BZZT!
The moment the words left his mouth—
Nao's entire aura suddenly converged into one, sharp and unified. Drawing both blades at once, he unleashed two blindingly brilliant arcs of white light—majestic waves of sword energy that crossed in midair and swept toward Aokiji in a devastating surge.
"What the hell, we're in a prison right now…"
Seeing the massive, terrifying sword slash coming straight at him, Aokiji sighed in resignation, lifting his green eye mask and pushing it to the very top of his forehead.
"Starting things off this big, huh… Really not considering the consequences of destruction at all."
Grumbling aside, he still activated his ability without hesitation.
CRACK!
CRACK!
Dozens of thick, razor-sharp ice spears formed in front of him almost instantly, swirling in the air and surging with an intense chill as they launched forward to clash with the oncoming sword energy.
BOOM!!
The deafening collision echoed across the entire first level of Impel Down. The tiled ground trembled slightly beneath their feet, and even the outer walls of the surrounding prison cells shook with the force.
By now—
Not just the guards stationed on Level One, but the prisoners held there had all noticed the commotion.
One by one, they gathered at the bars of their cells, poking their heads out to try and get a better look at what was happening outside.
What they saw was the half of the open space closest to them, now turned into a field of icy marsh—mist swirling and creeping across the floor.
The sheer force and speed the two fighters had displayed in just that brief exchange left every single prisoner wide-eyed in disbelief.
"Who the hell are those two...?"
"They look like Marines… Holy crap, people that strong actually exist in this world?!"
The pirates held in Level One—the Crimson Hell—were generally those with bounties in the ten-million range at most. Even the highest among them hadn't broken twenty million.
Many of them had spent their whole lives in the Four Blues, never seeing the wider world. The Marines who arrested them were usually mid-ranking officers like Lieutenant Commanders or Captains at best.
So now—
To witness two top-ranking Vice Admirals from Marine Headquarters duking it out in front of them, even if the two were holding back due to being in a prison, even if neither was using their full strength—
It still left every last prisoner dumbfounded, shocked into silence by the terrifying speed and destructive power on display.
—
BOOM!
A series of thunderous blasts rang out again and again.
Aokiji's figure flickered through the air, deftly avoiding each slash of sword energy, all while casually tossing out bladed shards of ice sharp as knives.
These shards, seemingly tossed out at random, were crystal clear—so delicate-looking they might shatter at a touch.
But in truth, their durability far exceeded expectations. Even Nao's sword energy had to struggle to cut through them, lingering for a second or two in midair before finally slicing them apart.
Chunks of shattered ice rained down, kicking up mist that blanketed the floor.
More sword energy followed, surging toward Aokiji. But instead of dodging, he simply extended one palm and conjured a thick wall of solid ice, blocking the incoming slash.
Once the energy dissipated, Aokiji casually flicked his hand and launched another volley of ice spikes—this time, shooting behind him.
The next moment, a figure suddenly appeared from behind. The sword that was about to slash down was perfectly blocked by the ice spikes
Nao's eyes flickered in surprise. Without missing a beat, he pulled back and slashed once more from a distance.
Swish!
The swirling air around the tip of the sword exploded at that moment. A terrifying hurricane suddenly formed, crossing a hundred meters in the blink of an eye, and roaring towards Aokiji.
Feeling the Haki hidden within the hurricane, Aokiji's eyes narrowed slightly. His usually lazy expression disappeared. He extended his hands and sharply turned them at his chest, spreading them out to his sides.
A huge block of ice rose in front of him, and at the same time, it quickly spread out in a cone shape to form an extremely thick ice barrier.
BOOOOM!!
A deafening blast rang through all of Level one as countless shards of ice burst into silvery dust, scattering in every direction.
The entire ice barrier rapidly thinned at a visible speed.
The hurricane, which had been rushing forward with a menacing force, also gradually weakened in the constant friction and collision, and finally dissipated completely after a few seconds.
With the ice barrier gone, Aokiji's figure reappeared.
Compared to before, he didn't look hurt, but his hair was a little messy, and his eye mask had been blown away at some point.
