Pirate: I, Ace, am the King of Eclipse!

The Den Den Mushi suddenly screamed, and the mimicked face was full of terror.

"Admiral Borsalino! Something terrible has happened!" The naval officer stationed at Sabaody Archipelago was practically crying out, "Saint Charlos, Saint Roswald, and Lady Charlelia, the three Celestial Dragons—"

He took a breath before shouting out the full message: "He was killed in the street by Portgas D. Ace's men!"

Kizaru stopped in mid-air.

"Dead? All three of them are dead?" He stroked his chin, a downward smirk playing on his lips. "This is no ordinary trouble. When Mr. Sengoku receives the news, his blood pressure will probably spike. And the Five Elders won't let the Navy off easily either."

He pushed up his brown sunglasses: "A rookie with a 1.5 billion bounty, killing three Celestial Dragons on his first trip to Sabaody. These young people these days really don't consider the workload of the elderly. How terrifying."

His voice remained slow and deliberate, but Kizaru's gaze had already passed through his glasses and locked onto Mangrove Tree Number 1 in the distance.

What was originally intended as a deterrent has now resulted in the deaths of three Celestial Dragons. If he continues at his previous pace, the consequences upon returning to Marineford will be far more serious than simply writing a self-criticism.

"Looks like I won't be able to leave work on time today."

The golden light suddenly contracted, then exploded between the clouds. The Sound Barrier Cloud was stretched into a white ring, and Kizaru transformed into a cross-shaped flash, tearing through the sky. Without waiting for the warships behind him, he shot in a straight line towards Area 1.

Above Chambord, a golden line, growing ever brighter, was approaching.

The navy personnel on the island, responsible for monitoring the sea, also saw the beam of light. Instead of letting their guard down, they began evacuating Area 1, because if the admiral clashed with the Eclipse Pirates, the surrounding streets could be caught in the crossfire.

Chapter 111 The Photon Descends, the General and the Monster Trio

"Ace, look up!"

As soon as Karina looked up, Ace, Sabo, and Enel's Observation Haki simultaneously detected a threat from high above. The warning pierced their minds like needles, and all three turned their gazes to the sky.

A cross-shaped spot of light shone brightly in the clear sky.

The next instant, a beam of light pierced the sky and crashed into the center of the street in front of them. No fireball erupted from the impact, but the shockwave swept across the ground. Buildings on both sides of the street crumbled one after another, rubble, broken wood, and the corpses of Celestial Dragons were all swept into the air and crashed into the distant ruins.

The blinding white light dimmed slightly, revealing a tall, thin man standing in the center of the cracked ground. He wore a yellow striped suit, a navy cloak draped over his shoulders with the word "Justice" written on it, and his hands remained in his pockets.

Kizaru glanced around, then swept his gaze over the bloodstains on the ground, and pushed up his brown sunglasses.

"Three Celestial Dragons, not even a complete corpse was left behind. A 'breakthrough' with a 1.5 billion bounty, they really don't hold back when they do things."

As soon as he finished speaking, his body dispersed into countless golden photons.

"Watch out!" Sabo had only uttered two words when Kizaru's voice came from above Shaq, Urouge, and the others.

"Speed ​​is weight. Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"

Kizaru hovered in mid-air, his raised right leg converging into a ball of intense light. Before the light could even subside, the remaining glass nearby shattered one after another.

Shaq and the others had no time to dodge; a figure had already swept past them. Ace shattered the ground as he charged forward, crimson-gold divine fire enveloping his arms, and Armament Haki covering his fists and shoulders.

The fist slammed head-on into Kizaru's shin.

Flames and golden light exploded in mid-air, black and red arcs of electricity spreading outwards from the center of the impact. The street beneath Ace's feet collapsed several meters, cracks creeping up to the base of the buildings on either side. He was stuck at the bottom of the pit, but his feet didn't move an inch backward.

Kizaru used the momentum to flip back into the air, looking at the scorch marks on his trouser legs. "I caught it head-on. That kind of strength is really scary."

Ace didn't look up, still staring at Kizaru's position, and said to those behind him, "Buggy, take everyone back to the ship. Start the engines and wait for our retreat."

Bucky didn't try to be brave. He knew very well that the enemy in front of him was the Navy Headquarters' top fighting force, and having the officers stay there would only distract Ace and the other two.

"I heard you all! Get out of the way immediately, don't get in the way!" Bucky turned and ran, calling out to the others as he ran. Urouge clenched his fists, but in the end, he followed Shak and the others back towards the Eclipse.

Urouge ran a short distance and then looked back. In just one head-on collision, a crater several meters deep had appeared beneath Ace's feet, while Kizaru remained suspended in mid-air, his breathing unchanged. Previously, when fighting Lucci and Snack, they could find opportunities using their numbers and abilities, but against a Marine Admiral, even approaching the battlefield slowed down three of their main forces. Shak grabbed Urouge's arm and pulled him over the collapsed wall. "Get the ship ready first. The captain told us to retreat, not to stand back and watch the show."

