Facing such a formidable opponent, Ace didn't choose to retreat or continue his evasive maneuvers.
Instead, as the giant Vice Admiral's massive axe carved another crater in the plaza, a dangerous idea began to form in his mind.
He nimbly evaded a follow-up swing, the wind from the blow tearing at his clothes, while his mind raced, rapidly contemplating the practical application of Armament Haki's external release—the power to destroy from within.
Lonz was a mountain of a man, clad in reinforced steel and coated in his own powerful Haki.
He was durable.
He was predictable.
He was perfect.
'I'll use you as my whetstone,' Ace decided, a fierce, determined glint in his eyes.
Having made this decision, Ace no longer merely dodged Lonz's attacks.
With a burst of flame from his boots, he suddenly closed the distance, shocking the giant by charging directly into his guard.
Through the brutal crucible of actual combat, he would test and refine his understanding of Haki, forging Whitebeard's lessons into a weapon of his own.
The clash of fist against axe, of fire against steel, became a violent, percussive lesson and Ace was a dedicated student.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the fortress, Jozu and his plunder squad had successfully infiltrated the rear of the Navy Headquarters.
But instead of a heavily guarded vault, they found themselves in a sprawling, open-air training ground.
The area was filled with hundreds of marines wielding wooden swords, their forms clumsy, their faces young and green.
It was a recruit training camp.
"Jozu, did we take a wrong turn?" one of the pirates whispered, looking around at the sea of terrified cadets.
"This is just a bunch of kids."
Suddenly, a distant, high-pitched hum reached their ears, followed by a flicker of golden light reflecting off a nearby building.
"No time for nonsense! Run!" Jozu barked, his head snapping in the direction of the light.
"He's already here!"
"Then where do we go now?" another crew member asked frantically, pointing at a large, windowless structure at the edge of the training grounds.
"That building over there looks like a warehouse."
"Good eye. You guys head there first and see what you can find. I'll hold him off for a bit," Jozu made the decisive call, his diamond-hard gaze fixed on the approaching threat.
He knew time was of the essence—they had to loot that warehouse as quickly as possible.
With that, Jozu's men scrambled towards the warehouse while he stood his ground, a one-man fortress calmly waiting for an Admiral's arrival.
The surrounding recruits were visibly terrified.
Their wooden swords trembled uncontrollably, their bodies shaking with a fear so palpable it was almost a physical presence.
These young cadets had never encountered a real pirate in the wild, let alone a commander of an Emperor's crew in the heart of their own base.
"Pirates?! How did pirates break through to the rear of Navy Headquarters?!"
"Does this mean our defenses have been breached? Did Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the others… fail?" someone else raised the even more alarming question, his voice cracking with panic.
Overwhelming anxiety and helplessness washed over them.
The only thing they could do was scramble away, trying to avoid becoming collateral damage.
Jozu found their panic quite amusing.
He was about to give them a taste of real pressure with a burst of Haki when a sudden, intense chill ran down his spine, prompting him to swiftly leap to the side.
SLASH!
A blade of pure golden light carved a deep trench in the exact spot where he had just been standing.
Amid the swirling dust, Jozu saw Kizaru standing there, his light-made sword, the Ama no Murakumo, still humming with energy.
"Kizaru," Jozu glared, his powerful arms already transforming into glittering diamond, his anger surging.
"Resorting to sneak attacks as an Admiral—How sly of you...." His voice echoed through the air, laden with skepticism.
"Ooh, how amusing," Kizaru sneered, a flicker of pure disdain in his eyes.
"My brand of justice isn't something a brute like you could ever comprehend."
As he spoke, a layer of black Armament Haki flowed over his light-sword, its golden gleam now sheathed in a deadly darkness as he thrust it straight toward Jozu's heart.
"Heh, you're not going to use your famous light-sword this time?" Jozu grinned, and in a blatant act of mockery, pulled a massive, jagged club of pure diamond from his own transformed arm.
It was a crude, brutal weapon, the complete opposite of Kizaru's elegant blade.
He then bellowed, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Ama no Murakumo Club!"
Hearing the name of his own legendary technique applied to that ugly chunk of diamond, Kizaru's lazy composure finally cracked.
A vein pulsed in his temple.
A sense of profound humiliation at being so childishly imitated welled up inside him, solidifying his resolve to eliminate the man before him.
"DIE!" Kizaru roared, his fury manifesting as speed.
His sword flashed through the air, arriving at Jozu's chest in an instant with seemingly unstoppable force.
"What's the rush, Admiral?!" Jozu clenched his left fist while gripping the club in his right, then punched forward into the empty air.
CRACK!
The air itself seemed to split apart with a sharp, grating sound.
A powerful shockwave, like an invisible ripple, rapidly expanded outward, colliding with Kizaru's Haki-infused sword tip.
The two forces met, canceling each other out in a stalemate of raw power.
At the same time, Jozu's diamond club became enveloped in a shimmering, transparent force field—the tell-tale sign of the Tremor-Tremor fruit's power.
Without hesitation, he swung the massive club straight at Kizaru's head.
"Heh, take this—Ama no Murakumo Club!" Jozu laughed triumphantly.
"Shut your damn mouth! That's my technique!" Kizaru screamed, hastily raising his left arm to block.
Though his Haki was undoubtedly superior, his physical condition was in dire straits.
Taking a full-powered, tremor-infused hit from Jozu at his peak condition, his body staggered violently, and he was nearly sent flying outright.
Jozu instantly noticed the weakness, the slight tremble in Kizaru's block, the pained grunt the Admiral tried to suppress.
An intrigued, predatory glint appeared in his eyes.
Originally, he had planned to exchange a few blows before making his escape, but now… now it seemed unnecessary.
"Was planning to fight a bit and then run," Jozu smirked, his plan changing in an instant.
"But looks like I don't have to anymore."
Kizaru's expression grew increasingly grave.
This guy might look like a simple-minded brute, but he was as sharp as the diamonds on his skin.
He knew the battle ahead would only grow more challenging.
"Hmph! Not running? Then you can come with me to Impel Down and repent for your sins!" He raised his sword once more, his mastery of swordsmanship still a deadly threat.
"Alright, alright," Jozu grinned innocently. "Let's kick things off with a little 'Blue Rose' to celebrate our reunion!"
A familiar, beautiful blue light suddenly flared to life in his palm, resembling a brilliant firework lighting up the sky.
Yet, the serene radiance sent a ripple of pure terror through everyone present who knew what it was.
"You dare!" Kizaru flew into an absolute rage, his voice booming like thunder across the training grounds.
This was a field full of rookie recruits.
If that thing exploded here, all these newly enlisted marines would be blinded, their careers and lives ruined.
The consequences were unbearable.
At once, Kizaru abandoned all thought of sword techniques, of defense, of form.
He exploded into a blur of golden light, charging straight toward Jozu with every ounce of speed he could muster.
He had to stop him, and he had to do it now.
"Hehe," Jozu's grin widened. "You're full of openings, Kizaru."
The blue glow in his hand vanished in an instant.
He had never intended to release the Blue Demon.
He was just bluffing to scare the Admiral.
Who would have thought the man would actually fall for it?
'Then you can't blame me for what happens next!'
The diamond club fused back into his right arm.
As a spherical, transparent force field of pure tremor energy appeared around his fist, the entire space seemed to vibrate in response.
"Tremor Impact!"