Chapter 164: 164 Empire War, Tom Cat·Transformation!
"Shichibukai Moria, do you also want to fight againts the World Government?" Saint Saturn asked, staring at Moria closely.
"Shiishishishi~ Foolish Five Elders, I'm a pirate to begin with. Don't say anything stupid again!"
With that, Moria moved like lightning, splitting into shadow mages. Without saying another word, he joined the war against Saint Saturn.
A flood of shadows poured from Moria's body, and his form continuously shifted, teleporting to different corners of the battlefield.
Moria's strength is not weak in the first place. He was a ruthless fighter who had once fight Kaido many years ago. Though he was defeated, he managed to escape Kaido's hand.
Afterward, he fell into a period of decline, and his strength dropped a lot.
However, after his defeat by Lynch, Moria regained his resolve.
On Sky Island, with Enel's influence, his power grew rapidly.
Using the immortality granted by his top-level Paramecia, the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Moria was able to hold his ground against Saint Saturn.
Meanwhile, Demon Robin, Tsunade, and Kakashi provided support from a distance.
A Shichibukai who was only slightly weaker than Enel, along with two elite Vice Admirals and a half-step Admiral, teamed up to fight Saint Saturn.
…
The scene changes to another battlefield.
In mid-air, Kizaru raised his foot and delivered a flash kick, shattering Tom into pieces for the 300th time.
"Meow meow meow! Meow meow meow meow!"
Tom returned to his cat form, stomping his feet and angrily pointing at Kizaru while meowing.
Though Kizaru couldn't understand the words, he could tell Tom's tone was full of frustration.
"What a strange cat~ I'm just following orders, don't blame me," Kizaru said nonchalantly, putting one hand in his pocket and pointing at Saint Saturn in the distance.
"See that? He's the one commanded by that man. If you want revenge later, take it up with him."
Tom nodded eagerly, clearly remembering Saint Saturn.
Just as Tom was about to seek revenge on Saint Saturn, Kizaru stopped him with his usual lazy tone. "Cat, your opponent is me."
Having finally found an opponent who would let him wrap things up easily, Kizaru didn't want Tom to escape.
With that, Kizaru raised his foot and kicked Tom back to the ground, flattening him into a "cat cake"—a 1cm thick version with Tom's eyes resembling fried eggs.
Suddenly, a paw stretched out from the flattened "cat cake," searching for Tom's head.
With a casual mention, Tom was like an inflated balloon, and the speed of light returned to its original state.
Kizaru, already used to such bizarre scenes, thought there would never be another creature quite like Tom.
When Tom was pierced by the laser for the 306th time, he couldn't take it anymore. He was absolutely fed up!
Gritting his teeth, Tom clenched his small fists and glared at Kizaru, feeling the heat rising within him.
Steam began to pour from his head, which turned bright red, like a thermometer about to burst.
Tom was furious, truly furious.
This human, Kizaru, was so hateful.
Tom didn't care about being beaten or looking foolish, but he couldn't stand Kizaru stopping him from helping his master.
"Meow meow meow!!!"
Suddenly, Tom pulled a card from his tail fur.
The Hawkeyes on the card looked almost lifelike, as if painted on a real person.
The card shimmered in his paws, bursting into vibrant, colorful lights.
Tom took a deep drag from his cigar, and the smoke he exhaled formed large characters in the air: [Tom·Transformation!]
He inserted the card back into his tail fur, and suddenly, the entire cat was surrounded by a glowing, colorful halo.
"What powerful sword energy!"
Kizaru's expression shifted, sensing the world-shaking power of the sword from the halo.
As the halo faded, Tom's appearance changed once again.
The Supreme Sharp sword, Yoru, materialized in Tom's hand.
He wore a red and black coat, a cross necklace, and a red and black top hat.
Two mustaches appeared on Tom's face, and an overwhelming aura of a peerless swordsman surrounded him.
"Hawkeye?!" Kizaru was no longer calm, with a look of astonishment on his face.
Tom now looked almost identical to Hawkeye, with barely any difference.
And the black sword, Yoru, felt so real to Kizaru.
The terrifying aura that radiated from Tom was one that only a great swordsman could possess—just like Hawkeye himself.
Kizaru's face twitched, and he suddenly felt something bad.
Tom's eyes snapped open, and a cold light flashed in them.
"Zheng!"
Tom Cat moved swiftly, gripping the black sword Yoru, and unleashed a powerful slash. A thousand-meter-long flying slash threw toward Kizaru at fast speed.
"!!!"
Kizaru's head went numb as he instinctively turned into light particles and flashed to the side.
"Boom~"
The kilometer-long slash cut across four battlefields, splitting the island, which was dozens of kilometers long, in two.
The final blow plunged into the sea, creating an abyss so deep it couldn't be seen to the bottom.
The water split violently as Tom Cat's attack triggered a massive tsunami hundreds of meters high.
Several Sea Kings passing by were torn apart, their bodies floating on the surface, their blood staining the sea nearby.
Seeing the power of this blow, Kizaru's laziness disappeared, and he was sweating profusely without realizing it.
It seems...he messed with the wrong cat.
With the attack power of Hawkeye, endless stamina, and an immortal body, even Hawkeye himself wouldn't be able to defeat this cat!
Kizaru had thought Tom Cat would be the easiest to deal with, but now it seemed he was the worst one to provoke.
The Hawkeye experience card that Tom Cat used was a reward from the system after it challenged Hawkeye last time.
For half an hour, it granted Tom Cat Hawkeye's full strength.
The title of the world's greatest swordsman holds real weight—it's a level on par with an Admiral.
Before Shanks lost his arm, Hawkeye often dueled with him.
As for Shanks' swordsmanship, he defeated Kid, who had a bounty of three billion, with a single move.
After Shanks lost his arm, Hawkeye likely felt that fighting a disabled opponent was unfair, so he stopped challenging him.
Tom, with the power of Hawkeye, is even stronger.
As long as it believes its physical strength is unlimited, it is. If it believes it can't die, it can't. If it feels it can walk on air, it will.
Swordsmen themselves are known for their attack power.
Tith the immortality and endless stamina of Hawkeye's abilities, Tom becomes nearly unstoppable.
He doesn't need to worry about defense, just focusing on offense, making him an overwhelming force. Even someone like Im-sama would likely obey and give in to Lynch without question.
For the next half hour, Tom is invincible.
Taking another puff from his cigar, Tom exhaled a cloud of smoke that formed bold characters in the air:
[Leave now, and I will spare your life.]
[Anyone who stands in my way to rescue my master will die.]
With the Hawkeye experience, Tom's demeanor has become sharper and more decisive.
Kizaru wanted to back out, but he realized this was no longer a fight—it was life-threatening.
Why had Tom pretended to be weak at first when he was so powerful? For a moment, Kizaru felt exhausted.
He was just a cautious worker trying to do his job.
.
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TO BE CONTINUED
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