"My, how terrifying!"
Kizaru's eyes flashed red as his Observation Haki swept over the warships below and the sea behind them, finding Momonga and Yamakaji were not seriously injured.
Only he could have withstood that slash from Kouta just now!
However, he had no intention of fighting here, as his attacks could easily wreck this warship.
Furthermore, there were so many Marines on board.
He wasn't a hawk-like Marine and cared about the lives of these soldiers.
Just then, the warship finally charged into the shallow waters, then quickly ascended, plowing long furrows on the sandbar, before finally coming to a halt in the shallow sea not far from the beach.
Kouta glanced at the warship that had stopped below, then looked up at Momonga and Yamakaji, who had re-emerged from the ship and the sea to surround him, a smile flashing in his eyes.
While these individuals weren't as powerful as Melascula, their Armament Haki had reached the third stage.
Thus, he couldn't finish them off with a single blow like he had with Kuroboshi.
His casual slashes would only leave shallow, non-fatal wounds on them.
Such strong opponents would serve perfectly as Kuina's whetstones.
Though these fellows carried swords, they weren't all swordsmen.
They carried swords simply because swords inflicted more damage than fists.
If one were to speak of swordsmen, only Onigumo came to mind.
He glanced at Onigumo, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"I'll let you be the whetstone for Kuina's advancement to Great Swordsman!"
With that thought, his figure vanished.
Seeing Kouta suddenly disappear, the five Vice Admirals' eyes blazed red, their bodies tensing to the utmost degree of alertness.
This was especially true for Momonga and the drenched Yamakaji.
They had personally experienced the terror of Kouta's slashes just moments ago!
"Hmph!"
Their gazes all shifted towards the distant beach. Kouta, who had been within their encirclement moments ago, had somehow appeared on the beach.
"My, come on then, Marines."
Kouta stood beside Kuina, pulled down his gourd, and took a swig.
"Whoosh~"
A flush spread across his face. He lowered his head, looked at the warship in the distance, and shouted, "Come on! Let me have my fill!"
"Whether you can return alive depends on your strength."
"You bastard, don't get too arrogant!"
The five Vice Admirals, looking at Kouta, charged towards the beach with a "whoosh."
"My, you want to have your fill?"
Kizaru clasped his hands behind his back.
"Yata no Kagami!"
As if teleporting, he appeared directly above Kouta.
"If you want to have your fill, then I shall accompany you for a good time."
He looked down at Kouta below, golden light flaring from his right leg as he swiftly kicked upwards.
Whoosh—!
A beam, clearly larger than the golden lasers he fired from his finger, shot downwards rapidly.
Here, he didn't need to hold back.
A crimson light flashed in Kouta's eyes as he pushed off the sand with his feet.
"Soru!"
With a "whoosh," he shot rapidly towards the shore.
As he and Kuina dodged the laser and turned their heads.
A deafening "boom" erupted at the spot where they had just stood. The laser blast instantly created a bottomless pit in the sand.
"My, is this the destructive power of a Marine Admiral?"
Kouta re-hung his gourd at his waist, looking at Kizaru, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
With this fellow's speed and attack power, as long as he was willing, no pirate would ever reach the New World.
But he was simply too lazy.
He had wasted a Devil Fruit that could have changed the balance of the seas.
Truly worthy of being the flashing man who ate the perverted fruit.
Seeing the five Vice Admirals charging forward, Kuina drew Wado Ichimonji, pushed off the ground, and rushed directly towards Onigumo.
The aura of a swordsman could be discerned at a glance.
"Hmph!"
Onigumo saw Kuina, his charging body paused slightly, then he swiftly swung his sword, colliding with Kuina.
"Don't get in the way, brat."
Clearly, he didn't take Kuina seriously.
The other four Vice Admirals did not stop, still charging rapidly towards Kouta.
Seeing the four Vice Admirals charging past him and rapidly towards Kouta, Kizaru clasped his hands in front of him, his right hand cupped, his left hand spread wide, and gradually drew a shining golden greatsword from between his hands.
"Ame no Murakumo!"
This fellow not only had his Devil Fruit ability highly developed, but he was also likely a Great Swordsman.
After the two-year timeskip, he and the King of the Dark, "Rayleigh," had fought with swordsmanship on Sabaody Archipelago.
Ame no Murakumo was a light sword formed by his Devil Fruit ability. In terms of hardness, it was not inferior to a Kairōseki, but it remained to be seen if it could compare to a Saijō Ō Wazamono.
Then, he pushed off the ground, and with a "whoosh," followed the four Vice Admirals, rushing rapidly towards Kouta.
Long-range attacks were useless against this fellow, so he had no choice but to engage Kouta in close combat.
Moreover, it was no longer a matter of fighting against overwhelming odds.
It was a question of whether they could win.
This fellow's teleportation was too troublesome. While his movement was fast, it could only be in a straight line, and sometimes he couldn't keep up with Kouta's attack rhythm.
He had already experienced this, such as when Kouta suddenly appeared behind Momonga, and he couldn't effectively rescue him.
"Oh..."
"A group attack?"
Kouta watched the four Vice Admirals charging towards him, especially Kizaru's light sword. Excitement instantly flooded his entire face.
He fearlessly charged towards the four Vice Admirals and Kizaru.
First, he would deal with these four Vice Admirals, then have a good fight with Kizaru.
With that in mind, his eyes flashed. Conqueror's Haki erupted instantly, and under the control of his spatial domain, it rapidly wrapped around Zankou.
To quickly finish off these four Vice Admirals and incapacitate them, other attacks would either kill them directly or lacked sufficient power, so he could only use his low-tier Conqueror's Haki infusion now.
Killing them would be very simple for him, so simple that it would only take one sword, but making them lose the will to fight was not so simple.
He didn't want to kill these fellows. After all, they were important figures in maintaining world stability. If they all died, the seas would surely descend into chaos, and who knew how many people would die then!
In any case, these fellows posed no threat to him.
Didn't they?
"Ittō-ryū: Iaigiri: Shingiri!"
Kouta stood firm, his front foot stomping the ground, causing it to instantly indent. His legs bent, his waist slightly lowered, then his right hand gripped Zankou. He swiftly drew the sword and, with a diagonal upward slash, rapidly cut towards the four charging Vice Admirals.
A massive, crescent-shaped, purplish-black slash tore through space and instantly appeared before the four Vice Admirals.
Boom—!
Countless tiny purplish-red lightning bolts spontaneously generated around the slash.
"Conqueror's Haki infusion?"
The pupils of the four Vice Admirals contracted simultaneously.
"A Yonko-level figure?"
They knew Kouta was strong, but from the slashes he had previously dealt to Momonga and Yamakaji, they hadn't felt a fatal threat.
However...
Looking at the massive slash emitting purplish-red lightning before them, their expressions turned extremely grim.
"Do you have to use your ultimate move right off the bat?"
At least let them fight for a while; otherwise, how would they report to Marine Headquarters?
With no time to think, seeing the incoming slash, they all felt a spiritual pressure.
"It truly is Conqueror's Haki infusion."
They wanted to escape, but they couldn't.
With such a close-range slash, they had nowhere to run.
They could only raise their swords to block simultaneously, reinforcing their swords and chests with Armament Haki.
Clang—!
The slash and the swords collided. Without the slightest pause, the slash cut through their swords unhesitatingly, then rapidly struck their chests.
Clang—!
The second, louder collision sounded. Then, the Armament Haki defenses on their chests instantly shattered. In an instant, their bodies were propelled rapidly towards the sea behind them by the force of the slash. The slash, meanwhile, grazed their chests, flew past them, and headed towards Kizaru in the sky.