At this moment, his only thought was to capture Raiver Sky.
If he couldn't capture him alive—then he would execute him on the spot!
This determination wasn't for the Celestial Dragons, nor for the World Government, not even for his duties as an admiral.
It was solely for the future of the Marines.
The Raiver Sky before him was more dangerous than Rocks.
On Raiver's side, while confident, he clearly understood he couldn't prolong the battle here.
He had no intention of getting entangled with Admiral Qiongqi for too long—who knew how many forces the Marines had deployed this time?
It was possible more than one admiral had come, with Admiral Qiongqi simply arriving first due to his superior speed.
Therefore, he had to end this quickly.
Sword Intent erupted violently from within Raiver Sky.
Advanced Armament Haki flowed like air currents, coiling around the Supreme Grade Sharp Blade "Black Dragon."
The blade ignited with dark crimson flames.
Raiver gripped the sword with both hands, raising it overhead.
Slash—
A crescent-shaped blood-red slash tore through the sky!
Most notably, the slash was wrapped in dense arcs of lightning.
This was the energy discharge phenomenon produced from highly condensed Armament Haki.
"Advanced Armament Haki?!"
Kleist narrowed his eyes, his expression growing serious, a flicker of surprise passing through his gaze.
What astonished him was that the Haki Raiver Sky displayed now was vastly different from the descriptions in Marine intelligence.
During the headquarters high-level meeting, Zephyr and Garp had personally confirmed:
Although Raiver's Devil Fruit Ability was bizarre, he had one clear weakness—his Haki usage was unpolished, and he hadn't mastered advanced techniques like Advanced Armament Haki.
If not for this, when Zephyr fought him previously, the outcome might not have been just "being suppressed."
If Raiver had known "Advanced Armament Haki" back then, Zephyr might have been severely injured, or even killed in battle.
Yet now, what was this Advanced Armament Haki before him?
Could it be... this kid had mastered Advanced Armament Haki in such a short time?!
This growth speed could no longer be described as "genius."
This was monstrous.
Though filled with doubts, there was no time to ponder—that powerful slash was already pressing toward him!
Kleist tightened his grip on his Great Grade Sword, formidable Armament Haki flowing like currents around the blade.
He too possessed Advanced Armament Haki, and his was even more refined.
A slash similarly wrapped in Advanced Armament Haki, imbued with his sharp Sword Intent, met the attack head-on.
The two slashes collided mid-air, locked in a stalemate!
After a moment, Kleist's slash finally split Raiver's blood-red slash down the middle!
The divided slash passed by both sides of Kleist's body, falling into the sea behind and exploding into two towering water columns.
But Raiver's assault wasn't over.
While launching the first slash, he had already begun preparing his follow-up attacks.
"Slash!"
"Slash!"
"Slash!"
Raiver swung his blade continuously.
Over a dozen blood-red slashes wrapped in Advanced Armament Haki followed the first, homing in on Kleist like tracking missiles from different angles and trajectories!
These slashes weren't fired randomly but formed a three-dimensional attack network, sealing off all of Kleist's escape routes.
Either block them head-on, or be cut down.
"Kid! Your Haki is nothing before this old man—"
Kleist snorted coldly.
As one of the Navy's highest combat powers, he showed no panic in the face of the sudden barrage of slashes.
Instead, he had identified Raiver Sky's weakness.
The essence of Advanced Armament Haki lies in "condensation" and "control."
Only by compressing Haki to an extreme degree and concentrating it at a single point can its maximum power be unleashed.
Although Raiver Sky's slashes were imbued with Advanced Armament Haki, the Haki was dispersed.
"Watch closely! This is the true—Advanced Armament Haki!!"
Kleist gripped his sword with both hands. The dense Armament Haki, compressed to its limit, underwent a qualitative transformation!
The blade ignited with a crimson aura—a phenomenon that occurs when Armament Haki reaches a certain critical density.
Pushing off with his feet, his body shot forward like a cannonball!
With a single slash, he cleaved through the blood-red slashes flying toward him at high speed!
"BOOM—!!!"
The blood-red slash capable of splitting a warship was shattered outright!
The moment the slash shattered, Kleist's blade surged forward with unstoppable force, meeting the second blood-red slash.
The second one—shattered!
The third one—shattered!
In the blink of an eye, every blood-red slash unleashed by Raiver Sky was completely shattered by Kleist!
Though shocked that Raiver Sky had mastered Advanced Armament Haki, Kleist had already gauged his opponent's capabilities through their earlier exchange.
Strong, but not enough.
His application of Advanced Armament Haki was still immature, and there was a gap in combat experience.
Against such an opponent, Kleist was confident he could prevail without difficulty.
"If this is the extent of your strength, spend the rest of your life repenting in Impel Down."
Before the words fully left his mouth, the wings on Kleist's back suddenly unfurled.
In the next instant, he stepped on the air, the atmosphere beneath his feet exploding with a roar as his body shot toward Raiver Sky like a cannonball!
Just as Kleist closed in to within five meters, Raiver Sky raised his right hand, fingers spread wide.
The air in front of his palm began to distort.
Before that hand, an invisible "Singularity" was forming—a phenomenon resulting from Space Repulsion compressed to its absolute limit.
Then, release.
"Almighty Push—"
Hum—!!!
An invisible repulsive force expanded like a barrier, forming a repulsive field centered around him.
"I anticipated this move!"
Kleist roared, a hint of excitement in his voice.
He had studied Raiver Sky's combat records. Though the intelligence was limited, the move "Almighty Push" had been used repeatedly during the Celestial Tribute raids and had been analyzed countless times by the Navy's tactical division.
The countermeasure was simple: pierce through the surface with a point.
Concentrate Haki and power onto the smallest possible attack surface, using absolute sharpness to penetrate the repulsive barrier.
Advanced Armament Haki, compressed to its limit, coiled around the blade like flames, with crimson aura even spilling from the edge.
Kleist raised his sword high above his head with both hands, every muscle in his body synergizing in that moment.
Then, he brought it down!
"Slash—!!!"
The moment the blade collided with the repulsive barrier, time seemed to stretch infinitely.
BANG—!!!
The blade struck the repulsive barrier heavily—neither cutting through nor bouncing off.
It halted there, the tip pressed against the invisible barrier, crimson Advanced Armament Haki and silvery-white Space Repulsion violently clashing, annihilating, and dissolving against each other.
Zzzap—!!!
Crimson Haki and Space Repulsion fiercely grated against each other, erupting in dense arcs of electricity.
Rippling vibrations spread across the barrier's surface, like a stone dropped into a lake.
Feeling the overwhelming repulsive force ahead, Kleist widened his tiger-like eyes.
The muscles in his arms bulged, veins coiling like dragons, and his bones emitted faint cracking sounds under the immense pressure.
But he did not retreat.
Not a single step back.
Because once he retreated, the repulsive field would instantly expand and devour him.
At that point, it would no longer be him piercing the barrier, but the barrier crushing him.
He must advance.
He must break through!
"For this old man—BREAK!!!" Kleist's voice roared like thunder.
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