After that first collision, Amon and Kizaru remained in midair, standing side by side with their legs still crossed against each other.
Their feet, which had smashed together with such force, now refused to separate, as if glued together by invisible pressure.
On the ship, everyone stared at the two figures standing in the air, at the waves their clash had created. One after another, they sucked in sharp breaths.
Too strong. They were sure that if not for the mysterious arc-shaped barrier protecting this little ship, they would already be no different from those shattered wrecks floating outside.
"What terrifying impact..."
"So strong... is this the power of a Marine Headquarters admiral?"
"What happened? Why did they suddenly stop moving?"
A low buzzing rumble spread through the air.
Just as the onlookers were marveling at the strength of the two men, a dizzying hum burst out without warning, followed by an even more terrifying shockwave. It rolled out in all directions, crashing over them like a storm, forcing everyone instinctively back two steps.
Before they could process what had happened, Amon and Kizaru finally broke apart, then instantly lunged toward each other again at frightening speed.
Thud, thud, thud...
The sound of fists and feet colliding rang out like strings of firecrackers being lit. At first, their figures were still somewhat discernible, advancing and retreating, you attack, I dodge. But soon, that pattern shifted into tight circles, then devolved entirely into blurred streaks. In the end, their bodies were completely indistinguishable, leaving only afterimages whipping through the air and streaks of shock tearing open the sky.
"Boom!"
After another brutal collision, the two were finally blasted apart, each retreating through the air.
...
High above, thin trails of sweat had already appeared on Kizaru's face. His usual lazy, half-asleep expression was gone. He stared at Amon ahead of him, his expression completely serious.
In that intense flurry of exchanges just now, it may have looked like the two were evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand, but Kizaru was very clear in his heart that he had already fallen behind in some respects.
The only reason he could maintain a stalemate with Amon at such high speed was because of his Glint-Glint Fruit.
His Devil Fruit had already been awakened. In terms of speed alone, he did not dare say much about anything else, but for speed he absolutely believed that if he called himself second, no one would dare claim first.
Even so, when he clashed speed for speed with Amon, the other side did not fall behind in the slightest.
What truly unsettled him was that he could feel Amon was not using any Devil Fruit at all. The man was simply relying on his physical speed and incredibly polished martial arts to keep up with him blow for blow.
He had originally thought Amon was only a swordsman, so he had not taken his close-quarters skills too seriously. Who could have guessed that this guy's martial arts were even more monstrous than his swordsmanship?
Where did this freak come from? So young, yet already blessed with such terrifying body techniques and sword skills.
In truth, it was not only Kizaru who was shocked. Amon was also secretly impressed by Kizaru's speed.
His body had already undergone strengthening through the advanced Elixir, and afterward he had drawn that Level 8 martial arts technique, which once more pushed his physical abilities to an astonishing level.
He had thought that with this level of martial prowess, facing someone like Kizaru, whose body techniques were not particularly famous, he should be able to suppress him quickly.
Yet after so many rapid exchanges, Amon had not been able to gain any real advantage.
Every time he was about to land a solid hit, Kizaru's body would preemptively turn into light, elementalizing early and causing Amon's Armament Haki to strike nothing but glowing particles.
As expected of someone hailed as one of the Marines' highest combat forces. This was no joke. Amon sighed inwardly. The road ahead was still long.
...
"Laser!"
Realizing that pure martial arts would not gain him the upper hand, Kizaru started to rely in earnest on his Devil Fruit powers.
He pulled some distance between them, then lifted his hand and pointed lightly. In the next instant, a razor-sharp beam of light shot toward where Amon was standing.
"Trifling trick."
Facing the incoming beam, Amon neither dodged nor flinched. He lifted his right hand, fingers clenching in the air. A sword of pure violet energy condensed into his grip, humming with power. With a strong swing, he slashed down.
The streaking laser was split cleanly in two.
After cleaving the laser, the violet sword aura did not weaken in the slightest. It continued roaring forward, straight toward Kizaru.
Seeing the sword aura about to slice into him, Kizaru's body flashed with golden light. His form immediately turned translucent, dissolving into particles of light.
He once again used the power of a logia to elementalize in advance and slip past Amon's slash.
The violet sword aura missed its target and scythed downward instead, crashing into the sea below. With a thunderous boom, the seawater was brutalized open, carved into a chasm so deep its bottom could not be seen.
Above, Kizaru glanced at the massive rift carved into the ocean's surface, and his face changed slightly. If his reaction had been any slower, he would have paid dearly for it.
On the broken fleet nearby, Krieg and his men stared at the devastation wrought by that single sword aura. Their faces were ashen, drained of all color.
Because they were close to Amon's ship, the mysterious protection from the earlier shockwaves had also extended somewhat to them, so they had not been directly obliterated during the earlier collisions.
Their bodies, however, were in miserable condition, riddled with injuries as if someone had torn them apart from the inside. The pain was so excruciating they could not even twitch a finger.
...
Up in the sky, Amon looked down at the carnage caused by his attack and nodded, clearly satisfied.
This move was a secret technique he had created by combining his martial arts with his swordsmanship. Its power was immense. Today was the first time he had unleashed it in actual combat, and the results were clearly pleasing.
Cutting water with a blade only makes it flow more wildly. That is merely because your strength is not enough. Before true power, even slicing the sea itself is no difficult feat.
"Sky-Rending Slash!"
His first strike missing its mark did not discourage him. Amon once again grabbed at the empty air, and another blade of condensed violet sword aura took form, even sharper than before.
Seeing that Amon was about to unleash another slash, Kizaru did not dare remain complacent. He kicked off, leaping higher into the air. The white coat on his back billowed wildly behind him.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
As Kizaru's voice rang out, countless glittering light orbs erupted from behind him, streaming forward like a torrential rain of golden comets, falling upon Amon like a meteor shower.
Faced with such a fierce barrage, Amon did not dare continue with an all-offense slash. With a flick of his wrist, the violet longsword that had been poised to attack shifted into a defensive stance.
The light bullets poured in.
Amon's arms moved at incredible speed, his violet blade weaving a dense curtain before him, blocking Kizaru's rain of light.
Papapapa...
The light bullets hammered against his defense, one after another, like a torrential storm pounding a bamboo canopy. Sparks flew in every direction as each impact echoed in their ears, a nonstop drumming of light against steel.
As the barrage ended, Kizaru copied Amon's earlier motion. He reached into empty air, fingers clenching. Light gathered into his hand, forming a gleaming golden longsword, the blade forged from pure photon energy.
His body blurred. In the blink of an eye, he was already in front of Amon's face.
Clang!
Their figures collided like ghosts, blades clashing together once more.
On the ship, the onlookers could hear only the constant ringing of metal, but they could no longer see where the two combatants actually were.
...
The longer Amon fought, the more exhilarated he became. This was the most enjoyable battle he had experienced since arriving in this world of pirates. Level 8 martial arts had elevated not only his body techniques but also his swordsmanship.
With his body reforged through the elixir and strengthened further, fatigue seemed like something that happened to other people, not to him.
On the other side, however, Kizaru's expression was growing more and more bitter.
What kind of monster is this? Does he not get tired?
He had not yet gone all out, but judging from the trend of the battle, even if he did use everything he had, it probably would not change much.
As they clashed back and forth, Kizaru suddenly realized something.
He really did not feel like fighting anymore.