Chapter 10: The White Death Awakens
Year 1516 - Gecko Islands Waters, Paradise
The clash of Aiko and Lucci meeting mid-air created a shockwave that cleared Aria's fog for fifty feet in every direction.
Yukikaze met Lucci's Haki-coated claws with a sound like shattering glass. Black lightning erupted from the collision—both warriors using Conqueror's Haki coating, both refusing to give an inch. The deck beneath them cracked, then shattered, timbers exploding outward from the pressure of their collision.
They separated, landing on opposite sides of the damaged deck.
Lucci was in his hybrid Zoan form now—a terrifying combination of human and leopard, his already formidable Rokushiki techniques enhanced by bestial power. His yellow eyes studied Aiko with cold calculation.
"Impressive," Lucci said, his voice deeper in this form. "You blocked my Shigan: Kigan without even flinching. Your Armament Haki is second-tier at minimum. And that Conqueror's coating..." He flexed his claws. "You're stronger than the intelligence reports suggested."
"Intelligence reports are always outdated," Aiko replied calmly, though his mind was racing. That single exchange had told him everything he needed to know: Lucci was fast—faster than anyone he'd fought except perhaps the Vice Admiral Onigumo. And his Haki was dense, refined through countless assassinations and battles. "Now let my crew go, and I'll consider letting you leave alive."
Lucci laughed—a cold sound. "Bold words. But misplaced. You're a criminal, Commodore. A traitor to the organization you swore to serve. And CP0 doesn't negotiate with traitors. We eliminate them."
"Then try."
Lucci moved first—a Soru so fast that he seemed to vanish, reappearing behind Aiko with both claws thrust forward in a double Shigan aimed at Aiko's spine.
Aiko became snow.
The claws passed through empty air and crystalline particles. But Lucci had expected that—Logia users always relied on intangibility first. His follow-up came instantly, his entire body spinning in a devastating Rankyaku that sent multiple compressed air blades slicing through the snow particles before Aiko could reform.
Clever. Using area attacks to force Aiko to maintain intangibility longer, burning energy, preventing counterattacks.
But Aiko had trained for this.
He reformed not where he'd been, but twenty feet above, already in motion. "Yuki no Mai: Hyōsō!" Snow Dance: Ice Burial!
Snow erupted from his position in all directions—not the gentle fall he usually created, but a blizzard of razor-sharp ice crystals moving at hurricane speeds. Each crystal was infused with Armament Haki, making them capable of cutting through steel.
Lucci's response was immediate—"Tekkai: Utsugi!" Iron Body: Void Wood!
His Haki-enhanced Tekkai created a defensive shell so dense that the ice crystals shattered against it like rain against stone. But the technique forced him to remain stationary, and Aiko was already capitalizing on that opening.
Yukikaze came down in a overhead slash that would have split Lucci in half. The CP0 agent released Tekkai at the last possible moment, using Kami-e—Paper Art—to make his body flow like paper around the blade's edge, then immediately countered with a Rankyaku: Gaichou—a spiraling air blade that screamed toward Aiko's exposed side.
Aiko blocked with Yukikaze, but the force sent him skidding backward across the ice-covered deck. Before he could recover, Lucci was on him again, a flurry of attacks that showcased why CP0 agents were considered the World Government's deadliest weapons.
Shigan. Rankyaku. Shigan again. A knee strike enhanced with Armament Haki. A claw swipe aimed at the throat. Each attack precisely calculated, each one designed to exploit the microsecond gap left by defending against the previous strike.
Aiko defended desperately, Yukikaze becoming a blur of motion, his Observation Haki working overtime to predict the attacks before they came. But Lucci was pressing him—actually pressing him—forcing him onto the defensive.
"You're skilled," Lucci observed, continuing his assault without pause. "But you lack experience. You've been a Commodore for what, three months? I've been killing since I was a child. The gap in our combat experience is a chasm you cannot cross."
Shigan: Madara! Lucci's claws struck out in multiple rapid thrusts, each one aimed at vital points. Aiko managed to dodge or deflect most, but one got through—a claw that would have pierced his heart if not for his Armament Haki. Even so, it drew blood, tearing through his coat and leaving three parallel cuts across his chest.
First blood to Lucci.
"Commander!" Isra shouted from where she and the others had retreated. "We need to help—"
"STAY BACK!" Aiko commanded, his Conqueror's Haki flaring to emphasize the order. "This is my fight!"