"Killing a Celestial Dragon and trying to leave? That won't be easy to explain." Kizaru raised his index finger, the light at the tip quickly converging as his crosshair fell on the retreating crowd.

"You dare to be distracted while fighting a god? You're nothing special!"

Thunder roared overhead. A bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket struck, severing Kizaru's laser beam the moment it left his fingertips. Enel appeared to Kizaru's left, following the lightning bolt, his Thunder Hammer wrapped in blue and white arcs of electricity, and slammed it horizontally toward Kizaru's temple.

At the same time, a loud bang was heard on the right.

The compressed flames erupting from Sabo's boots propelled his body through the sound barrier, and his five fingers, covered in Ryuo, bent into dragon claws, aiming straight for Kizaru's chest.

"Firestorm - Dragon Claw!"

The two attacks arrived almost simultaneously. Kizaru clasped his hands together and then pulled them apart, golden photons condensing into a longsword.

"The Kusanagi Sword".

The sword's edge blocked the Thunder Pole, and lightning and photons flew everywhere along the two weapons. Kizaru didn't even turn around to check, but simply pushed his other hand in the direction Sabo was attacking.

Sabo's dragon claw stopped half a meter away. Flowing Sakura continued to pound against that invisible defense, ripples spreading through the air, but his five fingers remained unable to advance any further.

"Armament Haki externalization..." Sabo exerted force in his arm, his teeth clenching as well. Kizaru's Haki was like a thick wall blocking his way, forcefully stopping his advance.

"The coordination is good. However, this level of coordination is not enough to completely surround the light."

Kizaru's body began to disperse from under the sword, instantly transforming into photons and breaking through the encirclement. When the golden light reassembled, he had already risen to a hundred meters in the air, his hands drawing a bright trail of light in front of his chest.

"Yata no Kagami".

The light refracted continuously around the ruins of the building, filling the air in the blink of an eye. Kizaru flashed back and forth along the light trail, his figure splitting into ten, each raising a finger, some even holding the Ame-no-Murakumo sword.

Enel could hear the movement of every beam of light, but his body couldn't dodge them all in time. He had just raised his Thunder Cudgel when laser beams and light-speed kicks rained down from different directions.

Explosions followed one after another.

The remaining houses in Zone 1 were sliced ​​in half, mangrove roots were severed by lasers, and the neighborhood was quickly reduced to rolling flames and smoke. Sabo blocked an oncoming sword with his staff, but then took a light-speed kick to the lower back, sliding dozens of meters along the ground. Enel dodged repeatedly using his elemental powers, but was still grazed on the shoulder by an attack imbued with Haki, his flesh instantly charred black.

The two rushed out of the ruins one after the other. Sabo's abdomen heaved violently, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. His Ryuo was powerful enough to injure Logia-type users, but before each attack could land, Kizaru would always manage to escape along a light trail and kick it back from out of sight.

“If you can’t grasp a physical entity, no matter how powerful it is, it’s useless.” Sabo wiped away the blood and held the staff horizontally in front of him again.

Enel wiped the scorch marks from his face, but the electric current around him only intensified. "Hahahaha! This is what makes someone worthy of being a god's opponent!"

The sea of ​​fire parted in the middle, and Ace emerged stepping on the molten rocks. His dark red trench coat was burned through in several places by the laser, leaving shallow bloodstains on his exposed skin. After the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire swept past, the wounds stopped bleeding instantly, leaving only the charred fabric still smoking.

Kizaru merged into one in mid-air and looked down at the three of them.

Ace flexed his wrists. "Chasing the light with your fists is indeed tiring."

The previous exchange was enough to illustrate the point. Kizaru relies on more than just the Glint-Glint Fruit. Aside from his light-speed, his swordsmanship, physical skills, Armament Haki, and combat experience have no obvious weaknesses. Even if Ace, Sabo, and Enel attacked him simultaneously, it would be difficult to force him to remain in one position.

"It seems that relying solely on the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire and the Flowing Cherry Blossom will not be enough to keep you here today."

"After taking so many attacks, do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?" Kizaru raised his index finger, and the light spot lit up again. "These young people nowadays are all so troublesome."

Ace lowered his body, the crimson divine fire in his left hand rising up his arm. The light near his right palm, however, was rapidly dimming, and a wisp of black smoke emerged from between his fingers, spreading outwards along the ground. The pebbles that touched the black mist were deflected from their original direction and dragged towards his palm.

The light that had gathered at Kizaru's fingertips flickered slightly.

The smile on his face faded slightly, and his gaze fell on the darkness that reflected no light.

“Since you can turn into light and run around,” Ace spread his five fingers, black smoke spreading behind him, “then let’s see if light can escape this abyss.”

Chapter 112 Foreseeing the Future, Defeating Kizaru!

