Konoha Yellow Monkey: The salary is in place, and Wukage is useless!

Chapter 484 Hope and Despair!

A giant formed from golden light and a statue grown from a sacred tree—these two enormous creatures almost occupied the entire beach.

Above, Borsalino looked at the two colossal creatures and the two monsters that created them, muttering "How terrifying!" as he retreated towards the sea.

On the high seas, the navy soldiers who had not yet escaped far looked at the two giant objects on the island and showed exaggerated expressions. But just as they were distracted by the battle on the island and worried about their own admiral, Rayleigh had already quietly boarded the ship.

In the distance, a naval fleet of seven ships, led by Fleet Admiral Akainu, accompanied by former Fleet Admiral Sengoku and naval hero Garp, and accompanied by eight Vice Admirals, is rapidly sailing towards the island.

On the flagship at the very front of the naval fleet, Akainu stood at the very front of the deck, with Sengoku and Garp standing slightly behind him. All three of them could see with their naked eyes the two enormous creatures piercing the clouds on the distant island.

Among them, the golden giant left a deep impression on the three present. During the Marineford War, Kizaru transformed into the Giant of Light and used his most domineering power to ruthlessly defeat the combined forces of the Navy's high-ranking combatants, and even killed the Five Elders who came to provide support.

This time, the three saw the Giant of Light again, and painful memories from the past resurfaced in their minds, leaving them all looking rather unwell.

Even someone as extreme as Akainu felt dissatisfied that Hashirama had provoked Kizaru over a series of minor tasks involving reprimanding the Empress, which escalated into a life-or-death struggle with Kizaru.

Although he upholds absolute justice and acts in an extreme manner, he is not a mindless person, and he also understands what temporary forbearance means.

The Navy is no match for Kizaru and the Land of Light. Under such circumstances, rashly challenging the enemy will not only fail to uphold justice, but will also lead to unnecessary sacrifices, damage the Navy's reputation, and demoralize the soldiers.

This is where Akainu felt somewhat dissatisfied with Hashirama's impulsive behavior, but at the same time, he felt somewhat gratified and satisfied with Hashirama's tough stance against pirates.

For Akainu, this was a complex emotion—a contradictory feeling of knowing that his junior was doing the right thing, but being constrained by his own strength and dissatisfied with the trouble his junior had caused.

As Akainu gazed at the enormous wooden statue Hashirama had created on the island ahead, a mixture of worry and anticipation rose in his heart.

Is it possible for Hashirama, this junior, to use a special technique that can block Kizaru's attack?

If so, this represents progress for the navy and further demonstrates Hashirama's potential and hope.

If Hashirama can use his secret techniques to hold out against Kizaru for a few more rounds, or even withstand Kizaru's attacks, then considering Hashirama's young age, this new admiral of the Navy will represent the hope of defeating Kizaru in the future and become the rising star of the entire Navy.

With this expectation in mind, Akainu felt both excited and nervous about the upcoming battle.

Behind him, Sengoku wore a worried expression. He was more pessimistic than Akainu. His only concern was whether Hashirama, the young junior highly praised by Tsuru, could hold out against Kizaru before the rescue arrived.

"Hashirama! Don't be too impulsive. Only by surviving can we have hope!" Sengoku thought to himself, his gaze fixed on the enormous creature on the island.

On the island's beach, Kizaru and Hashirama, who had already attracted much attention, began their final battle.

Hashirama stood atop the statue, his face bearing runes representing a sage. He met Kizaru's enormous golden eyes without fear.

"Kizaru, I've prepared a lot for you!" Hashirama roared.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Armament Haki appeared on the entire Thousand-Armed Guanyin statue, starting from the position of Hashirama's feet. The Haki continued downwards and outwards, eventually almost completely enveloping the entire statue.

Dominance is a manifestation of will and the power of the mind. Only those with firm will and thoughts can go far on the path of dominance.

"Come on, Kizaru!" Hashirama shouted. The next second, the Thousand-Armed Kannon statue beneath his feet moved, and countless giant hands covered in Armament Haki behind Kannon slammed towards the golden giant that Kizaru had transformed into.

Immortal method: Buddha on the top of the head!

This was Hashirama's strongest attack. The thousand hands behind the Thousand-Armed Kannon represented a thousand high-density bombardments, each with the terrifying power to alter the terrain, tremble the earth, and instantly destroy towns.

Faced with this powerful and dense attack, Kizaru, transformed into a golden giant, did not choose to simply dodge. A golden lightsaber appeared in his hand, and the giant left elegant and swift traces in space with the lightsaber.

At this moment, Kizaru was like a calligrapher splashing ink in the sky, his lightsaber as gorgeous and agile as a work of art, cutting off and neutralizing the heavy punches unleashed by the Thousand-Armed Guanyin.

Hashirama noticed Kizaru's response, and at this moment he no longer held back at all, channeling all his Sage Chakra into his body to continuously accelerate the attack of the Thousand-Armed Kannon.

Ultimately, under the increasingly dense attacks of the Thousand-Armed Kannon, the sword dance unleashed by Kizaru, the golden giant in his transformed form, also faltered, and he was unable to block the several heavy punches that the Thousand-Armed Kannon threw almost simultaneously.

