"Relax, Uncle Borsalino."
Kyoya waved his hand, "If I didn't have enough confidence, why would I bother coming to trouble you?"
"After all, just as you understand me, I understand you very well too."
"Come on, uncle!"
"Who knows? After this, you might really be able to retire!"
Shinigami and Zanpakuto are two sides of the same coin.
But before a Shinigami completes the training to master their Zanpakuto's Bankai, the Shinigami and the Zanpakuto remain as 'two separate entities'.
When a Shinigami wishes to use their Zanpakuto's power, they must call its name and receive its response, allowing the Zanpakuto to lend its strength to the Shinigami.
At this stage, the Shinigami requires the Zanpakuto's cooperation to wield its abilities.
Only after completing the training to master their Zanpakuto's Bankai does the Shinigami and Zanpakuto become 'one'.
At this point, the Shinigami has fully subdued the Zanpakuto and mastered its power, able to wield its abilities with a mere thought.
The most obvious sign is that Captains who have mastered their Zanpakuto's Bankai no longer need to call its name to activate Shikai and they can release it directly.
Kyoya's claim that Borsalino could retire meant he had the confidence to fully subdue him.
"So scary~..."
Hearing Kyoya's words, Borsalino stood up, though his tone was anything but confident. "Kyoya brat, you have trained for less than a year and already have the confidence to defeat this old man~..."
"If I give you a bit more time, I might just end up tossed into the garbage heap, huh~?"
Kyoya's forehead twitched with annoyance!
"Uncle, are you treating me like one of those rookies from Sabaody Archipelago now?"
"One 'so scary' after another, one kick to take down a Supernova!!"
"And don't forget… while I've only trained in the Shinigami world for less than a year, the rewards I received included over fifty years of training!"
"Maa~ maa~, who knows about that sort of thing~?"
"After all, unless you chose the Devil Fruit training option, I wouldn't have any memories of training alongside you."
"So if you picked any other training option, I wouldn't feel much of anything."
"At most, I'd just sense your Reiatsu rising at some point and guess that you underwent some kind of training."
"I see."
Hearing Borsalino's explanation, Kyoya nodded in understanding.
Indeed, while Zanpakuto could be considered one with their wielder to some extent, in the context of the One Piece Achievement System, Kyoya was the host, and Borsalino was merely the manifested will of the Devil Fruit's 'devil', altered due to the differences between worlds.
"Well then, Kyoya-kun~..."
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light~?"
Hearing Borsalino's signature phrase, Kyoya's eyes narrowed slightly.
From 'Kyoya boy', to 'Kyoya brat', now 'Kyoya-kun'...
Each title reflected a change in Borsalino's stance.
Right now, Kyoya had no time to dwell on the implications of these shifts.
Because Borsalino's attack had already begun!
Golden light coalesced behind Kyoya, forming Borsalino's figure, his right foot gleaming with radiant energy!
Boom!
The kick tore straight through Kyoya's body, the sheer force blasting the ground where he stood and triggering a massive explosion.
However, Borsalino's attack didn't harm Kyoya in the slightest.
At that moment, Kyoya's body was shimmering with golden light. Borsalino's foot passed right through him, scattering flecks of light like an illusion.
Once the kick had completely phased through him, the light reformed into Kyoya's body.
"Uncle, have you forgotten that elementalization is not exclusive to you?"
Kyoya raised his left hand, his index finger aimed at Borsalino.
Golden light gathered at his fingertip before he fired a rapid barrage of beams at Borsalino.
"Lasers!"
"Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!"
In an instant, over a dozen golden beams pierced through Borsalino's body.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
After passing through Borsalino, the lasers struck the ocean behind him, detonating violently and sending mushroom clouds of water dozens of meters into the air.
"Tch."
Kyoya clicked his tongue.
Though his Observation Haki had predicted Borsalino's attack and allowed him to counter, Borsalino's reflexes were simply too fast.
Before Kyoya's lasers could hit, Borsalino had already turned into light, evading the attack entirely.
Sure enough, the Borsalino that had been struck dispersed into golden particles, only to reform above Kyoya.
Crossing his arms, countless golden lights gathered behind Borsalino.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa… starting off with a move like this? Are you serious, uncle?"
