Chapter 167: Retreat
"Ama no Murakumo..." droned Kizaru, producing a cross-hilted sword of light with his left hand, wielded in his right.
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Accompanied by a flash of golden light, Kizaru attempted to slice off the wings adorning the left side of Vahn's body, only for his sword to shatter like a physical construct as it made contact.
"Hmmm...?"
"Sorry, but that won't work anymore," remarked Vahn, extending his left hand to Kizaru, causing the Admiral to flicker away and stare at him with a moderately confused look. Alongside his appearance, Vahn's outfit had changed, leaving him shirtless with baggy black and gold harem pants, a teal sash, and various accessories that, unbeknownst to Kizaru, increased his Light Resistance to 100%.
Leaving Kizaru even more confused, golden light erupted from Vahn's body before he suddenly crashed into him at the speed of light, causing them both to scatter like golden fireworks.
"So that's how it is..." muttered Kizaru, his expression uncharacteristically serious as he reformed several tens of meters from Vahn's scattered form, Haki gathering in his arms and legs, causing them to tint black with a gold gleam as he asserted, "Your Devil Fruit power is mimicry..."
Reforming much slower than Kizaru, Vahn's response to the Admiral was to emit beams of light from the tips of his flight feathers, populating the sky with a complex latticework of highly penetrative lasers. Several struck Kizaru directly, but instead of piercing or damaging him, they sank into his body as he remarked, "My body is comprised of light. Using it against me is like trying to extinguish a fire with a flamethrower."
Raising and aiming his right left foot at Vahn, Kizaru accelerated forward, transforming all but his foot and lower leg into photons. As a result, his Haki-covered appendage impacted the former like a projectile fired from a sub-relativistic railgun, shattering against him but sending him flying back several kilometers per second with a visibly indented sternum, perforated organs, and virtually every bone in his torso fragmented.
Despite the distance he had traveled, Vahn barely had time to right himself in the air before Kizaru appeared above him, dropping another guillotine-like kick toward the top of his head. This time, however, Vahn drew himself back using his domain, causing the kick to pass right in front of his face, burning off the tip of his nose.
"Hmmm...?"