"Go!"
Taking advantage of the dissipating smoke, Jiang Lin grabbed Luffy's hand and ran forward as fast as he could.
Jiang Lin was already at his limit. The continuous battles had drained his energy severely. Even though he had successfully copied Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit, it did not mean he now possessed Aokiji-level strength.
"Ice Path!"
Aokiji clearly noticed Jiang Lin's movement. A long, narrow path of ice shot toward them from across the smoke, carrying Aokiji's body straight at Jiang Lin and Luffy.
"You go first. I'll hold him off here!"
Jiang Lin retrieved his fused Devil Fruit card and loaded the recently acquired Ice-Ice Fruit card.
"Ice-Ice Fruit successfully loaded. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 30 seconds."
As the system announced this, a violent tearing sensation ripped through Jiang Lin's body, causing him to fall to one knee in pain.
"Jiang Lin!"
Seeing Jiang Lin in such agony, Luffy immediately rushed forward to try and stop Aokiji.
"Go! Ace is still waiting for you on LV5. Leave this… to me!"
Jiang Lin gritted his teeth and bit down hard on his lower lip. Supporting himself on his knees, he struggled to stand.
His stamina had already reached its absolute limit. Every movement, every step he took now relied purely on sheer willpower.
"Jiang Lin! I'll be waiting on LV5!"
Seeing the iron-like determination in Jiang Lin's eyes, Luffy finally gave up on insisting. Fighting back tears, he leapt over Jiang Lin and dashed toward the LV5 entrance.
When Aokiji saw Luffy's action and tried to intervene, Jiang Lin blocked him with an ice spear.
"Aokiji, this… is a fight between us!"
Sweat poured from Jiang Lin's body, but his gaze was unwavering. There was not a hint of fear in his eyes as he stared into Aokiji's.
"Ice Time Capsule!"
Knowing that stopping Luffy was hopeless, Aokiji directly launched an attack at Jiang Lin. A blast of icy energy surged from his side toward Jiang Lin, aiming to freeze his body.
"Ice Sealing Moment!"
Jiang Lin did not hold back. He countered with his freezing energy, spreading it outward to encase Aokiji in ice.
The two Ice-Ice Fruit users had begun their first confrontation in LV4 of Impel Down.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
The cold energy collided and fused between Jiang Lin and Aokiji. The ground, already covered in ice and snow, suddenly thickened by nearly fifty centimeters.
"Twin Spikes!"
"Twin Spikes!"
After the cold energy settled, both Jiang Lin and Aokiji switched their techniques in an instant. Each unleashed four long spears, clashing in midair, causing the ice thickness at the center to rise by nearly another meter.
After the two collisions, a two-meter-tall ice wall had formed before them.
"Blazing Bird Beak!"
Seeing his attacks blocked repeatedly, Aokiji's expression darkened. He stretched out his right arm, and a massive ice bird shot skyward, roaring as it flew straight at Jiang Lin.
"Blazing Bird Beak!"
This time, Jiang Lin, with the Ice-Ice Fruit, no longer had to act in panic. He lightly raised his right hand, and a giant ice bird quickly formed atop it.
The ice bird flapped its wings and charged at the opposing ice bird.
"Boom!"
The two massive ice birds collided above the ice wall, the loud crash and violent shockwaves making Impel Down feel as though it might collapse entirely.
"What's going on? Monitoring room, report immediately!"
Magellan, receiving treatment in the warden's office, heard the tremendous sound outside. Ignoring his injuries, he grabbed the Den Den Mushi on the desk, connecting to the monitoring room, and demanded a report.
"B-B-Bad…! Warden! The LV4 passages, ceiling, and floor have all cracked… and… that mysterious person and Admiral Aokiji fell into LV5!"
The prison guards in the monitoring room stared at the footage in shock, unable to recover.
During the battle, the collision of the two giant ice birds had released a wave of cold that instantly froze LV4's ceiling and floor.
Countless shards of ice scattered outward, smashing into every corner of LV4.
The flying ice shards struck like cannonballs, shattering walls, corridors, floors, ceilings, and even the blood pool below after freezing them.
LV4 was instantly reduced to a "ruin." Any guards and prisoners who had not evacuated in time were smashed into fragments by the ice shards before they could even resist.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Amid the flurry of ice and snow, Jiang Lin stood up from the ground. Observing the surrounding frozen chaos, he immediately realized where he was.
He had reached LV5's Ice Floor. The entire level was covered in snow and ice. Prisoners here faced not only scarcity of clothing and food but also the constant threat of freezing to death.
"Where's Aokiji?"
Jiang Lin scanned the blizzard around him. Besides the swirling snow and debris falling from LV4, there was no sign of life.
"Could it be… he didn't come down?"
He looked up at the ceiling. LV4, once scorching hot, now resembled LV5—a "frozen hell."
Snow and ice covered the LV4 level, and the biting wind swept through every corner.
"No… no… nothing at all!"
Jiang Lin searched every corner carefully but still found no trace of Aokiji.
"Awwooo! Awwooo! Awwooo!"
As Jiang Lin searched in vain, a pack of white-furred, red-eyed wolves greedily approached.
"Ice Sealing Moment!"
Facing the attacking wolf pack, Jiang Lin shouted and unleashed cold energy from his body. The frost spread and wrapped around the wolves.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
The crisp sound of freezing rang continuously. Gradually, the ferocious wolf pack was encased in transparent blocks of ice.
"Phew… phew… phew…"
Exhausted from continuous combat, Jiang Lin had pushed his body past its limit. Drawing another Devil Fruit card, he braved the biting cold, moving step by step toward the forest outside.
"Heh… this place is actually quite an interesting playground."
Jiang Lin looked around at the desolate environment and forced a wry smile. He knew that attempting LV6 in his current state would be suicidal. He needed rest and to recover his strength. Since Aokiji had not come down to LV5, he likely went to LV6.
In LV6, Jiang Lin would face not only Aokiji and Magellan but also Blackbeard and the prisoners already in the LV6 section. Without regaining his condition, he might die before even rescuing Ace.