Marco hovered in the air and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Kizaru, next time we meet… that is, if you survive this…" he muttered, disappearing into the distance.
"Hmph."
Kizaru snorted and turned his attention fully to Vincent.
"You don't even have Armament Haki. What makes you think you can fight me?"
"I can dodge every one of your attacks. But how many of mine can you take?" Vincent responded coolly.
The message was clear: I can afford to make mistakes. You can't.
"Is that so? Then let's test it."
Vincent reached behind him and drew the Seastone-tipped jitte he'd taken from Smoker.
"Oh? A Seastone weapon? So scary~" Kizaru mocked, arms crossed as if he were just watching a show.
"But unless that thing touches me, it's useless, you know~"
"Then try me."
Vincent launched forward again.
His speed was blinding he skimmed the ground like a missile, Seastone jitte in his left hand, right hand coiled for another devastating punch.
As expected, Kizaru again split into light, creating distance between them.
Boom!
Another punch exploded outward in a shockwave, the air rippling violently.
A Marine caught in the center was instantly reduced to a pulp of shattered flesh and broken bone.
"Serious Punch!"
Another blow followed, another shockwave ripping across the battlefield.
More Marines fell, blood gushing from their mouths, their bodies folding like paper under the invisible pressure.
"This pirate… truly despicable," Kizaru growled.
His face was darker than ever, eyes sharp and murderous.
Vincent wasn't just aiming for him, he was using the admiral as bait to slaughter every Marine behind him.
In just two punches, the death toll had climbed by dozens.
"Ame-no-Murakumo!"
With a roar, Kizaru once again summoned his light blade and lunged.
But Vincent's crisis-sensing ability had already warned him.
He dodged with a smooth sidestep, avoiding the deadly stab.
A smirk curled on Vincent's lips as he eyed the recovering admiral.
"Looks like… my chance has come."
----------------------------------------------------
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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