He couldn't let his crew get involved. Lucci was too dangerous—any one of them trying to help would just become a liability, a target Lucci could use against him.
Which meant Aiko had to win this. Alone.
"Yuki no Mai: Hakujō Rendan!" Snow Dance: White Castle Chain Strike!
Aiko's technique created dozens of ice constructs around Lucci—walls, spikes, cages—all appearing simultaneously, all designed to limit movement and force the CP0 agent into a killing zone. And in the center of that zone, Aiko attacked with everything he had.
Yukikaze became a storm of steel and ice, each strike infused with Conqueror's Haki, each slash creating afterimages that blurred into a deadly pattern. This was the technique he'd developed specifically for opponents who were faster than him—overwhelm them with so many simultaneous attacks that speed became meaningless.
For three seconds, it worked. Lucci was forced to defend, his claws blocking and parrying, his Tekkai absorbing hits he couldn't deflect. The ice constructs prevented him from using Soru to escape.
But then Lucci smiled—and Aiko realized he'd made a mistake.
"Rokuogan." Six King Gun.
Lucci's palm strike didn't need to touch Aiko. The shockwave that erupted from it—an advanced Rokushiki technique that combined all six forms into a single devastating attack—caught Aiko center mass. His Armament Haki cracked under the assault, and the force sent him flying backward, crashing through two of his own ice constructs before slamming into the ship's mast.
Aiko coughed blood. That had hurt. Really hurt.
"You're strong," Lucci said, walking through the dissipating ice constructs as if they were nothing. "For your age and experience level, quite impressive actually. But you're not strong enough. And now..." His hybrid form's muscles tensed. "I'll demonstrate the difference between a talented upstart and a true assassin."
"Soru: Tekkai Dama!"
Lucci became a spinning ball of Haki-enhanced death, moving at speeds that made his earlier Soru look slow. He ricocheted off surfaces, each impact creating craters, his trajectory impossible to predict with Observation Haki alone because he was changing direction faster than precognition could track.
Aiko tried to defend, but it was impossible. Lucci struck him from twelve different angles in three seconds—each impact like being hit by a cannonball, each one carefully calculated to cause maximum damage without killing outright.
Because Lucci wanted this to be a message. Wanted witnesses to see the legendary Snow Traitor defeated, broken, captured.
Aiko hit the deck hard, his body screaming pain, blood leaking from multiple wounds. His vision was blurring, his Haki depleting rapidly from the constant defensive use.
This was it. He was going to lose.
His crew would be captured. Tortured for information. Iron Haven would be discovered. Everyone he'd worked to protect would suffer because he wasn't strong enough.
No.
NO.
Aiko's Conqueror's Haki exploded outward—not the controlled burst he usually used, but raw, unrefined willpower fueled by absolute refusal to accept defeat. The blast was so intense that even Lucci stumbled, his Tekkai Dama technique disrupted.
And in that moment of disruption, something inside Aiko shifted.
His Devil Fruit awakened.
The change was immediate and dramatic. Snow no longer just fell around Aiko—it erupted from him in waves that covered the entire battlefield. The Hakusetsu's deck turned to snow. The surrounding water's surface crystallized. Even the air itself seemed to become snow, swirling in patterns that defied physics.
More importantly, Aiko's wounds began closing—not healing, but his body literally reconstructing itself from snow, the line between his flesh and his element blurring until they became indistinguishable.
"Awakening," Lucci breathed, his analytical mind immediately recognizing what was happening. "You've awakened your Devil Fruit in the middle of combat. That's... unprecedented."
Aiko stood, and he was different now. His eyes glowed with an inner light—not blue like ice, but white like fresh snow under moonlight. When he spoke, his voice carried the whisper of winter winds.
"You wanted to see the difference between us, Lucci. Let me show you."
He moved, and the awakened powers made him faster than before—not because his body moved quicker, but because he was moving through snow that was now an extension of his will. He appeared beside Lucci, Yukikaze already in motion.
"Yuki no Mai: Gikyoku—Fubuki no Ō!" Snow Dance: Ultimate Technique—King of Blizzards!
The attack wasn't a single strike. It was a phenomenon. A localized blizzard that existed in the space around Lucci, where every snowflake was a blade, where the air itself became hostile, where temperature dropped to levels that could freeze blood in veins.
