Carl stood like the God of Thunder, controlling all the lightning and arcs within this Thunder Pond. This was the second time Carl had deployed the Thunder Pond.
The current Carl was significantly stronger than he had been during the Alabasta Arc. After rigorous training and medicinal baths, he had mastered the release of Armament Haki and the infusion of Conqueror's Haki. His strength had improved by more than one level. He no longer needed a sneak attack to defeat a Marine Admiral.
The lightning within the Thunder Pond was dense, enveloping them from the front, rear, left, right, and above and below. Even the scenery outside was obscured.
Furthermore, two massive lightning pillars moved constantly within the Thunder Pond. One pillar pierced through the top and bottom, and the other spanned the left and right sides, continually tracking and locking onto Kizaru and Fujitora.
Kizaru and Fujitora displayed cautious expressions, constantly evading the pursuing lightning pillars.
However, Fujitora was not as quick or agile as Kizaru. Although Fujitora, in his Zoan form, had wings and could fly, his speed was inferior to Kizaru's light-based movement, making evasion very difficult.
"Kizaru, you are faster. Rush out of here and go back to save Mariejois!" the fiercely loyal Fujitora roared in haste.
"Don't joke around! The wall surrounding this Thunder Pond is so thick; I think I'd be electrocuted before I could break out. I'm not that desperate to charge out!" Kizaru resolutely refused.
Fujitora gritted his teeth, annoyed by Kizaru's disobedience, but he was helpless. He also realized that the Thunder Pond was not simple; rushing out recklessly would likely result in being fatally electrocuted.
"Then there is no other way. The only option is to defeat Carl!" Fujitora's tone was firm.
He shifted his body, transforming into a massive flying snake, the Teng Snake. This snake was fifty meters long, nearly filling the entire Thunder Pond. Its huge wings generated a hurricane, and its ferocious fangs were covered in venom. This was an extremely dangerous opponent.
"Oh, oh, the true form has been unleashed, as expected of the Army Admiral!" Kizaru couldn't help but praise.
"The Teng Snake is a Mythical Beast. It seems you've eaten a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit. But haven't you heard the saying, 'Even the tortoise lives long, there is still an end'? Why am I saying this? You uneducated people wouldn't understand. In short, you are the one who will die for me!"
Carl was well aware of the literary trope where villains die from talking too much, so he decided to stop talking and attack immediately.
Dense electrical arcs wrapped around his two swords. He raised his hand, and two lightning strikes slammed into Fujitora's enormous snake body.
Fujitora did not attempt to dodge. Instead, clouds of mist rose from his body, covering him completely. The two lightning slashes flew into the mist and vanished. Fujitora did not appear to be injured in the slightest.
"This guy is really strange. I wonder if there are other methods I don't know about," Carl thought, becoming more cautious. He carefully observed Fujitora to prevent a sudden, unexpected sneak attack.
"Hey, hey, you can't pretend that this old man doesn't exist! Yata no Kagami (Eight-Foot Magatama)!" Kizaru's voice rang out. Dense light bullets shot from his hand.
Carl didn't dodge any of them. Instead, he raised his hand to summon a lightning pillar to sweep across his front, detonating all the light bullets instantly.
Then, Carl flashed toward Kizaru, slashing at him with his renowned sword. Carl's current speed was extremely high, nearly reaching the speed of lightning, not much weaker than Kizaru's light speed.
Kizaru, however, remained calm. He condensed the lightsaber in his hand again and engaged Carl in a sword fight. Carl knew that Kizaru was not as poor a fighter as Zephyr claimed he was.
In terms of Devil Fruit development, Kizaru was proficient, but his physical and sword skills had not been neglected. His current swordsmanship was not far from that of a great swordsman.
"Snake Breath!" Fujitora suddenly let out a loud cry, opening his bloody mouth towards them. A cloud of foul-smelling purple mist spewed from his mouth.
Carl and Kizaru hurriedly dodged. Wherever the purple mist passed, the air seemed to become toxic, and even the surrounding wall of the Thunder Pond was severely corroded. Fortunately, as long as Carl was fine, the Thunder Pond would immediately repair itself.
However, this poisonous mist was truly terrifying. If one were contaminated by it, they would surely be reduced to bone.
Kizaru couldn't help but complain: "Hey! Admiral Fujitora! Could you warn me before you attack? You want to take me out with you!"
Fujitora simply sneered, "Hey, as a Marine Admiral, if you can't avoid this, you deserve to die!"
Seeing Kizaru looking unhappy, Carl immediately interjected: "Admiral Kizaru, you see it too. This guy doesn't care about your life at all! After all, the Army and the Marines are different. They call themselves the Army, but they are actually just a watchdog for the Celestial Dragons. The Marines are different. The Marines are meant to protect the sea and stand for righteousness. Yet, they look down on you Marines! Now they even want to kill you! Admiral Kizaru, take my advice: let's work together to defeat him. Then, I'll let you go back to stop the Revolutionary Army. Then, the Marines will have done a great service for the Army, which is a big win for you!"
"You f***ing shut up!" Fujitora roared in anger. This Carl was so insidious and pervasive; he would sow discord whenever he got the chance. If this person wasn't the slow-to-act Kizaru, but the irritable Akainu, he probably would have cooperated with Carl to kill Fujitora.
Really, why is this person so annoying!
"Ahem, Admiral Kizaru, I have no ill intentions. I was eager to defeat the enemy just now and didn't pay attention to your safety. I won't do it again," Fujitora quickly clarified.
A hint of danger flashed in Kizaru's eyes, then quickly disappeared. He acted foolishly and said: "Admiral Fujitora is worrying too much. This is just a childish pirate ploy to sow dissension. How could I possibly fall for it? Let's work together to defeat him. Mariejois is still waiting for us to return, and if we're late, we will be punished!"
Kizaru's apparent understanding made Fujitora's eyes well up. Although Kizaru liked to be lazy when working, he knew the gravity of the situation during critical moments. There was no better teammate than this!
"Admiral Kizaru is right. Let's kill him together!"
As he spoke, Fujitora flicked his massive tail, which struck toward Carl with a loud crackling sound. Carl did not attempt to block it. He stepped on the lightning, easily dodging the attack.
However, Kizaru was not easy to deal with. As soon as Carl stopped moving, he sensed danger and immediately raised his sword to defend himself, just in time to block Kizaru's lightsaber.
But Kizaru took the opportunity to kick Carl in the waist, instantly sending him flying.
"I'll go! Kizaru, that's cruel! I haven't found a partner yet [Note: referring to finding a romantic partner], if you kick me out like that, I'll never forgive you!"
Carl rubbed his waist and cursed, wishing he could tear Kizaru to shreds. He actually kicked my waist; this guy is truly hateful!
------------------------
For Advance chapters visit : patreon.com/Mythic_Muse