In the mere two breaths it took for Buggy to go from shock to preparing his flashy counter-attack, the battle between the heavyweights had already escalated into a frenzy.
CLASH! CRACK! BOOM!
Ray and Aokiji had already exchanged over a dozen fierce blows on the frozen sea surface.
Red lightning tore through the air, meeting the bone-chilling cold of the Admiral's ice.
During their exchange of fists, Aokiji continuously used his Ice-Ice Fruit abilities to freeze the churning waves beneath them.
He created a jagged, ever-expanding battlefield of white frost.
Aokiji was well aware of his opponent's capabilities.
He knew that fighting Ray on the open ocean without a solid footing would put him at a severe disadvantage.
The man in white before him could tread the sky as if it were solid ground, moving with an agility that defied gravity.
To say Aokiji didn't know Soru or Geppo would be a lie; every Admiral has mastered the Six Powers.
However, Aokiji was pragmatic.
Rather than using Geppo to fly into the air and engage in an aerial dogfight where Ray held the upper hand, Aokiji preferred to terraform the environment.
He needed solid ground to leverage his immense physical strength and ice generation.
He knew full well that his agility in the air was no match for Ray's supernatural speed.
Ray, during their violent clash, could clearly discern Aokiji's intentions.
'He wants to ground me,' Ray analyzed while deflecting an ice saber with his Haki-coated forearm.
'He wants to turn this into a contest of stamina on the ice.'
Yet, Ray didn't immediately take to the skies to fight in the most advantageous position for himself.
He stayed low, skimming the surface of the ice, meeting Aokiji head-on.
Ray had a strategic reason for this.
In this operation, his main task wasn't to defeat the Marines single-handedly; it was to hold off their strongest fighter, Aokiji, and keep him away from the others.
Ray did a quick internal calculation.
If he leveraged his aerial superiority too aggressively, he might gain an edge, but he wouldn't be able to pin Aokiji down.
If Aokiji realized he couldn't catch Ray, he might decide to fight dirty.
The Admiral could easily unleash a massive area-of-effect technique like "Ice Age" to bypass Ray and target the beach where Luffy and the others were stationed.
Once that happened, the entire battle situation would collapse completely.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were strong, but they were still growing.
They couldn't possibly withstand the full might of an Admiral while simultaneously fighting a Buster Call.
If they were forced into a passive, defensive position, Ray would struggle to protect them while fending off Aokiji.
Therefore, Ray's current plan was simple: Bait the Admiral.
'I need to act as a lure,' Ray decided.
'I'll fight him slowly while gradually moving the battlefield further and further away from Water 7. I need to drag him away.'
Once they were sufficiently distant from the island—perhaps ten or twenty kilometers out—Ray wouldn't remain standing on the sea surface.
At that point, he would take to the skies and dominate the fight.
If he didn't use his flight to look down on his opponent then, he wouldn't be worthy of being called...
'Called what?...' Ray's thought process hitched for a split second.
For some reason, when this thought about his lineage and the "Great Dog Demon" identity crossed Ray's mind, ripples of complicated emotion stirred within him.
It caused a microscopic delay in his neural response. His offensive movement slowed by half a beat.
But in a battle of this caliber, half a beat was an eternity.
This momentary opening was keenly detected by Aokiji and the Admiral's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses.
"Partisan!"
Aokiji waved his hand, launching a barrage of high-speed ice spears straight at Ray's face.
'Shit!'
Fortunately, Ray was fast enough.
He twisted his body mid-air, avoiding what would have been a lethal, freezing strike.
CRACKLE.
Though he avoided the direct hit, the cold air grazed him.
The tips of his long silver hair were instantly frozen solid, clinking together like glass chimes.
Snapping his attention back to the battle, Ray focused.
He drew his sword, Tokijin, with his right hand.
Simultaneously, his left hand morphed, glowing with toxic green energy as he prepared his Poison Claw.
"Let's dance," Ray growled, launching a dual assault against Aokiji.
Aokiji, for his part, seemed unaware of Ray's intentions.
He continued to engage, creating ice walls and shields, gradually being drawn further and further away from the fleet under Ray's guidance.
Seeing his plan proceeding so smoothly, Ray nevertheless sensed something was amiss.
'Why is this so easy?' Ray wondered, narrowing his eyes as he parried.
'Is Aokiji drunk? Did he drink too much alcohol today?'
There was no reason for a veteran Admiral to be this foolish.
Aokiji should have realized he was being kited away from the objective.
'Unless...?'
As Ray pondered this, the two combatants became nothing more than distant flashes of light and ice on the horizon.
...
With both top fighters having left the scene, the pressure on the beach lifted slightly.
Buggy the Clown, seeing the "monsters" leave, finally realized he had the stage to himself.
He cracked his knuckles and grinned.
It was time to unleash the flashy move he'd been preparing for half day!
"Alright, boys! Watch this!" Buggy shouted.
He spread his arms wide, his coat flapping dramatically in the wind.
"Awakening Technique: The Sea Says It Can Fly!" Buggy announced.
He paused for effect.
"Alternate Name: The Sea That Soars to the Sky!"
The skill name was long and straightforward, just how Buggy liked it.
With a grand, sweeping wave of his hand, the ocean in front of him began to rumble.
RUMBLE... CRACK!
The water split.
Under the influence of his awakened Bara Bara no Mi, the very ocean obeyed his command to "separate."
