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"-UUUUCK!"
Adam sat back and listened with satisfied closed eyes as Figarland Garling finally finished his scream, sounds of laboured breathing echoed through the Den Den Mushi. Even the poor snail itself seemed to be out of breath from how much it had to scream.
"Hehehe.. Had enough of your whining meltdown yet? Because honestly, this is starting to get quite sad my dear Monkey~!" He said, looking into the eyes of black Den Den Mushi in his left hand as he rested his head on his right.
After a few moments of silence, the voice of Figarland Garling sounded through the Den Den Mushi. "...It seems you have killed Fenti, I must applaud you, Lunarian. You have grown much, much faster than we could have anticipated."
A small smirk covered Adam's face at those words, "Oh and you wouldn't believe by how much, I suppose I have you and your filthy Mutts to thank for that. They made amazing target practice~! Kuhahahaha!"
"Hm.." The sound of thoughtful humming echoed through the snail as Garling took in Adam's mocking words. "I suppose this means you must have access to both Observation and Armament Haki. To beat Fenti, you would have needed at least that much."
"And?" Adam prompted without a care in the world, tilting his head slightly before standing up and making his way towards a nearby Vendor stall on the street which held many fruits and vegetables. He spared a glance at the green haired owner before grabbing an apple from a basket and taking a bite from it.
Garling was silent for a moment as he listened to the casual sound of Adam's chewing, from what little he knew of Adam, the one thing that stood out more than anything was his Arrogance. And so, he knew exactly which buttons to push in order to gain an advantage.
"Very well then, Lunarian. I am Saint Figarland Garling, Supreme Commander of the God's Knights-" He began, however his speech was interrupted by Adam speaking nonchalantly.
"Don't care. Didn't ask."
Garling grit his teeth with indignance and rage at the blatant disrespect but continued onwards to complete his plan, "-And I offer you a Challenge."
"That is?" Adam asked between bites of the apple, willing to humour him for a moment to sate his boredom. He placed the Den Den Mushi on the counter of the stall by him as he surveyed its contents for things to take.
"Will you wait on that island for another one of my servants to come fight you? Surely a Lunarian of your calibre wouldn't run away from such a challenge like a Coward?" Garling stated, though it was framed as a question, something told him that the Lunarian's pride wouldn't allow him to refuse.
"You know, the funny thing is… I know you're playing me…" Adam answered slowly, absentmindedly crushing the apple in his hands before it ignited in flames as he spoke with excitement. "But you're right!"
"I'll take you up on this little challenge of yours, Monkey." He continued, drawing a near demonic grin from Garling which was replicated by the Den Den Mushi. However his grin faltered when he heard Adam's next words.
"However… I will only wait until my Log Pose resets, after that I'm leaving the island. So you have until then, and not a moment later." Adam proclaimed icily as he sat down on a nearby chair and raised his head to look down on the snail. "Got it, Mongrel?"
"Tsk.. Yes, that is acceptable. But know this, Lunarian... By the end of this, you are going to be crushed under the boot heel of the World Government. A damn Lunarian or not, no man can face the entire World alone!" The Supreme Commander declared, refusing the very idea that Adam could hope to topple everything by himself.
"Oh but you see, Mongrel…" Adam growled, raising a finger to point at the Den Den Mushi while looking it directly in the eyes. "I can. And I will! I will reduce everything you filthy Monkeys stand for to dust and ash!"
With those heated words, a beam of concentrated flames shot at the snail, instantly obliterating it from the sheer heat. The smell of smoke and charred flesh permeated the air as Adam simply scoffed and stood up, reaching into his satchel to take a look at his Log Pose.
"Hm.. Not finished recording yet it seems, no matter. I'll just go start making myself some food, take a small rest until either the Log Pose resets finally or until whatever Mutt that Monkey said would be coming here." Adam muttered, turning back to the food stall to grab some things for his cooking.
