Chapter 219: The Salamis Battle (Conclusion)
Ian had not encountered many Logia users. Ace was one, Smoker another, and then there were Aokiji and Kizaru.
However, Ian noticed an interesting phenomenon: it seemed that Logia users could not infuse Armament Haki into their long-range energy attacks that were detached from their bodies.
For example, if Ace threw a ball of fire at a target, since the fire was part of his own ability, he could not wrap Haki around it or turn the flames black.
Kizaru's laser was the same. That was why, during their earlier exchange, their attacks had passed through each other's bodies without causing damage.
Armament Haki, when used for long-range attacks, could only be applied to solid objects. For instance, the Kuja warriors wrapped Haki around their arrows, causing them to explode and increase their destructive power upon impact.
Thinking about it carefully, this seemed to be the nature of Armament Haki. It was wrapped around the body or around a blade—both solid entities. In Ian's memory, Armament Haki had never appeared on elemental energy objects.
Did Kizaru know Armament Haki? Without a doubt, he did. But the problem was that he could only infuse it when he materialized his body at the moment of attack.
Ian, however, was different. For him, Psychic Power was Haki, and Haki was Psychic Power. And since he could use techniques like Nen Emission, when he slashed out a sword aura, he was essentially releasing his Psychic Power. Naturally, it could hit Kizaru's elementalized body.
When a Logia user elementalized, even their clothes would transform. But when Ian had sliced off the brim of Kizaru's hat earlier, he had realized this issue.
Although his Nen ability was limited by his Psychic Power value, it was actually much more versatile than Haki.
However, since the flight speed of his sword aura was a bit slow and couldn't catch Kizaru, Ian decided to use a higher-level attack: the Railgun!
During the energy clash between Ace and Kizaru, Ian used his Iron Sand Sword to gather iron sand from the ground around him, forming a small pellet. This pellet was, of course, a solid object. Ian deliberately wrapped Haki around it and then fired it!
Ian had high hopes for this attack, and Kizaru's subsequent reaction made him feel encouraged.
Kizaru's half-destroyed head regenerated as light particles emerged. However, when he recovered, Ian noticed that one of the sunglasses he wore had completely shattered!
This proved that Ian had indeed landed a hit! The broken lens was evidence. Although his head was intact, this was due to the self-healing property of Logia users. Unless they were countered by an elemental weakness, they could always recover. Of course, this self-recovery was due to the fluid elemental nature of Logia users' bodies, not because they were immortal. (During the Summit War, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki had his shoulder cut by a Haki-infused blade but was fine.)
"That hurts!" Kizaru said from mid-air, addressing Ian. "That was a good hit! I really liked these glasses, and you broke them..."
Half of Kizaru's forehead was now throbbing with pain. Ian's attack had been dangerous even for him. If the small pellet hadn't been infused with too little Haki, and if the elementalized sunglasses hadn't absorbed some of the impact, he might have lost an eye.
"Young man, you're too dangerous!" Kizaru said to Ian. "Now I understand why Aokiji was injured by you. A dangerous person like you must be eliminated!"
As he spoke, Kizaru spread his arms wide, pointing them at Ian and the others below. Countless light particles began to appear again!
This time, the light particles were densely packed, so numerous they couldn't be counted. Just looking at them gave one goosebumps.
Sentomaru, who had been fighting Sardine and the others nearby, saw this and shouted, "Damn it, the old man is getting serious!"
He immediately yelled to the surrounding Marines, "Scatter!"
Ian and the others also sensed danger. Judging by the setup, Kizaru was about to use an enhanced version of the Yasakani Sacred Jewel. Remembering the earlier barrage of light beams, Ian found it troubling and couldn't think of a good way to defend against it.
He wanted Fujitora to use weightlessness to lift everyone again, but it was too late. Kizaru's body suddenly stretched out in mid-air, and beams of light rained down on Ian and the others!
"Yasakani Sacred Jewel: Barrage!"