Four massive, perfect cubic blocks of seawater rose from the ocean surface.
Each cube measured exactly 100 meters in length, width, and height.
They hovered in the air, glistening in the sunlight, defying gravity.
"GO!"
Under Buggy's masterful control, the four liquid monoliths flew through the air, heading straight toward the approaching vanguard of thirty small warships.
Superficially, this display seemed similar to months earlier when Buggy had manipulated land fragments in Loguetown.
But in reality, manipulating seawater was fundamentally different.
The sea naturally suppressed Devil Fruit abilities.
This feat demonstrated that Buggy's application of his ability had reached a terrifying new level.
He wasn't just chopping objects; he was chopping the environment itself, imposing his will on the sea.
Historically, only legends like Golden Lion Shiki could pull the ocean into the sky.
Buggy's current performance bore a remarkable similarity to that legendary power.
But the Marines on the ships had no time to marvel at Buggy's growth.
They looked up, and their blood ran cold.
One cubic meter of water weighed one ton.
One million cubic meters meant one million tons of weight per block.
Four million tons of water were currently hovering above their heads!
Even though Buggy could only control it at an altitude of less than 100 meters due to the immense strain, the potential destruction was catastrophic.
If that water crashed down, it wouldn't be a splash—it would be a crushing hammer.
Even if the warships didn't shatter immediately upon impact, the sheer volume would plunge them deep into the abyss.
And assuming any warship managed to resurface by miracle, its internal propulsion systems, gunpowder, cannons, and engines would be flooded and useless.
Not to mention the crew.
There were 100 Marines stationed on each small warship. It was estimated that more than half would perish instantly from the impact or drown in the aftermath.
This sight sent chills down the spines of the 3,000 Marines aboard the small warships.
They stopped loading their cannons. They stopped shouting orders.
They just stared up at the sky, which had been replaced by a ceiling of water.
The person in charge of each small warship was merely a Captain.
They were frozen in fear.
Even if all 30 captains joined forces, they would be unable to stop these cubes.
As for cannon fire? Futile.
BOOM! BOOM!
Some ships fired their cannons frantically in panic, but the small-caliber shells were nothing more than a tickle against such enormous bodies of water.
They punched into the cubes and fizzled out, creating harmless bubbles.
Buggy detached his lower body and flew slowly behind the colossal water masses.
He grinned widely, hands on his hips, laughing uproariously at the sky.
"GYAHAHAHA!" Buggy's voice boomed over the fleet. "Behold the power of a Buggy-sama! Marines! If you don't send out your officers soon, all 3,000 of these lives will belong to me!"
Hearing Buggy's arrogant taunts, movement could be seen on the medium-sized warships further back.
It seemed the ten Marine Rear Admirals had decided they couldn't watch this massacre happen.
They drew their weapons, ready to intercept.
However, just then, the Den Den Mushi on the flagship rang.
On the large warship stationed at the rear, Vice Admiral Momonga activated his communicator.
His face was grim.
"All Rear Admirals, stand down," Momonga ordered coldly. "Do not break formation. The Vice Admirals will handle the heavy threats later. Let the vanguard proceed."
Upon receiving the command from their superior, the ten Rear Admirals froze.
They looked at the doom hanging over their subordinates, then at their communicators.
No matter how anxious or dissatisfied they felt, they could only grit their teeth, sheath their weapons, and comply.
"Yes, sir..."
Soldiers follow orders without question.
That was the justice of the Marines.
The small warships continued to advance into the shadow of the water cubes.
Although the 3,000 Marines aboard were carrying out their orders, a sliver of doubt and betrayal began to stir within their hearts.
'Why?'
'Are our orders today simply to throw away our lives? Are we just fodder to test the enemy's strength?'
The Marines looked up at the massive cubic water blocks hovering in the sky, their emotions in turmoil.
Despair began to set in.
Witnessing this lack of response, Buggy stopped laughing.
He floated there, scratching his head, genuinely puzzled.
'What the fuck?' Buggy thought.
'You started by sending a giant Sea King to charge us, and we countered with Sanji. Now that I've unleashed these massive water cubes, shouldn't you at least send some high-ranking officers to deal with them?'
'Don't you know the meaning of reciprocity? Do you really have to sacrifice these low-level pawns?'
'These Marines must be out of their damn minds!'
At this moment, Buggy found himself sharing the same confusion Ray had earlier: the Marines were acting abnormally today.
It was as if they wanted to lose these men.
Buggy looked down at the terrified faces of the young sailors on the decks.
He hesitated.
"Tch," Buggy clicked his tongue. "Should I drop this skill or not? Slaughtering the weak really doesn't suit my image. I'm a Legend, not a butcher."
After muttering to himself, Buggy fell silent for a moment.
He sighed, annoyed by his own conscience.
He raised his voice, amplifying it so the fleet could hear him clearly.
"HEY! MARINES BELOW THE WATER BLOCKS!" Buggy shouted. "Listen up! Considering you're just overworked laborers exploited by your trash superiors, I,Buggy-sama, don't want to be too ruthless!"
"I'm giving you a chance! Don't fight so desperately for people who want you dead! Find something that can float! Jump overboard! Take protective measures! I'll aim the water blocks a bit off-target to give you a chance!"
Buggy raised a hand, starting a countdown.
"I'll count down from ten! Hide if you can!"
"10!"
"9!"
"8..."
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