When he did, something caught his eye in the middle of a basket of Mangoes, it was a Devil Fruit if its looks was anything to go off of. It was a warped hourglass-shaped midnight blue fruit with chaotic crimson spirals and a gnarled black stem.
"Huh.. Interesting, I doubt the owner of this stall would have missed this or kept it out for sale, they must know of Devil Fruits here in the Grandline, no? So how is this here? Perhaps… Perhaps this is the 'Lose-Lose' Fruit from the Mongrel I killed?"
"So Mother was right, as she usually is. Devil Fruits do reincarnate after the Death of the user, and since this fruit was close to where I killed its user, this Fruit was chosen to be the host for its reincarnation!" Adam reached forwards and grabbed the Devil Fruit, giving it a closer look before stuffing it in his satchel.
"I'll keep it on me for now. I'm not gonna eat it but who knows, it might end up being useful eventually…" Adam then turned around and began walking away after gathering some vegetables to cook for his meal, he brought a hand up to his chin and rubbed it in thought.
"Hm.. Should probably remember to go back to that one island and grab the Frost fruit at some point, sounded pretty strong."
…
Meanwhile…
Holy Land Marijoa, Red Line.
Figarland Garling sat in his gilded office with clenched fists as he contained the simmering rage within him, he let out a deep sigh a few moments later before reassessing his options. "Okay, that must have bought me some time, hopefully enough to get someone strong enough to capture that damn Lunarian…"
"Hm.. So he's on Foolshout island, the closest Marine Base to that is G2 I believe. Who was the Vice Admiral currently in charge there again?" Garling murmured as he reached to his desk's shelf, pulling out a folder and skimming through it till he got to the page that told of Marine Vice Admiral posts.
"Let's see here, it's… Vice Admiral Borsalino, Codenamed: 'Kizaru'. He's one of Zephyr's lot, is he not? With his Devil Fruit, he should be able to get there very quickly - Yes, he should do quite nicely!" He said while reaching for one of his specialised Marine Den Den Mushis, reading off the code for Borsalino as he did.
"Pururururu~! Perururu-KACHA!"
As the call was picked up, Garling immediately began speaking. "Vice Admiral Kizaru, this is Saint Figarland. Do you copy?"
The snail seemed to mimic a panicked expression before a nervous, inherently lazy sounding voice sounded from the snail. "O-Oh? S-Saint Figarland-sama, it's me, to what do I owe the.. Unexpected surprise?"
"Drop whatever you are doing now, head over to Foolshout island. There is a pirate going by the name Adam D. Valentine on there, a Lunarian. You need to get over there and capture him this instant, go ahead with your Devil Fruit and tell your subordinates to follow." Garling ordered, watching as the snail seemed confused for a moment.
"I was already heading over there to capture him, Sire. We received a report about him from a village on Foolshout island, so I started flying over to try and stop him from causing any damage or escape per your mandate…" Borsalino replied somewhat awkwardly, it was then that Garling could hear the sound of air rushing by, presumably from how Kizaru was moving to Adam.
"Oh.. Good work, Vice Admiral. I'd expect nothing less from one of former Admiral Zephyr's disciples. Capture that Lunarian at all costs. And if he somehow proves too much for you, try to hold him on that island for as long as possible, I'll send reinforcements to your location when I can."
Hearing those orders, the Den Den Mushi seemed to nod slightly in confirmation. "Of course, Saint Figarland-sama. I'll try my best."
"Humph.. You better, or else you'll regret it severely." Garling muttered as he leaned back in his chair, drawing a nervous chuckle from Borsalino.
"Y-Yes, s-sir." He responded before closing the call, leaving the Supreme Commander to dwell in silence for the moment.
…
Some Time Later…
Paradise, Grandline.
What looked to be an aurora of yellow light beamed across the horizon at blinding speeds, crossing entire stretches of ocean in mere seconds. What would otherwise be a several day long journey was completed in minutes.
