As the dozens-of-meters-tall slash spread out and filled his entire field of vision, Kizaru's first instinct was not to dodge. He intended to meet it head-on with a slash of his own and crush it outright.
After all, even though he now relied mostly on his Devil Fruit in combat, he had once been a master swordsman too.
But just as he was about to draw the Ama no Murakumo Sword and unleash an equally powerful strike, his Observation Haki suddenly screamed a warning.
His fingertips had barely brushed the hilt when a prickling chill shot up the back of his neck like a storm of icy needles, racing up his spine to his scalp.
A flash of pure dread crossed his face. His pupils tightened. The lazy smirk he always wore froze in place, and his relaxed stance snapped taut like a drawn bow.
Then, in the next instant, he twisted his body aside at an angle that seemed to defy common sense.
In that split second, a green slash carrying the horrifying force to break down everything in its path swept past him, grazing his body and reducing the buildings behind him to dust in an instant.
Once he sensed the true power contained within that slash, Kizaru no longer dared to meet Harry's attacks directly. Instead, he focused on evading the several more slashes that came at him afterward.
Those were no ordinary slashes. They were the fusion of a Devil Fruit-like power and swordsmanship, just like his own light-based slashes.
That unknown power crackled with lightning and carried the absolute force to disintegrate everything, even light itself.
If one of those all-destroying slashes landed head-on, then even if he tried to evade by turning into light, it would be useless. He would still be hurt.
Because even light was being disintegrated.
Harry swung the disintegration sword wildly, sending slash after slash at Kizaru.
But none of them struck him. Kizaru was still the user of the Glint-Glint Fruit, and his speed was absurd. He could always slip through the gaps between the flying slashes.
After a while, Harry stopped.
This was not going to work.
With the amount of magic he currently had available, even the strongest flying slashes he could produce would still be dodged by Kizaru with ease.
If this stalemate continued, Kizaru would have no way of dealing with him, and he would have no way of dealing with Kizaru either. If it dragged on long enough, the other Admirals might arrive, and then Harry would end up in the ridiculous situation of one man surrounding the entire Navy.
Harry was not afraid of being attacked by countless Marines. His upper limit on raw output might be capped, but he had no real problem with endurance.
If it came down to a drawn-out fight, he had more staying power than America's favorite patriotic super-soldier. He could keep going all day.
But Harry had no interest in disrupting the Navy's larger deployment because of himself. Right now, their most important enemies were obviously the invading demon god and the undead army under its command.
So he decided to end the fight as quickly as possible.
Conveniently, he had recently developed a brand-new body-enhancement spell, one that could drastically raise his physical abilities. It was perfect for the situation.
Harry flicked his wand, and a magic circle immediately spread over him.
Brilliant, blazing currents of electricity began rising from the surface of his body. The disintegration beam around his wand rapidly faded, until all that remained was pure silver.
The electricity inside Harry's body and the current running through his wand began rotating at high speed, forming a stable and immensely powerful magnetic field.
Then it started to spin.
Magnetic Field Rotation, 100,000 horsepower!
Magnetic Field Rotation was a special power system from a place called the Sea Tiger world.
It was a system with terrifyingly high potential, no weaker than ordinary chaos magic.
When it reached ten thousand horsepower, it granted the force of ten thousand horses.
When it reached one hundred thousand horsepower, it allowed preliminary manipulation at the molecular and particle scale, enough durability to withstand a small nuclear blast, flight, the ability to absorb the life force of plants to heal, absorb and alter animal blood to replenish one's own, and even harden matter.
And once it reached one million horsepower, it granted the full power of an individual universe-level fighter.
At this moment, the speed of the magnetic field inside Harry had reached one hundred thousand horsepower, giving him physical abilities far beyond even the Hulk in his normal state, along with a host of other powers.
Of course, to Harry, those extra abilities were secondary. What truly mattered was the extreme physical enhancement granted by the one-hundred-thousand-horsepower state.
Feeling the condition of his body now, Harry's face lit up with excitement.
So close-quarters combat really was the proper Gryffindor way to fight.
A runic array flashed through Harry's eyes. He analyzed the strange energy coating Kizaru's body, the force known as Haki, and then used it himself through his newly empowered physique.
He leaped.
His body vanished from where it had been standing and appeared directly in front of Kizaru.
With a body durable enough to endure a small nuclear blast, he drove a savage punch straight into Kizaru.
Kizaru was launched away at once, smashing through countless houses before crashing into a field of ruins.
He tore himself out of the wreckage and stared at Harry with a grave expression.
"What just happened? He learned Haki in an instant, and his Power Level increased geometrically!"
It was precisely because the combat power of this boy named Harry had risen so drastically in such a short time that Kizaru had misjudged the situation and taken that punch head-on.
What felt even worse to him was that Harry's physical strength had now completely surpassed his own.
Without drawing attention to it, Kizaru pulled a Transponder Snail from inside his coat and contacted Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
"Hello, Sengoku. If support doesn't get here soon, I might not hold on much longer, you know~"
Sengoku was baffled.
"Kizaru, what happened? Weren't you just going to arrest some small-time pirates who offended a Celestial Dragon?"
"These aren't some small-time pirates. One of them is very strong. I may not be his opponent."
"What? Even you can't beat him?"
"That's right, so, boom boom boom, rumble!"
The call was forcibly cut off. Just before the line died, a thunderous explosion rang through the snail.
Sengoku set the Transponder Snail down on his desk, his face hidden in shadow and more serious than ever. Then he glanced at his old friend nearby, who was still casually eating rice crackers, and roared, "Damn it, Garp! Kizaru just went to deal with your grandson's mess, and now he's run into trouble. Aren't you going to do anything?"
Garp kept eating rice crackers and picking his nose. He had intended to brush it off like always, but when he remembered Luffy was involved, he finally stood up and said irritably, "At a time like this, when the fate of the whole world is on the line, you're still fussing over those parasites of the world? Sengoku, you really are getting stupider every year."
"Shut up, Garp! I'm the Fleet Admiral!"
"Hmph!"
Bang!
Garp slammed the office door shut behind him.
On Grove 10 of the Sabaody Archipelago, a yellow figure was blasted away by a heavy punch and smashed into the ground.
The earth for hundreds of meters around seemed to liquefy. From the point of impact, waves dozens of meters high rippled outward at astonishing speed.
Kizaru was covered in wounds now, and there was none of his earlier composure left.
At this moment, only one thought remained in his mind.
"Sengoku, if the reinforcements don't get here soon, I'm really going to die~"
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