novelonline Chapter 481 Kizaru vs. Hashirama: The First Battle
Chapter 481 Kizaru vs. Hashirama: The First Battle
The mere exchange of aura between Kizaru and Hashirama was enough to make them extraordinary.
Many of the Marines behind Hashirama fainted under the pressure, and the remaining Marines were not in much better condition.
"All officers below the rank of lieutenant, retreat to the back of the deck!" Hashirama's adjutant promptly gave the order. He stood to the side and behind Hashirama, looking at Kizaru in front of him, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
Bisque, the adjutant of an admiral and holding the rank of rear admiral, is considered a genius among the middle generation of the navy. With his mastery of Haki and the Six Powers, his future promotion is a sure thing.
Even a naval admiral like him couldn't help but feel fear when facing Kizaru.
This cannot be simply attributed to cowardice. It is because Kizaru's performance in the Marineford War left an extremely deep impression on all the Marines, especially the Marine officers who were left behind to deal with Kizaru.
This man has long transcended the realm of humanity; even the word "monster" cannot describe his power.
Nowadays, many admirals within the Navy who participated in the Marineford War privately refer to Kizaru as a god-like being.
"Demon" is a specific term derived from different factions, while "god" is an acknowledgment of and fear of Kizaru's immense strength.
On the high seas, under the fearful and terrified gazes of many naval officers, and amidst Hashirama's battle-ready eyes, Kizaru raised his right hand and made a grabbing motion in the air, instantly bringing the relatively calm sea to life.
Hashirama's warship was swept up by the seawater below and flew into the sky. Faced with this sudden change, Hashirama himself was not affected and remained calmly standing at the front of the deck.
But the sailors behind him, caught off guard by the sudden lift, lost their footing and fell to the ground.
As the ship soared higher and higher with the help of the sea, the navy on board grew increasingly terrified. If the ship were to suddenly capsize at this altitude, they would surely face the fate of shipwreck and loss of life.
Hashirama remained remarkably calm in the face of this situation. He shouted, "Everyone, calm down! With me here, nothing will happen!"
These confident words restored much of the morale of the navy personnel present, and they began to place their hopeful gazes on Hashirama.
Hashirama remained calm and stood still as the seawater lifted the ship and propelled it forward until it approached an island.
"There's an island ahead!" A daring navy officer noticed the situation below the warship.
The moment his voice left his mouth, the seawater supporting the warship transformed into a giant hand, hurling the warship directly toward the island.
A scream filled with terror rang out instantly, and amidst the noise, Hashirama even heard someone calling for their mother.
Hashirama couldn't help but smile. Fortunately, he didn't forget his business. With a leap, he disappeared from the deck and reappeared below the warship in the next second.
As Hashirama plummeted from the sky, he clasped his hands together, and countless pieces of wood burst forth from the ground below him like vines, intertwining and soaring into the sky, transforming into a giant hand that steadily caught the falling ship.
The boat and the wooden hand came into contact, and after a rapid collision, they quickly returned to calm.
The sailors on deck who had been screaming or even flailing about in fear gradually recovered from their terror.
Some of them stuck their heads out of the ship and saw the huge wooden hands supporting the ship, realizing that it was Admiral Hashirama who had saved the admiral.
The sailors on deck began to cheer, cheering for escaping the near-annihilation and for the good fortune of their admiral.
Just as everyone began to cheer, the wooden hand supporting the ship started moving, causing the ship to rock, which made the sailors on deck change their expressions again.
Fortunately, they quickly discovered that it was General Hashirama who was controlling the wooden hand to slowly move the ship to the ground, which relieved everyone.
Kizaru, who was slowly flying over from the sky, happened to see this scene. He did not stop Hashirama, but waited until Hashirama placed the ship on the beach at the edge of the island before landing from the sky.
The landing of the ship brought relief and joy to the marines, but Kizaru's reappearance was like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone present.
Kizaru slowly descended from the sky, an invisible aura emanating from his body. The surrounding air seemed to freeze, and the marines on the deck were like ducks with their necks being choked, unable to utter a sound.
At this moment, Kizaru, who descended from the sky, seemed like a true god, inspiring fear and making people afraid to look directly at him.
Ahead of the naval warship, where the beach meets the jungle, Hashirama's voice broke the deathly silence.
"Kizaru, if you want to take the criminal away, defeat me first!" Hashirama's voice wasn't loud, but it was full of power.
Ignoring the Marines beside him, Kizaru looked at Hashirama and said, "Oh ho ho, what a terrifying request!"
The iconic laugh sent a chill down Bisque's spine as he sang from the deck. During the Marineford War, Kizaru had casually defeated the three admirals with this same laugh.
How many rounds can Admiral Hashirama last against Kizaru this time?
Yes, among the Marines present, none of those with experience in the Marineford War had a good chance of defeating their own Admiral. All they could pray for was that Admiral Hashirama could hold out for a few more rounds and that he wouldn't offend Kizaru, lest he suffer retaliation after defeat.
Amidst the anxious gazes of the naval officers and soldiers, Kizaru landed on the beach, turned his back to the naval personnel on the warship, and walked towards Hashirama.
