"Ice Age!"
From within the storm of smoke and sand came Aokiji Kuzan's chilling voice. Even the billowing dust was frozen solid by the terrifying cold, forming into small hills of ice.
"Captain, let me take this one! I want to see just how cold it can get!"
"Ten Thousand Degrees: Scorching Magma!"
Don Achino, seizing his moment to shine, charged forward in excitement. His entire body turned crimson-red, and the desert beneath his feet melted into molten lava.
Harnessing the power of the Heat-Heat Fruit, he spread a field of magma that surged forward, colliding head-on with Kuzan's freezing tide.
The blazing waves of magma clashed against the biting cold, and in an instant, endless white steam exploded outward, blanketing the battlefield.
"I stopped it!"
Achino shouted, elated—he could now boast that he had crossed fists with a Marine Admiral.
"Go, Achino, melt that frozen poker face!"
Bonney cheered for the plump fighter, joined by Perona's enthusiastic shouts.
But their excitement didn't last.
After barely holding for a few seconds, the avalanche-like surge of icy power overwhelmed the magma waves, freezing them solid in an instant.
The horrifying sight made Achino pale. With a terrified scream, he turned on his heels and ran.
The gap in power was simply too vast—like a single drop of lava against an ocean of ice. His magma was annihilated instantly.
"Captain, save me!"
Achino cried out in panic, but the cold overtook him in seconds, encasing his body in a massive ice sculpture.
Yet, thanks to the Heat-Heat Fruit, blazing temperatures erupted from within. He quickly melted free of the ice, shaken but alive, spared from total defeat.
Still, the wave of freezing energy kept surging forward—straight toward Souta Kiryuu.
Nico Robin instinctively retreated several steps, hiding behind him.
"Kuzan," Souta narrowed his eyes, dragon-like pupils gleaming, "so many enemies to choose from, and you come straight for me?"
A terrifying burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted from him, black and red lightning crackling violently across the battlefield. Even Kuzan's freezing currents stalled under the overwhelming pressure.
Far away, even Kuzan's true body felt the crushing weight, his elemental form flickering with instability.
"Flame Dragon's Breath!"
Souta's body shifted into a half-dragon form, unleashing a blazing torrent of fire that roared against the still-surging tide of frost.
"Yahahaha! The boss's Conqueror's Haki is perfect against Logia types!"
Enel cackled, lightning sparking across his form. Seizing the opening, he launched himself at the Admiral with fury. For Kuzan to ignore him and Kuma, targeting Souta directly, was an insult Enel couldn't forgive.
Not even a Marine Admiral could look down on the self-proclaimed God of Thunder!
"Two Hundred Million Volts: Annihilation Spear!"
His body erupted in lightning, condensing into a spear of pure electrical destruction. With a deafening crack, Enel hurled it straight at Kuzan's body.
"Such troublesome Haki…"
"Ice Gauntlets!"
Kuzan muttered grimly. Souta's Conqueror's Haki was indeed strange and disruptive, just as Kizaru had warned. Seeing Enel's deadly charge, he abandoned his plan to evade with elementalization. Instead, his fists crystallized into eternal ice gauntlets, layered with Armament Haki.
For a Marine Admiral, mastery of Haki was second nature.
As Garp's student, Kuzan's punches and Armament Haki were sharp enough to clash head-on with his legendary teacher.
With fists hardened and encased in ice, Kuzan swung at Enel's lightning spear.
BOOOOOM!
The battlefield exploded with blinding arcs of electricity. Enel's eyes widened as a wave of lethal danger surged over him.
"Garp-sensei's technique—I learned a little of it too."
"Justice Impact!"
A terrifying surge of outward-projected Armament Haki erupted from Kuzan's icy fists, crashing into Enel's spear like a meteor strike.
The lightning weapon shattered instantly under the crushing force. The overwhelming energy surged onward, slamming into Enel without mercy.
The strike was strong enough to pulverize a mountain.
"AAAHHH!"
Enel screamed, his body exploding into scattered bolts of lightning before slowly re-forming in the distance. But when his body solidified, he dropped to one knee, clutching his chest, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"A Marine Admiral… terrifying indeed…"
He struggled to steady his insides, shaken by the sheer force. He hadn't expected a Logia-user like Kuzan to wield such monstrous Armament Haki—stronger even than Kuma's.
This was the Navy's mightiest power, the force that ruled the seas.
For the first time, Enel's arrogance cracked. Against an Admiral, he truly felt the gap.
Even with the Thunder Fruit's natural advantage over ice, the difference in martial skill and Haki was undeniable.
"Now that you've seen true strength, it's time you trained harder!"
Souta roared, still in half-dragon form, his body blazing with terrifying power. With a thunderous stomp, he launched himself at the fully-battle-ready Kuzan, leaving deep craters in the sand with every step.
His dragon-clawed fists, infused with both Armament and Conqueror's Haki, slammed forward with earth-shattering force.
Seeing the infamous "strongest experiment" charging at him, Kuzan dared not hold back. His freezing aura thickened into an armor of ice, his own Armament Haki surging violently.
Following Garp's reckless philosophy, Kuzan met the charge head-on, right fist cocked back with full power.
Dragon claw met ice fist in a collision of titanic strength.
The desert erupted. Black, red, and white lightning tore through the sky as their Haki clashed, the shockwave blasting sand hundreds of meters away, carving a massive crater.
The earth shook violently, deep fissures tearing across the desert floor.
Souta's dragon jaws parted in a furious roar, his draconic arms swelling with power greater than even the giants. The sheer force stunned Kuzan—this power might even surpass Kaido and Whitebeard!
Gritting his teeth, eyes bloodshot, Kuzan poured every ounce of strength and Haki into resisting.
But Souta sneered.
"In raw strength, you're no match for me!"
His dragon arm bulged further, the crushing pressure forcing Kuzan's gums to bleed as his clenched teeth cut into his flesh.
Seconds later, Kuzan's body was sent hurtling backward, blasted away by Souta's overwhelming punch.
He skidded across the desert, carving a trench kilometers long, sand piling up into a hill before he finally stopped.
Kuzan dropped to one knee, blood dripping steadily into the sand. Gasping for air, he quickly activated Life Return to stabilize his raging organs.
Souta's power was beyond terrifying. This wasn't just one lineage factor—it was the combined might of Fishmen, Lunarians, Oni, and Ancient Giants all rolled into one body.
The World Government and its scientists… had truly created a monster.
A creature even more terrifying than Kaido himself.