Then, as if in a blink of an eye, that aurora of light stopped just at the edge of Foolshout Island's coast. The light coalesced into the figure of an immensely tall man standing at a staggering 3 metres or 9'11 feet tall, the man rested his foot on a rock as he took in the arid scenery of the island.
"Man, Figarland-san is such an ass~! No need to threaten me to do the job, I was already gonna do…" He muttered tiredly, his voice naturally seemed to draw on a bit more than it should on certain words, perhaps due to a special speech pattern.
He had short black hair with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He wore a light gray striped suit with a matching tie, black gloves, and a long white Vice Admiral Marine coat draped over his shoulders.
This man was Marine HQ Vice Admiral Borsalino, otherwise known as 'Kizaru'.
Borsalino took in a deep drag of his cigarette before letting it out, releasing smoke from his mouth as he raised a finger to point towards the island. "Now then… Shall I get to work?"
The Vice Admiral then dissolved into light particles, they instantly shot into the distance like a laser beam, crossing kilometres within seconds. They then stopped just as they entered a town, coalescing back into the figure of Kizaru who looked around the town.
The Vice Admiral's dark eyes gleamed crimson to signify the use of Observation Haki, he scanned the town for a moment, instantly picking up the dozens of civilians unconscious throughout the area. A slight grimace covered his face as he then sped through the town in a flash of light.
His Observation Haki then picked up on the presence of someone quite strong, causing him to turn around and beam himself directly there. He landed at the front door of a restaurant, opening it he saw Adam sitting down at one of the chairs eating what looked to be Schnitzel with a side of mashed potatoes.
"Uhh…" Borsalino muttered, looking completely and utterly confused at the sight of the infamous pirate feasting on a freshly cooked meal in the middle of a restaurant where nearly a dozen civilians were unconscious.
"Oh? Seems you're that Monkey's mutt that he promised would come to challenge me; he works quite quickly it seems." Adam commented as he ate the last of his food before turning back up to the marine. He wiped his hands with a nearby towel with a smirk, standing up to face the Vice Admiral head on.
"Now then, shall we begin?"
In the blink of an eye, both of them pointed their fingers forward at the other; a second later two beams shot through the air like a bullet, one made of concentrated flames and one of concentrated light.
Adam raised his right wing, moving it in front of himself and coating it in Haki, the beam of light slammed into it and dispersed into nothing. He then moved the wing away, looking at his opponent and witnessing something quite out of the ordinary.
"Hm.. Well, that's a new one."
In the middle of the Vice Admiral's chest was a hole made of pure light, allowing one to see right through him. Yet despite that seemingly lethal hit, Kizaru didn't look to be injured in the slightest.
This was due to the signature ability of the 'Logia' class of Devil Fruits, the ability to turn completely into their Devil Fruit's element. This meant that without the influence of the Sea, all attacks that lacked Haki were completely worthless.
"I ate the Glint-Glint fruit, making me a 'Light Human'." Kizaru revealed as the hole in his body closed itself, returning his body into being completely uninjured. "You see, Pirate Adam D. Valentine… Speed is 'Weight'. Have you ever been kicked at the Speed of Light?"
Then in the blink of an eye, the Vice Admiral disappeared from his place and reappeared in front of him with his leg primed to slam into his side.
'He's fast!' Adam thought as he activated his Invulnerability and brought his right hand up, coating it in the strongest Armament Haki he could muster. The Vice Admiral's entire leg shined with a primal yellow glint as it sped into Adam's side, sending him flying through the wall of the restaurant in a blinding flash of light.
Kizaru looked around himself for a moment, double checking that all the civilians were unharmed before he dissolved into light and shot out of the building. As the Vice Admiral reappeared outside, he met eyes with Adam who was standing in the middle of the street, flicking his arm to loosen it up.