And at the center of that blizzard, Aiko's blade moved in patterns that seemed to be everywhere at once—because in a sense, they were. His awakened powers let him extend his consciousness through the snow, attacking from every angle simultaneously.
Lucci defended desperately, his Tekkai pushed to its absolute limits, his Observation Haki screaming warnings, his combat instincts honed through decades of assassination work barely enough to keep him alive.
For the first time in the battle, Lucci was the one on the defensive.
"Impossible!" he snarled, his hybrid form's fur coated in frost, his movements slowing from the intense cold. "You can't have this much power! You're just a failed Commodore!"
"I'm not a failed anything," Aiko said, and his voice was calm despite the maelstrom of power around them. "I'm a Marine who chose conscience over convenience. And that choice made me stronger than you'll ever understand."
He pressed the attack, and Lucci was forced to give ground—the first time in the entire battle. The CP0 agent's Haki was depleting, his Zoan form's enhanced stamina pushed to its limits by the combination of Aiko's relentless assault and the supernatural cold that sapped energy with every breath.
"Rankyaku: Hyōbi!" Lucci's most powerful air blade attack, enhanced with Armament Haki, designed to slice through battleships.
Aiko caught it. With his bare hand.
The awakened snow formed a glove around his palm, and the Rankyaku dissipated harmlessly, its energy absorbed and redistributed through the snow-covered battlefield.
"Your techniques are impressive, Lucci. But they're still just techniques. Learned abilities applied through trained instinct." Aiko's Conqueror's Haki flared again, mixing with the awakened snow powers, creating something new—something that made even the watching pirates on distant ships feel dread. "What I have is conviction. Purpose. People I refuse to let down."
He raised Yukikaze, and the blade became something more than metal—it became the concept of winter itself, sharp and beautiful and utterly merciless.
"And that makes all the difference."
"Yuki no Mai: Saishū Gishiki—Zettai Reido!" Snow Dance: Final Ritual—Absolute Zero!
The technique was beyond anything Aiko had done before. The awakened power of the Yuki Yuki no Mi combined with advanced Conqueror's Haki coating and the pinnacle of his sword techniques. The temperature didn't just drop—it ceased to have meaning. In a sphere around Lucci, matter itself began to slow, molecular motion approaching the theoretical minimum.
Lucci tried to move, tried to defend, tried to use Soru to escape.
But absolute zero doesn't care about speed. Doesn't care about Tekkai or Haki or decades of assassination experience.
The CP0 agent froze—not dead, because Aiko had held back that final degree even in his awakened state, but completely immobilized. His hybrid form was locked in ice so cold that it appeared almost black, his expression frozen in shock.
Aiko stood there, breathing heavily, his awakened powers slowly receding as the adrenaline faded. The snow stopped falling. The supernatural cold dissipated. His eyes returned to their normal color.
And he nearly collapsed from exhaustion.
"Sir!" Isra was there instantly, supporting him. "That was... what was that?"
"Awakening," Aiko managed, his voice hoarse. "My Devil Fruit awakened during the battle. I can... I could feel it. The snow isn't just something I create anymore. It's part of me. I'm part of it."
Koji appeared with medical supplies, Doc Reiner's training evident in how efficiently he began treating Aiko's wounds. "Sir, the pirate fleet is retreating. When you froze Lucci, their morale broke completely. They're running."
"Let them," Aiko said. "We've sent our message."
Yuki was examining the frozen Lucci carefully. "What do we do with him? We can't kill a CP0 agent—that would bring down more wrath than we can handle. But we can't let him go either."
Aiko considered, his mind working through the exhaustion. Then he smiled slightly—a cold expression that would have made Lucci proud if he could see it.
"We send him back. With a message of our own."
Twelve Hours Later - Marine Base G-7
The Marine base received the delivery just after dawn—a block of ice six feet on each side, deposited on their dock by persons unknown. Inside the ice, perfectly preserved, was CP0 Agent Rob Lucci, unconscious but alive.
Attached to the ice block was a note, written in clear, precise handwriting:
"To the World Government and all who serve it:
Your assassin has been defeated but spared. Consider this mercy you would never have extended to us.
We are the Wandering Marines. We enforce justice where your corrupt system fails. We protect those you would sacrifice. We stand for principles you've long since abandoned.
Send more agents if you wish. Send Admirals. Send armies. The outcome will be the same. We will not yield. We will not compromise. We will not stop.
Because unlike you, we remember what justice actually means.
