The moment Kizaru appeared, Rowen's expression looked like this:
(\￣△￣/)
This was already the second time!
He intervened when Rowen unleashed his ultimate move...
Moreover, Kizaru's method of movement, which involved condensing Yata no Kagami into light particles and continuously reflecting to propel himself through the air, though it involved an additional process of condensation compared to Supercharged Travel, was almost just as fast in practice.
That is, he could travel thousands of meters per second!
An absolute limit of ten kilometers! At this speed, even if Rowen spotted him, there was simply no time to retract his move.
Not to mention that the opponent had already begun charging up the Heavenly Fine Lance from a distance – a swift and fierce attack that even "Pluton" Rayleigh couldn't dodge!
"Well... don't blame me for this..."
Watching the Heavenly Fine Lance and the lightning arc collide with BIG·MOM simultaneously, Rowen turned his head away with a reluctant heart. His inner emotions remained calm, and he even felt a hint of amusement.
Whiz! Whiz!
Two streaks of light, one blue and one yellow, momentarily caught BIG·MOM off guard. Luckily, her combat awareness was top-notch. She immediately approached the Soul Storm with Zeus, simultaneously dividing it in two.
One part was positioned above to intercept the Heavenly Fine Lance, and the other was placed below to ward off the approaching lightning arc. She almost instantly transitioned from offense to defense.
Then...
The two streaks of light collided with her, and the dazzling golden light and the deep arc of electricity both vanished for a moment, plunging the world into darkness.
Immediately after, a deafening roar of the Dragon and the thunderous explosion took over the world.
Just as the kick shattered the Soul Storm and was about to close in on Big Mom, Kizaru's eyes suddenly opened behind the sunglasses, and a sly curve formed on his lips as he uttered a word.
"Damn!!"
Heaven-resisting Thunder Cry·First Style
Dragon Halberd·Nine Dragons Rising!!
Almost in the instant of tearing apart the Soul Storm, the lightning arc had already attached itself to BIG·MOM. Then, with a terrifying explosion, thunderous Dragons appeared out of thin air. The brilliant Thunderlight formed an almost liquefied thunderous pool, illuminating the night sky.
The nine Thunder Dragons tumbled and surged in the pool, creating monstrous waves, dragging both the golden light and BIG·MOM into the dreadful pool. Finally, the nine Thunder Dragons let out a long roar, retracting towards the center like blooming flowers in reverse, and ruthlessly bit into BIG·MOM.
Bang!!!
After the reverberation, the thunderous pool exploded! A streak of golden light, carrying the massive figure of BIG·MOM, burst out amidst the thunder and lightning...
Perhaps she was blown out.
Whoosh... Thud!!
BIG·MOM crashed into the shallow beach not far from the coast. Thousands of tons of seawater evaporated at an astonishing speed, creating deep, sprawling rifts on the land. The earth trembled and moaned, triggering a powerful earthquake.
A streak of golden light came back in mid-attack... It's just as the saying goes: it's better to receive than to give. The Heavenly Fine Lance, which had never been interrupted before, was halfway broken due to a coincidental interruption by Kizaru himself. Its power was far from what it used to be, rendering it useless.
Looking at Kizaru, who was slowly piecing his body together from light particles, there was nothing unusual about him. But his face was as dark as tar!!
He stared at Rowen in silence for three seconds, then finally curled his mouth up.
"Rowen, have you awakened Haoshoku Haki?"
Hehe!
Rowen rolled his eyes and said lightly, "I think I can report to the Fleet Admiral that a certain Scientific Force Commander-in-Chief is neglecting his duty."
Kizaru: "..."
'You're ruthless!'
Others might not be aware of the details about Thunder Cloud Dragon, after all, it involved Admiral candidate Rowen's trump card and Vegapunk's research project. But as the highest senior official of the Scientific Force, if he didn't know about it, he would be a laughingstock.
Thinking that Rowen hadn't outsmarted him, but rather had infuriated him to the point of chest pain and diaphragm discomfort, Kizaru took a deep breath without looking at him and turned to look at the deep rifts spreading in front of him, his expression changing.
"Be careful, Rowen. BIG·MOM isn't that easy to kill."
"Understood... How long until the reinforcements arrive?"
"Early tomorrow morning."
Kizaru answered reflexively, then suddenly realized something causing his face to be filled with shock as he looked at Rowen.
"You Bastard, are you trying to trick me?!!"
