Boom! Boom! Boom!
At the edge of the flames and thick smoke, upon the scorched, blazing hot earth that was Ohara, two figures shot through the air.
"Wahahaha! It hurts, it hurts so good!" Sakura's clear laughter pierced through the fiery scene.
Kuzan's Haki, which felt like it could shatter bones, had left Sakura looking miserable. Blood soaked her black bodysuit, and many areas were swollen and bruised.
But within the girl's petite frame, the blood of an Elbaf warrior flowed. Her will was tempered sharper in the clash, roaring with thunder!
Instantly, dark lightning surged like a tide, spreading violently.
A shockwave of air erupted out of nowhere. The scorching great sword, wreathed in steam, slashed towards Kuzan.
Kuzan counterattacked without a second thought, raising his gleaming ice spear to thrust!
Clang-!
Infused with Sakura's ferocious monstrous strength, Kuzan's ice spear suddenly shattered, fragments stabbing back towards him.
The remaining kinetic energy slammed into the ground, spiderweb cracks spreading outwards, kicking up a large amount of rubble and dust.
But it was all useless against the man before her, who had eaten the Logia-type Devil Fruit, Hie Hie no Mi. (T/N: Ice-Ice Fruit)
The originally solid ice actually flowed under his control, forming vortices at various parts of his body.
The fragments carrying scorching heat passed through his body via the vortices, causing him no harm whatsoever.
"Flowing the Logia's true body? Truly impressive!"
Sakura swung her sword horizontally with one hand, while her right hand swiftly formed the Ram hand seal.
"I haven't fallen so low as to need praise from a pirate... yet!"
Kuzan widened his stance. His fist, drawn back like a longbow stretched to its limit, became coated in a layer of ice.
The aura of Armament Haki surged forth without reserve from his body, saturating his arm to form a layer of armored ice.
"Ice Glove!"
After elementalizing his hand, coating it in Haki, and combining it with the iron fist inherited from Garp, Kuzan threw a powerful punch.
Boom!
Instantly, the great sword in Sakura's hand was shattered. Along with it, her entire body was sent flying through the air towards the distant coastline.
On the ground, Kuzan used Soru, his figure moving at high speed, turning the surrounding scenery into blurred blocks of color that vanished rapidly behind him.
Tap!
By the shore, Kuzan, who had appeared, stomped through the sand, using the recoil to launch himself into the air.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
Armament Haki flowed ominously, converging with the freezing air onto his right arm, coalescing into a lifelike ice pheasant.
The massive ice bird let out a high cry, concentrating its power at the tip of its beak before thrusting forward fiercely!
In the sky, Sakura used Geppo to adjust her direction. A giant ice sword condensed in her hand once more as she roared at the ice bird!
Ice against ice! Strength against strength!
From the moment they clashed, the resulting terrifying waves crushed the earth, constantly blowing back the surrounding trees and sending massive waves towards the distant battleships.
Kuzan increased his ability's output. The ice bird and his Haki shattered Sakura's great sword inch by inch, finally piercing through her chest!
Bang!
The fatally struck Sakura exploded into a puff of smoke, leaving Kuzan stunned for a moment, his pupils trembling.
'Dead? No... She got away!'
His Observation Haki roughly spread out from his tall frame, finally spotting the pink figure standing on the sea's surface in the distance.
"That idiot Kuzan! What the hell is he doing?!"
Watching Sakura wield a giant ice sword, cutting through battleships to clear a path for Saul, a man whose face was hidden beneath a Marine cap slammed his fist on the ship's railing.
The overflowing magma ignited the wooden deck.
A dead silence fell suddenly. Mist rose from the sea's surface, reflecting the firelight. Two incompatible powers abruptly erupted!
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
"Dog Biting Crimson Lotus!"
The hound opened its maw, billowing with thick smoke. The ice bird spread its wings, grinding with crystalline frost.
From the shouts of the two Marine Vice Admirals, techniques capable of effortlessly obliterating a massive city shot forth-
Aimed directly at Sakura!
