"Are you a Devil Fruit user?"
"State your business, or I'll kill you where you stand!"
"That coat... are you Navy?"
Startled by the sudden voice, everyone on deck, officers and crewmates alike, instinctively reached for their weapons, eyes wary and full of tension.
"My, my, how scary. A whole bunch of monsters, huh?"
The newcomer feigned fear, patting his chest twice in mock relief. But the act didn't last long, he casually pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a relaxed hand.
"Dammit, are you here just to mock us!?"
Oliver's anger flared. His hand was already drawing his sword halfway from its sheath.
But it went no further, Chris T. Aeridar stopped him with a simple gesture.
"Don't move. Even all of you together wouldn't be his match."
"What!?" The crew was shaken. Arlan quickly asked, "Captain, who is he? A Marine?"
Aeridar stepped forward, calm but cautious. A faint smirk touched the corner of his lips.
"Cut the act, Borsalino—Kizaru. I never imagined you of all people would show up."
Indeed, the one before them was none other than the Navy Headquarters' top-tier fighting force, one of the three Admirals, Kizaru, real name Borsalino, a man with overwhelming strength who served both the Marines and the World Government.
"That's... that's Admiral Kizaru!?"
"An actual Admiral?! One of the strongest in the Navy?!"
Members of the Chris Pirates went pale. An Admiral wasn't just some government agent, he was a monster of legend, a force of nature.
"Well now~ That's odd, little fella. You know me?"
Kizaru's lips puckered in feigned surprise, voice slow and drawling as always.
"You're the Glint-Glint Fruit user, one of the Marine's three living monsters, alongside Aokiji—Kuzan and Akainu—Sakazuki. It'd be hard not to recognize a man like you." Aeridar's tone was laced with sarcasm. "Honestly, it's terrifying. If I hadn't coincidentally beaten Gecko Moria back on Jaya and taken his place among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, I'd be preparing for my stay at Impel Down right about now."
And he wasn't joking. Aeridar had narrowly escaped such a fate.
In terms of raw strength, Syrons was roughly on par with Donquixote Doflamingo, maybe slightly weaker in terms of power, but far more experienced. They were evenly matched; one had sharper claws, the other a thicker hide. A classic stalemate. As the Navy grapevine would say, Syrons was Admiral-class in potential, but age and old injuries kept him from ever reaching full strength. That's the only reason Aeridar even managed a draw.
But Kizaru? Kizaru was on a whole different level. If Aeridar truly had to fight him, it wouldn't even be close. The entire crew might be wiped out.
Kizaru could fly. His speed was unmatched. Aeridar's abilities couldn't match him in the air, and even if by some miracle he did close the gap, he'd still be outgunned. Kizaru's light-speed lasers could pierce through even Armament Haki-reinforced defenses. And if he chose to fight from range, he could wear Aeridar down without ever getting hit.
If Kizaru decided to chase you, and you couldn't fight back or escape... it was basically a death sentence. Arlan and the others would be flattened without even being able to blink.
But Aeridar? He wouldn't abandon his crew. Never. The only two choices would be death, or prison.
Among the three Admirals, Kizaru was the one Aeridar least wanted to encounter.
If it were Aokiji, sure, he could freeze the sea. But Aeridar could still shatter the ice with seismic shockwaves from his Impact-Impact Fruit and flee.
And Akainu? The magma bastard might be fearsome, but he couldn't fly. His Mag-Mag Fruit attacks weren't necessarily more destructive than Aeridar's own power. If Akainu couldn't catch him, then he wasn't nearly as scary.
"My~ my~ you're being too modest!"
Kizaru tilted his head slightly, speaking as lazily as ever. "For someone who fought Syrons to a draw... you're a monster yourself, hmm~?"
Even so, if they really came to blows, Kizaru wouldn't beat Aeridar instantly. But the difference in power was still obvious.
"An Admiral praising me? I'm honored, though I really could've done without the trauma of that fight..." Aeridar exhaled, half in relief, half in fatigue. "To be honest, Syrons nearly finished me off."
In his previous life, Aeridar was nothing but a bottom-rung nobody. Even now, though obsessed with strength and blessed with decent talent, he was no born prodigy, not someone like Luffy, who could watch a technique once and copy it.
Fighting above his weight class? Aeridar didn't believe in that kind of miracle.
When elite fighters of the same tier clashed, even victory came at a steep cost. But when there was a clear gap in strength? That wasn't a fight. That was a wall, one you couldn't scale with effort alone.
If someone stronger than you could be defeated easily, then they weren't stronger in the first place, were they?
Beating someone above your level usually just meant you got lucky.
"Well~ well~ What a curious pirate. So modest."
Kizaru scratched his cheek, still laid-back. "But now I'm curious. Let's see if you're really worthy of your Shichibukai title."
"...You want to test me?" Aeridar's eyes narrowed, instincts flaring.
A Navy Admiral wasn't someone you could afford to underestimate.
"Tell me, have you ever been kicked... at the speed of light?"
Kizaru slowly raised his right leg. In an instant, it transformed into brilliant light.
The moment the words left his mouth, he vanished.
The deck he'd stood on was empty.
In the next breath, he was right in front of Aeridar.
A light-speed kick came screaming toward Aeridar's skull.
Aeridar's heart jumped. In less than the blink of an eye, Kizaru had crossed the entire ship's length. It was like he had teleported.
This was why even Observation Haki users fell to Kizaru in an instant, because even if you sensed his attack, your body couldn't keep up.
On pure reflex, Aeridar lifted his right leg to block—
The impact was earth-shaking.
The very air burst from the force, a shockwave sweeping out in all directions, like a visible ring of pressure exploding across the ship.
Not just objects, even people were flung through the air.
On the deck, over a dozen crew members who hadn't reacted fast enough were hurled like ragdolls, some of them coughing up blood from the force of the wind alone.
"Damn it, I couldn't react at all!"
Even the veteran officers like Arlan and Oliver were stunned. Some had sensed the danger, but none had reacted fast enough. Others hadn't even seen it coming.
If it had been them taking that kick—
They'd be in the sea. Or dead.
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my ——— (.)com/JuanFiction [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are over 100 advance Chapters available for you!