"Well, who knows... By the way, Admiral, you're in charge of the offense, and I'm the support. That shouldn't be a problem, right, Admiral Kizaru?"
Rowen rolled his eyes as he spoke.
It took Kizaru less than four days to arrive at Poli Island from Marineford, which was not much slower than Rowen. Among them, a day and a half could easily be attributed to a delayed battle opportunity. Even if it wasn't very useful, it could give the boring government officials an excuse to investigate him and let him vent some frustration!
As the saying goes, tit for tat! If you try to trick me, I'll try to trick you. That's fair!
Kizaru: "..."
This cheeky little devil!!
"I suddenly feel like you're even more annoying than Zephyr Sensei!" Through gritted teeth, Kizaru managed to squeeze out these words.
Rowen grinned and saluted him as he spoke. "Thank you for the compliment!"
Bang!
At this moment, the coast exploded into a cloud of smoke, and BIG·MOM's massive body showed a few traces of scorch marks. Although it couldn't be considered a heavy blow, it made her "Steel Balloon" body appear slightly disheveled.
The two no longer dwelled on the past grievances. The reason for this battle was no longer important. What mattered now was BIG·MOM and the Battle Intent!
"Kizaru, are you really going to wage war against me?!"
Zeus had been torn to pieces by the lightning, leaving only a palm-sized fragment... a fragment the size of an ordinary person's hand, which BIG·MOM tucked into her pocket, resting weakly, waiting to replenish its soul later.
BIG·MOM's colossal form stood tall behind the smoke and dust, and the terrifying Haoshoku pressure radiated out, causing both of them to tense up.
"Ah, this Haoshoku is truly terrifying!"
Kizaru casually inserted his hands into his pockets. Even the majestic Justice cloak couldn't hide the battle intent exuding from his body. While his mouth had a sly pout, his eyes behind the Kizaru sunglasses were cold and indifferent as he said calmly:
"But the way you say it makes it seem like we're the ones picking a fight. Clearly, it was your son, Charlotte·Oven, who invaded the Allied Kingdom Member first, BIG·MOM."
"As a Yonko, you should still have some dignity, right?"
BIG·MOM remained silent, not because she felt embarrassed by Kizaru's remarks, but because Kizaru's attitude took her by surprise. It was much more assertive than before! For pirates at the level of a Yonko, the only things they feared were the Marine Headquarters and other Yonko.
After a moment of silence, BIG·MOM raised Napoleon.
"Very well!"
"If the Marines want a battle... then let's fight!!"
Spear of Elbaf · Might of the Nation!
Bang!!
"Ah, this crazy woman... so why did we come to provoke her?"
With a complaint, a huge semi-circular energy column shot out. Kizaru seemed to lazily step forward like a turtle, but in the next moment, he disappeared from his original position and reappeared a kilometer away, kicking toward BIG·MOM.
Lightspeed Kick!!
Rowen also lightly stepped to evade the Sword Energy attack. In the instant of stalemate between Kizaru and BIG·MOM, he took a step forward.
Super Electromagnetic Cannon... Fist!
As Rowen approached, BIG·MOM didn't show much alertness. She possessed formidable defenses that allowed her to withstand cannonballs and ejections without a scratch. While Rowen's thunder was tricky due to its speed, it hadn't yet awakened, so its power was limited.
In Rowen's data, the Overload·Thunderlight Fist was already a well-known move. It had good power, but it was similarly limited.
However, the threat posed by this punch to her was no weaker than Kizaru's Lightspeed Kick!!
Thunk!!
The impact sound of the depressed strike echoed in the area. The Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) instantly shattered, leaving BIG·MOM, who was focused on defending against the Lightspeed Kick, feeling a sharp pain in her fourth rib under her armpit, followed by a cracking sound...
It broke!
"It hurts so much!!!"
The giant lady roared in madness, swiftly rotating in place. Her arm swung down like a colossal pillar, forcing Rowen and Kizaru to retreat and dodge.
Facing the two current speed kings of the world, even with BIG·MOM's frenzied assault, evading wasn't a difficult task.
BIG·MOM's mouth oozed blood. From the start of the battle until now, she had finally, thoroughly, seen red for the first time.
Hiss...
In mid-air, Kizaru took a sharp breath, looking at Rowen in disbelief. "You've modified the Thunderlight Fist?"
"Naturally! I've been imitating your Lightspeed Kick, but I couldn't break out of my own path."
Rowen grinned, and the brilliant electricity of Pī Li Pā Lā shimmered on his arm, flickering on and off.
(End of this chapter)