There was no hesitation—just Kronos' full-force strike!
The Black Flash Spear, crackling with black lightning in his hand, shot out like a cannon!
It flew straight toward Kabalu's chest!
Kabalu, now facing Kronos' full-power assault in his Chaos God form, tried once again to use his Devil Fruit ability to stop the attack—just like he had earlier.
But this time, the Black Flash Spear was different.
It wasn't the same attack as before.
This was Kronos' fully focused Chaos strike—there was no room for defense or evasion.
With no pause at all, the spear pierced straight through Kabalu's left chest!
Kabalu collapsed into a pool of blood from the impact.
However, he didn't die immediately.
Even after suffering such a fatal wound, Kabalu remained barely breathing—clinging to life.
What struck Kronos as strange was how silent Kabalu remained despite the injury.
No reaction. No scream. No expression. As if he didn't even feel it.
The moment the spear landed, Kronos noticed that the buoyancy field affecting his body had weakened significantly.
But the field as a whole—the levitating seawater and debris, the floating Angel of Redemption—still remained.
The effect had only diminished slightly, rather than dissipating completely.
That shouldn't be possible.
Kronos walked over to the blood-soaked Kabalu.
Though the man was still faintly breathing, it was clear he had lost consciousness.
"Normally, when a Devil Fruit user dies or loses consciousness, their powers deactivate," Kronos thought, staring at the floating battlefield still active around them. "So why is everything still floating?"
He couldn't make sense of it.
But he didn't care to dig any deeper.
"I thought this guy was just a minor threat... didn't expect him to cause such a big scene," Kronos muttered, clicking his tongue as he looked down at Kabalu's limp body.
Without wasting time, and unwilling to leave loose ends, Kronos summoned a Black Mist Blade in his hand.
He raised the sword, intent on finishing Kabalu for good.
Just as he swung it down—
Whoosh!
A sudden burst of icy air surged in!
A glowing shard of blue ice flew in and struck Kronos' blade—knocking it away.
"Hmm? Marine Admiral Aokiji?"
Kronos recognized the ability immediately.
As he turned his head, he realized that the ground beneath him had frozen solid—his feet locked in place.
The frost rapidly crept upward, spreading along his legs and torso.
"Tch... Aokiji. I should've known."
As Kronos tried to move, the freezing effect intensified.
"Sorry, Kronos," Aokiji's voice rang out calmly. "I can't let you kill that guy."
Aokiji stepped forward from the icy mist, standing between Kronos and Kabalu.
While Kronos was immobilized, Aokiji swiftly bent down and used his powers to seal Kabalu's wounds in ice, stopping the bleeding and preserving his life.
Within seconds, two masked men in black suits emerged from nearby cover and quickly took Kabalu from Aokiji's arms.
"Aokiji... you came to fight me too?"
Kronos broke free of the ice with a crack, black mist swirling around him like a storm.
His voice was low and calm—but dangerous.
"At first, I was supposed to work with Kabalu to deal with you," Aokiji said with a sigh, watching Kronos recover. "But that guy went rogue... decided to come after you early."
He shook his head.
"Didn't expect him to get beaten so easily, either."
Kronos narrowed his eyes.
"So why'd you save him? All your reinforcements are gone. Coming out here alone to protect him... is pretty reckless, isn't it?"
Aokiji scratched his head and gave a tired smile.
"Ah la la... someone made me promise. Vegapunk didn't want his precious experiment to die just yet."
"So that guy was a scientific experiment after all..." Kronos muttered coldly. "I should've killed him earlier."
Aokiji simply shrugged.
"Too late for regrets."
He looked up, his tone calm again.
"Anyway, that's enough talking. I'll be seeing you again, Kronos."
Then Aokiji raised his arm.
"Ice Time: Pheasant Beak!"
A massive ice bird formed and shot toward Kronos, its frigid aura freezing the air as it soared!
Kronos didn't flinch.
He slashed the air with his hand, opening a spatial rift in front of him.
The giant ice bird was swallowed whole by the void, vanishing in an instant.
But when he looked again—
Aokiji was already gone.
From the beginning, it was clear.
Aokiji never intended to fight.
His only mission was to retrieve Kabalu—and once that was done, he didn't waste a second.
Kronos, of course, wasn't about to let him escape without resistance.
With a surge of power, Kronos leapt after him—dark mist billowing behind him.
He hurled a sphere of black mist toward the fleeing admiral!
But Aokiji sensed the attack coming.
He raised a hand, and a massive ice wall formed in the air behind him.
The black mist collided with the ice barrier and dispersed harmlessly.
Kronos didn't react.
He hadn't expected that little black fog attack to damage an Admiral like Aokiji.
It wasn't meant to kill.
It was just a distraction—something to slow him down.
And in that regard—
It worked.
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