On a distant rooftop, Rayleigh and Hawkeye stood side by side.
They could feel the Conqueror's Haki Cyrus was unleashing.
"This guy..." Rayleigh felt the pressure and shook his head, speechless.
He turned to Hawkeye. "I thought you would help him. With your strength, holding off a Marine Admiral shouldn't be an issue, right?"
"Holding one off is fine," Hawkeye said with a serious expression. "But he told me that no matter how many opponents show up today, he wants to take them all on."
Rayleigh's eyelids twitched at those words.
"That's why I'm just watching," Hawkeye said, keeping his eyes on the battlefield.
"Fair enough, it has nothing to do with me anyway," Rayleigh said, squatting down. "Speaking of which, his Conqueror's Haki is much stronger now compared to when he fought me."
Sensing the sheer power Cyrus was giving off, Rayleigh sighed.
The Haki Cyrus used during their fight was nothing compared to this.
It felt like a completely different person.
"He was holding back," Hawkeye noted, glancing down at Rayleigh. "He always hides his true strength. Or rather, he didn't need to use his full power against you."
"Whoa, how much was he holding back?" Rayleigh asked, stunned.
"Ninety percent," Hawkeye stated. "Maybe even more."
Rayleigh's face stiffened.
He looked up at the swordsman in shock.
Was he lying? But from the time they spent together, Hawkeye did not seem like the type to lie.
'So, was it true? How could that be? What was going on?'
He knew Cyrus was a monster, but not to this degree.
If he hid ninety percent of his power during their duel... was he just treating Rayleigh like a child?
Rayleigh looked back toward Cyrus.
The Conqueror's Haki was still pouring out.
The invisible force oppressed everything around it.
The heavy pressure cracked the surrounding buildings. Stone slabs shattered under Cyrus's feet as he walked. Trails of black lightning, formed by the intense Haki, sparked in the air.
Kizaru watched Cyrus with a serious expression.
This aura was much stronger than when they fought in the North Blue.
What was going on with this guy?
Jinbei spotted Cyrus.
Fighting off the overwhelming pressure, the Fish-Man's eyes widened as he watched Cyrus stroll past him down the street.
"Yo, you came too? But today is my show. You all should leave and take these guys with you," Cyrus smiled, glancing at Jinbei and his crew hiding in a nearby building.
Before Jinbei could even react, Cyrus turned his head and kept walking forward.
Jinbei let out a breath.
He looked over the unconscious Fish-Men and merfolk scattered in front of the auction house, then glanced at his own crew behind him.
'What on earth was Cyrus planning? Whatever it was, there was no time to think about it now.'
"Great Eruption!"
Just as Jinbei prepared to move, a loud roar shook the area.
The air temperature skyrocketed!
Up in the sky, a figure with a fist made of pure magma plunged toward Cyrus.
Bang!
Cyrus looked up.
Black lightning exploded as a shockwave blasted from beneath his feet. He shot up into the air, covered in dark lightning, and clashed with the descending Sakazuki.
His blade, coated in both Armament and Conqueror's Haki, slashed into Akainu's magma fist.
Boom!
The magma burst apart in mid-air.
Cyrus's single strike overpowered Sakazuki, sending the Admiral crashing down to the ground.
The shattered magma rained over the street as the bystanders scattered in a panic.
As it turned out, quite a few strong fighters were still present.
Many could still move despite the heavy Haki. Seeing the clash between Cyrus and Akainu, these survivors fled in all directions.
Golden laser beams shot up from the ground, intercepting the debris.
Their target was not Cyrus, but the chunks of magma raining from the sky.
Akainu smashed into the street. The impact sent a shockwave through the ground, destroying the nearby buildings.
Cyrus landed but did not press his attack, as Kizaru stood just ahead of him.
Still, Cyrus was quite satisfied with the strike.
The time he spent mastering this technique paid off. Coating his attacks in Conqueror's Haki boosted his power by a massive margin.
Beyond making his attacks stronger, the Conqueror's coating had a lingering effect. The Haki still pressured top-tier fighters, even if the mental impact was smaller.
Striking them with it forced that raw pressure into their bodies. With enough hits, the internal damage would stack up.
Magma churned.
Sakazuki stepped out of the large crater, leaving scorching footprints that melted the stone.
"You really went for it, you bastard," Kizaru said, eyeing Cyrus with a serious look.
In that brief clash, Sakazuki came out on the losing end. Kizaru knew his colleague well.
If Sakazuki attacked, he was not holding back.
"Went for what?" Cyrus asked, holding his sword in one hand.
Black lightning sparked along the edge.
"Attacking the Celestial Dragons, Cyrus. I did not expect this from you."
Borsalino had kept a close eye on Cyrus. Yet he never expected the man to march in so bold and open.
Using Conqueror's Haki to knock out the Celestial Dragons counted as a direct attack.
Now, the Admiral had no choice but to fight.
"I just came to grab three Devil Fruits. As for those Celestial Dragons, if they got caught in the crossfire, so be it. You remember what I told you before, right?"
"I remember. I thought you were joking," Borsalino replied. He turned to look at Sakazuki. "You hold him off. I will get those VIPs out of here."
He meant the unconscious Celestial Dragons, of course.
An attack was one thing, but letting a Celestial Dragon die was a whole different nightmare.
Swish!
"I don't think so!" Cyrus vanished and reappeared right in front of Kizaru.
At just over two meters tall, he stood a head shorter than the Admiral.
Even so, his towering presence made up the difference.
"You're not taking anyone away. If you want to save them, let's see if you have what it takes."
"How scary!" Kizaru's body scattered into golden light and reformed a short distance away.
Cyrus pulled back his sword and gave the light-man a sideways glance.
"Go!" Sakazuki agreed.
Kizaru had the right idea.
With the Celestial Dragons still on the battlefield, even the shockwaves of their fight could kill the nobles.
"Shigan..."
A figure in a black suit appeared behind Cyrus, his fingertip coated in Armament Haki.
Boom!
Without even turning his head, Cyrus swung his blade backward.
The sheer force of the swing sent the government agent flying before the steel even touched him.
Boom! Boom!
The suited man crashed through several buildings and disappeared into the rubble!
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