"Ara-ara, what terrifying swordsmanship…"
He muttered while ruffling his messy hair, sounding slightly annoyed.
But Nao gave him no time to recover.
In a blink, he used Soru and instantly reappeared behind Aokiji again.
Raising his blade, he struck—slicing forward with a wind-laced slash aimed squarely at Aokiji's back.
The strike was blindingly fast.
Even though Aokiji sensed it coming, there was no way to dodge.
Yet—when the blade touched his skin, it felt like stabbing into melting snow. The strike passed through harmlessly, leaving only a large, gaping hole—no blood, no resistance.
"He used elementalization to dodge it?"
Nao's gaze glimmered. He wasn't surprised.
For a Logia-type user like Aokiji, who had developed his ability to a near-perfect level, he had long mastered the ability to instantly turn any part of his body into ice crystals and retreat silently to avoid attacks, based on the situation of the battle.
It was a sign of being able to skillfully manipulate the molecular structure of one's own body.
Back when Nao sparred with Akainu at G1 Branch, Akainu had demonstrated similar techniques—showing that advanced Logia users could adapt even when facing skilled Haki users.
In other words—they could still dominate with their Devil fruit powers.
"Ice Ball!"
And at that very moment, Aokiji seized the opportunity. He turned around suddenly, crossed his arms at his chest, lowered his eyelids, and let out a low cry.
Ten ice pillars, as thick as bowls, suddenly gushed out from his fingertips.
Under the light of the lamps hanging on the prison walls, they glittered brightly, their cold light swirling as they closed in on Nao below.
SHHHK!
They struck Nao instantly. Within seconds, frost spread from his head to his feet—sealing him inside a giant, gleaming ball of ice.
However—
Not even a full second passed before cracks began to spread across the sphere's surface.
CRICK, CRICK!
With a loud crack, the ice shattered in an explosion of shards.
BOOM!!
Nao burst out from within, completely unharmed, hovering in midair.
"Tch. Still damn cold…"
He shook out his hair, brushing off the lingering ice crystals, then looked up at Aokiji and smirked.
"That feeling wasn't very pleasant. Once was enough. I won't give you another chance to freeze me."
"Ara-ara, it had no effect at all…"
Aokiji didn't look surprised. He just muttered to himself, "As expected, this kind of strange move has no effect on a guy with such a freakishly strong body…
—
On the other side, Nao's body blinked again—soaring upward with Geppo.
Twisting his wrist, he swung the dark-red Azakana Blade in reverse. A massive wave of pale white sword energy surged forth, roaring toward Aokiji.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
Aokiji's eyes narrowed.
Chilling cold rapidly condensed around his right arm.
Within seconds, the ice formed into a massive bird with a sharp beak. Letting out a shrill cry, it dove headfirst into the oncoming wave.
SCRAAAAAAPE!
The impact between the bird and the sword energy was earsplitting, like metal grating against metal.
After a brief stalemate, a thick crack appeared along the bird's beak—and then rapidly spread.
CRASH!!
In the end, the ice bird completely shattered, turning into countless cold ice dust particles that scattered everywhere.
Although the sword energy that Nao had sent out was weakened, it still continued to shoot forward.
This caused Aokiji, who was a few meters away, to frown. He raised his arms and temporarily condensed a heavy, circular ice shield.
THUMP.
With a muffled bang, the remaining energy was barely blocked.
Still, Aokiji didn't feel great about it. The impact reverberated through his arms, making his palms go numb.
He was even blown back dozens of meters, barely managing to stop himself in midair.
WHOOSH!
Another sword slash followed immediately.
But this time, Aokiji was ready.
The moment his feet touched down, he vanished—Soru activating at its peak. He reappeared behind Nao, nearly teleporting.
With a swift motion, he raised a gleaming ice dagger—imbued with Armament Haki—and stabbed toward Nao's back.
CLANG!
No blood.
Instead—a metallic clang rang out, like steel clashing against steel.
"…Huh?"
