"Zehahaha!"
Golden Lion Shiki's wild laughter boomed like thunder, cutting through the roaring wind and rain. He looked at the black-and-gold naginata that Kyle had drawn, then at the cold determination on his face. Shiki's eyes blazed with the fervent excitement of a man who had just found a kindred spirit.
"I knew it! Deep down, you're just like me!" He spread his arms wide, as if to embrace the world now enveloped by storm and war. "Come on, Kyle! Enough with the formalities! Let's you and I join forces, right here and now, and completely overturn this hypocritical tomb of 'Justice'!"
He pointed his famous sword at Garp and Sengoku, his voice rising to a fever pitch of madness.
"Those two troublesome old men are mine! All the other Marine scum, from the officers down to the soldiers, can be your appetizer! What do you say?!"
Before his words had even finished echoing, an incredibly fierce and violent aura erupted from the Golden Lion's body. A tide of golden-red Conqueror's Haki swept out in all directions like a physical force. The stone plaza groaned under the immense pressure, cracking into countless fissures. The very air seemed to thicken into glue. Before they could even scream, countless Marine soldiers rolled their eyes back, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed, unconscious.
Across the plaza, hundreds of white justice cloaks fell like wheat scythed down by a hurricane.
"Shiki! You bastard!" Sengoku roared, the golden light from his Buddha form growing even brighter as he and Garp released their own powerful auras to resist the overwhelming pressure.
However, this was only the beginning.
The next instant, an even deeper and vaster will descended upon the battlefield.
A black-and-gold Haki silently overflowed from Kyle's body. It was not a violent wave but something more absolute, like a boundless starry sky quietly blanketing everything. As this domain settled over the battlefield, it carried with it an absolute will that seemed to strip everything else away. The golden-red aura of Shiki's Haki, which had been a raging tide just a moment before, crashed against this new pressure and was instantly suppressed, pushed back, and silently devoured.
If the Golden Lion's Haki was the roar of a king of beasts, then Kyle's was the indifferent gaze of a god reigning over all creation.
"Zehahaha! Interesting! This is too interesting!" After a brief moment of shock, the Golden Lion's eyes blazed with an even greater fervor. "So you're a monster on this level!"
The invisible pressure intensified, descending layer by layer. The Marine officers who had managed to remain conscious through Shiki's Haki now faced a far greater terror. They were horrified to find their senses being distorted. The sounds of thunder and rain faded away, the scene before their eyes began to sway, and a primal fear rising from the very instinct to survive gripped their hearts. Even warriors like Vice Admiral Tsuru could only clench their teeth and use all their strength to remain standing, cold sweat soaking their hair.
"Damn it…" Garp's fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
He looked at the grim sight of unconscious Marines littered across the plaza, then at the two monsters who treated Marineford as their personal playground. A surge of pure fury rushed to his head. He knew the situation had spiraled completely out of control. Either one of these men was a threat capable of shaking the world, and now they were here together.
"Sengoku! You handle Shiki!" Garp roared. Without any more hesitation, he stomped the ground, sending shattered stones flying, and launched himself forward. He wasn't charging at his old rival, the Golden Lion. He was going straight for Kyle. He had to suppress the more unpredictable variable first.
"Your opponent is me, Garp!" Shiki laughed wildly as he instantly appeared to block Garp's path. His twin swords became a deadly tornado, once again clashing with the Marine Hero's iron fists.
Meanwhile, a group of Marine officers who had finally shaken off the double Haki pressure got their bearings. They were battle-hardened elites, the very backbone of the Marines. Their eyes were bloodshot and they gasped for breath as if they had just clawed their way ashore from the deep sea.
"We can't let him cause any more trouble!"
"You won't succeed!"
"Surround him and take him down!"
Seven or eight figures, filled with fearless resolve, simultaneously used "Soru." They left afterimages in their wake as they surged from all directions toward the lone man standing with a naginata in the middle of the plaza.
However, faced with their encirclement, Kyle didn't even move the hand holding his weapon. He simply took a leisurely step forward.
A Vice Admiral, famous for his Shigan, was at the front of the charge. His two fingers were pressed together and coated in black Armament Haki, making them as hard as steel. The air whistled as he thrust forward, aiming straight for Kyle's throat.
Kyle didn't even look at him. He simply raised his left hand and casually pinched with his index and middle fingers.
"Clink!"
It was a soft sound, as if he had just pinched a sewing needle. The fierce expression on the Vice Admiral's face instantly froze, replaced by utter horror. His Shigan, a technique powerful enough to pierce steel plates, had been caught so effortlessly. A terrifying force traveled back up his arm from his fingertips, making him feel as if his finger bones were about to shatter. Before he could react, Kyle flicked his wrist. The Vice Admiral felt an irresistible force lift him into the air, spinning him like a top before slamming him violently into a comrade who was preparing a Rankyaku kick behind him.
"Bang!"
The two men collapsed in a heap, the dull thud of breaking bones clearly audible.
Kyle's figure was a blur in the rain. With each flicker of movement, another Marine elite fell. There were no flashy techniques or Devil Fruit abilities, just pure, overwhelming speed, strength, and skill.
A Rear Admiral saw the fate of his colleagues and his eyes widened in rage. He quickly took a defensive stance, his muscles instantly hardening.
"Tekkai: Go!"
It was his proudest defense, strong enough to withstand cannon fire. But in his eyes, Kyle was just a blur that appeared before him. A seemingly slow elbow strike accurately hit him in the chest.
"Pfft!"
His Iron Body shattered with an audible crack. His chest visibly caved in, and he flew backward like a broken kite, knocking over half a dozen other soldiers. A simple whip kick from Kyle stirred the air and rainwater into blades sharp enough to sweep three more officers off their feet. They were already coughing up blood before they hit the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the encirclement had crumbled.
Kyle appeared like a ghost behind the last Vice Admiral, grabbing him by the neck with one hand and lifting him effortlessly off the ground. The man's legs kicked wildly as he struggled for air, his face turning a deep shade of purple.
"Too noisy."
Kyle casually threw him. The Vice Admiral became a black blur, crashing into a distant, ruined building with a loud bang. He left a human-shaped hole in the wall as rubble and dust billowed out.
The entire plaza, apart from the world-shaking battle between the three legends in the distance, fell deathly silent. Kyle stood in the center of the unconscious Marines and slowly turned his head.
In that oppressive silence, a deadly killing intent appeared from nowhere.
Kyle's head tilted a fraction of an inch to the right.
Whoosh—!
A beam of highly condensed golden laser, burning with intense heat and moving at an impossible speed, whistled past his ear. Wherever the beam of light passed, the curtain of rain was torn open, and raindrops instantly vaporized into nothing. The laser finally struck the distant fortress wall, leaving a smooth, molten hole that was still smoking. Rainwater sizzled as it hit the glowing edges.
Kyle's movement paused for a second. His golden eyes pierced through the heavy rain, locking onto a shadow on a faraway clock tower. He grinned, a look of intrigued amusement on his face.
"Sneak attacks aren't a good habit, Borsalino."
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