"I must say, that had some force behind it, Mongrel. Although, I am severely disappointed. Where's your Haki?" He questioned, looking at Borsalino with squinted eyes. "I was under the impression that you needed mastery over at least basic Haki to be a Vice Admiral, but there was barely any behind that kick."
His expression then twisted and became even enraged, causing the heat in their surroundings to have a sudden spike. "You better not be Mocking me by holding back or I'll make you regret it, you damn Mutt!"
"Hm? How scary~! I suppose, as Zephyr-san always says, my Haki training is lacking. But what use is Haki when you are Light itself?" Kizaru replied as he crossed his hands over each other in front of himself, forming a ball of light between them as he chanted.
"Sacred Yata Mirror."
The ball of light within his hands exploded outwards into a beam of light, it slammed into one of the nearby buildings before reflecting off of it into another building. It then shot directly atop Adam, then with a flash of light, Kizaru appeared above him before slamming his leg down.
His leg crashed into Adam's awaiting arm, sending a tremor through the Lunarians body and into the ground beneath him which instantly shattered. The Lunarian himself squinted his eyes, he was barely able to keep up with the Vice Admiral's speed and was relegated to simply blocking his attacks.
"You say you are 'light itself', but if you really did move at the Speed of Light, one kick would have been enough to kill me. This is barely enough to loosen up my back!" Adam declared as he gripped Borsalino's leg even harder with his Haki clad hand before slamming him into the ground.
The earth beneath them shattered along with the Vice Admirals body which scattered into light particles, those light particles shot away from Adam and reformed back into Kizaru who looked damaged but none the worse for wear.
"It seems you aren't a Pirate worth 420 Million Berries for no reason!" Borsalino exclaimed as he then shot ahead at Adam, feinting a kick before diverting and shooting just above him with his hands crossed against each other, forming an orb of light within.
"Yasakani Sacred Jewel!"
The orb of light exploded outwards into countless shards, they shot at Adam who dashed to the side to avoid them before using a Sky Burst to fly directly at Kizaru. Using his Observation Haki, the Vice Admiral tracked exactly when Adam would strike and dematerialised his body completely.
Borsalino dissolved into light which scattered around the Lunarian and reformed behind him; as soon as he reformed, he wound back his leg to try and kick Adam in the back. Sensing this, Adam swerved around and threw a fiery haymaker directly in the path of Kizaru's kick.
Adam's Flame and Armament Haki infused fist clashed against Kizaru's Light and Armament Haki coated leg, causing a shockwave to reverberate from the impact and shake the buildings around them. The two combatants stayed in that stalemate for a few seconds, their power seeming to be rather equal before they both jumped backwards.
The two of them stared at each other for a moment as they each shook off the aftereffects of the clash. Their inner thoughts, however, could not have been more different as they prepared to resume the battle.
'How absolutely fucking revolting. This damn Monkey's Light is more potent than my Flames! After I'm done with him, I will make sure this shit never happens again…' Adam thought as his face contorted into a disgusted frown.
'How embarrassing… Even after 8 years of service, my Armament Haki was overpowered by a Rookie Pirate with barely a month of experience. Maybe Zephyr-san was right…' Kizaru thought with a tired grimace, something told him this day would not end well for him.
He then sighed, bringing his hand up in front of himself, light gathered in his grasp as he brought his other hand to it before pulling it to the side. The golden light followed his hands, solidifying into a long radiant blade.
"Ama no Murakumo." The Vice Admiral chanted as he then held the blade with two hands and pointed it at Adam, a small smirk tugged at his mouth. "Quite dazzling, isn't it?"
Adam's right eye twitched at the terrible pun and the casual display of Devil Fruit mastery.
'I could totally do that too, if I tried…' He thought with slight disdain and annoyance at himself for not thinking of that before. He then raised his hand up, beckoning for Kizaru to come at him with two fingers. "Just shut up and come die already."
