The sky darkened as a speck of light appeared above, growing larger as it hurtled toward the coastal battlefield—
A meteor!
"Run! The meteor's coming down!"
"Waaaah!"
"Help!"
Nearby marines engaged in fierce combat scattered in panic, while reporters filming the falling meteor shrieked in terror.
They were doomed!
"Hey, Kuzan."
Gurd looked up at the sky.
"You picked a bad time to show up."
"Seems that way."
Kuzan scratched his head helplessly.
That meteor was clearly not something to mess with. He should've waited a little longer, let it crash first before making his entrance.
"Just as the rumors say—terrifyingly strong."
"Zeha ha ha! Leave the meteor and Admiral Fujitora to me. You handle that big oaf over there."
Gurd took half a step forward, leaning into his stance. With a thunderous boom, the ground beneath him shattered as he launched himself toward the meteor.
"Boom! Boom!"
Consecutive sonic booms!
"Hmm?"
Fujitora lifted his head. Though blind, he could sense Gurd's surging aura—
He was charging straight at the meteor!
"Don't land in front of me!"
Gurd's body ignited into flames from the sheer speed, his fist clenched like a miniature comet as he collided with the meteor.
"BOOM!"
The base of the meteor exploded, cracks spiderwebbing across its surface before blinding light erupted—
And the next moment—
"BOOOOM!!!"
The meteor shattered, countless fragments scattering like stars across the battlefield!
"H-he destroyed it?!"
The marines paled in horror.
No one had ever imagined someone could smash a meteor bare-handed. What monstrous physical strength!
Then, they realized the new danger.
"The volcanic bombs are falling!"
"Run!"
"The entire battlefield is covered!"
Like Akainu's Meteor Volcano, the meteor fragments trailed long fiery tails as they rained down.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
In an instant, the battlefield was reduced to chaos.
Gurd landed, surveying the flames and soldiers from both sides scrambling for cover. A cold sweat dripped down his forehead.
"Uh… my bad!"
He'd hit his own allies with the AOE.
Not intentional, of course. If he'd let the meteor crash, he'd have been fine, but the shockwave would've devastated the entire battlefield.
That would've been far worse than scattered volcanic bombs.
Wait—this was all Fujitora's fault!
Gurd glared at the blind Admiral.
"Hey! Don't just casually drop meteors!"
He wasn't the only one complaining. Aramaki also roared in frustration, "Issho! Your damn meteors don't discriminate! Think about your allies!"
"I cannot see."
Fujitora replied flatly.
Aramaki fumed, about to retort, when the air around him abruptly turned frigid. Frost spread rapidly across the ground.
"So cold!"
Bone-chilling, marrow-freezing cold.
Seeing the plants around him freeze over and ice creeping up his body, Aramaki realized—he was in trouble.
The next second, his massive tree form was completely encased in ice, glittering under the sunlight.
The battlefield had become a world of frost.
"Crack!"
The ground split open as a sprout emerged, rapidly growing into Aramaki's new body before it could freeze.
"Gah—!"
Aramaki rubbed his arms—the cold still lingered deep in his bones.
"Former Navy Admiral—Aokiji!"
Watching Aokiji ahead, whose entire body radiated astonishing cold, Aramaki took half a step back, his expression unprecedentedly grave.
His massive wooden form was utterly useless against Aokiji's freezing abilities—like a mere target.
Cold was nature's greatest enemy!
"Damn it, why do they all counter me?!"
Aramaki cursed inwardly.
One could manipulate the earth, while the other was a Logia-type ice user—both abilities perfectly countered his own.
"If that's how it is!"
Aramaki's arms transformed into vine-like tendrils, extending countless thorny appendages toward Aokiji.
As the distance closed, the tendrils slowed, eventually halting as ice crystals spread across their surfaces.
The extreme cold restricted the vines' elasticity, freezing them brittle.
Crack!
The vines shattered into fragments.
Aramaki had anticipated this outcome—the vines were merely a test to gauge the range of the freezing effect.
He himself was the main attacker.
"Rahahaha! I've been wanting to fight you for a long time!"
Aramaki charged swiftly at Aokiji, his fist morphing into ironwood like a warhammer, smashing toward Aokiji's body.
Close combat!
As fellow Logia users, competing in environmental dominance was futile—forests couldn't outmatch ice. The only way to settle this was through melee.
Moreover, as a newly appointed Admiral, he naturally wanted to test Aokiji's strength and prove he wasn't inferior to the former Admirals.
Boom!
Wooden fist clashed against ice fist!
"Sorry about this, Ryokugyu!"
"I'm the Fleet Admiral of the Hoenn Navy now—I can't afford to lose to a Marine Admiral. Where would my dignity be if I did?"
Aokiji unleashed a surge of frigid air, an Ice Wall erupting behind him while massive Ice Spikes burst from the ground around them.
The biting wind was so harsh that each breath felt like blades slicing through the lungs, as if countless ice blades were carving through his airways.
The temperature plummeted further!
"Huff—huff—"
Aramaki exhaled plumes of white mist, frost forming on his eyebrows and other exposed areas. By his estimate, the ambient temperature had already dropped to -30°C—nearing the limit of what plant-based life could endure.
And it was still falling!
Such terrifying cold would incapacitate even a Vice Admiral within minutes, let alone allow them to fight.
He wouldn't last much longer either!
"Was he always this strong?"
Aramaki couldn't believe it.
The Marines had records on Aokiji, and he'd seen footage of his battles—he was never this formidable before.
Far more terrifying than the rumors!
"So cold!"
Nearby, Gurd, locked in a blade clash with Fujitora, also felt the piercing chill and couldn't help glancing over.
Compared to the Marineford War, the aura and pressure Aokiji exuded now were like night and day—as if he were a completely different person.
No less imposing than a Four Emperor!
This was the true state of a top-tier fighter!
Gurd withdrew his gaze and grinned at Fujitora. "Hey, Issho, look how fierce our Fleet Admiral is. Back to our earlier topic—why not join my side?"
"A man's battle is defined by his convictions. Since I've joined the Marines, I won't easily abandon the justice I uphold."
Fujitora reversed his grip on his sword, channeling immense gravity into the blade before unleashing it with full force at Gurd!
"Gravity Blade · Fierce Tiger!"
"What—?!"
Gurd's body lurched downward as the shockwave, laden with crushing gravity, enveloped him, rendering him immobile.
His torso bent unnaturally to the left—horizontal gravity!
Crack!
Gurd's muscles tensed, his entire body crackling as he forcibly restored his deformed physique through sheer muscular strength, enduring both gravity and impact.
"BOOM!!!"
The mountain wall behind him shattered and exploded, countless rocks crashing down.
Gurd grinned.
"Let's get along well, Fujitora!"
(End of Chapter)