Chapter 79

Grandline, Paradise, Impel Down

Falling back into his favorite fighting stance Azul kept his eyes on his shining opponent only to have his eyes widen in the next second as admiral Kizaru had disappeared in a yellow flash of light right before his eyes and in the next second a yellow foot was colliding with his face, catapulting Azul backwards with unprecedented force and smashed his body into the wall of Impel Down.

While this was happening Crocodile had engaged the officers under Kizaru that had rushed forwards to support their superior but were kept from doing so by a veil of sand that pushed them backwards.

The strawhats meanwhile had begun to take over one of the marine battlesh.i.p.s while the rest of the prisoners rushed forwards to engage the rest of the sh.i.p.s, some deciding to keep observing the fight between the leaders of the two factions like salivating reporters.

Jumping back to his feet while brushing the veil of dust aside Azuls mind kept analysing what he had seen and felt so far from the admiral his eyes setting on his calm opponent.

'Light! The motherf.u.c.ker can move at the speed of light! God damnit Crocodile... couldn't you have been a little more specific about that teeny tiny detail you asshat?!' Azul thought to himself while his subconcious formulated different strategies and plans on how he could fight someone that was able to move at such speeds. Momentarily his thoughts came to a pause though as his eyes remained on his opponent which should simply not be possible if said man traveled at the speeds of light but here he was, visible to the n.a.k.e.d eye which only meant one thing.

'He has to actively apply his devilfruit for him to move so fast. It is not a passive ability of his. Found your weakness buddy!' With a growing grin on his face, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth in a disregarding fashion Azul unleashed his conqueror's haki in full force which exploded outwards like a near invisible, slightly red tinged, shockwave while his body changed into his hellhound form, height remaining the same. A second shockwave exploded outwards as his arms and legs ignited, bringing incredible heat to his surroundings while Azul roared to the high heavens, making Kizarus eyes sharpen and his body to glow yellow once more.

Stepping forward Azul cracked the ground as with the next step he exploded forwards towards his opponent who seemingly vanished from his previous spot only to appear right above Azul with Kizaru's leg shining in an ominous light. Azul meanwhile had tried to always keep Kizaru covered in his observation haki, which was incredibly hard due to said man being very adept at masking his signature and possessing that unbelivable speed.

With a push downwards Kizaru shot a yellow beam at the beast below him which rotated its waist clockwise to escape the beam but in the end was still grazed by it and sent flying by the explosion that followed afterwards.

Azul though didn't really care about the wound he had sustained just now as his body was already regenerating at incredibly high speeds, thanks to being a zoan, and thus burst forwards once more while running on the air with flames following his every step. Kizaru's body meanwhile had lost its shining light, bringing another revelation to Azul.

'So he cannot permanently stay in his high movement state. Got ya, bitch!' With a roar Azul appeared before the admiral with his right claw raised to cleave the man apart who sent a haki infused kick to the ripping claw in order to push aside the attacking arm, suceeding and giving the admiral time to assess the new situation he found himself in.

Acting on reflex the admiral gathered yellow light in between his two hands he had pulled towards his c.h.e.s.t intoning: "Yata-mirror!", shoting a yellow light beam forwards which bounced onto one of the warsh.i.p.s, after which Kizaru disappeared from his previous spot, in the process dodging a devastating thrustkick from Azul that caved in the wall it impacted after his original target had disappeared from before him.

Finding his opponent on top of one of the marine sh.i.p.s, where fierce fighting was raging on, Azul jumped into the air on roaring flames, bringing his claws next to his feet as he crouched down in the air, the flames growing stronger and stronger as if they were about to burst forth at a moments notice.

Resting his gaze on the ship and his intended target a sonic boom cracked behind the beast as Azul exploded forwards like a beast jumping towards its prey in an elongated manner.

"fourth stance: solar flare!" the deep guttural voice of Azul echoed behind the sonic boom and like a shooting star smashed into the warship sending flames into all directions, igniting the gunpowder below deck alongside with the already devastating impact, ripping the ship into shreds in a giant plume of fire out of which another yellow beam of light traveled towards the mast of a ship next to the burning and sinking one.

Azul had already returned to rushing towards his opponent, dashing on roaring flames with a rumbling laughter of joy accompanying his attack.

Kizaru meanwhile had crossed his arms over his c.h.e.s.t and formed two circles with his hands which began to glow in a bright light after which an armada of yellow balls rushed towards the nearing beast which dodged them fluidly as if dancing with the flames that surrounded the beast as its dancepartner. The lights though that had missed their target kept on travelling onwards, exploding on the nearby warsh.i.p.s that disappeared in another plume of fire, giving the moving beast a terrific yet beautiful background for its deadly dance which by now had reached the admiral who twisted out of the way of another ripping claw while forming a sword from the light he had gathered between his hands.

Reacting to the new kind of threat Azul coated his arms under the flames in armament haki, giving them a slightly metallic sheen before he rushed forwards once more, completely engulfed in the fun he was having, the flame inside of Azul roaring in agreement.

Bringing down his redly glowing conqueror's haki once more, which smashed all the fighting figures on the warship down below them from atop the mast into the ground under groans of strain, Azul dashed forwards once again, while Kizaru had developped a slight sheen of sweat on his forhead from the rapid use of his devilfruit powers that he had deployed in order to escape the deadly claws that even now tried to rip the mans head of.

Stepping into the admirals guard with a roar of laughter Azul thrust his claws forwards like a spear, colliding with the sword of light the admiral had formed who used the arm the claws belonged to as a pathway to glide on top of to reach the center and base of the arm, Azuls upper body, which caused Azul to put his other arm in the way of the sword to safe his head from being split open. Both arms occupied Azul pressed forwards with his towering height and enourmous physical strength, easily overpowering the admiral in that aspect and sent a kick to the admirals knee which made the man groan in pain upon impact. Though said man used the impact as fuel to transform into a beam of light and thus saved himself from lasting injuries but had to give up his position and momentum in the process.

Stepping out of the crater Kizaru g.r.o.a.n.e.d slightly as his head began to hurt a little from his continuous usage of his powers. Contrary to most devilfruits, his demanded more than just using the powers. Due to him being able to move at such high speeds he had to constantly train his perception to a level that it could keep up with his own bodies movements. Though he could only do so for a limited amount of time if he used it without pause like in this fight, thus bringing a headache to said mans head.

Azul after observing the admiral for a second had spotted the fatigue that began to surround the mans figure and grinned in glee.

With a burst forwards Azul rushed his opponent, impacting the man and the deck once more, cracking it even further after which it, just like the other sh.i.p.s exploded in a plume of flames.

Kizaru meanwhile had transformed himself into a beam of light and landed on a mast of a nearby ship, while Azul walked upwards in the air under roaring fire until he reached the mans level.

As he reached the admirals height though his eyes widened at what he saw.

Kizaru was holding a golden transpondersnail and had just pushed the button on its top with a grin on said mans face...