One minute earlier.
After killing Vice Admiral Tsuru, Maud used a full-powered Ikoku to knock Kizaru back as he charged in from the sky.
Then.
With his Shadow Clone returning and the boost from Shadows' Gathering Ground added in, Maud reached his strongest form.
However, the number of shadows absorbed into his body through Shadows' Gathering Ground was now less than two hundred.
Although they could still enhance Maud in every aspect, compared to the boost brought by the five hundred shadows during the Summit War, this time the effect was at most one-fifth as strong.
But every disadvantage had an advantage.
With fewer shadows absorbed into his body, the duration of Shadows' Gathering Ground could be extended accordingly.
Given the current situation, what Maud needed was endurance.
"I have to finish this quickly!"
After taking in the battlefield situation, Maud stepped on Geppo and rose into the air, intending to help Philo and Jim out of their predicament first.
Beep, beep...!
Maud had only just taken flight when a dazzling yellow light flashed across the distant night sky.
It was Kizaru's attack.
Although Kizaru could not gain any advantage against Maud and had suffered one defeat after another, he was still an admiral of the Marine Headquarters. How could he allow Maud to run rampant?
Vice Admiral Tsuru's death had already exposed his dereliction of duty to an irredeemable degree.
If he allowed Maud to continue running wild, could he still remain an admiral?
Amid the dazzling light that flashed incessantly in the night sky, diamond-shaped light bullets shot out one after another.
In an instant, countless light bullets covered Maud from above like a torrential downpour.
"Too slow."
Red light flashed in Maud's eyes. Stepping on Geppo, he transformed into a streak of black shadow and swiftly retreated.