These attacks, enhanced by Armament Haki, struck Kizaru's transformed Giant of Light squarely.

Kizaru's lightsaber stopped abruptly, and his massive body was forced back half a step by the force before regaining its balance.

This time, the disadvantage was due to both Hashirama's sudden outburst and Kizaru's destructive actions.

Hashirama's sudden increase in attack frequency did catch Kizaru off guard, but given Kizaru's current strength, such an attack shouldn't have caused him much damage. However, Kizaru still showed signs of being affected; the parts of his body that were hit showed a dimming of golden light, then flickering, before gradually recovering.

Kizaru's intentional physical changes, which were part of the performance, confirmed Hashirama's suspicions. The attack, infused with Haki, was effective even against Kizaru's elemental transformation from the Naruto world.

This discovery further excited Hashirama, who quickened the pace and power of his attack, and almost simultaneously blasted the remaining palms of the Thousand-Armed Guanyin towards Kizaru.

This action, and the effectiveness of the attack, made Borsalino, who had retreated to a short distance away, marvel at the newcomer's terror.

"The Navy really struck gold this time!" Admiral Kizaru Borsalino exclaimed in his heart. At the same time, as a senior Navy admiral, he firmly made a decision to ensure the safety of his junior, Hashirama.

Under Borsalino's concerned gaze, and under Akainu's tense watchful eye from the foremost deck on the distant sea, Hashirama unleashed his full power, exhausting all his Sage Chakra in one go, allowing the powerful attack of the Thousand-Armed Kannon to strike Kizaru almost simultaneously.

Faced with such a rapid and dense attack, Kizaru was unable to dodge in time, and his huge body was knocked back a step or two. A large hole appeared in his golden chest, all of which was caused by the damage from Hashirama's attack.

Kizaru, who was repelled for the first time, intentionally controlled the speed of his body's recovery. Instead of recovering instantly, he allowed the large hole in his chest to heal slowly. At this moment, he spoke up and said, "Hashirama, the new admiral of the Navy, I admit that your attack is the strongest attack I have ever encountered since my debut! You are very good. Perhaps you will be qualified to stand in front of me in the future."

Kizaru's praise undoubtedly boosted Hashirama's reputation with his own immense fame, allowing the Navy to further recognize Hashirama's strength and potential.

Of course, Kizaru did not forget to maintain his own and the Land of Light's prestige, which was of paramount importance as it concerned the Land of Light's future gains on the high seas.

So, after quickly adjusting his tone, Kizaru changed the subject and said again, "However, with attacks like this, and with your current strength, you are still a long way from defeating me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a huge lightsaber reappeared in Kizaru's hand. He raised his hand and slashed at Hashirama and the Thousand-Armed Kannon in front of him.

This time, Kizaru used seven or eight tenths of his power, connecting with the surrounding natural energy, empowered by the might of heaven and earth, and enhanced by the powerful Conqueror's Haki that could tear space apart, to unleash a strong and powerful attack.

Surrounded by Conqueror's Haki, lightning resounded, dimming even the sunlight in the sky, and an invisible pressure distorted and warped the surrounding space.

Kizaru's domineering golden slash tore through space, striking the giant Thousand-Armed Kannon amidst lightning and spatial rifts.

At that moment, the enormous Thousand-Hand Guanyin was like a fragile, dried-out piece of wood, snapping in two the instant the slash descended, the spatial rifts caused by the strike shattering it instantly.

Even the pillar standing atop the Thousand-Hand Guanyin had no choice but to temporarily avoid the attack, leaping in an instant to appear on the sea behind the Thousand-Hand Guanyin.

With his Sage Mode chakra almost completely depleted, the runes on his face fading away, and with little chakra and stamina left, he stood on the surging sea, gazing at the Thousand-Armed Kannon reduced to a wooden ruin, and at Kizaru who had unleashed this earth-shattering attack, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Looking at the giant of light standing still, calmly dissipating his lightsaber, Hashirama had a premonition that Kizaru's slash was far from his limit.

Having such a powerful and unfathomable junior, Hashirama felt both gratified and disappointed at not being able to keep up with his junior's progress.

Compared to Hashirama's complex emotions, Borsalino, who witnessed the entire battle and directly felt the terrifying power of Kizaru's final slash, had only one thought in his mind at this moment.

I absolutely cannot face Kizaru alone next time. He's a monster among monsters, an existence that's simply invincible!

Thinking back to his solo spying on Kizaru and Rayleigh a while ago, even the usually slick Borsalino broke out in a cold sweat with lingering fear!

He exclaimed with absolute sincerity, "What a terrifying blow!"

Kizaru seemed to have heard his voice, and the next second he turned to face Borsalino in the sky above the sea, "Admiral Kizaru, it's your turn now!"

Upon hearing this, Borsalino raised his hands without hesitation, making a gesture of surrender. "I dare not fight a monster like you!"

"Is that so? So your Navy is preparing to surrender to me?" Kizaru deliberately emphasized the word "surrender." (End of Chapter)