"Hello!"
Kouta's figure appeared silently on the roof of a house opposite where Kizaru and the others were standing.
He smiled and greeted Kizaru, "Long time no see, Uncle Pikachu!"
"You brat!"
Kizaru's mouth twitched as he looked at the still handsome Kouta.
"How many times have I told you, I'm Kizaru, Kizaru, not some Pikachu."
"Okay, okay, Uncle Pikachu."
Kouta laughed carelessly, took a swig from his gourd, and hung it back on his waist.
Then, he placed his right hand on the hilt of Zankou, stared at Kizaru, and his aura instantly changed, a dangerous glint appearing in his eyes.
"Alright, we've exchanged greetings. Are you here to stand up for that Celestial Dragon?"
Kizaru looked at Kouta with a grim expression.
He really wanted to say that he was just passing by, just going through the motions.
But he could only think such things in his heart.
In the Marines, everyone disliked the Celestial Dragons, but they never showed it openly.
Of course, with the exception of Vice Admiral Garp.
"No response means default."
Seeing Kizaru speechless, Kouta's dangerous aura intensified. Then, his eyes narrowed, and he drew his sword without hesitation, aiming at Kizaru.
"One Sword Style, Zanshin!"
A massive, silvery-grey slash, descending from top to bottom, cut diagonally towards Kizaru and the others.
Kizaru's pupils contracted at the slash, but his expression remained unchanged. Such a strike couldn't hurt him.
However, the CP0 members like Kodorah beside him were not as relaxed as Kizaru.
Their faces were filled with horror, their vision filled with silver.
Without daring to hesitate, they had no intention of blocking Kouta's slash head-on. The moment they felt Kouta's killing intent and drew their swords, they simultaneously retreated, then jumped off the rooftop without hesitation.
*Zzz—!*
The slash easily cut through Kizaru's body and the house beneath him, grazing Kodorah and the others' heads before disappearing behind them.
Kouta had long known that the Marines had evacuated the people on Island No. 1 and were retreating outwards. Therefore, as long as he didn't attack with full force, he didn't have to worry about harming ordinary people.
As for the houses here, there was nothing he could do. Even with his control, he couldn't avoid damaging them. After all, at their level, ordinary attacks possessed immense power.
Well... as long as no one was hurt, houses could be repaired. It wasn't an ordinary world, and repairing houses was quite fast.
Besides, there were the Marines and the World Government.
He had absolutely no worries.
"You fellow."
Kizaru, split in two, showed no panic on his face. He looked at Kouta, his eyes narrowing slightly. His bisected body turned into golden light and rejoined, instantly streaking across the sky and appearing above Kouta.
His body reformed, his slender right leg enveloped in golden particles, shining with dazzling brilliance.
"Speed is weight. Have you ever been kicked by the light-speed kick?"
As soon as he spoke, he fiercely kicked down towards Kouta's head.
Kouta looked up, his eyes filled with golden light, blinding him and making it impossible to see Kizaru's figure.
He lowered his eyelids, shielding his eyes from the dazzling golden light. His right hand quickly swung upwards, and the black blade, covered in Armament Haki, blocked Kizaru's foot just above his head.
*Clang—!*
An immense shockwave erupted from the point of impact between the blade and the leg, forming a hurricane that swept outwards.
The house beneath Kouta, under the force of the shockwave, collapsed with a rumble.
When the golden light dissipated, Kouta opened his eyes and grinned at Kizaru.
"Old man, can't you be a little more creative?"
"Every time we meet, it's just one kick. Although you're fast, I'm not slow either!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kouta exerted force with his arm, pushing Kizaru's leg upwards. Then, with a twist of his wrist, he slashed at Kizaru, who was in mid-air.
*Slish—!*
A dazzling sword light cut through the air, leaving a thin line.
*Ding—!*
Standing up, Kouta sheathed his sword.
In mid-air, Kizaru looked down at Kouta, ignoring his body, which had been cut in half again. His eyes were filled with solemnity and admiration.
His slashes were faster than on Mineral Island. While they still couldn't harm him, he knew that this wasn't Kouta's fastest slash.
"Truly terrifying! You young people are all like monsters, how are we old folks supposed to get by!"
Kizaru's mouth curled as he uttered his catchphrase.
"Heh heh!!" Kouta chuckled, "You're not bad either! Uncle Pikachu."
*Zz—!*
With a light laugh, he drew his sword again. "Alright, no more warming up. Let's get straight to the fight!"
With a "whoosh," Kouta's figure vanished from his spot and reappeared behind Kizaru. Staring at Kizaru's nape, he swung his sword downwards without hesitation.
A red glint appeared in Kizaru's eyes, and he elementalized to foresee the attack, once again dodging Kouta's slash.
*Slish—!*
The sword light cut downwards, easily slicing through the ground and leaving a bottomless fissure.
Landing at the edge of the fissure, Kizaru looked up at Kouta in the air. He clasped his hands together in front of his chest, then drew a massive, golden sword from his left palm with his right hand.
"Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi!"
Then, he kicked off the ground and, with a "swoosh," appeared before Kouta.
"Soru!"
When it came to short-range combat, the strongest technique was undoubtedly the Rokushiki Soru. While elementalization could grant him great speed, it had little offensive power in battles between peak experts.
It was better to use Soru directly.
After all, accelerating an object was different from accelerating after elementalizing.
"Heh heh!!"
Facing the golden sword, Kouta's smile widened. "That's more like it! Always elementalizing is so boring. This direct combat is much more satisfying."
Flipping his sword, Kouta raised Zankou and met the attack without hesitation.
*Clang—!*
A greater shockwave radiated outwards from their point of collision.
Then, their figures disappeared into the sky. Ordinary people could only see streams of gold and white light endlessly intertwining and clashing in the sky.
From time to time, a slash would descend from the sky, easily cutting through houses and the ground, making the area incredibly dangerous.
In the distance, outside the auction house, as Kouta and Kizaru began their fight, Kuina and Ace resumed their battle.
Compared to Ace's all-out effort, Kuina was significantly more relaxed. While fighting Ace, she also managed to spare some attention to observe the distant battle between Kouta and Kizaru.
Someone who didn't know might think she was coaching a disciple.
She was the master, and Ace was the disciple.
On the ground.
Kodorah and his team were hiding behind a wall.
Watching the waves of impact that resembled a level ten typhoon outside, and listening to the sounds of clashing swords from the sky.
Kodorah pondered with a solemn expression for a moment, then said to his team, "Let's go! We can't help here. We'll find Saint Charlos's body in the auction house and then return to Mary Geoise."
"What about the silver-haired one?"
A team member swallowed hard as he watched the silver light flashing in the sky.
"Is this the pirate with a bounty of 2.5 billion? Truly terrifying."
They were not core members of CP0. Although they knew the silver-haired one was terrifying, they didn't know his specific strength.
"We don't need to worry about the silver-haired one. We just need to find Saint Charlos's body."
After speaking, Kodorah didn't give his team any explanation and turned to walk out, rushing towards the auction house.
The team members withdrew their gaze, not daring to linger, and quickly followed Kodorah.
It seemed the captain had orders from the Five Elders. When they first arrived, they thought they were going to deal with the silver-haired one.
Now they realized they were only there to retrieve Saint Charlos's body, which made them heave a sigh of relief.
"Phew~ That's good!"
Even though they had long known that the silver-haired one had become a taboo for CP0, seeing him in person, they realized he was simply not someone they could face.
If they were made to go up, it would be suicide.