Attack where he must defend!
For Chrollo, facing Kizaru and his Glint-Glint Fruit, offense was the best defense!
He was gambling. He bet that Kizaru wouldn't allow the person he intended to save to be killed right in front of him!
He was also betting on the importance of Bonney's identity as the child of a Celestial Dragon, wagering that Kizaru didn't truly see Bonney as an enemy and wouldn't dare strike her down!
Facts proved that Chrollo's gamble paid off!
Whoosh—
Kizaru's body turned into a beam of light. In the next second, he materialized in human form right in front of Chrollo. His right hand easily blocked Chrollo's lethal strike.
Simultaneously, his left leg whipped up—a light-speed kick, too fast for the eye to track, slamming viciously into Chrollo and sending him flying—
CRACK—
The air exploded with a piercing sonic boom. As Chrollo flew backward, he couldn't help but fall into a speechless internal monologue...
How the hell did Luffy escape this light-speed attack back at Sabaody Archipelago?
Just how much was Kizaru holding back?!
Does nobody regulate this guy?
...However, Chrollo wasn't injured by the strike.
In that split second, Chrollo had abandoned his attack and crossed his arms over his chest, summoning a transparent, pale green barrier to block Kizaru's kick.
Seeing this, surprise flashed in Kizaru's eyes.
But he wasn't surprised by the Devil Fruit ability; he was surprised that Chrollo could actually react in time!
"Observation Haki? ...No." Kizaru stroked his chin, analyzing.
"He can only react to my attacks, not predict them in advance."
"It's something a tier lower than Observation Haki..."
A playful expression appeared on his face. "It seems you people really do have quite a few secrets~"
"Heh..." The corners of Chrollo's mouth lifted.
Of course it wasn't Observation Haki. The reason Chrollo could deploy the barrier in that split second was that from the moment Kizaru stepped onto the battlefield, Chrollo's En hadn't been turned off for a single second.
En... along with Ko, is one of the advanced applications of Nen.
The user extends their aura outward from their body, creating a spherical sensory field.
Within this En, the user can clearly perceive the shape, size, movement, and even aura of everything inside, even without using their eyes.
It was precisely thanks to En that Chrollo captured Kizaru's movement a fraction of a second before the attack, allowing him to defend!
Kizaru's surprise only lasted a brief moment.
In the next second, his figure vanished from the spot, turning into a beam of light. While still dangling Bonney, he charged at Chrollo again!
Seeing this terrifying scene, Chrollo, still flying backward through the air, actually smiled recklessly.
"Perfect... This is the moment I was waiting for!"
After Kizaru turned into a light beam, his speed indeed exceeded the limit of what Chrollo's En could capture.
But in this form, he had a massive weakness... Bonney!
Bonney couldn't elementalize, and Kizaru couldn't let go of her, so he had to carry her.
This meant that no matter how fast he moved, as long as Chrollo could track Bonney's movement, he could track Kizaru!
And using this attack... it was the perfect opportunity to touch Bonney!
"I can see it! No problem! My En can sense it!"
In the sensory field of Chrollo's En, he could clearly "see"...
A contour of light carrying a human contour, moving toward him at high speed!
The yellow beam of light materialized into a human form in front of Chrollo again.
Kizaru held Bonney in his left hand, his right arm bent and charged to the limit, then he threw a punch, bringing it down on Chrollo!
However, in the next second, a look of surprise appeared on Kizaru's face.
He saw Chrollo, who was below him, smirk strangely. Just before Kizaru's attack landed, Chrollo locked eyes with Bonney, who was trapped in Kizaru's left arm.
Then, with perfect tacit understanding, they extended their arms simultaneously, their fingertips touching—
Buzz—
"Age-Age Fruit: Distorted Future—"
[Name: Chrollo]
[Stats: Strength: 90 (S) / Agility: 90 (S) / Intelligence: 90 (S) / Stamina: 90 (S)]
[Armament Haki (Top Tier)]
[Aura Amount: 1,200,000]
A pink light flashed. Bonney instantly shrank from her mature form into a little girl. Kizaru almost lost his grip, stumbling slightly.
Meanwhile, the pirate opposite him... had vanished from the spot!!
Tap—
Kizaru landed on the ground and looked back.
Under a tree about fifty meters behind him, Chrollo was stretching his body. He looked at Kizaru with a wanton smile, as if he had suddenly found his confidence.
"How about that~ You aren't the only one capable of light-speed movement~"
What Chrollo had just used was [Instant Displacement]. By swapping places with a pebble under the tree, he dodged Kizaru's second attack!
At the same time, utilizing that gap, he successfully borrowed the power of the Age-Age Fruit from Bonney.
"Not bad~" Kizaru finally dropped his lazy demeanor slightly, looking at Chrollo with a serious expression.
"Just as the files said. You possess multiple abilities, and one of them is teleportation."
Feeling the abundant power surging through his body, Chrollo smiled and spoke:
"So~ Old man... continuing this fight won't lead to any result. How about you give Bonney back to me, and I'll let Lucci go."
"We can all go our separate ways and call it a day~" Chrollo spread his hands, striking while the iron was hot.
His [Instant Displacement] could only be used on himself three times, but Kizaru didn't know that.
So, he was deliberately bluffing, planning to use the information gap to persuade Kizaru.
"Well~ I wish it could be that way," Kizaru said with a face full of agreement, but then changed his tone.
"Although I don't know why, your strength seems to have suddenly jumped..."
"But~" He looked down at his watch. "It's not quitting time yet~"
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
Whoosh—
As soon as the words fell, Kizaru's figure disappeared again. Accompanied by the violent sound of the light beam tearing through the air, he attacked Chrollo once more!
This time, it wasn't just a basic light attack. He released a skill:
A dazzling golden light gathered on Kizaru's right leg. His speed increased to a terrifying degree as he appeared directly above Chrollo:
"ALL OUT KICK—"
This strike completely exceeded the speed that En could capture—
It was fast to the extreme... so fast that Chrollo couldn't use his barrier, teleportation, or any other means—
THOOM—!
In an instant, the world seemed to stand still.
Then, a violent blast wave erupted. Kizaru's right foot slammed viciously into Chrollo's chest—
Ripples of surging air expanded outward.
Chrollo fell like a cannonball, kicked directly into the earth...
Rumble, rumble, rumble—
A deep crater, a hundred meters in diameter, appeared in the center of the forest—
The edge of the shattered ground stopped right in front of Buggy...
God Buggy watched this scene, his heart stopping. His facial features were scared right off his face—
Behind him, his subordinates collectively mimicked the "hands up, soul leaving body" emoji.
"What... The... F—"
"He's definitely dead this time..."
...