The battle had already been raging for a long time, and Area 1 was now completely unrecognizable.
Hawkeye flew back with a metal case in his hand, and as Rayleigh looked over, the swordsman raised his hand to open the case, revealing three fruits to them.
"Are these the three Devil Fruits that were up for auction?" Rayleigh asked, having heard the news before.
"Before he started, Cyrus told me to help him out if he couldn't get free," Hawkeye said, closing the case and looking toward the battlefield.
"Those two can't go all out," Rayleigh said, noticing Hawkeye's gaze and pointing out that the only intact place in Area 1 right now was where the group of Celestial Dragons lay.
"I know," Hawkeye replied, naturally seeing that the two Admirals had to divide their attention to protect the nobles, preventing them from using their most powerful techniques.
'But what is Cyrus waiting for?' Hawkeye had a puzzled look on his face, and Rayleigh understood what he was wondering about.
After all, Hawkeye had told him earlier that Cyrus had held back significantly when they fought, so did that mean Cyrus was holding back now as well?
Boom!
Just as both were wondering, a figure was sent flying toward them, crashing not far from where they stood.
Akainu, billowing with thick smoke, stood up from the large crater he had created, looking extremely battered.
After getting up, the Admiral turned to look at Rayleigh and Hawkeye standing side by side, a grave look flashing in his eyes before he charged out again.
...
Meanwhile, after kicking Akainu away, Cyrus threw a left punch that hit the arm Kizaru raised to block, sending the light-man flying backward as well.
[Health: 39%]
Taking a moment to glance at his health, Cyrus looked relaxed, noting that his health regeneration speed had also increased recently.
'If I weren't taking damage in a fight, I might just be able to break even while fighting at full power,' Cyrus thought, 'but against these two, it is impossible not to get hit.'
"Great Eruption!"
A furious roar echoed as the ground beneath Cyrus's feet suddenly bulged, followed by a massive eruption of magma.
Akainu appeared at the side of the leaping Cyrus and threw a punch, but Cyrus threw out his left hand, causing their Armament Haki-wrapped fists to collide.
The two separated on contact, both landing to absorb the force.
Kizaru stood on one side of the group of Celestial Dragons, feeling the pain in his arms as he watched the standoff between Cyrus and Akainu.
Amidst the thick smoke, magma, and shattered battlefield, the three men stood in a triangle to face each other.
Cyrus propped his sword on his shoulder and looked up at the sky, noticing that while many of the News Birds had been caught in the battle, there were now even more of them circling above.
'Clearly, those birds were dispatched by Morgans.'
Averting his gaze, Cyrus looked at Akainu and Kizaru.
'Even in my current state, its impossible to take down these two,' he realized.
Their combat experience was too rich, and their Devil Fruit abilities and Haki were trained to a very high level, meaning that even with his current unrestricted exertion of power and Haki, it wasn't enough.
'If I were facing just one of them, perhaps it would be possible.'
This battle was, in part, for Cyrus to confirm his position on the food chain in this state, and the result so far was satisfactory.
'Unyielding is, after all, my last resort,' he thought.
The period after Unyielding was when he would be at his weakest, even if he could recover health while it was active, because the skill had a cooldown.
An opponent he couldn't defeat while Unyielding was active would put him in real danger after it wore off, making it strictly a trump card, while his normal combat state remained his true foundation.
"Cyrus, what exactly are you trying to do?" Kizaru asked again, his voice echoing across the slightly quieter battlefield.
If Cyrus wanted to kill these Celestial Dragons, he had plenty of opportunities before, especially since he had previously demonstrated the ability to move using the unseen flames around him.
This method of movement was akin to teleportation, and even Kizaru and Akainu couldn't react in time, proving that Cyrus's goal wasn't to kill the Celestial Dragons.
'Could he really aiming for those three Devil Fruits?' Kizaru wondered, though his Observation Haki had already perceived Hawkeye taking them away during the fight.
Hearing Kizaru's words, Cyrus's gaze lingered on him for a moment before shifting to the group of Celestial Dragons behind the Admiral.
"Hahaha."
A smile appeared on Cyrus's face as laughter escaped his lips.
And as the corners of his mouth turned up further, his laughter grew louder, causing the expressions of Akainu and Kizaru to grow even more solemn.
They could now clearly feel the thick killing intent emanating from Cyrus, and it wasn't directed at them, but at the nobles.
Cyrus raised his left hand and made two quick gestures, which Hawkeye saw from a distance before scanning the battlefield and turning around.
"It's time to leave. Cyrus is about to get serious," Hawkeye said to Rayleigh with a grave expression.
"Huh?"
"The upcoming battle will affect us even from here."
After speaking, Hawkeye pushed off with his feet and quickly disappeared into the distance.
Rayleigh watched the swordsman leave, then turned to look at the battlefield, knowing that while he was curious, it paid to listen to good advice.
Since Hawkeye had said so, staying here might really get him caught in the crossfire, prompting Rayleigh to leap away and head in the same direction.
Kizaru and Akainu noticed Hawkeye and Rayleigh's departure, but they didn't relax in the slightest.
The expression on the distant Cyrus's face was becoming more and more wanton, something that had never happened before.
If he had been holding back earlier, now Cyrus was not suppressing his thick malice in the slightest.
And even the Conqueror's Haki emanating from him seemed to be influenced by this malice as it grew deeper and darker.
In Kizaru and Akainu's Observation Haki, that malice-infused Conqueror's Haki danced and coiled behind Cyrus as if it were tangible.
Flames rose from Cyrus's body, drawn by his Conqueror's Haki to burn in the air and form strange, complex rings of fire.
On the bright blade of his sword, fiery patterns emerged and grew more dazzling, making it seem as though the blade was absorbing the surrounding light.
The ambient light around the weapon dimmed before the blade itself became blindingly bright.
"Be careful!" Akainu warned in a deep voice.
Bang!
A pitch-black bullet shot from a distance, striking Cyrus directly in the head.
Cyrus's head tilted slightly as he turned to look in the direction the bullet came from.
'Reinforcements?'
Flames seemed to burn in Cyrus's eyes as he realized this bullet came from outside the range of his Observation Haki.
Although his attention was focused on the fight with Kizaru and Akainu, his Observation Haki still covered a vast area.
Yet he didn't seen who fired the shot.
'A Seastone bullet, infused with Armament Haki.'
He fully released his previously restrained Observation Haki, and the person who fired the shot instantly entered Cyrus's perception.
Raising his sword as the flames concentrated into the steel, Cyrus swung down with a light slash!
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