— Commodore Danzo Aiko, Snow Admiral of the Wandering Marines"
The Marines at G-7 immediately contacted headquarters, and within hours, the report reached Mary Geoise.
The Five Elders read it in stony silence.
"He defeated Lucci," Saint Ju Peter said quietly. "One of our best CP0 agents. Defeated and returned alive as a statement."
"The boy's Conqueror's Haki awakened his Devil Fruit mid-battle," Saint Warcury added, reviewing the intelligence. "That level of growth under pressure... it's reminiscent of—"
"Don't say it," Saint Saturn interrupted. "Don't make that comparison."
But they were all thinking it. Joy Boy. The original D. clan warriors. Others throughout history who'd possessed the same combination of powerful Devil Fruits, advanced Haki, and unshakeable conviction.
People who'd threatened the world order itself.
"We should inform Im-sama immediately," Saint Nusjuro stated.
"Im-sama already knows," a voice whispered from the shadows.
All five Elders prostrated themselves instantly. Im had entered without announcement, as was their prerogative.
"The boy grows faster than anticipated," Im said, walking to the window that overlooked Mary Geoise. "His light burns brighter with each passing day. Soon, it will be bright enough."
"Bright enough for what, Im-sama?" Saint Mars dared to ask.
"Bright enough that extinguishing it will plunge the world into a darkness from which it will never recover. A reminder that there is no hope outside our order. No justice outside our authority. No light we cannot snuff out." Im's ancient fingers traced patterns on the window. "Prepare the contingencies. Alert Admiral Akainu that his services will be required soon. And begin compiling a list of everyone connected to Danzo Aiko—his crew, his island, anyone who's helped him."
"A Buster Call, Im-sama?"
"Something more thorough than that. When we move against the boy, I want everything he's built destroyed so completely that history will forget it ever existed." Im turned from the window, and even the Five Elders felt a chill. "Let him play hero a while longer. Let him gather more followers, build more hope. The fall will be so much more devastating."
"And if he proves too powerful for even an Admiral?"
Im smiled—and it was the smile of something that had ended civilizations before.
"Then I will attend to him personally. It has been eight hundred years since I've personally erased a light from the world. Perhaps I've grown rusty. This Danzo Aiko will provide excellent... practice."
The Hakusetsu - Returning to Iron Haven
Aiko sat in his quarters, reviewing the battle in his mind. The awakening had been instinctive, born from desperate necessity. But now he could feel it—that new dimension to his powers, the ability to not just create snow but to become one with it, to spread his consciousness through it.
It was intoxicating. And terrifying.
Because with that power came responsibility. Every person who joined their cause, every civilian who looked to them for hope, every crew member who trusted his leadership—all of them were counting on him to be strong enough, wise enough, principled enough to see this through.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in."
Isra entered, looking tired but satisfied. "Ship's secure, course set for Iron Haven. Crew's in good spirits—you humiliating a CP0 agent did wonders for morale. We're calling you the Snow Admiral now, apparently. Has a nice ring to it."
"Better than Snow Traitor, I suppose." Aiko allowed himself a slight smile. "How are you holding up? That battle was harder on you and the others than you're admitting."
"We'll survive. We always do." Isra sat down across from him. "But I need to ask—what happens now? CP0 failed. That means they'll escalate again. And there's only so many levels of escalation before—"
"Before they send an Admiral. I know." Aiko was quiet for a moment. "When that happens, we'll have to make choices. Maybe some of the crew needs to split off, establish cells in different locations. Spread out so one attack can't destroy everything we've built."
"You're thinking long term. Good." Isra studied him carefully. "You've changed since Sabaody. Grown. Not just in power, but in leadership. You're thinking like a revolutionary now, not just a rogue officer."
"Is that a good thing?"
"I don't know. But it's necessary." She stood to leave, then paused at the door. "For what it's worth, Aiko? I'm glad I followed you. Even knowing how this might end, I don't regret it."
"Neither do I."
After she left, Aiko returned to the window, watching the ocean slide past. Somewhere out there, the World Government was planning their next move. Im-sama—whoever or whatever that was—was watching, waiting, preparing to crush everything he'd built.
But for now, they'd won. They'd defeated a CP0 agent and sent a message that couldn't be ignored:
The Wandering Marines were more than criminals on the run.
They were a legitimate threat to the established order.
And they were just getting started.
END OF CHAPTER 10
Next Chapter: "The Admiral's Approach - When Absolute Justice Comes Calling"