Liam didn't know how long it had been. He could see the sun slowly setting towards the horizon.
It seemed to have been hours since they had been fighting. After such a long time, he was tired.
Fortunately, he only used his strongest move during the last moment.
His sword slashed through the heavens, destroying Kizaru's attack, and they continued fighting.
As they exchanged blows after blows, both were getting damaged quite quickly.
They didn't even get to rest until Liam heard a strange melody. Because his fight was too intense and fast-paced, he didn't get to check Luffy's battle.
But now, he was hearing a melody.
He recognized it. He knew it had awakened it. It was there, and Luffy had found it.
He had successfully awakened his Devil Fruit.
"Luffy, you did it."
Kizaru also heard this melody, and he couldn't help but remember the strange noise that Kuma used to make while dancing.
It was very similar, which confused him until his eyes widened.
'Straw Hat awakened it in this battle. No wait, if he awakened it, what about?'
He didn't even need to think about it. Because Liam hadn't placed a bet but his heart to awaken this fruit on his own was strengthened.
This helped him concentrate.
Although he didn't have the fruit as long as others did, he believed that he could awaken it.
He had awakened all three forms of Advanced Haki. This helped him search for his Fruit inside of him.
That's the best way to find the fruit and awaken it. But just when he thought he had found the fruit, he heard a voice in his head.
"No..t enough... st…..no….ugh...."
When this voice rang in his head, Liam was confused. Because he didn't think the Devil Fruit would talk to him.
It was so confusing that he didn't know what to say. But he was sure that he hadn't reached the stage where he could awaken his fruit.
That didn't matter, though.
Because he got what he needed.
A boost! Even though he didn't awaken his fruit, he got a powerful boost to strength.
Almost a five times boost alongside full recovery in his physical capabilities and Haki.
Seeing Liam recover in front of him, Kizaru was speechless.
'What a broken Devil Fruit.'
'It seems like I am going to lose this battle.'
Kizaru couldn't help but feel strange. After all, when he started this battle, despite the level of strength that Liam had achieved, he was confident that he could win.
Because Logia Awakening was just that broken.
Being able to turn into an element and merge with that element around you could easily make you invincible.
Unless there were some monsters who had some kind of trick that could defeat them with their tricks, it was almost impossible to win against them.
They were Marine Admirals for a reason, and that was the reason.
But Liam just broke that concept. Not because his strength was stronger than his but rather because he could outlast him in terms of injuries.
They had a similar level of strength. Both had become familiar with each other's skills. But out of nowhere, Liam's injuries were all healed.
Of course, he didn't know Liam's strength had also increased several times.
"Okay? Can I just surrender?"
Kizaru asked while raising both of his hands.
"You know that's impossible, right? Just like how you wanted to take us out for the next war, we also want to take you out for the next war. Having two fewer Admirals would be advantageous for us."
Liam chuckled as he replied.
Kizaru shrugged his shoulders, pulled down his hands, and said.
"Thought so, but I am afraid I can't let you put me down so easily. Being defeated by the second in command of the Emperor Crew doesn't sound good for an Admiral's resume."
Hearing that, Liam nodded and raised his sword.
"Then, let me help you fall quickly."
He suddenly disappeared from his place and appeared behind Kizaru. At this moment, Conqueror coating and Armament Haki appeared on his sword as he slashed horizontally.
Kizaru was split in half, but his body turned into photons and appeared several meters away from him.
That's only because Kizaru found Liam's Observation Haki locked onto him. If he had tried to move far away, Liam would've used that to sneak attack on him.
[Ame No Murakumo Sword]
Kizaru conjured a light sword in his hand and dashed forward. This time, he no longer looked like he wanted to run away; instead wanted to fight Liam to his last standing.
Liam also respected Kizaru's decision, but it was a foolish decision. So, he believed that Kizaru had some other plans.
Just as he expected, Liam clashed against Kizaru and managed to fight to a standstill, but he sensed another Kizaru from the back.
