Promoted to Rear Admiral

For example, the Phoenix Fruit or the Great Buddha Fruit.

But... Lin Qi's Mythical Zoan was completely unrecognizable.

It did look somewhat like Kaido's Azure Dragon Fruit.

"Thunder Fist!"

Lin Qi soared into the air, Lightning Balls wrapping around his fist as he threw a fierce punch that sent Kizaru flying.

Unfortunately, Dragon Abyss was too short. Once he turned into a giant, it was no longer suitable as a weapon, leaving him no choice but to fight barehanded.

"The feel was off. Did you elementalize in advance?"

"Ooh~ What a terrifying monster."

Kizaru landed and returned to human form. Raising a finger, he fired several Lasers at Lin Qi.

Boom~

The Lasers struck Lin Qi and exploded violently.

Yet Lin Qi was completely unscathed.

The skin torn open by the Lasers healed in an instant.

Lin Qi crashed down like a tyrannosaur, making the ground shake as though an earthquake had struck.

He hurled a straight punch at Kizaru, but Kizaru evaded it once more by elementalizing.

Both were Logias. Lin Qi could hit Smoker with every blow, yet he could never land one on Kizaru, simply because Kizaru's Observation Haki was too advanced.

"That's why I hate fighting Mythical Zoans. They're really hard to put down."

Kizaru murmured as he spread his arms in midair. Dozens of Laser arrows, as though they had eyes, relentlessly pursued Lin Qi.

"Fire Fist!"

Lin Qi swung a punch, and a pillar of fire dozens of meters high shot into the sky, intercepting the arrows.

That was why even dogs wouldn't eat the Mera Mera no Mi.

He used Electromagnetic Force to pull up a chunk of meteoric iron from deep beneath the earth, hooked it on his fingertip, and charged it with electrical energy.

"Super Electromagnetic Cannon!"

Boom!

Intense Lightning Balls propelled the meteoric iron across the sky, blowing Kizaru's head apart in a single strike before exploding in the air.

Like a nuclear blast, it raised a mushroom cloud.

For a moment, the entire Marine Base's attention was drawn over.

Kizaru's blown-off head turned into yellow particles and grew back. He turned to look at the explosion behind him, a bead of cold sweat running down his temple.

"Hey, hey, hey, seriously? Isn't that a bit over the top?"

"We agreed this was a spar. Were you really trying to kill me?!"

"Sorry, Senior Kizaru. If I don't go all out, I can't hurt you."

"You brat... Fine. Maybe I should treat you as an equal."

Kizaru's words were no different from acknowledging Lin Qi's strength.

But losing to a junior would be pretty embarrassing too.

If Aokiji and Akainu found out, they would laugh at him for half a month.

"Looks like I'll have to reveal my trump card too."

"Senior Kizaru, don't be modest. You haven't even used Armament Haki."

"Hm? How did he get here?"

Lin Qi discovered in surprise that one moment Kizaru had been in the distance exchanging mutual flattery with him, and the next, he had appeared right in front of him without warning.

Kizaru had been fast before, but this time, he had directly used Instantaneous Movement.

Sengoku silently removed his glasses and laughed as he scolded, "That Kizaru actually used light refracted through my lenses to achieve Instantaneous Movement."

"Eternal Freeze Hell!"

Naturally, Lin Qi would not let go of the opportunity to fight Kizaru at close range. He opened his mouth and exhaled a stream of bone-chilling cold.

The frost rapidly spread, freezing the air and encasing the ground in ice.

The effect of this move was no weaker than Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit.

"Gamma Ray!"

Dense black light gathered at Kizaru's fingertip.

Unlike the yellow light from before, Lin Qi sensed the stench of death from it.

"Enough. Galaxy Impact!"

At the critical moment, Garp suddenly interrupted both of their attacks with an Iron Fist.

"Ow."

"Mr. Garp, your fists are as strong as ever."

Garp's sudden punch sent them both flying. Even Kizaru failed to elementalize.

No one knew how he did it, but it hurt like hell.

By the time the two climbed back up, each had a huge lump on his head and was baring his teeth in pain.

"Senior Kizaru, I lost," Lin Qi said modestly.

Without Garp's punch, he did not dare say what would have happened if he had taken Kizaru's attack.

In contrast, his own move would at most have left Kizaru in a sorry state.

"The younger generation is truly formidable. You're so young, yet you already possess Admiral-level strength. Impressive."

Kizaru rubbed his aching waist and shot Sengoku a resentful look. "Marshal, next time there's such a wonderful opportunity, please go find Akainu instead. Thank you."

"Sorry for troubling you this time, Kizaru," Sengoku said apologetically.

Everyone had witnessed the battle between the two.

There was no denying it—Lin Qi truly possessed the strength of an Admiral.

The most shocked of all was undoubtedly Zephyr.

He had personally witnessed Lin Qi's growth.

In just over two years, he had gone from an unknown nobody to possessing strength comparable to an Admiral-level fighter.

Terrifying.

"Alright, Marshal, I'll be going now. Remember to transfer the overtime pay to my card."

Kizaru waved his hand, returning to his lazy appearance as he turned into a streak of golden light and departed.

"Captain Lin Qi, in light of the merits you have earned, I hereby formally appoint you, on behalf of Marine Headquarters, to the rank of Rear Admiral. You may collect the corresponding items from the Quartermaster Department later," Sengoku said in an official tone.

"Yes, Marshal."

"Lin Qi, congratulations on your promotion," Zephyr offered his blessings.

From Captain to Commodore and then Rear Admiral, he had risen two ranks in a row.

"Thank you, Teacher Zephyr."

"You brat, in two years, you've risen from an ordinary Marine soldier to a Marine Rear Admiral. That speed makes me green with envy. I'm only a Vice Admiral."

"Mr. Garp, stop joking. Everyone knows you just don't want to become an Admiral."

"Hahaha, is that so?"

"Enough. We old fellows shouldn't disturb Lin Qi any longer. He's been at sea for over a year. He should get some proper rest."

"I'll give you half a month off. Get some good rest," Sengoku said kindly.

With time to spare, Lin Qi immediately went to look for Momousagi.

Unfortunately, Momousagi's housekeeper told him that Sister Momousagi had gone to sea and had not returned yet.

He could only head alone to the Commercial Street behind the base to fill his stomach.

That crazy girl Hina had vanished the moment she returned. She had probably gone to catch up with her girlfriends.

After eating and drinking his fill, he recalled that he had not brought Sister Momousagi any gifts this time, so he began browsing the Commercial Street for one.

"I remember Momousagi likes cats. Should I buy her one?"

"No, no. Momousagi said that after meeting Tom, every other cat seemed too stupid."

Momousagi was not a vain woman. She did not like the things ordinary women liked.

As he racked his brains, he suddenly remembered that Sister Momousagi seemed to have lots of perfume and hairpins at home.

Unfortunately, he knew nothing about perfume.

So Lin Qi set his sights on hairpins.

He went from shop to shop. There were plenty of pretty ones, but none that truly amazed him.

Just as Lin Qi was about to give up, a peddler's cry rang out from nearby.

"Come take a look! Come take a look! Special hairpins from Alabasta, made entirely from white jade and inlaid with eighteen gemstones unique to Alabasta!"

"Today only, huge discounts! Not one hundred million Berries, not nine thousand Berries—only 9.99 million Berries!"

"That's right, you heard me! Come and grab one!"