A Clash of Speed
"Ah, no, it's getting late. I really should be heading to bed early."
Kizaru abruptly changed the subject, glancing at the moon before shifting his gaze to Bai Yu.
"Little brother, speed is power. Tell me… have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
Before the words had even fully left his mouth—
Kizaru vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared in the sky above Bai Yu, his long leg shimmering as it transformed into pure photons, descending in a devastating kick.
"Light-Speed Kick!"
A single strike, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter seas.
Kizaru held nothing back.
There was no mercy for a pirate destined to become a Supernova in the future.
Because in his line of work—holding back could cost him his life.
"What?!"
Before his foot could fully descend, Kizaru's pupils shrank.
Bai Yu had vanished.
No warning. No indication.
Just… gone.
An overwhelming sense of danger exploded in Kizaru's mind, and his instincts screamed at him—
Elementalize! Now!
"Boom!"
Kizaru's Light-Speed Kick couldn't be stopped mid-motion.
Even after activating his Logia intangibility, his attack continued downward, tearing through the ship's deck, piercing through the floating island cloud, and plummeting toward the earth below.
Meanwhile, Bai Yu—
Had completely avoided it.
"Passive elementalization… active elementalization… the two are vastly different. More troublesome than Armament Haki defense."
Bai Yu calmly analyzed the situation.
"Ah! The ship is broken!"
Nami clutched her head in despair.
How much is this going to cost to fix?!
Kaya quickly reassured her. "Don't worry, Sister Nami. I can repair it immediately."
"Oh, right!"
Realizing this, Nami let out a sigh of relief before turning to glare at Bai Yu.
"Alright, hurry up and take down that shady old man!"
Bai Yu remained silent, looking down toward the ground.
Tashigi, visibly worried, spoke up.
"Mr. Bai Yu, Admirals are monsters standing at the very top. Please be careful."
A rare moment—Tashigi expressing concern for him.
"Admirals… they are all monsters," Robin muttered, suddenly recalling Aokiji.
That same overwhelming presence.
Can Bai Yu really win?
Vivi clasped her hands together, whispering to herself.
"Big Brother Bai Yu will be fine."
Bai Yu turned to Nami.
"Take the ship and leave. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
Nami hesitated but then nodded. Without wasting time, she steered the ship to its highest altitude and accelerated away.
Bai Yu stepped onto a nearby floating cloud island and descended toward the battlefield.
A dazzling golden light erupted from below.
Kizaru's body reformed, glowing as he pieced himself back together.
His exaggerated expression returned.
"Ahh… I nearly died there. You're terrifying."
"Tch. Cut the act."
Bai Yu scoffed, then narrowed his eyes toward the distance.
"Don't even think about chasing them."
"Your movement speed might be fast, but it has noticeable preparation steps. I'm faster than you."
"If you make a move, I'll be back on that ship before you even blink."
"So, fight me instead."
Kizaru raised an eyebrow slightly.
He's right.
While his Pika Pika no Mi (Glint-Glint Fruit) allowed him to move at the speed of light, activating his abilities required clear pre-movements—especially for something like the Yata no Kagami (Eightfold Mirror), which required setup time.
That gave strong opponents time to react.
Unlike Bai Yu—
His movements had no warning at all.
Kizaru sighed dramatically.
"This is the first time I've met someone faster than me. How terrifying."
Then, lazily rubbing his chin—
"No, this time, I really need to demand a raise. At the very least, some overtime pay."
He glanced between Bai Yu and the fleeing ship, then decided.
He wouldn't chase.
If Bai Yu was bluffing? Oh well. If he wasn't? Even worse.
Better to spar a little, gather intel, and let everyone go home in one piece.
"Well, alright then."
Kizaru relaxed again, waving dismissively.
"At least slow down a bit, will you? Don't you know how to be considerate to an old man? That's not very cute."
Bai Yu: "…"
Seriously.
Sengoku made a mistake sending this guy.
If the opponent were weak, Kizaru would have ended it in one move.
But if they were troublesome?
He'd kick back and take a nap.
At the end of the day—
For a few hundred berries a month, why even bother?
A Battle of Speed
Minutes later, in the desert—
Kizaru let out an impressed whistle.
"Ahh, I've never been to a desert at night. Didn't expect it to be so cool."
Then, almost as an afterthought—
"By the way, where's Crocodile?"
Bai Yu responded flatly.
"I'm educating him."
"Oh? Thinking of recruiting him, huh?"
Kizaru smirked.
"That makes two Shichibukai already, and you've only just started your journey…"
His exaggerated expression returned.
Then, suddenly—
"Want me to arrange a Shichibukai title for you too? Personally, I don't care much for the name."
Bai Yu deadpanned.
"Does Sengoku know you say things like this?"
Kizaru shrugged.
"What does that have to do with me? It's your fault, obviously. Who's going to believe me?"
What a talent.
Despite Kizaru's reputation for laziness, Bai Yu had to admit—he liked the guy's attitude.
He was interesting.
But now—
"Haki restoration!"
"Stamina restoration!"
"Instant Armament Slash!"
Bai Yu vanished.
Kizaru, who had been keeping his Observation Haki active this entire time, instantly felt a chill run down his spine.
"Damn it."
"Observation Haki… doesn't work?!"
No, it wasn't that it didn't work—
Even if he detected Bai Yu, he couldn't react in time!
For example—
Bai Yu suddenly appeared behind him.
For Kizaru to counterattack, he would need to:
1. Detect Bai Yu's movement.
2. Process it mentally.
3. React physically.
4. Turn around.
5. Adjust stance.
6. Raise his arm.
7. Condense energy.
8. Strike.
That entire sequence—
Bai Yu cut through it before Kizaru even reached step 3.
Worse—
Even when Kizaru finally started countering—
Bai Yu would already be gone.
"What…!"
Kizaru's pupils shrank.
For the first time, his active elementalization failed.
No, it wasn't just that.
His Observation Haki also retracted—against his will.
For a split second, it felt as if—
Time itself had been reversed.
Leaving him wide open.
"Shit!"
"Tch."
Bai Yu and Kizaru passed each other.
No elementalization.
No Armament Haki defense.
Just raw, exposed flesh.
"SLASH!"
A deep wound tore across Kizaru's torso, from his left shoulder to his lower right abdomen.
Blood sprayed into the air.
Kizaru immediately pulled back, face grim.
Heart pounding.
"What… what did you just do?"
"Time manipulation?!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for choosing this novel, visit us
And access the complete novel in PDF format : ko-fi.com/abrahamsmith1b