Julian was on the Sabaody Archipelago, engaging in daily, brutal hand-to-hand combat training with Rayleigh. Rayleigh was not yet that seventy-eight-year-old man; he was only fifty-four, one year older than Roger and the same age as Garp. He could completely suppress Julian in human form. Rayleigh was also a top-tier wielder of the Three Types of Haki, only one level below Roger in strength.
At seventy-six, Rayleigh had saved the Straw Hat crew, including Zoro, on the Sabaody Archipelago. He had intimidated the fifty-eight-year-old Admiral Kizaru and even slashed Kizaru across the face with his sword. Of course, Kizaru had also gone easy on the Straw Hats. Kizaru's speed and defense were both exceptional. In the future, he would undoubtedly possess the strength of a lower-tier Emperor, making him the strongest and most dependable Admiral, no weaker than an ordinary Four Emperor.
Kizaru merely lacked Conqueror's Haki; he possessed both of the other Two-Color Haki. Kizaru was the Admiral people underestimated the most. During the Fleet Admiral Succession Dispute, Kizaru had not even cared to become Fleet Admiral and never participated. Otherwise, Aokiji and Akainu would both have ended up at the bottom of the sea drinking seawater. Kizaru was a flash of light in the sky, while Akainu and Aokiji were Devil Fruit users who could not fly.
If Punk Hazard fought Kizaru, Kizaru only needed to use Yasakani no Magatama and blast the island apart. Even if Akainu became Fleet Admiral, he would not dare bare his teeth at Kizaru. That was the respect brought by strength. Rayleigh's most impressive feat was still on Amazon Lily, where he alone scared off the entire Blackbeard crew and saved Hancock.
On a mountaintop on Island Eleven, Julian began another sparring session at the training grounds. Rayleigh could be said to