Hashirama showed no fear and walked towards Kizaru.
As the two walked, Conqueror's Haki burst forth from their bodies, and black and purple lightning exploded in the air. This was the manifestation of Conqueror's Haki, an extension of their auras. The collision of lightning was a contest of their Conqueror's Haki.
In order to prevent the situation from becoming one-sided from the start, Kizaru deliberately restrained his Conqueror's Haki. At the same time, he also took this opportunity to see how much Hashirama's Conqueror's Haki had improved.
Lightning continued to collide, and Kizaru's Conqueror's Haki still had the upper hand, but Hashirama also performed quite well. His Conqueror's Haki was more focused and used with more skill than before he left the East Blue, rather than being simply released as before.
"For your age, you have quite the imposing presence!" Kizaru said, his tone slightly teasing.
Hashirama's eye twitched slightly. He knew it was just that little rascal Kizaru teasing him, but in this situation, he had to play his part well.
"For your age, your domineering presence is quite impressive!" Hashirama retorted.
The confrontational aura and words between the two men left the naval personnel behind them tense, fearful, and worried as they watched the situation unfold.
Is a fight about to break out? What should we do if the general loses?
Amidst the tense and worried atmosphere among most of the navy, Kizaru laughed again.
"Oh ho ho! I'll accept your compliment."
The change in Kizaru's tone really surprised many people.
Many sailors, even those who dared not speak out of fear, couldn't help but mutter to themselves, "Is this bastard deliberately running away to mess with us sailors?" and "Damn it, how can someone like him be so strong?"
Amidst the inward complaints of the crowd, Kizaru made a further move, lowering his right hand and revealing a cross-shaped lightsaber in his palm.
Gripping his lightsaber, Kizaru said to Hashirama with a somewhat relaxed tone, "It's not too late to release the Land of Light's allies!"
"There are only defeated navies, not surrendered navies!" Hashirama stated his position firmly.
"Is that so?" Kizaru smiled slightly, then asked in return, "Then, your Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who surrendered on behalf of the Navy in the last war, must have been discharged from the military, right?"
Hashirama was momentarily stunned; he had indeed overlooked this point, and suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed.
Fortunately, he quickly came to his senses and chose to ignore the problem, shouting directly, "Damn it, stop talking nonsense, let's finish the fight first."
As soon as he finished speaking, Hashirama appeared in front of and to the side of Kizaru in an instant.
With the combined amplification of Hashirama's chakra and Armament Haki, plus the addition of Conqueror's Haki, a punch was unleashed amidst the surrounding lightning.
Kizaru raised the lightsaber in his right hand without any extra movements, simply holding it horizontally in front of him, while Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki swirled around the lightsaber.
Hashirama's iron fist collided with the lightsaber in Kizaru's hand, and black and purple lightning spread out in all directions. The impact of Hashirama's punch blasted up the beach behind Kizaru, but it did not affect Kizaru at all.
"That was a terrifying punch; I almost thought I was going to die," Kizaru said, habitually making a boastful remark.
Hashirama did not respond; as he threw his punch, he was already prepared to follow up with another attack.
Several wooden spears burst from the ground beneath Kizaru's feet, heading straight for his body.
Faced with such a sudden attack, Kizaru neither dodged nor transformed into his elemental form, but instead used Haki to protect his body and directly withstood the attack.
The sharp wooden spear pierced Kizaru's thigh as if it had struck the hardest alloy in the world. Not only did it fail to shake Kizaru in the slightest, but it also broke upon impact.
Fortunately, Hashirama's chakra endowed these woods with continuous vitality, and under Hashirama's control, they transformed from hard to soft, using the broken pieces of the wooden spear to break apart and transform into dozens of vines about the thickness of three fingers, attempting to bind Kizaru.
"Hey! Let's forget about binding him!" Kizaru said as he raised his lightsaber and slashed upwards, forcing Hashirama back. At the same time, his Conqueror's Haki exploded, and black and purple lightning snapped the vines around him.
After dodging the pushed-away Hashirama, they landed and clapped their hands together again. The earth beneath their feet trembled, and a giant wooden dragon burst out of the sand, its blood-red maw wide open, lunging at Kizaru.
As the wooden dragon attacked, Kizaru transformed into a golden light, soaring into the sky and appearing several meters above the wooden dragon.
Kizaru raised his sword with one hand and slashed downwards, unleashing a massive golden slash wreathed in Conqueror's Haki towards the wooden dragon.
The dazzling golden slash struck the wooden dragon's head, creating a smooth cut and severing the dragon's head.
In that instant, the scene fell silent. Even Hashirama had not expected that his Wood Dragon Technique would be so easily destroyed.
"That kid Kizaru has gotten even stronger!" Hashirama thought to himself, looking at Kizaru in the air.
The sailors on the warship forgot about this scene and couldn't help but feel a sense of despair rising in their hearts.
They had all witnessed how Admiral Hashirama usually controlled wooden dragons, easily subduing one great pirate after another.
Now, the wooden dragon, which they considered a miracle, was beheaded and destroyed by Kizaru with such a casual slash, leaving the Marines with absolutely no hope of victory. (End of Chapter)