Area 1 of the Sabaody Archipelago is unrecognizable. Broken walls lie buried in flames, and the roots of mangrove trees are riddled with holes left by lasers. Ace stands in the center of the ruins, the black mist in his right hand spinning faster and faster, drawing all the scattered sparks and golden specks of light nearby into the vortex.

Kizaru remained suspended in mid-air, not daring to approach rashly.

"It can even absorb photons and alter gravity. I've never seen such a fruit on the ocean before."

The pulling sensation from the Dark-Dark Fruit made him instinctively keep his distance. If this power were to come into contact with his body, the consequences would likely go beyond just injury.

Kizaru clasped his hands together in front of his chest. "No matter how strong your abilities are, they're useless if you can't touch anyone. Yasakani no Magatama!"

Countless light bullets rained down from the sky, covering an area beyond the three people and engulfing most of the ruins.

Enel raised the Regin pestle above his head, "Divine Judgment!"

The lightning in the dark clouds was drawn down in one go, and a bolt of lightning more than ten meters thick shot into the sky against the light rain. Lightning bullets exploded continuously around the lightning bolt, and golden light and arcs of electricity filled the area below the clouds. However, many lasers still managed to pass through the interception and shoot towards the ground.

"Enel, leave the rest to me!"

The flames spewing from Sabo's boot heels quickly turned from red to blue. With a deafening roar, he shot into the sky along the side of the lightning pillar, his long staff simultaneously coated with Armament Haki and flames.

"Fire Blast - Sky Step - Dragon Bite - City-Breaking Staff!"

The long staff swept towards Kizaru's side. Kizaru instantly conjured the Ama no Kusanagi sword, and the sword and staff clashed, the resounding clang echoing throughout the entire block. The lightsaber blocked the direct force, but the compressed flames bursting from the staff licked at the Marine's cloak, leaving a scorched patch on the hem.

Just as Kizaru raised his leg, an even stronger suction force came from above. Ace stopped above him using Moonwalk, his outstretched right palm aimed at Kizaru's back.

"Dark water!"

The surrounding rubble flew towards Ace first. Kizaru's body was also pulled upwards, but before the suction could truly lock him in, he had already dissipated into photons.

A golden trail stretched across the street.

"Yata no Kagami".

The light trails zigzagged between the still-standing walls and mangrove roots, until Kizaru's figure vanished completely, leaving only streaks of golden light weaving back and forth. The next moment, he materialized from Sabo's blind spot and kicked him in the abdomen.

Sabo flew out, his body hunched, crashing through two broken walls before landing in the ruins. Kizaru didn't stop, turning around and moving along the light trail towards Enel. Enel had already transformed into lightning, but his right shoulder was still pierced by the laser that followed, blood gushing from both the front and back holes simultaneously.

"I can hear it, but I can't dodge it..." Enel clutched his shoulder, lightning crackling as it sealed the wound. His mind-control network could pinpoint Kizaru's location, but by the time his body reacted, the light-speed kick was already upon him.

Kizaru entered the light track again, forcing Sabo and Enel to defend back-to-back.

Sabo held his staff horizontally in front of the two men, flames spreading along its length. The first laser beam was deflected by the staff tip, blasting a deep crater in the ruins behind them; the second beam shot close to the ground, Enel's Regin pestle missed its mark, and his own hand was cracked from the impact. Kizaru had no fixed target, each appearance lasting only until he had completed a single strike, forcing the two men to constantly turn around. If even a half-step gap appeared between them, the next kick would land directly on their vitals.

Ace hovered above the two of them, his eyes closed.

Continuing to chase those golden afterimages was pointless. They were invisible to the naked eye, and even with early warning from ordinary Observation Haki, the body wouldn't have enough time. Ace withdrew all his outward-spreading senses, no longer trying to cover the entire battlefield, but only trying to discern the subtle changes between the light trails, breaths, killing intent, and attacks.

Time seemed to slow down at that moment.

As the explosions and thunder receded into the distance, the pauses created by each refraction of light gradually took on a certain order in his perception. The barrier that had long stood in the way of his Observation Haki began to crack under the relentless pressure of life and death.

A scene that had not yet occurred suddenly flashed into my mind.

Two seconds later, the light trail will veer towards the blind spot behind Sabo. Kizaru will revert to his physical form there, his right foot piercing through Sabo's chest.

Ace opened his eyes. "Found it."

Kizaru was still moving along the light trail on the other side, but Ace had already used Moonwalk to turn around. Instead of going to save Sabo, he landed three meters behind and to the left of Sabo. He raised his right hand, and darkness surged from his palm to his fingertips, waiting there quietly.

The next second, the light trail fell precisely.

Golden photons coalesced to form Kizaru's upper body. Just as he was about to lift his right leg, a hand shrouded in black mist gripped his shoulder.

Kizaru's expression changed for the first time.

The moment the Dark-Dark Fruit activated, all the photons that made up his body went out. Lasers, flashes, and elementalization vanished all at once, and he was forcibly dragged back into his flesh and blood, not even having time to find a place to land.