A perfect chance.
Seeing Kizaru's powers temporarily suppressed by the seawater, Vincent Fox wasn't about to let it slip away.
In midair, he kicked off with both feet, instantly reversing his momentum and diving toward his target.
Inside the churning seawater, Kizaru's eyes widened as he saw Vincent bearing down on him. Panic stirred in his chest.
His Devil Fruit powers were smothered by the ocean's touch, even the simplest act of turning into light was beyond him now.
Fortunately, his past training with seastone weights meant he wasn't completely drained.
Gathering the last of his strength, Kizaru coated his abdomen in Armament Haki just enough to avoid being obliterated by what was coming.
The next moment, Vincent's fist was upon him.
Serious Punch!
BOOM!
The blow connected squarely with Kizaru's gut, scattering the seawater in all directions like a sudden downpour.
The thin shell of Haki he had managed to muster was nowhere near enough to fully absorb the impact.
Kizaru felt as though a full-speed battleship had slammed into his stomach, the sheer force threatening to tear him in half. Even with Haki, the shockwave ripped through his entire body.
"Urgh!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his body was hurled downward, crashing into the ice below like an artillery shell.
The impact thundered like a sudden clap of doom, drawing the eyes of everyone locked in battle.
"Wait… was that… Admiral Kizaru?!"
"And the one above him… is that the Killing God?!"
"He actually smashed an admiral into the ice? What kind of monster is that pirate?!"
"He's as strong as one of Whitebeard's division commanders…"
"No, I saw it, he used seawater to ambush Admiral Kizaru. Otherwise he never could've landed a blow like that."
Without realizing it, the Marines had given Vincent a new nickname: the Killing God. The name spread like wildfire among the ranks, their eyes filling with something new fear.
The ice beneath Kizaru cracked open into a gaping pit, fractures spiderwebbing outward as if the whole sheet might shatter.
"Damn it!!!"
His furious voice echoed up from the hole, followed by a flash of golden light.
The weakness faded, his powers returning, and in an instant he scattered into photons and reformed far above at a much safer distance than before.
Clutching his abdomen, Kizaru's face twisted with barely concealed rage.
Never before had anyone made him feel so humiliated. By rights, this man's strength should be far beneath his own… yet somehow he had been forced into this state.
And the worst part there was nothing he could do about it.
Not with Vincent's insane resilience that shrugged off his light-speed kicks, nor that flawless, unfailing danger sense sharper even than a marine admiral's Observation Haki.
Kizaru pressed his hand against his aching midsection, his gaze narrowing.
"Hey, old man," Vincent called up casually, "ever been hit by a fist the size of a cooking pot?"
The jab struck home. Rage flared in Kizaru's chest the upstart was throwing his own words back at him.
But the admiral had seen far too much to be baited for long. He forced his expression into a mask of calm, though the throbbing in his gut was hard to ignore.
"What terrifying strength… I think you might've cracked my insides," he admitted to himself, recalling the raw, crushing power of that punch. Without the thin Haki shield, Vincent might well have punched a hole clean through him.
"You're strong, kid," Kizaru finally said aloud. "And right now… there's not much I can do to you."
Then, with a faint smirk that didn't reach his eyes, he added, "But if I decide to leave… do you really think you can stop me?"
----------------------------------------------------
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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