Without another word, Kizaru blurred over to Adam and swung his blade at his neck. The Lunarian blocked the blade, he pushed it to the side and went for a punch to the abdomen which Kizaru avoided by elementising himself around the fist, much to Adam's continuously growing rage.
The Vice Admiral scattered and reformed above Adam, going for a downwards slash which Adam avoided before shooting a blast of flames at his head. Although his head was blown off by the blast, Kizaru was uninjured due to his Devil fruit's Logia properties, but it still blinded him momentarily as he tried to gather himself using his Observation Haki.
By the time he realised what was happening, it was already too late as Adam kicked him in the gut with Haki followed by an explosion of flames that sent him into a nearby building. Adam righted himself and stared at Kizaru as he splattered on the wall into a clump of light which then reformed into the Marine.
'These Logia fruit users are troublesome, my flames are pretty much useless against him. Only my Haki matters now, speaking of which… I can use him to hone my grasp on my Observation Haki since his speed is already nearly too much for me to react as is now.'
Adam reached into his satchel and grabbed a black cloth he kept in it, bringing it up to his head and wrapping it around his eyes to blind himself. Kizaru, who had recovered by then, looked at his opponent with a hurt look of confusion.
"I get you look down on me; but blinding yourself in the middle of our battle is a tad bit too disrespectful, don't you think?" He asked incredulously, prompting Adam to tilt his head slightly with an amused smirk.
"Now, now~! Don't take it too personally, Mongrel. Maybe if you were more than just an annoying, pesky fly that I just can't quite swat away, I would feel threatened enough to not do this! Kuhahaha!" Adam declared with an uproarious laugh, taking Borsalino off guard from the sheer arrogance that hung off every word.
Then a vein on the Vice Admiral's forehead bulged from annoyance, "Well then, I might be more on the easy going side, but even I have my own pride you know?"
"A World Government Mutt, with Pride? Is it April Fools and no one told me?" The Lunarian questioned mockingly as he raised an eyebrow beneath the blindfold, he raised his hands into a shrug while speaking with a chuckle. "Come now, let's not kid ourselves here. You're nothing more than a Slave with a slightly softer collar."
A growl escaped the normal easy going Marine as he instantly shot forwards in a beam of light at Adam, swinging the light blade at the Pirate's neck. Adam barely noticed the surge in air pressure around him, giving him enough time to activate his Armament Haki around his neck.
The attack was blocked at the last second, causing a flash of sparks to shoot from the impact. Kizaru didn't stop there, righting himself before swinging down to slash the Lunarian's chest open. Adam predicted this and brought his arms up, blocking the attack but leaving himself open to the follow up.
Borsalino stabbed the sword at Adam's neck, missing it by an inch and slicing into his shoulder and drawing some blood. He then continued his relentless assault, pushing the pirate backwards through the town before kicking him in the chest, sending him tumbling backwards in a flash of light.
A manic laugh escaped Adam as he flipped in the air, righting himself as he landed on his feet. He looked at Kizaru with a grin and called out to him mockingly, "Oooh~! Consider that nerve Touched! That comment got your blood boiling did it? Something hit a little too close to home, eh Monkey~?!"
The Vice Admiral's frown just deepened as he crossed his arms over each other, forming light within them.
"Yasakani Sacred Jewel."
Countless sharks of light shot at Adam with blinding speeds as a few seconds later, they stopped and joined together into a singular beam of light that shot ahead at Adam.
"Sacred Yata Mirror."
As the light shards reached Adam, several of them slammed into his body with small explosions as he tried dodging them or blocking them with Armament Haki. But at the end of the volley, he felt that 'Third Eye' sensation he felt earlier in this day open once again.
With his Observation Haki regained, Adam immediately dodged the last of the light shards just in time for Kizaru to reform before him from a beam of light. The Vice Admiral was taken off guard as Adam swerved around his light speed kick, leaving him wide open as Adam threw a haymaker in the direct path of his face.
"Oh shit-!"
