On the vast ice field, the battle between the two had already reached a boiling point.
Every clash of fists was like two moving mountains grinding against each other. White shockwaves tore at the frozen plain again and again, shaving off layers of ice. The forceful gusts even scattered the black smoke coiling above the distant ruins of the port.
Kuzan's breathing grew heavier. Each exhale spilled out in dense plumes of visible frost.
He realized that no matter how far he pushed his Armament Haki, he still could not shake the man before him in the slightest.
The other guy's punches looked casual, even lazy, but somehow always met his blows at the perfect angle, with just enough force to dissolve his overwhelming attacks into nothing.
I cannot keep going like this.
Kuzan's gaze sharpened. The pressure around him shifted all at once.
If he had been a towering, immovable iceberg before, then now he was a blizzard sharp enough to freeze the entire world.
"Ice Age."
The killing cold was no longer limited to his fists and feet. It exploded outward from him in all directions.
The frozen sea beneath them groaned under the strain as the ice thickened at a terrifying rate.
All across the once smooth ice field, countless jagged spires burst from below, sharp as blades, until the world became a forest of ice.
"Kwa ne, hahaha." Kael chuckled, leaping lightly back and slipping between the stabbing ice spikes with ease.
He finally stopped fighting barehanded. With a turn of his wrist, a black and gold glaive of ancient, elegant design appeared in his grip.
The long blade shimmered with a cold, faint light. Golden dragon patterns coiled up the dark shaft. It was his weapon, the naginata Nidhogg.
"Using only my fists against you is starting to feel a little disrespectful."
Kael spun the glaive in one hand. In his grasp, Nidhogg was as light as a feather.
"So I guess I should get a little more serious."
As a senior, he had a responsibility to discipline the younger generation of sea-ice and remind him just how big the ocean really was.
I really am such a kind and thoughtful person.
Kuzan had no idea about the drama playing out in Kael's head. All he saw was his opponent finally drawing a weapon. To him, that meant his efforts had been acknowledged. His fighting spirit burned even brighter.
"Ice Saber."
With a low growl, cold gathered along Kuzan's arm and solidified into a sharp, gleaming sabre of ice.
He stomped on the ice beneath his feet and turned into a streak of blue light, rushing straight at Kael.
Faced with this sudden, ferocious charge, Kael advanced instead of retreating. Nidhogg drew a graceful arc in his hands.
His afterimage lingered where he had been an instant before. In the next heartbeat, he was already at Kuzan's flank.
The naginata did not chop down. Instead, the flat of the broad blade swung sideways, slamming toward Kuzan's waist.
Alarm bells rang in Kuzan's mind. He forcibly twisted his body, bringing the ice sabre up to block.
Clang.
With a crisp crack, the ice blade shattered on impact.
The massive force barreled through the broken sabre and crashed solidly into Kuzan's torso.
He let out a dull grunt as his body spun away like a top, carving a long trench across the unforgiving ice before skidding to a halt.
"Good reaction, but your speed is still too slow." Kael's voice drifted over, calm and unhurried, like an instructor delivering live combat feedback.
That line completely ignited Kuzan's fury. He sprang up from the ice. His eyes, flushed faintly red, burned with anger.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak."
A massive ice bird formed at his back and screeched forward at incredible speed, diving straight at Kael.
Kael watched the lifelike ice bird approach, even taking a moment to comment.
"It looks better than the one I saw at Marineford. Nice improvement."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Nidhogg shivered lightly in his hands.
Sound waves gathered rapidly in midair, coalescing into the form of a phoenix.
The phoenix made of pure, high-pressure vibration left visible rings of sonic ripples in the air as it met the ice bird head on.
Boom.
The moment the phoenix struck, the ice bird began to crumble from within. Countless cracks raced across its body.
A heartbeat later, it exploded with a deafening roar, bursting into a cloud of glittering ice shards.
Kuzan's pupils shrank sharply, but he did not retreat. Using the explosion as cover, he charged in once more.
Kael tapped the butt of the naginata against his own shoulder, head tilted as he looked at Kuzan.
"Got anything else? If not, I think this little spar is about done."
Kuzan could feel it clearly. From the very start, Kael had never once gone all out.
The man was like a hunter moving with ease, toying with a beast that was fighting with everything it had, savoring a completely one-sided "game."
The confidence and pride he had gained through relentless training after the Marineford war were smashed to pieces in this moment.
Frustration, rage, humiliation. All those emotions twisted together and finally erupted in a roar that shook the sky.
"Do not underestimate me, Kael!"
Rumble.
The entire ice field trembled and cried out.
Around Kael, four colossal ice ridges erupted from the ground, each hundreds of meters high. Like four falling walls of heaven, they surged inward toward the center, sealing off every escape route.
After that, Kuzan leaped, soaring high, rising several hundred meters into the air until he hovered above the point where the ice walls converged.
He gathered all of his strength, all of his fury, into his right fist.
Jet-black Armament Haki wrapped around his knuckles. Extreme cold fused with that black shine, and in the center of his fist, a blazing crimson cross of light appeared, like a fallen sun.
With the four ice ridges framing him on all sides, the attack radiated a near holy aura of destruction.
"Fist Bone: Galaxy Impact."
Watching that ultimate strike crash down like divine judgment, the easy smile finally faded from Kael's face, replaced by an honest, appreciative grin.
"Now that is more like it, Kuzan."
How could a runaway ever carry on Garp's will? Keep working at it, Kuzan.
He bent his knees slightly, lowering his center of gravity. The black and gold Nidhogg in his hands sang with an excited dragon's howl.
Surging wave-force gathered along the blade, ready to meet a punch that carried everything Kuzan had.
Yet at that exact critical instant, a roar dripping with killing intent, even more savage than Kuzan's, exploded from behind him.
"Meet your judgment, Kael."
Kael's eyes shifted slightly, glancing back from the corner of his vision. A crimson figure was hurtling toward him from afar.
Sakazuki's entire body had become roaring magma. As he streaked across the sky, he threw his arms wide. Dozens of massive magma fists erupted from his form like a meteor shower, trailing billowing black smoke as they crashed toward Kael's unguarded back.
"Meteor Volcano."
Ahead, the Galaxy Impact that could freeze the world. Behind, the Meteor Volcano that could burn it to ash.
Blue in front and red behind. Ice and magma.
In this moment, the two future pillars of Marine Headquarters unleashed their killing moves from opposite directions, both aimed at Kael Grylls.
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