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"Tap tap tap tap tap!"
Urgent footsteps echoed from inside the headquarters building. Two figures strode out, faces grim and tense.
Suddenly—
"Boom—!"
A deafening crack of thunder made the two men and the surrounding Marines snap their heads up at once.
In the next instant, everyone's pupils shrank as their gazes locked onto Marineford Plaza.
A colossal pillar of lightning, blazing with intense heat, vaporized the rain in an instant. It tore across the churning waters of the inner bay and slammed straight into the towering Gate of Justice.
Without a sound, the massive gate melted away, a gaping hole burned clean through it. The lightning vanished as abruptly as it had come.
Sengoku and Garp exchanged a look. The shock on their faces was unmistakable.
That scene, like divine punishment descending from the heavens, left them truly shaken.
"Report!"
A Marine came sprinting over, panting heavily as he shouted.
"Speak," Sengoku said sharply.
"Golden Lion Shiki has launched a solo assault on Marine Headquarters! C3 Unit, E5 Unit, and G2 Unit have all been wiped out!"
"Vice Admiral Kyle is currently engaged in battle with Golden Lion!"
After blurting out the report, the Marine sucked in a deep breath, his eyes drifting toward the Gate of Justice, still smoking from where the lightning had pierced it.
"Vice Admiral Kyle… alone… has stopped Golden Lion Shiki!!!"
The words sent a ripple through the assembled officers, expressions shifting in disbelief.
"You're saying that lightning just now was Kyle's doing?" Garp asked in a low voice.
"Yes!"
"Based on our assessment, Vice Admiral Kyle has become a lightning human after consuming the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!"
Garp and Sengoku looked at each other again, both seeing the same astonishment reflected in the other's eyes.
"Golden Lion Shiki…" Garp muttered."How did that bastard end up at Marine Headquarters?"
They immediately broke into a run toward Marineford Plaza.
"He's probably here for Roger," Sengoku said.
Garp nodded, his face heavy. He looked toward the plaza. After that terrifying bolt of lightning, the area had fallen eerily quiet.
Rain poured down in sheets.
Kyle stood with one arm still outstretched, arcs of electricity crackling between his fingers with sharp, sizzling sounds.
Golden Lion Shiki was nowhere to be seen. All that remained was the blasted Gate of Justice and the stunned, horrified faces of the surrounding Marines.
"What are you all standing around for?" Kyle barked.
"Golden Lion Shiki isn't someone you take down that easily!"
"Clear the battlefield!"
"This is a fight between him and me!"
The Marines snapped out of their daze and hurriedly retreated, shouting as they pulled back.
"Boom—!"
Thunder rolled overhead. Kyle slowly raised his head, the seriousness in his eyes unmistakable.
You could never afford to underestimate anyone, no matter the situation.
As some of the Marines withdrew, they followed his gaze upward.
"W-What is that?!"
"Oh my god!"
Cries of shock erupted. Countless Marines stared in terror, their eyes filled with disbelief.
Massive warships hovered overhead, having somehow appeared above them amid the raging storm. At the bow of the foremost ship stood Golden Lion Shiki himself, twin blades in hand.
That towering figure looked down on them from above.
"Are you ready to face my wrath?"
"Marines!"
Shiki's deep voice echoed across Marineford.
The next moment, the enormous ships accelerated at once, diving downward as they hurtled toward Marineford Plaza.
"Whoosh—!"
The wind howled. Shiki's coat flared as he leapt from the bow, dual swords aimed straight at Kyle, his speed like a flash of lightning.
"And you!" Shiki roared.
"You say you've captured Roger?!"
"Then show me the power that let you capture Roger!"
"Otherwise—"
"Hand him over to me!"
Using the momentum of his descent, Shiki moved at terrifying speed.
Kyle looked up. Lightning crackled across his body as his right fist slowly clenched.
Crack!
A bolt of lightning flashed, and Kyle's figure vanished.
He reappeared directly in front of Shiki.
His right fist swung out violently, the force of the punch driving the curtain of rain upward in reverse.
"Fist of the Bone!"
"Meteor Strike!"
Shiki roared as he slashed forward.
"Flying Slash!"
A razor-sharp wave tore through the air, colliding head-on with Kyle's punch.
Black-red lightning and golden lightning intertwined and exploded, rippling outward in concentric shockwaves.
Both men were forced back.
Kyle's gaze sharpened. The man before him was every bit as formidable as rumored. A casual slash capable of cleaving mountains had just met his fist head-on.
Shiki was equally serious. He had run into a powerful opponent, one who reminded him of facing Garp or Roger themselves.
Their eyes met, sparks flying.
In the same instant, both figures vanished again.
Shiki's eyes glowed red as his Observation Haki flared to life. He appeared behind Kyle, blade flashing, golden lightning coiling around the edge.
Kyle's eyes were closed.
Within a radius of several kilometers, countless fine threads of electricity flickered. Everything was reflected clearly in his mind, even the tiny splashes made as raindrops struck puddles on the ground.
With the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's domain enhancing him, it was as if he possessed countless eyes.
Every spark, every arc of lightning became an extension of his perception.
He spun around and threw a punch.
Boom!
Shiki's blade crashed into Kyle's Seastone glove. A shockwave erupted, sweeping across Marineford Plaza like a gale. The sheer force shattered nearby stone and etched fine cracks across surrounding buildings.
"Ze hahaha!"
Shiki laughed wildly, twisting his body as the second blade slashed toward Kyle's neck, fast as a bolt of lightning.
Slash!
The blade passed cleanly through Kyle's neck, but instead of blood, only fine strands of lightning scattered into the air.
At the same time, Kyle's fist drove forward.
Thud!
The punch landed squarely in Shiki's abdomen.
Shiki shot backward, skidding across the ground before stopping, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
"Heh…"
"Logia, huh?" Shiki sneered. "The Rumble-Rumble Fruit."
Kyle looked down at him, lightning arcing around his body. His expression was cold and majestic, like a thunder god gazing down from the heavens.
"Tch!"
Spitting out a mouthful of blood-tinged phlegm, Shiki straightened up.
"There's no way I'm losing to some snot-nosed brat like you."
His voice dropped into a cold laugh.
As he spoke, the blades in his hands trembled slightly.
The next instant, the air within several kilometers hummed violently.
The falling rain froze in midair.
The shattered stone tiles of Marineford Plaza vibrated, then surged upward. Even the waters of the inner bay twisted, rising into massive waterspouts that roared like beasts.
"One of the three great legends of the world…"
"Golden Lion Shiki…"
"He's gone berserk!!!"
From far away, Marines screamed in terror at the overwhelming sight.
At that moment, all of Marineford trembled.
Kyle slowly descended to the ground, eyes fixed on the man before him.
"Hoo…"
He let out a long breath.
Then he thrust his palm toward the sky.
Boom!
The thunderclouds blanketing Marineford erupted in blinding brilliance. Countless bolts of lightning came crashing down, striking the descending warships.
At the same time, Kyle reached out and seized a single colossal bolt of lightning, stretching thousands of meters across.
"Vice Admiral Kyle!!"
"He… he grabbed the lightning!!!"
"..."
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