Unlike the frightened Buggy, there was no joy of victory on Kizaru's face.
He stood by the deep crater, pursed his lips, and spoke in a flat tone:
"Well~ Stalling for time is useless, you know~"
"It's still quite early before I get off work..."
As soon as the words fell,
BANG—
Rocks and debris tumbled within the crater as a figure shot up into the sky. It was Chrollo.
"If you get off work late, don't work overtime! Who says workers have to take the night shift!" Chrollo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes fixed dead on Kizaru.
He floated in mid-air, his body slightly larger than before, his chest slightly caved in but covered in pitch-black skin—clearly coated in Armament Haki.
"Oh~ Advanced Armament Haki..."
Kizaru looked at this scene with slight surprise in his eyes.
"Looks like it's the effect of Bonney's Age-Age Fruit—"
His eyes gradually narrowed.
"I've noticed it since just now~"
"You seem to have stolen Bonney's ability~"
Kizaru counted on his fingers:
"Teleportation... spatial ability... Age-Age Fruit... and now gigantification. Just how many abilities do you have~"
"And..."
A deep meaning curled at the corner of Kizaru's mouth. "I want to know... how exactly do you manage to steal other people's abilities?"
"This is very important~ It determines your danger level,"
"And... whether or not I should kill you~" Light reflected off Kizaru's glasses, his expression unreadable.
"You wanna learn?" Chrollo looked provocatively at Kizaru.
Even a clay figurine has some temper, and he had been beaten into anger.
"I'll teach you—"
Chrollo extended his right hand: "Positive Pole · Negative Pole—"
In an instant, Kizaru was pulled towards Chrollo at high speed. Although he noticed the anomaly immediately and used Armament Haki to negate the effect, the immense inertia meant his approach didn't stop—
"You've been hitting me this whole time. That's not my style. Have a taste of my attack too!"
"Didn't you want to know how many abilities I have..."
Chrollo bent his body forward, turning to one side. Veins bulged on his right arm as he began to rotate it up and down.
"Then let me tell you..."
With the rotation, the aura compressed layer upon layer. The golden light on his right fist grew brighter and brighter, finally condensing into a tangible golden sun.
"The number of my abilities..."
Chrollo raised his head, looking fiercely at Kizaru.
"Is infinite—"
"Karma Fruit: Ripper Cyclotron: Big Bang Impact!!!"
A man-sized golden sun was swung viciously towards Kizaru—
Like a blazing sun crashing into Kizaru in mid-air, completely engulfing his figure...
The air was first compressed to the extreme—
The surroundings were so quiet it was as if someone had pressed the pause button.
In the next second, it exploded completely!
Like a nuclear bomb detonating in mid-air, a terrifying shockwave shot into the sky. Even the surrounding space collapsed... and caved in under the blow.
Ripples of incredibly powerful waves spread outward from where the two met.
Wherever the ripples passed... everything was pulverized.
Buggy, who was fleeing frantically, dropped his jaw again: "The sun... is falling—!!!"
Immediately after, he was blown away by the shockwave of the attack, landing once again on the edge of a crater...
Watching this carries the risk of dying at any moment.
Buggy, his hair burnt black, turned his head and looked at the two men still in a standoff, his teeth chattering.
"Brothers... can I stop watching now..."
But his subordinates behind him...
"They are combining forces to drive away Captain Buggy!"
"It must be that Captain Buggy watching from the sidelines put huge pressure on them!"
"You said it—"
"Mighty... Mighty... Buggy! Buggy!"
---
The dazzling light lasted for a long time. A deep crater, even larger than the one from Kizaru's previous attack, appeared on the ground.
The surrounding forest was reduced to scorched earth.
"Oh my, oh my~"
Kizaru's voice came from within the smoke and dust, still carrying that exaggerated, punchable tone.
"That was close~ You almost got me there~"
"So scary~"
The dust cleared, and Kizaru walked out slowly.
Chrollo's expression was grave.
In front of Kizaru stood a giant mirror made of golden light—Yata no Kagami: Defense!
It perfectly blocked Chrollo's attack—
However, Chrollo keenly noticed that Kizaru's arms were also completely black, covered in Armament Haki.
Clearly, he had gotten serious too.
"Your strength has increased a lot~"
"Using the Age-Age Fruit's ability to give yourself the physical fitness of a future stage, then stacking a series of abilities for the attack."
Kizaru narrowed his eyes, light reflecting off his glasses as he analyzed.
"You really are dangerous~"
"Your existence might affect many things~"
"It really would be better to kill you~"
Saying this, Kizaru crossed his arms in an X shape. Light from the surroundings began to gather between his hands.
The light solidified between his hands, compressing the surrounding air until electric arcs appeared. In the next second...
"Yasakani no Magatama—"
A dense barrage of light bullets fired from between his hands, trailing long tails of flame as they poured down—
Thousands of light bullets covered the entire battlefield.
Countless sharp explosions tore through the air—
Whoosh—
Rumble, rumble, rumble—
Earth-shattering explosions rang out in the already riddled forest. Countless small mushroom clouds bloomed on the ground, looking like doomsday.
"Ah—I'm gonna die, gonna die, gonna die!!"
The moment Kizaru's destructive light poured down like golden rain, Buggy's screams drowned out even the roar of the explosions.
Extreme fear made him reflexively use "Chop-Chop Fruit: Split," instantly dismantling his entire body. His torso lay flat on the ground, his hands clutched his head which had flown off, and his two legs had long since run off to who knows where.
"This is a monster fight! Is this something humans should get involved in?!!"
His head, flying in mid-air, screamed hysterically, his facial features twisted, almost crying.
"Amen! Jesus! Guanyin Bodhisattva! Any passing god, show your power! Protect your faithful believer, Lord Buggy—!"
He incoherently shouted every god he could think of. His hands, flying in the air, covered his eyes tightly, not daring to look at the impending destruction.
Whoosh—
The expected intense pain didn't come.
A breeze blew past.
Buggy's head carefully, tremblingly opened one eye through the gap in his fingers.
The sight that greeted him left him dumbfounded—
The surrounding earth was already devastated, covered in lava-like craters steaming with heat, but not a single light bullet had hit them.
"I... I'm saved?!" Buggy sat up blankly.
Just then, a subordinate behind him stepped forward:
"We're not dead! It's Captain Buggy! Captain Buggy protected us!"
Then the subordinates began to shout fanatically.
"That's right! I saw Captain Buggy spread his arms just now, not retreating an inch in the face of that world-destroying light!"
"Those light bullets... must have been deterred by Captain Buggy's powerful strength! They went around us!"
"Captain Buggy... he calculated it all long ago! He used his own power to hold up an absolute territory for us!"
"Who else but Captain Buggy could fight that monster Navy Admiral and protect us at the same time?!"
"You said it—!"
"Mighty... Mighty..."
"Buggy! Buggy!!"
In the center of the crowd, Buggy remained in his dazed posture sitting on the ground, mouth open.
Looking at this group of subordinates who had brainwashed themselves into fanaticism, only one thought remained in his mind:
"Huh?! What... exactly happened just now?!"