Ian spread his hands, intending to use the Three-Day Barrier to create a defensive wall. He didn't know how long it would hold, but he had to try. However, to his surprise, someone moved faster than him!
Earlier, when Ian and Ace had taken turns attacking Kizaru, Fujitora had barely acted. But at this critical moment, he finally moved!
"Gravity Control!"
A massive stone wall floated lightly and swiftly, directly blocking above everyone's heads!
This huge stone wall was pulled over by Fujitora using his ability. It came from the wall of a building that had collapsed earlier during Kizaru's attack.
Kizaru's light beams poured down but all struck the stone wall. Although his beams carried high heat, the wall was thick enough that his attacks only created countless holes in it without penetrating it.
Although Fujitora's Gravity Fruit ability had little effect on Kizaru, he had been thinking about how to counter him. His timely intervention proved effective.
Seeing his attack blocked, Kizaru wasn't discouraged. He shouted, "It's useless! Let's see how long your wall can last!"
He spread his arms again, sending another barrage of light beams at the stone wall. As more holes appeared, the wall began to crack.
Fujitora gripped his staff sword and suddenly said, "I never expected the wall to hold you for long..."
Kizaru was momentarily stunned. "What do you mean?"
"Look up at the sky!" Fujitora said.
Having been enjoying his high-ground attack, Kizaru hadn't noticed what was above him. When he looked up, he saw a burning meteor falling toward this direction!
"Is that the meteor that destroyed the G-5 base?" Kizaru said. "But I'm a light man. Are you sure that meteor can hit me?"
"It won't hit," Fujitora admitted readily. "Because this meteor was never aimed here..."
Ian and Ace had been watching the meteor's trajectory since it appeared. They were horrified to realize that the meteor wasn't falling here but into the sea nearby!
"When dealing with Devil Fruit users, seawater is still the most effective!" With Fujitora's sigh, the meteor crashed down, hitting the waters just outside the port.
Boom!!!
The meteor Fujitora had pulled down was slightly larger than the one that had destroyed the G-5 base. Such a meteor, falling at tremendous speed, could have destroyed most of the island if it hit land. But Fujitora had controlled it to fall into the sea, changing everything!
As the meteor struck, it triggered a massive tidal wave. Since it hit near the port, the wave turned into a tsunami, surging toward the coast of Salamis Island!
Tens of meters high, the tsunami rolled in, tilting upward as it approached. The blue seawater and white foam were visible. Marines scattered in panic, abandoning their fight with the Dragon Hunter Pirates.
"Old man, aren't you a Devil Fruit user too?" Ian stared wide-eyed at the tsunami, turning to Fujitora. "If you get hit by seawater, you'll lose your strength too!"
"Ah, I forgot about that!" Fujitora slapped his forehead, then said seriously to Ian, "Captain, I'll leave it to you then!"
Ace adjusted his cowboy hat and chuckled, "Yeah, Ian, I'm counting on you too!"
Both of them knew that Ian could swim. Although they didn't understand why he was an exception, they didn't ask, just waiting for Ian to save them.
Ian was speechless, thinking, *Did I just get stuck with two fake teammates? Damn it, with this tsunami, what about our ship?*
The tsunami had already arrived, sweeping up even Kizaru, who was in mid-air. The wave was so massive that dodging from the side was impossible. He tried to rise higher, but Ian slashed two sword auras diagonally upward, successfully blocking his movement!
With that delay, Kizaru was hit by a splash of water, losing his strength and falling.
Their battle had been close to the coast, so the tsunami struck quickly. The surging seawater, carrying immense force, swept everyone away!
Marines, Dragon Hunter Pirates, Ian, Ace, Fujitora, Kizaru, and Sentomaru—none escaped the impact of the wave.
Pritz, who had been hiding under a tree broadcasting live, was completely terrified by the wave. He clutched his Video Den Den Mushi, faithfully recording everything, before being swallowed by the seawater...
Across the world, on thousands of screens, millions of people witnessed this scene...