Kuzan's expression grew a little graver.
He did not rush to attack. His gaze swept over that figure again and again.
It was as though he were reassessing something he had thought he understood, only to discover it was utterly unfamiliar.
Watching his expression, Wangchuan's lips curved.
The curve was slight, but his smile was fainter, deeper, and weightier than it had been under the Tchang Zu template.
"Don't be nervous."
He raised his right hand, fingertips pointing upward, his movements unhurried.
"I won't use my full strength."
Kuzan's brow twitched.
"What do you mean?"
Wangchuan lowered his hand.
"If this ends too quickly, it won't teach you anything."
"And it'll lose the fun it ought to have."
"Won't it?"
There was no hint of provocation in his tone.
He was merely stating, calmly, a fact that seemed obvious to him.
That calm itself carried more weight than any words.
Before Kuzan could respond.
A streak of golden light suddenly shot through the sky from behind and to the side, so fast that it tore through the air with a piercing crack.
Kizaru hovered in midair, his right leg raised high, blinding golden light gathering beneath his shoe as he aimed at Wangchuan's flank.
His voice still held that languid tone, as though he had just woken up.
"Oh my~ What a strange kid."
He tilted his head, his gaze settling on the invisible force field surrounding Wangchuan.
"But, you know... speed is weight."
"Can you block it?"
Before his words had faded.
His body became a golden beam, its intensely compressed brilliance crossing dozens of meters in an instant.
Carrying enough terrifying kinetic energy to kick a warship in half, it struck straight at the visible, transparent force field beside Wangchuan.
"Light-Speed Kick."
The light came too fast, so