"What kind of Devil Fruit did you eat? The Paramecia-type Cold-Cold Fruit? No... that's impossible. That ability isn't Paramecia at all!"
Jack felt an icy chill crawl down his spine. Even with his monstrous physique, his body shuddered as though he were standing before Admiral Aokiji himself—the man who could freeze him completely!
But confusion twisted his expression. The Devil Fruit he was after was clearly a Zoan!
He didn't know the exact species, but he was certain it wasn't Paramecia or Logia.
Yuno laughed.
"It's the Zoan—Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Beast Model. As for which form... I'm still not entirely sure. After all, I only ate it a few days ago."
"You... you ate our Mythical Zoan?!" Jack's voice turned savage, veins bulging at his temples. "You damned brat! That was Kaido-sama's treasure! I'll tear you apart! Kaido will never forgive this!"
His face darkened with fury, killing intent boiling off him in waves. A Mythical Zoan wasn't just rare—it was priceless, rarer even than a Logia.
To the Beast Pirates, this was an irreparable loss.
Jack clenched his massive fists.
Die! He must die!
If Yuno fell here, the fruit would be reborn into the sea.
"BOOM!"
With a thunderous step, Jack charged like a raging beast, the earth cracking beneath his weight.
Yuno raised his sword, starlike frost glinting along the blade as mist swirled around him. "I'll use you as my stepping stone! Ice Dragon's Tail!"
His blade cleaved the air, scattering frozen particles that froze everything they touched.
Jack's massive form was encased in ice instantly—but within moments the frozen shell split with sharp cracks.
"Rrraaahh!" Jack roared, bursting free, his massive tusked trunk lashing out.
Yuno's Observation Haki flared. He tapped the ground with his blade, summoning a wall of ice. Jack's strike shattered it, but Yuno had already vanished, reappearing at Jack's flank with a slash.
From the ground, icy spikes erupted like jagged spears.
Jack snarled, coating his legs in Armament Haki, stomping down with explosive force. "Grrraaahh!"
The spikes shattered into a spray of frost, but the cold seeped into his feet, forcing him to shiver despite himself.
"It's cold, brat... but compared to Aokiji, you're still far too weak!"
He charged again, transforming into his hybrid form, scythes glinting in both hands as he slashed violently.
"Ice Wall Formation!" Yuno countered, erecting an ice barrier that momentarily blocked Jack's vision. In the blink of an eye, Yuno circled to Jack's side and unleashed another freezing strike.
Jack shattered the wall, trunk lashing like a whip. "CRACK!" Ice exploded, but Yuno slipped away again.
"Tch... not enough damage," Yuno muttered. His frost slowed Jack, but it wasn't enough to pierce his monstrous durability.
The problem was clear—his mastery over Hyōrinmaru was too shallow. He couldn't yet wield its true power.
He gritted his teeth. Fine. 500 points—raise Hyōrinmaru's proficiency to 60.
A surge of cold flooded through him—stronger, sharper. The frozen air grew heavier, biting at the battlefield.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
They clashed again and again, steel against ice, the earth splitting, the air cracking.
"Annoying insect!" Jack bellowed. His attacks barely grazed Yuno, while Yuno's slashes left shallow cuts that healed almost instantly. But the chill... the chill seeped deeper with every passing breath, gnawing at Jack's stamina.
Yuno smirked coldly. That's right. The true strength of ice is control. I'll drag you down piece by piece.
Jack's breath came in frosty puffs now, his movements just a shade slower.
Yuno steadied his sword. Hyorinmaru's Bankai will be the true key. To control the heavens themselves... but until then, this will do.
He recalled his earlier experiments—how the Thunder Roar Cannon had fused with the Getsuga Tenshō.
What about Hyōrinmaru?
His eyes gleamed. Yes—this was the moment.
He took a step back, his presence sharp as a blade.
"It's time to finish this, Jack. You—'Drought' Jack of the Beast Pirates—will be my stepping stone to the top!"
Jack snarled, bloodshot eyes blazing.
"Arrogant brat! Who do you think I am?! I am one of Kaido-sama's Calamities... I am 'Drought' Jack!"
Jack charged at Yuno once more!
Wherever he passed, the ice in front of him shattered into pieces!
His motto was always the same: one move to conquer everything.
If you can't defeat me in one blow, I'll grind you down until you fall!
Yuno swung his sword, releasing an intense wave of cold air. As if a hidden mechanism had been triggered, all the frost in the battlefield converged at a single point, spiraling into a vortex that surrounded Jack.
Crackling…
The cold condensed into frost and ice, constricting Jack's movements. White frost crept across his body, freezing him from the ground up, his legs rooted in the ice and binding him in place!
This was Yuno's strategy all along—channel the cold to one location, sealing Jack's mobility. Even someone as formidable as "Drought" Jack couldn't break free quickly!
During this moment, Yuno gathered all his strength, preparing his ultimate sword strike.
He lifted the silver-fiber blade, and a faint, icy-blue radiance shimmered across its black edge. Boundless cold surged into the weapon, focusing into a single deadly point.
"One Sword Style… Extreme Ice Slash!"
With one swing, the blade vibrated violently, and a slash hundreds of meters high burst forth. Wherever it passed, freezing force swept through, turning everything into glittering crystal ice—beautiful, yet filled with lethal intent.
This strike combined the power of Hyorinmaru and Zangetsu into one.
"This… impossible! This cold… this slash… how could you just be a Marine Rear Admiral?!"
Jack's Observation Haki screamed danger, urging him to evade. But the overwhelming frost sealed his body in place, making escape impossible.
The aura of this slash rivaled that of the great pirates who ruled the seas. The chill within it reminded him of Admiral Aokiji—the same cold that once froze even their captain, the "Strongest Creature," Kaido, for a time!
At that moment, Jack saw the shadow of Aokiji in Yuno.
How could a man like this be merely a Rear Admiral?
But no matter what Jack thought, he couldn't avoid it. Everything had already been calculated by Yuno.
The next instant—
Swish!
The icy slash cut straight through Jack's body.
Silence followed.
Then, with a crackling sound, a deep wound stretched from his shoulder down to his abdomen. Blood never flowed—the freezing power instantly spread through him, crystallizing his entire body.
Dozens of meters high, a massive ice sculpture formed, spiked with jagged ice pillars that pierced into the sky. Behind Jack, a vast fan-shaped frost path extended outward, freezing the entire battlefield. Trees, buildings, and even the distant sea turned into a frozen wasteland.
Yuno dropped to one knee, leaning on his blade, panting heavily. Sweat dripped from his forehead—only to freeze into ice before touching the ground. That single strike drained an enormous amount of his stamina, even affecting his Quincy powers.
But the results were undeniable.
"Drought" Jack, one of the Three Calamities of the Beasts Pirates, with a bounty of 765.4 million berries, had been completely frozen—his body and even his consciousness sealed in ice.
At that moment, a familiar system notification echoed in Yuno's mind:
[Ding! You have defeated "Drought" Jack (Bounty: 765.4 million berries). Reward: 888 Achievement Points!]
"Defeated…?"
Yuno narrowed his eyes, his Observation Haki scanning. He sensed Jack's breath—faint, but still stubbornly alive.
"As expected of an awakened Zoan… such terrifying vitality. But without help, even with all the time in the world, you'll never escape this ice."
He chuckled softly, then turned his back to deal with the rest of the battlefield.
A few days later, news spread—and the world was shaken.
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