Unfortunately, Sakura was also prepared for this.
A thin film of Chakra covered her arms as she reached out with both hands, grabbing the two oncoming elemental attacks!
"Cloud Hands!"
The heat and cold control of the Ondo Ondo no Mi allowed her to snare the two energies, finally spinning them into a collision under her monstrous strength, causing them to cancel each other out.
Utilizing the massive amount of steam generated by the clash of ice and magma, Sakura's figure once again vanished from the sight of the two men.
"Kuzan, you're getting in the way!"
"Arara, wasn't it you, who obstructed my attack, Senpai?"
Kuzan, standing on the frozen sea, and Sakazuki on the battleship, exchanged a glance, with mutual disgust in their eyes.
Their Observation Haki spread out, blanketing the sea, searching for the girl who had just disappeared.
But the surrounding void was filled with the black lightning of Conqueror's Haki, making it extremely difficult for them to fully concentrate and track Sakura's whereabouts.
"Freeze the sea, Kuzan!"
Having discerned Sakura's stalling tactic, Sakazuki shouted at Kuzan in the distance.
"I don't need you to tell me! Ice Age!"
Kuzan leaped into the sky, crossing his arms. A chilling cold extended from between his arms in the form of an ice pillar.
An eerie frost spread rampantly, merging with the churning sea. It was as if an invisible great mouth had opened, devouring all heat. Even the foam atop the waves, swaying in terror, was stained with that lost, frozen color.
"Not good, they're catching up!"
Saul, who was controlling the battleship, stared wide-eyed, cold sweat pouring down his face.
"Tch, troublesome Marines!"
Sakura, emerging from the shadows, licked her lips and leaped high into the air.
Chakra adhered to the soles of her feet, allowing her to stick to the water's surface. Her entire body swayed with the waves.
"You know, I never really tested how high my temperature could get in high-heat mode before!"
Sakura took a deep breath.
The heat radiating from her body climbed incessantly. The seawater beneath her feet began to boil violently.
"Not enough! Not enough!!!"
Watching the distant frost turning everything pristine white, Sakura frantically pushed her temperature higher.
'Release heat! Release heat! Release heat!'
A violent, tyrannical heat shot skyward, running rampant. The scalding seawater abruptly expanded and geysered, distorting the calm air.
The extreme temperature difference, under strong convection, whipped up a storm. Dark clouds swept in, gathering at the center. The eye of the storm formed. Lightning crackled through the accumulated gloom in the sky.
[Overload Mode: Blazing Sun Body!]
"Time to boil the sea… Upwelling!"
Sakura, her body wreathed in blue flames, spread her fingers and clawed at the sea, then clenched her fist!
Instantly, countless strands of superheated ocean current, like dancing crimson flames, swirled into existence!
Sakura laughed maniacally as she advanced. Trails of intense heat lingered in the air behind her.
She threw a punch. The scorching ocean current crossed the vast distance and slammed into the frozen sea Kuzan had created.
Boom!
Just as the two forces clashed, a figure shrouded in thick smoke materialized abruptly behind Sakura.
"Got you, pirate!"
"Take your regret for opposing justice to hell and repent! Dark Hound!!!"
Magma, flowing like vile mud, burned with savage intensity. Simulating the impact of a volcanic eruption, it launched his fist forward.
Caught completely off guard, Sakura's body was engulfed by the suffocating, dense magma.
"Sakura!"
Saul on the distant battleship turned deathly pale. Even Kuzan near the shore, behind his sunglasses, showed a flicker of dismay.
But then, a pair of blood-red, vertical pupils opened within the magma and smoke.
Lightning struck down from the sky. The storm, raging with full force, made landfall on the island. It was as if the weather itself was celebrating the emergence of something unimaginable, shaking the world incessantly.
A hand gripped the giant sword formed of ice. A terrifying aura erupted once more.
Under the flow of the dreamlike sword light, Sakazuki felt his soul shudder with terror, as if he'd been plunged into an icy abyss!
"What the hell... a dog like you are barking about?!!"