Aokiji looked at the blade, stunned. It hadn't even pierced the outer layer of Nao's uniform.
While still surprised, Nao countered—slashing backward, forcing Aokiji to retreat midair with Geppo.
Nao immediately followed up—his toes digging into the icy ground, launching upward like a rocket.
Too fast to follow with the naked eye, he closed the distance and slashed horizontally toward Aokiji's stomach.
"Your Armament Haki… it's already this strong?"
Aokiji crossed two ice blades to block the attack, gritting his teeth.
"That level of reinforcement… it might even be stronger than mine. That's one hell of a growth curve, Nao."
"Eh, it's not that crazy. My body's just way tougher than yours."
Nao grinned and laughed. "But putting aside your Devil Fruit ability, your Observation Haki and physical combat skills make me, a swordsman, very envious, big brother Kuzan!"
"…Is that so?"
Aokiji raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced.
Can you two big shots just finish up already and stop complimenting each other, you scoundrels! The prisoners around them couldn't help but feel a painful frustration, roaring in their hearts.
Yes, the fight was amazing to watch. But their cells were too close! One moment, they were shivering from the icy cold air, and the next, they were almost blown away and slammed into the wall by the roaring sword energy…
The prisoners all looked at each other, on the verge of tears.
They were only on Level One, damn it! Since when did sitting in a cell mean you had to endure this kind of hell?!
And worst of all—
Because the battle had reached a stalemate with no clear winner, the fight continued.
From morning to afternoon, from afternoon to sunset, from sunset to midnight—
The two of them showed no sign of stopping.
Swordlight and icy winds whirled without end.
The entire floor shook.
The prisoners couldn't sleep. They couldn't rest. Some were so exhausted their eyes swelled shut. They wanted to beg the guards to just transfer them to lower levels already…
—
Finally, dawn arrived.
The duel, which had lasted an entire day and night, finally stopped—amid the glassy-eyed, soulless stares of every inmate.
Still—no winner was decided.
The only reason Nao and Aokiji finally stopped was because Magellan had sent someone to deliver a message:
Warden Pablo's ship had passed the Gates of Justice and was now approaching the front of Impel Down.
This was a man who had earned fame even before legends like Garp and Zephyr.
So—
Even though they were still amped up and nowhere near satisfied, they had no choice but to stop and follow Magellan to the gate—to welcome the King of the Prison back.
"Good thing I used the toilet this morning," Magellan muttered, standing at attention as he stared at the approaching battleship on the horizon.
"My stomach feels fine. Should be able to make it through the handover with Warden Pablo without incident…"
But then—he heard faint arguing nearby.
Turning his head in confusion, he saw Nao and Aokiji quietly bickering beside him, their tone completely different from the respectful demeanor they'd shown yesterday during their public duel.
—
"—Bullshit! It was three in the morning and I held back! If I hadn't gone easy on you 'cause you looked like you were about to pass out, your ice shield would've been blown to pieces!"
"Ara-ara, wasn't I the one holding back? Sure, I was sleepy—but don't forget, I intentionally cranked up the freeze level on that sneak attack earlier!"
"Pfft, please! You really think your fruit's gonna freeze me to death? Hilarious!"
—
Man, their relationship's really good…
Magellan watched with a hint of envy.
Wouldn't it be nice if someone in this prison clicked with him like that?
He'd risen to a high-ranking post at a young age. The people under him feared him. His only equal was the old Warden himself…
It got lonely.
His only hobby was… concocting new recipes for poison soup.
Hm?
As he was lost in thought, Magellan suddenly felt that the sky above seemed to have gotten a little dark.
Is it going to rain heavily? He looked up in confusion. Nao and Aokiji also stopped their bickering and subconsciously looked up together.
And then—
The three of them went wide-eyed in disbelief.
A massive, inverted island, floating upside down in the sky, had somehow drifted silently over Impel Down, completely blocking out the sun.
And in the very next instant—
With no warning whatsoever,
It began to fall.
From ten thousand meters in the air, it plummeted straight toward the Marine warship carrying Warden Pablo.