Boom! Boom! Boom!
At the edge of flames and thick smoke, on the scorched earth of Ohara, two figures burst through the air.
"Hahaha, that hurts, that really hurts!" Sakura Haruno's crisp laughter cut through the fire.
Kuzan's domineering aura, strong enough to shatter bones, left Sakura looking battered. Blood soaked her black bodysuit, with bruises and swelling in several spots.
But within the petite girl's body, the blood of an Elbaf warrior flowed, her will forged tougher through the clash, roaring with defiance!
In an instant, dark thunder surged like a tide, spreading wildly.
A shockwave erupted out of nowhere, and a blazing greatsword, infused with the sharp intent of a swordmaster, slashed toward Kuzan.
Without hesitation, Kuzan countered. A chilling spear of ice, glinting with ghostly light, rose in his hand and thrust forward!
Clang!
Under the ferocious strength of Sakura's strike, Kuzan's spear shattered, fragments flying back at him.
The remaining force slammed into the ground, sending spiderweb cracks spreading outward, kicking up a storm of debris and dust.
But none of it fazed the man who wielded the power of the Ice-Ice Fruit.
The once-solid ice began to flow under his control, forming swirling vortexes around his body.
The searing fragments, carried by blistering heat, passed harmlessly through his body, leaving him unscathed.
"So, you've turned your body into the essence of a Logia fruit? That's impressive!" Sakura called out.
With one hand, she swung her sword in a wide arc, while her right hand formed a quick hand sign.
"I haven't sunk so low that I need praise from a pirate!" Kuzan shot back.
He shifted into a stance, his fist stretched back like a taut bowstring, wrapped in a layer of icy armor.
The aura of Armament Haki poured out unrestrained, coating his arm in a layer of hardened ice.
"Ice Gauntlet!"
Elementalizing his hand and combining it with Haki and the iron fist inherited from Garp, Kuzan unleashed a powerful punch.
Boom!
In an instant, Sakura's greatsword shattered, and she was sent hurtling through the air toward the distant coastline.
On the ground, Kuzan moved with the speed of Soru, his figure flickering so fast the surroundings blurred into streaks of color, vanishing behind him.
Tap!
At the shore, Kuzan's foot smashed through the sandy beach, using the recoil to launch himself into the air.
"Ice Pheasant Beak!"
His Armament Haki flowed fiercely, merging with freezing air in his right arm, forming a lifelike ice pheasant.
The massive ice bird let out a piercing cry, channeling its power into its beak and charging forward!
In the sky, Sakura adjusted her position with Moon Step, another massive ice sword forming in her hands as she roared back at the ice bird!
Ice against ice, power against power!
The moment they clashed, the shockwave shattered the earth, uprooting nearby trees and sending massive waves crashing toward distant warships.
Kuzan poured more power into his attack. The ice pheasant, backed by his Haki, chipped away at Sakura's greatsword inch by inch until it pierced through her chest!
Bang!
Struck by the lethal blow, Sakura's body exploded into a cloud of smoke, leaving Kuzan stunned, his pupils trembling.
Dead? No… she escaped!
His Observation Haki spread out roughly, and the tall man finally spotted a pink figure standing far out on the sea.
"What the hell is that idiot Kuzan doing?!"
Seeing Sakura wielding her ice greatsword, slashing at warships to clear a path for Sauro, a man whose face was hidden under a Navy cap slammed his fist against the ship's railing, molten lava spilling out and igniting the wooden deck.
A sudden silence fell, tension rising over the sea reflecting the firelight. Two irreconcilable forces erupted!
"Ice Pheasant Beak!"
"Dog-Bite Crimson Lotus!"
A hound opened its smoke-filled maw, while the ice bird spread wings that crackled with frost.
From the shouts of two Navy Vice Admirals, attacks capable of obliterating an entire city shot forward.
Straight at Sakura!
But Sakura was ready.
A thin film of chakra coated her arms as she reached out toward the two elemental forces rushing at her.
"Cloud Hand!"
Using the Heat-Heat Fruit's control over temperature, she deftly caught the two energies, twisting them together with her immense strength until they collided and canceled each other out.
Using the thick mist from the clash of ice and lava, Sakura's figure vanished from their sight once again.
"Kuzan, you're in the way!"
"Oh? Weren't you the one who blocked my attack, senior?"
Kuzan, standing on the frozen sea, locked eyes with Sakaski on the warship, both glaring with mutual disdain.
Their Observation Haki spread across the ocean, searching for the girl who had just disappeared.
But the air was thick with the dark thunder of Conqueror's Haki, making it nearly impossible to focus and pinpoint Sakura's location.
"Freeze the sea, Kuzan!"
Realizing Sakura's plan to buy time, Sakaski shouted at Kuzan from afar.
"No need to tell me! Ice Age!"
Leaping into the sky, Kuzan crossed his arms, icy tendrils extending from them in the form of pillars.
Bone-chilling frost spread freely, merging with the churning sea, as if an invisible maw had opened to devour all heat. Even the foam on the waves trembled, tinged with a lifeless hue.
"They're catching up!"
Sauro, steering the warship, gaped, sweat pouring down his face.
"Tch, annoying Navy!"
Emerging from the shadows, Sakura licked her lips and leaped high.
Chakra clung to her soles, gripping the water's surface, letting her sway with the waves.
"Now that I think about it, I haven't tested how hot I can get in high-temperature mode!"
Sakura took a deep breath, her voice tinged with excitement.
Her body's heat climbed rapidly, the seawater beneath her starting to boil.
"Not enough! Not enough!!"
As the distant frost turned everything white, Sakura pushed her temperature higher.
Release heat! Release heat! Release heat!
A tyrannical heat surged skyward, raging wildly. The boiling seawater expanded and erupted, warping the calm air.
The extreme temperature difference triggered a storm under powerful convection, gathering dark clouds at its center. A storm's eye formed, with lightning weaving through the towering clouds.
Heat-Heat Fruit: Overload Mode—Blazing Warrior!
"Boil the sea—Updraft!"
Sakura, wreathed in blue flames, spread her fingers and gripped the sea tightly!
In that moment, countless streams of scorching seawater danced like crimson flames, swirling endlessly!
Laughing wildly, Sakura charged forward, her searing heat lingering in the air wherever she passed.
With a single punch, the blazing current crossed a vast distance, colliding with Kuzan's frozen sea.
Boom!
As the two clashed, a figure cloaked in thick smoke appeared behind Sakura.
"Got you, pirate!"
"With the regret of defying justice, repent in hell—Magma Hound!!!"
Molten lava flowed like sludge, burning ferociously, mimicking a volcanic eruption as a fist rocketed forward.
Caught off guard, Sakura's body was engulfed in suffocating, dense magma.
"Sakura!"
Sauro's face paled on the distant warship, while Kuzan, near the shore, showed a trace of melancholy beneath his sunglasses.
But then, a pair of blood-red, slit-pupil eyes opened in the magma and smoke. Thunder crashed from the sky, and the storm raged onto the island, as if the heavens themselves were celebrating something unbelievable, trembling without end.
A hand gripped a massive ice sword, and a terrifying aura exploded once more.
Under the flow of dreamlike sword light, Sakaski's soul trembled, as if plunged into an icy abyss!
"What… are you barking about?!"