Admiral Kuzan's killing intent slowly faded as his gaze settled on Ace. From the beginning, he had only intended to cripple one of Fire Fist Ace's arms, enough to give Fleet Admiral Sengoku an explanation and at the same time avoid unnecessary conflict with Garp.
Yet beyond duty, Kuzan felt something else, a quiet curiosity. He wanted to see for himself whether Fire Fist Ace, the man the World Government branded as the carrier of the most evil bloodline, was truly a villain at heart.
In Kuzan's eyes, there were no people born evil. Even if parents carried great sins, their children were innocent. To condemn Ace simply because he was Roger's son was unjust.
The World Government's so called absolute justice had always been something Kuzan rejected. The Pirate King's bloodline did not represent absolute evil, just as the little girl from Ohara he once spared had been cruelly branded a "Child of the Devil" merely for reading poneglyphs. That, to him, was nothing but prejudice and hypocrisy.
The justice of the World Government existed only to serve itself and the Celestial Dragons. Kuzan followed his own sense of justice.
"I will never allow you to harm my brother Ace, even if it costs me my life."
The powerful voice pulled Kuzan back to the present. Jinbe stood beside Crocodile, his once frozen arms now freed.
Kuzan looked at the scene before him and sighed with faint helplessness.
"This really is unexpected. The Shichibukai who are supposed to stand with the Marines are now working together to protect the Whitebeard Pirates. What an irony."
He glanced back toward the Shichibukai on the Marine side and frowned. Most of them were openly slacking off.
Although the battlefield had already shifted from the plaza to outside Crescent Bay, they remained near the plaza, as if they were spectators watching the battle between Sengoku, Akainu, and Whitebeard.
"These Pirates truly cannot be trusted," Kuzan muttered under his breath. He had never approved of the Shichibukai system to begin with.
Looking at them now only reinforced his belief. None of them were reliable.
With no expectations left for them, Kuzan turned his attention back to Jinbe and Crocodile and spoke calmly,
"Even if you stop me, it will not change anything. As long as he does not die, this war will not end."
Crocodile responded with a cold, crooked smile.
"Isn't that exactly what makes it interesting?"
Kuzan frowned slightly.
"The more people who die, whether Marine or Pirate, the better," Crocodile continued with cruel amusement.
"If the old powers do not fall, how can new ones rise?"
On the other side of the battlefield, pirate cannons thundered without pause as countless cannonballs slammed into the massive ice sphere.
Yet the ice only shed scattered fragments.
It did not shatter.
The pirates stared in disbelief.
"What kind of ice is this?" someone shouted.
"Even cannonballs cannot break it!"
"Do not stop firing," members of the Whitebeard Pirates roared.
"We must break the ice and save Captain Marco!"
"Pirates, do not even think about it," a Marine Commodore shouted coldly as he cut down a charging pirate.
"Criminals belong in prison. That is your final destination."
Nearby, a Marine clutching a net gun stared at the massive ice ball with an anxious expression.
"Admiral Kuzan ordered us to capture Marco with Sea Stone nets, but this ice is too massive. We cannot even deploy the net properly."
His superior barked back without hesitation,
"If one net is not enough, then use several."
Another Marine hesitated.
"But with ice this cold, is it even possible for Marco to survive inside?"
"Exactly," someone else added.
"The temperature is terrifying. He might already be frozen to death. Even if he is alive, escaping should be impossible."
"Foolish," the Marine Colonel snapped.
"Do not underestimate a man with a bounty exceeding one billion Berries. Marco is a Phoenix Devil Fruit user who once endured Admiral Akainu's magma without dying."
"For a monster like that, even Admiral Kuzan can only restrain him with ice, not kill him."
"Move faster. Ensnare the ice sphere with Sea Stone nets. He must not escape."
At that moment, a sharp cracking sound echoed.
A thin, spreading fracture appeared on the surface of the ice sphere.
The Marines froze in shock.
On the pirate side, voices erupted in excitement.
"Did the cannons work?"
"Aim at the crack and fire again. Save Captain Marco!"
"Seal off every possible escape route with Sea Stone nets," the Marine Colonel shouted urgently.
"Do not give him any chance to break free."
"Everyone, clear the way!"
A thunderous shout resounded as Jozu charged forward like a raging beast.
Half his body shimmered as it transformed into brilliant diamond.
"Captain Jozu is here," the pirates cried out in joy.
"Stop him," the Marines screamed as they rushed to intercept him, but the strongest among them was only a Commodore.
Jozu transformed his entire body into diamond in an instant, becoming an unstoppable juggernaut.
Marines were sent flying in every direction as he smashed through their ranks without slowing.
With a powerful leap, he launched himself into the air.
"Marco, I am coming to save you!"
"Brilliant Elbow!"
His Haki infused elbow crashed into the ice with explosive force.
The impact released a violent hiss as cracks spread rapidly from the point of contact, racing across the entire surface of the colossal ice sphere.
The ice bulged outward under the internal pressure, and then with a deafening explosion, the massive twenty meter wide prison shattered.
From within the storm of flying ice fragments, Marco seized the opening and burst free.
"Captain Marco," the Whitebeard Pirates roared in unrestrained joy as they witnessed him escape at last.
Marco shot into the air as blue flames instantly enveloped his body.
The phoenix fire surged with regenerative power, healing the frostbitten damage inch by inch.
He turned toward Jozu with a faint smile.
"I owe you this one, Jozu."
Jozu grinned broadly in response.
"No need for thanks. We are comrades, after all."