Hancock lowered her stance in an instant. Her slender, graceful legs glided soundlessly across the ice, her figure slithering forward like a phantom. She moved with the lethal grace of a serpent stalking its prey, silent, swift, and deadly, rushing straight toward Vice Admiral Kuzan.
High above, waves of intense heat surged toward Aokiji, keeping him fully occupied, unable to spare attention for anything else.
Meanwhile, Moria manipulated a shadow even more ghostlike than Hancock's movements. It drifted silently behind Aokiji. A flash of black light, and the shadow slipped into the larger shade cast beneath him, waiting, poised to strike.
"Hm?"
Aokiji casually glanced down at the shadow beneath his feet, then returned his gaze to the sky, unfazed.
Watching the massive, ever-expanding fireball gathering above, even he was a little impressed.
"Young people these days," he muttered with a trace of surprise, "they really are something else… I wonder if Vice Admiral Tsuru made the right call."
But what Tsuru's decision truly was, only she knew.
As Luffy's energy swelled and grew more potent by the second, Aokiji's demeanor turned serious. He carefully regulated the energy in his body, channeling it into the power of his Ice-Ice Fruit. Raising one hand toward the sky, he called out:
"Ice Age: Abyss Demon!"
A terrifying force erupted from within him, calm, cold, indifferent… but overwhelmingly powerful.
This time, the world didn't feel like it was freezing, it was frozen.
Above, the searing heat devoured the sky's oxygen in a relentless blaze.
Below, the deep cold liquefied and solidified the very air around the battlefield.
In mere moments, the entire sea around them became devoid of breathable air.
Air from all directions rushed in with a violent roar, desperate to fill the void.
In the sky, this created a monstrous atmospheric pressure, like the heavens being torn apart. Every creature in its path instinctively held its breath, as if exhaling too loudly would invite destruction.
On Amazon Lily, ferocious winds ripped through the island. Streets became uninhabitable; every home had its doors tightly shut. Inside, families prayed their houses were strong enough to withstand the howling storm shaking the very foundations of their homes.
Thankfully, Luffy and the others had not anchored the Thriller Bark too close to Amazon Lily. If they had, even the aftershocks of this clash might have claimed countless innocent lives.
Still, the strongest warriors of the Kuja tribe braved the gale. Defying the deadly pressure, they climbed atop the city walls.
All of them stood frozen, mouths agape, staring at the distant sea.
"W-What is that?!"
These elite defenders, trained and battle-hardened, now felt puny, insignificant, when faced with the godlike forces tearing the sea and sky apart.
Far out at sea beyond Amazon Lily, one side blazed with overwhelming heat. A massive fireball hovered in the sky, flames spiraling around a central point like the descent of a sun god into the mortal world.
The other side was a frozen wasteland, filled with icy mist. Countless ice spikes jutted upward, spiraling together to form a colossal hand reaching toward the burning orb, like a demon from the abyss clawing at the heavens for one last scrap of light.
The sun god had descended to purge the world of darkness.
The demon reached skyward in defiance, determined to drag the sun down into the depths.
As waves of devastating energy clashed, blazing heat and bone-chilling frost surged across the battlefield. Outside the clash, the air melted like winter snow under a summer sun. Within, everything froze solid as if caught in a once-in-a-century cold snap.
"Now's my chance!"
Luffy suddenly shouted. In the blink of an eye, he released his control over the "Flame of Softness" in the sky. Like a drawn arrow, he shot off to the side with explosive speed.
Without Luffy to sustain it, the fireball rapidly dimmed and fizzled out like a bonfire starved of fuel.
"Wha–?!" Aokiji's eyes widened.
Even he hadn't expected Luffy's control over his power to be this precise, so fluid, so deliberate.
Still channeling the frosty energies of his Ice-Ice Fruit, Aokiji couldn't instantly cancel his ability. The massive icy hand of the "Abyss Demon" continued advancing under its own momentum.
Then,
A flicker of movement beside him.
It was Hancock, her elegant frame, sharp eyes, and hunter's instinct seized the moment of Aokiji's surprise. In a flash, she struck, her powerful leg cutting through the air like lightning, crashing into his shoulder with force enough to shatter a mountain.
But Aokiji had already anticipated this. With his Observation Haki fully active, he had sensed her approach as though glimpsing the future. Just before her strike landed, he partially transformed into ice, her kick phased through him like it struck thin air.
Hancock's momentum carried her straight through his body and into the ice below.
BOOM!!!
The glacier cracked and collapsed in a thunderous explosion, shockwaves radiating outward.
Even reinforced by Aokiji's own freezing powers and Brook's hardening enhancements, the ice couldn't withstand the force. Hancock's kick, capable of pulverizing a small island, shattered the platform beneath their feet into thousands of glistening shards, plunging into the depths below.
But Hancock's missed blow didn't signal the end.
To everyone's shock, Moria, who usually avoided close combat, suddenly charged in.
His massive fist, wrapped in dense Armament Haki, rocketed forward.
Despite his size, Moria moved with unexpected speed. In the blink of an eye, his punch was nearly upon Aokiji.
Still re-materializing from his elemental state and with no solid footing, Aokiji barely had time to react. He quickly coated himself in a layer of even deeper black Haki and formed a barrier of frozen energy at absolute zero to block the oncoming blow.
Everything had happened so fast. There was no plan, no signals, yet they moved in perfect harmony, executing the assault like seasoned partners.
Moria's punch was massive. There was no room to dodge.
This was the first time in the entire battle Aokiji had been forced to defend himself directly.
But then Moria's lips curled into a sly grin.
"Doppelman!"
A dark violet figure materialized at Aokiji's side, Moria's doppelgänger.
This time, the clone's fist was also covered in Armament Haki.
WHAM!
The heavy blow struck Aokiji from the side, chaining into a flurry of rapid hits. Though caught off guard, Aokiji took the strikes without serious harm. Moria's punches weren't strong enough to break through his defenses.
But that wasn't the point.
It was enough.
Aokiji, now hurtling along a new trajectory, flew straight toward the waiting Luffy, his hands already forming a triangle in front of his chest.
Suddenly, Aokiji's relaxed expression vanished. His senses screamed danger. His Observation Haki flared with urgent warnings.
From between Luffy's hands, a fiery orange-red light surged.
"Sky Flame! Bomb! Shot!"
Luffy spoke the three words clearly, steadily.
The light in his hands condensed into a radiant sphere the size of a marble, yet the power within rivaled even the combined strength he'd used when battling Moria's fused shadow monstrosity.
Aokiji's instincts kicked in. With lightning speed, he compressed all the freezing power he could muster.
"Ice Block: Partisan!"
A sphere the size of a person instantly formed around Luffy, encasing him in solid ice. Aokiji finally exhaled.
That attack… would've been fatal for Moria. Even Hancock might not have survived.
But,
Aokiji couldn't possibly know.
This world contained a system that defied logic.
And Luffy wore a piece of equipment born from that very system.
The emerald-green boots on his feet shimmered faintly.
Mercury Treads
Elemental Damage Reduction: 25%
Debuff Duration Reduction: 50%
Aokiji's full-powered elemental attack had triggered every single passive effect of the Mercury Treads. The incoming damage and control were instantly reduced to less than a quarter of their intended effect.
Still strong, yes.
But not nearly enough to stop Luffy.
Crack! Crack!
The ice sphere shattered, splitting apart at blinding speed.
Aokiji was still flying along the trajectory… right into the heart of Luffy's attack.
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