A loud crack echoed through the air as Adam's punch crashed into Kizaru's face, causing his face to contort around his fist. A searing hot blast of flames exploded point blank into the Vice Admiral's face, sending him flying away with burns that were mostly mitigated with Haki.
"KUHAHAHA! I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU GROVEL AT MY FEET, YOU INSIGNIFICANT SACK OF SHIT!" Adam exclaimed, seeming as if a switch was flipped in his mind, sending him into a bloodthirsty craze.
The flames on his back went out, signalling his swap into 'Speed Mode' before he used a Sky Burst, blurring off into the distance to where he punched Kizaru to. The Lunarian stopped just before the Vice Admiral and kicked him in the gut before he could recover.
Borsalino coughed up bile before tumbling away from the force of his kick, Adam didn't let up though as he instantly used another Sky Burst to shoot right above the still airborne marine.
He punched downwards at his chest, cracking his ribs and slamming him into the ground where he shattered the earth beneath him and bounced off the concrete from the sheer force as blood leaked from his mouth.
Adam's hand shot ahead like a viper, grabbing onto Kizaru's neck, crushing it as he then spun around in his place. His spinning got faster and faster, making a small tornado before he stopped and threw Borsalino into a nearby tower.
The Vice Admiral coughed up blood as he crashed into the stone tower back first, creating a crater in its side on impact. He hazily opened his eyes, immediately wishing he hadn't as he saw Adam appear before him with a leg coated with Armament Haki and Flames ready to stomp his head in.
'Oh fuck my life…' He thought as all he could do was guard himself with Armament Haki in preparation as the Lunarian's foot stomped his head into the tower. The stone building shattered on impact, sending him flying through and into the street behind him.
The tower crumbled to rubble in his wake as Adam shot into the sky above it and followed right after him. Kizaru gasped in pain as he picked himself up from the ground and began flying himself backwards, while sending countless blasts of Light at Adam in an attempt to keep him away.
Mad laughter echoed through the air as the Lunarian shot through the air at his prey, flying with great speed in between each blast as if weaving between a sea of stars. Kizaru saw this and tried to elementise himself to beam away, but it was far too late for that.
Adam appeared just before him with his hands coated in Armament Haki and positioned in the same way the Cipher Pol agent did in his last fight, replicating his signature 'Shugan' technique. It shot forwards into Kizaru's gut, digging into his abdomen and tearing straight through his feeble Haki.
Blood spurted from his abdomen as the Vice Admiral nearly screamed in agony, he slammed his hands on the Lunarian's body to push him away. A second later, a huge blast of Light shot from them and forced Adam down the street from him.
Borsalino panted in pain while holding his gut, looking up in a haze at Adam who stood tall with a crazed, bloodstained grin. The Lunarian flicked his hand, causing blood to fly from his hand and splat on the ground – His Blood.
Adam laughed a cruel melody as he ripped off his blindfold and eyed up Kizaru with burning Crimson Red irises; he then spoke with a mocking chuckle a moment later. "You should keep a better grip on your abdomen, Mongrel. It'd be a shame if your guts were to fall out."
Kizaru looked down at his gut, now noticing and feeling a large gash across his abdomen. He then looked back up at Adam, now fully reconsidering all his life's choices.
And then he made his choice.
"Oh fuck this!"
He chose to run for his Life.
Vice Admiral Borsalino dissolved into light before shooting away from Adam at the greatest speed he could muster, heading in the direction of the G2 Marine Base.
An annoyed look overtook Adam's face as he watched this, he stepped forward with an indignant shout.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?! NONE LEAVE THE SLAUGHTER HOUSE! NOT ALIVE!"
The Lunarian then shot forward right after Kizaru, not letting him run away from the fight.
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Stones, please.
Author's Note:
Adam's got a taste of blood, he wants more… I mean he already killed before but–
…
Next Chapter Title: This Fire Is Out Of Control.
…
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