"Sure enough, you are not so easy a man to defeat, Kizaru."
Liam muttered as he pressed more strength into his sword and released a powerful red flame, coating his sword with it.
Boom!
He slammed his sword against the light sword and broke Kizaru instantly. The moment he broke it, Liam swung his sword to the back and blocked the upcoming attack.
"Oh my, your speed has gotten stronger, Liam. Have you used some kind of bet? Is it your Awakening?"
Kizaru didn't seem bothered that his sneak attack was blocked so easily. But the corner of his face was still twitching, and a trace of regret appeared in his eyes.
"Kinda! I promised myself that I would awaken my fruit on my own without the need of my Devil Fruit. Since my Captain can do it, why can't I?"
Liam asked with a cunning smile.
"Yeah, that makes sense."
'Of course, it doesn't make sense. How can someone awaken a Devil Fruit just because they wanted to? If that was so easy, there would have been hundreds of awakened Fruit users roaming around the world.'
While having a polite smile on his face, Kizaru couldn't help but curse under his breath.
"Then, let's end this battle, shall we?"
Liam spoke. He knew this battle was in his pocket. He needed one concentrated attack on Kizaru.
He didn't think he could kill Kizaru as long as he could make Kizaru retreat with severe injuries.
Maybe Kizaru sensed Liam's intention, so he quickly retreated several hundred meters to give himself some time.
'It seems like I can only use that move. I am not sure if this would work.'
Kizaru said while he made a hand sign with his right hand, two fingers pointing up, two fingers closed, and a thumb up.
When he made this sign, the light particles began to emerge behind him, slowly forming a massive statue.
This statue looked grandiose, with Buddha's appearance, a hundred golden arms, and a large golden body.
"This is a move that I learned from your Captain. So, can you take it, Vice Captain Liam?"
Kizaru asked while standing in front of the statue.
Liam's lips twitched. If Luffy and Robin's statues were similar to Hashirama's Ten Thousand Arms Cannon, then Kizaru's statue was similar to Netero's 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Even so, it was very impressive that Kizaru was able to get an inspiration from Luffy and also create his attack.
But just when Liam was about to face, he saw something strange on an island where Luffy was fighting.
"Are you kidding me? Did Red Dog anger Luffy so much that he would resort to a move like this?"
Liam's lips twitched when he saw Luffy's attack. That's because he was absent when Luffy made his promise to Robin.
But he was right. Luffy was extremely mad at Akainu for using this move.
Kizaru also saw this, so he didn't get a chance to take advantage of Liam's distraction.
He opened his mouth to bless Akainu, but remembering that he was still his comrade, he closed his mouth and thought.
'Don't worry, Sakazuki! Whether I lose or win, I will come and save you. Then, I don't have to worry about Mr. Sengoku getting suspicious of me.'
But he didn't get much time to think about it because Liam was going all out.
'It's time to test that technique. The one that I desperately wanted to use but couldn't because of the lack of strength.'
Yes, Liam had a move that he could use but it was so stamina consuming that if he used it before, he would either be crippled or fall in coma.
He took a deep breath.
[Fire Demon Mode]
[Burning Sword God]
When he entered this mode, all of the flame in his body concentrated on his blade, but at this moment, it was still forming a coating around his body.
He imbued his blade with Armament and Conqueror Haki. This time, he used almost all of the Haki in his body to compress the flame inside the blade.
The flame looked almost dead and dried, but the temperature around the blade was so high that the atmosphere was beginning to dry out, and the sea had already started evaporating.
Seeing this, Kizaru took a deep breath and moved forward with a hundred-armed attack.
[Hundred Arms Buddha- Suppression]
[Blade of Ember- Rising Sun Blade]
Bang!
................
I have a Patreon where I usually upload chapters ahead of time. And, right now, I have over twenty chapters on my Patreon.
If you are enjoying this book, you should hurry up and join my Patreon!
Link: https://www.patreon.com/EvilParagon