Back in the day, he had been the prodigy of the youth training program—Rob Lucci, a CP9 operative who vanished without a trace after the assault on Enies Lobby.
"I think I've figured out who you are," Kuzan said, staring at the man. "Never would've imagined you'd grow this powerful."
"Is that so?"
"Even if you've guessed right… what of it?"
The masked man showed no surprise. With a swift motion, he launched a Rankyaku. His dark figure vanished the next instant, darting right behind the slicing wave of compressed air.
"Whoever stands in the way of the Master's plan must die."
"Even you."
Boom!
A crescent-shaped arc of energy carved through the air like a moonlit blade, shearing several massive trees clean in half behind Kuzan.
As the trunks crashed to the ground, the man's finger thrust forward, unleashing a violent Shigan of raw destructive force.
For someone to wield Shigan with such mastery shocked Kuzan—but that was all. To defeat him with Shigan alone was unthinkable.
He sidestepped the crushing strike with ease, plucking a handful of grass as he moved. In his hand, the blades of grass froze instantly, forming a shimmering ice blade. Without hesitation, he swung it at his opponent's arm.
Where the frozen blade cut, glittering shards of ice trailed behind.
Thanks to Ghidorah's methods and Sabo's relentless efforts, Kuzan's powers had advanced far beyond what they'd been in the past.
Before, he'd needed focus and coordination to wield his Devil Fruit. Now, he commanded it as naturally as moving an arm.
Every technique flowed as if second nature.
The sudden shift left the masked man scrambling, forced to retreat hastily to avoid the cold slash. His expression hardened.
"Your Devil Fruit… has evolved?"
"Oh?"
"So you even understand that much?"
"You're more intriguing than I thought… Lucci."
At those words, Kuzan's eyes widened. He hadn't expected the man to recognize the concept of ability evolution.
In that moment, a memory struck him—the shadow of Imu revealed at Mary Geoise. Suddenly, all the fragments clicked together.
Only then did everything make sense.
"Seems capturing you would be far more valuable than killing you," Kuzan muttered, his lazy demeanor vanishing into solemn resolve.
If he could bring Lucci in alive, Sabo would surely extract the truth from him.
"If you think you can… then try."
Riiip!
With a tearing sound, Lucci shredded his own garments. In the blink of an eye, his frame swelled with muscle, his body morphing into a massive leopard patterned in black and gold.
"To deal with you… I may have to fight seriously."
Boom!
With a thunderous impact, Lucci vanished.
"Hm?"
Kuzan's eyes narrowed. He hadn't tracked the movement at all—and that alone surprised him.
Then a voice whispered at his flank.
"Surprised?"
"So fast!"
Kuzan gasped. Before he could react, a powerful kick crashed into his shoulder, shattering it with a sharp crack.
The faint sting of pain drew a slight frown.
"What a convenient ability," Lucci sneered, watching Kuzan's body reform as he shifted into ice. His voice was tinged with either envy—or disdain.
"But that's all it is. I'm no longer the fugitive hounded by the Navy after Enies Lobby."
The memories burned in his chest—those years of pursuit, the darkest period of his life. Now, with power to rival the strongest, he craved vengeance.
Even if Kuzan was no longer a Marine, Lucci would still strike him down—to show what became of those who once hunted him.
"Is that so?"
Kuzan didn't waste words. His gaze grew sharp, and the air around him chilled.
The temperature plummeted as water molecules in the air crystallized into glittering frost.
"What?! Impossible!"
"This… this is an Admiral's true power?!"
"Was he just playing around before?"
"The ability to alter the entire environment with sheer presence… terrifying!"
As Kuzan's aura spread, the world itself seemed to freeze. Around him, the forest began to crystallize, the air itself turning brittle with cold.
The pirates watching from the sidelines felt the icy bite and bolted in terror. None dared remain.
"To be honest, I'd rather not use my full ability—those kids are still on this island."
As he spoke, every plant within a hundred meters froze solid. Blades of grass became countless tiny ice daggers, razor-sharp and gleaming.
This was his deep mastery of the Hie Hie no Mi: complete control over his environment, manipulating ice as naturally as his own limbs.
Lucci faltered at the sight, though his confidence swelled just as quickly.
In a blur, he used Soru, vanishing from Kuzan's vision and reappearing before him, finger thrust forward. Black Armament Haki sheathed the strike.
Even a Logia body would crumble before this blow.
"Shigan—Oren King!"
With a furious roar, the giant, cannon-like strike exploded forth.
Yet Kuzan didn't even move. The energy ripped through his body, shattering him completely.
"Hmph. Pretender. That's all you are—"
"Heh. Don't celebrate too soon."
Lucci scoffed, but froze when another Kuzan materialized beside him.
A cold voice reached his ear.
An instant later, a jagged ice lance shot up from the ground with a hiss, slicing past his arm.
The spear gleamed blue—stained with a streak of red.
"Impossible!" Lucci clutched his bleeding arm, staring in shock.
Then a voice whispered from his other side.
"Nothing's impossible."
Heart pounding, Lucci spun, eyes wide. Two Kuzans stood before him—indistinguishable, perfect copies.
"What… what kind of ability is this?!"
"You can call it a reflection… or a mirror of ice," Kuzan replied evenly.
He didn't elaborate further—the technique was still incomplete.
Since evolving his powers, he'd discovered he could not only alter the environment within a hundred meters, but also move freely through any ice within that radius.
Anywhere there was ice of his making, he could appear.
By manipulating reflections, he could create mirrored duplicates of himself. At present, he could control up to four clones—beyond that, the strain was too great.
It didn't weaken his overall power, but maintaining the copies drained his focus.
And Kuzan was never one to waste effort. To him, four were more than enough.
"Damn you… I am the strongest!"
Lucci's face twisted in fury as he stared at the two Kuzans, his roar echoing across the frozen battlefield.
PS: Access the complete chapters/series at