Seeing Borsalino unleash such a powerful technique, Kyoya was genuinely surprised.
In his mind, their battle would begin with mutual probing, exchanging blows in hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, Devil Fruit Abilities, and Haki, before escalating into a full-fledged clash that could last for days.
Thanks to his Buccaneer bloodline, Kyoya's stamina and recovery were second only to the most physically monstrous beings in the One Piece World.
With that confidence, he was fully prepared to fight Borsalino for days if necessary.
But judging by Borsalino's current approach, he had skipped the probing phase entirely and was going all-out from the start.
A battle of this intensity would rapidly drain both combatants' stamina.
In the One Piece World, this was essentially a fight to the death.
"Well then, I won't hold back either!"
Seeing countless golden orbs gathering in the sky, Kyoya's expression hardened as he clasped his hands together.
"Ama Murakumo!"
Pulling his hands apart, a sword forged from golden light materialized in Kyoya's grip.
Then, swinging the radiant blade, he unleashed a storm of slashes toward the rain of light descending from above.
"Shigure!"
Boom!
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
In an instant, countless white slashes surged upward like a torrential downpour, clashing with Borsalino's Yasakani no Magatama and erupting in deafening explosions.
Whoosh!
With a flash, Kyoya burst through the barrage of light, appearing right in front of Borsalino. His Ama no Murakumo gleamed with gold and white energy as he swung it down.
Clang!
Boom!
Naturally, Borsalino blocked the slash.
The collision of their two Ama no Murakumo unleashed a devastating shockwave, obliterating the surrounding terrain.
But in this clash of swordsmanship, Kyoya was the victor!
By fusing swordsmanship with the sheer force of his flying slashes, Kyoya's strikes with Ama no Murakumo carried over twice the power of a normal slash or sword swing!
In an instant, Borsalino was forced back.
Bang!
Combining Shunpo with Geppo, Kyoya erupted with both Reiatsu and physical strength, breaking the sound barrier as he accelerated. The air around him compressed into white shockwaves as he overtook Borsalino's retreating speed, appearing beside him in a flash-
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
What followed was Kyoya's one-sided onslaught.
Under the pressure of superior speed, swordsmanship, and mobility, Borsalino was reduced to a punching bag, relentlessly battered by Kyoya's rapid teleportation strikes.
His Observation Haki allowed him to predict Borsalino's movements, intercepting him at every turn and leaving him with no room to counterattack!
'This kid... his growth is insane!'
Borsalino was inwardly stunned.
Though he was a manifestation of the Pika Pika no Mi's power through the system, within the Shinigami's Power System, he was effectively a Zanpakuto born from Kyoya's soul.
He knew that with the system's aid, Kyoya would grow at an absurd rate, and surpassing him was only a matter of time.
But how long has it been since then, and Kyoya has grown to his current level?
'If I don't get serious now, I might actually lose to this brat!'
Since he was merely a manifestation of the Pika Pika no Mi's power, Borsalino lacked the full mastery of Armament and Observation Haki that the real Admiral Kizaru possessed.
This put him slightly below the real Borsalino in terms of raw power.
But even with just his mastery over the Pika Pika no Mi, he was strong enough to stand among the Admirals and Emperors.
Of course, since he and Kyoya shared a soul, Kyoya's Observation Haki was also his to wield.
Once Kyoya obtained Armament Haki, Borsalino would reach his complete form… Admiral [Kizaru] Borsalino in full.
As for Conqueror's Haki, since Borsalino's original character setting didn't include it, he couldn't use it.
But even without Conqueror's Haki, a fully realized Kizaru Borsalino would stand at the absolute peak of Admiral and Emperor-level combatants.
...Well, his attack power might be slightly lacking compared to the very top tiers, but his speed was unrivaled!
He could stalemate anyone!
And when he said 'lacking', it was only in comparison to the absolute strongest. Outside of those who wielded [Advanced Conqueror's Haki Infusion], few could match his offensive might.
"Well then~..."
After being forced back, Borsalino dispersed his Ama no Murakumo and raised his hands, forming a mirror of light in front of him.
No… not just one.
Across the sky, the ground, and the space around them, countless mirrors of light materialized.
"Yata no Kagami!"