"Sharingan!"
The moment Kizaru moved, Lin Xuan immediately activated his Sharingan, attempting to track Kizaru's movements.
He did this because Lin Xuan believed that Kizaru's so-called "speed of light" couldn't possibly be the actual speed of light—otherwise, who in the world of One Piece could stand against him?
Thus, Lin Xuan wanted to test whether the Sharingan he had copied from Uchiha Madara could actually keep up with Kizaru's speed.
As it turned out, Lin Xuan's Sharingan did indeed manage to capture the trajectory of Kizaru's movement!
Of course, even if it wasn't true light speed, Kizaru's speed was still terrifyingly fast. Even with the Sharingan, Lin Xuan could only barely make out Kizaru's figure.
As for Uchiha Madara, if Lin Xuan could see Kizaru's movements, Madara naturally had no trouble either. Moreover, he instantly counterattacked!
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted, as if two mountains had violently collided!
The surrounding Marines were startled, but none of them could clearly see what had happened.
However, in Lin Xuan's eyes, he distinctly saw Uchiha Madara lashing out with a kick, clashing mid-air with Kizaru's whip-like leg strike, producing the ear-splitting collision sound.
By the time the two separated, the others finally realized what had happened, and all the Marines were utterly shocked.
"My God, how is this possible?!"
"That guy actually blocked the Admiral's lightspeed kick!"
"Unbelievable! How did he do it?!"
"His strength is actually this monstrous!"
...
Kizaru himself was also surprised by Uchiha Madara's reflexes.
Moreover, he had noticed those strange, crimson eyes of Madara's.
"What peculiar eyes you have!"
Muttering to himself, Kizaru's figure flickered as he retreated, then instantly lunged back toward Uchiha Madara.
"Come at me!"
Madara roared and took the initiative, stepping forward to meet him.
In an instant, the two were locked in fierce combat.
Kizaru relied on his incredible speed, while Madara used his Sharingan to track his attacks and his extraordinary reflexes to counter with his own taijutsu.
Both were still in the probing phase, neither going all out, resulting in an intense back-and-forth exchange.
However, because their movements were so fast, most of the onlookers couldn't see them at all—they could only hear the sharp, explosive sounds of their collisions echoing through the air.
Their eyes darted toward the source of each sound, but by the time they looked, Kizaru and Madara had already moved to another position and clashed again, making it impossible to keep up.
Even the few Marines with strong Observation Haki could only barely catch glimpses of afterimages.
Only Lin Xuan, with his activated Sharingan, could follow the battle more clearly.
In no time, Madara and Kizaru had exchanged over a hundred blows.
BANG!
Another fierce collision sent both of them flying back, each landing on a boulder as they stared each other down.
Madara, now having gauged Kizaru's strength, remarked calmly, "Your skills are... not bad."
Kizaru, however, wore a slightly more serious expression. In your eyes, my strength is just "not bad"?
But outwardly, he simply said, "You're quite impressive yourself, young man! Mind telling me your name?"
"Uchiha Madara." Madara stated his name flatly.
Kizaru frowned. "Uchiha Madara? How strange. With strength like yours, how have I never heard of you before?"
Madara grinned. "Hmph, it's only natural you haven't. But starting today, this world will remember my name!"
Had it been earlier, the nearby Marines would have scoffed at such a boast.
But now, after witnessing Madara fight Kizaru to a standstill, they knew he had the power to back up his words!
Of course, they still had full confidence in Kizaru, believing he would ultimately defeat his enemy.
So now, the Marines remained silent, watching intently to see how Kizaru would handle Uchiha Madara.
Kizaru, however, was feeling a headache coming on. He hadn't expected this mission to be so troublesome!
He hated troublesome tasks. He had thought this would be a simple, leisurely job—yet now, it seemed he was in for a drawn-out battle. What a pain!
Seeing the fiery determination in Madara's eyes, Kizaru knew this wouldn't be resolved easily.
During their earlier exchange, he had held back somewhat, but he could tell Madara hadn't gone all out either!
"Ahhh, what a bother... I thought this would be a relaxing trip, but you're actually this strong..."
Kizaru lazily stretched his neck, sighing in exasperation.
"Fine, I suppose I'll get a little more serious, then. Ama no Murakumo!"
As he spoke, a glowing yellow sword formed in his hand, seemingly forged from condensed photons. In the next instant, he slashed toward Madara at blinding speed!
This time, his speed doubled!
Even with the Sharingan, Madara could barely track his movements.
Moreover, in his Edo Tensei state, Madara's physical reaction speed was somewhat limited compared to Kizaru's.
After all, the strength of an Edo Tensei revival depended largely on the quality of the sacrifice used. The prison guard Lin Xuan had randomly grabbed from the auction house wasn't exactly top-tier.
Still, that didn't mean Madara had no way to deal with Kizaru!
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T/N:
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