"Neko Neko Backbreaker!"
The moment Pink dived beneath the sandy ground, a figure leaped out from the ground behind Cyrus, his arms about to wrap around him.
Bang!
Cyrus retracted his sword.
The hilt, wreathed in deep purple Armament Haki, slammed directly into Pink's chest.
The figure that had pounced out was sent flying backward.
Even though he had covered his chest with Armament Haki, Cyrus's blow made the flying Pink's face contort in pain.
My sternum is broken!
He instantly assessed his injury.
The immense force sent Pink flying backward.
As he scraped across the ground, the ground seemed to turn into a water surface, with ripples spreading out in all directions.
After sliding a great distance, Pink sank directly into the ground.
Looking at the trail of blood left on the ground, Cyrus turned, his eyes scanning the earth.
Although his opponent was hidden within the ground, he couldn't escape the observation of his Observation Haki.
Most Logia Type fruits represented things that exist in nature and the natural disasters these substances could cause.
Paramecia Types, on the other hand, more or less carried a sense of rule-bending.
In a way, Paramecia Types could alter various naturally formed rules.
Including the Swim-Swim man before him now.
'Not coming out?'
The thought flashed through Cyrus's mind.
It seemed Pink had been startled by his earlier blow.
He continued to swim beneath the ground, refusing to surface.
Seeing this, Cyrus plunged his longsword into the ground.
Flames were born from his hand gripping the sword, traveled along the blade, and finally sank into the earth.
Red patterns spread out rapidly in all directions, with the point where the blade entered the ground as the center.
"Scorching Heat Hell, Pauper's Edition!"
The corners of Cyrus's mouth turned up as he softly uttered a few words.
As his voice fell, the flames beneath the ground erupted violently.
The scorching flames burned the earth, and the soil was thrown up by the explosive fire, turning the surroundings into a domain of flames.
Cyrus, standing within the fire, was unaffected by the flames.
A figure shot out from underground after the fiery explosion.
"Diaper Bomb!"
While in mid-air, Pink suddenly turned, aiming his rear end towards Cyrus.
But he never got to use the move.
A scorching hot blade appeared before his neck.
Pink's body stiffened as he landed in the flames.
Even as the fire burned him, Pink didn't dare to move recklessly.
The blade was right at his throat. If he moved his neck, the blade might just slice it open.
The raging flames around them seemed to have a life of their own, converging on the blade before his neck.
The gathered flames formed several orange-red ribbons that spiraled towards the sword's body.
A moment later, the flames vanished.
But the surrounding temperature did not drop.
It would still take time to cool down.
Cyrus, holding the hilt of Flame, emerged from the disappearing fire.
"As expected, I can't even take a single blow from you!"
Even though he had anticipated this before coming, now that it was actually happening, Pink still felt a sense of dejection.
Cyrus's gaze swept over Pink.
The extreme heat had left burns on his body, and the smell of burnt flesh already hung in the air.
But the man didn't even frown.
"So, you came here to die?"
Although he felt that Pink's will was strong, whether his will was strong or not was meaningless to Cyrus.
"I am an executive of the Donquixote Family, and what you destroyed is the property of the Donquixote Family," Pink said in a deep voice, enduring the pain of his burns.
Cyrus nodded upon hearing this, but his body suddenly dodged to the side.
A speck of golden light flashed past, striking the ground directly.
Boom!
The speck of light hit the ground, and the earth exploded instantly.
Pink was sent tumbling by the blast and passed out immediately after landing.
The shockwave of the explosion blasted Cyrus's body into flames, after which his body reformed. He turned his head to look up at the sky.
A golden beam of light came from the horizon, arriving above them in a flash.
A tall figure in a yellow-striped suit and a Navy cape materialized from within the beam of light.
"Kizaru!"
Cyrus narrowed his eyes, his Observation Haki fully unleashed, locking onto Kizaru in the sky.
Borsalino, having condensed his body from the beam of light, was also sizing up Cyrus.
He had seen with his own eyes the moment Cyrus's body turned into flames.
It really is a Logia Type.
As a Logia user himself, he naturally recognized at a glance that what Cyrus had just done was a manifestation of a Logia ability.
He's a bit like that guy Akainu!
Borsalino, still in mid-air, raised a hand to his chin and fell into thought.
"Are you here to save him?"
Seeing Kizaru stroking his chin in thought without speaking, Cyrus decided to ask directly.
He had already considered the possibility of Kizaru appearing before him when he saw the news of Kizaru being in the North Blue.
However, for Kizaru to be able to attack from outside his Observation Haki's range—or rather, the attack originated within his range, but the guy's speed was just too fast.
"Save him? No, no, someone just wants you to leave the North Blue. You've gone too far here."
Hearing Cyrus's question, Kizaru snapped back to his senses and shook his head.
"Too far? Admiral Kizaru can't possibly be unaware that these are Doflamingo's armories, right? Or has Doflamingo become a Shichibukai, and the Navy now truly considers him one of their own?" Cyrus said, trying to guess where Kizaru had received his orders from.
"Well, about that question!" Kizaru said, his body turning into specks of light before reforming not far in front of Cyrus.
"How scary!" Kizaru said with a pouted-lip expression, feeling the high temperature that had yet to cool down.
He then glanced at Pink, who was lying motionless on the ground in the distance.
"This isn't under my jurisdiction. After all, I didn't receive any orders to that effect. The order I received is to get you to stop."
"And if I say no?"
Cyrus looked at Kizaru, tightening his grip on his sword.
Fighting Aokiji had been his plan from the start, but fighting Kizaru was not actually part of his plan.
But just because it wasn't in the plan didn't mean Cyrus would end things just like that.
"The Fleet Admiral said that if you refuse, I am to capture you and bring you back," Kizaru said, raising a hand to his chin and sizing up Cyrus.
"Then Admiral Kizaru can give it a try!"
Upon hearing this, Cyrus channeled Armament Haki into his hand. His Conqueror's Haki suddenly erupted, rushing out in all directions.
Kizaru's curious expression froze, and his pupils contracted abruptly.
"Hey, hey, hey, no way!"
Feeling the pressure of the Conqueror's Haki emanating from Cyrus, as well as the extremely condensed Armament Haki on Cyrus's hand, Kizaru's throat moved as he subconsciously swallowed.
His insight was naturally not lacking.
Cyrus's Armament Haki had clearly reached an advanced level of application.
Haki condensed to such a degree could already injure him.
And this Conqueror's Haki...
Fleet Admiral Sengoku seems to have found me a huge problem!
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