The wound was not deep; the tip of the blade had only lightly grazed the skin.
The broken ice blade re-solidified instantly, and Kuzan barely managed to parry Nero's sword.
Before he could even let out a sigh of relief, he was met with an endless curtain of swords. With exquisite swordsmanship combined with powerful Haki, Kuzan could only manage to protect his vital areas, and the number of small wounds on his body grew.
He realized he couldn't continue like this. Freezing his wounds, Kuzan gathered strength in his legs and leaped backward again.
"Blizzard Pheasant Beak!"
An ice sculpture of a pheasant, like an ice phoenix, charged towards Nero. Kuzan knew this move wouldn't cause any damage to Nero; it was merely to delay her pursuit.
But while in the air, he realized Nero hadn't pursued him immediately; instead, she had adopted an offensive stance on the spot.
Not good! He instantly realized the problem, but it was too late to adjust his posture. He could only pray that the ice pheasant beak could block Nero's next attack.
"Falling Flower Heavenly Curtain!"
This time, the red and white Haki enveloped her arms as well. Nero's body instantly crashed into the ice pheasant beak. With almost no pause, the ice sculpture was annihilated by the Haki with overwhelming force.
Nero burst out of the ice mist, less than ten centimeters from Kuzan. Without using the blade, Nero heavily struck Kuzan's abdomen with the still somewhat sharp hilt of her sword.
A mouthful of blood spurted out. The last things that met his eyes were her golden hair and emerald pupils. With unwillingness, Kuzan's body slowly fell.
"Umu, rest quietly for a while."
Nero stepped over Kuzan's body. She had no intention of killing Kuzan from the start. After observing for a few days, she had also realized that this Marine branch and the Roger Pirates had a special situation.
The two sides were more like a friendly match; after fighting for so long, not a single person had died. She didn't quite understand this twisted relationship yet, but she could tell that the two sides were not enemies in the traditional sense.
A fierce wind swept through, and the aftermath of Roger and Garp's battle blew away a large group of people. Nero stepped on Kuzan's body to prevent him from being blown away, and also as a deterrent to keep others from disturbing her.
Her eyes unblinkingly fixed on the duel between the two. Her hair tie had come loose at some point, and Nero let the strong wind tousle her flowing golden hair.
"Vice Admiral Garp! Kuzan has been captured!"
"Nani?" x2
The two men, who were fighting intensely, simultaneously looked back and met Nero's emerald pupils.
"Ya ha ha ha ha! Garp, this time we won!" After understanding the situation, Roger immediately burst into laughter.
"Damn it! That's too despicable! Roger!" Garp's veins on his forehead bulged, and he glared at Roger furiously.
"I'm a pirate! What's wrong with a pirate being despicable?" Roger arrogantly stretched out his hand: "Make your warships retreat, and don't move until we've left!"
"If it weren't for that little girl..."
"Nero is our nakama!"
"Umu, let me deliver the final farewell!" Nero walked towards the two, holding her sword in one hand.
"What are you doing, little girl? I was careless this time. Next time, Kuzan will personally retrieve it from you!" Garp carelessly picked his nose with his pinky finger, not at all wary of Nero approaching.
"My name is Nero! Nero Claudius! Remember it!!!" Nero furiously swung her blade, and her emerald eyes instantly turned red.
Everyone else had already stopped fighting, and at this moment, all eyes in the arena were focused on Garp and Roger.
"No way?" Rayleigh looked at Nero's familiar move with some disbelief.
"Is it real or fake?" Jabba also felt a touch of absurdity about what was about to happen.
But many more people were still perplexed, baffled by Nero's sudden action.
King against king, general against general—these were unspoken rules, and Nero's action was undoubtedly somewhat abrupt.
But soon, they no longer had such thoughts, staring blankly at the scene before them.
"Kamisari!"
Garp quickly reacted, crossing his arms, and Armament Haki continuously reinforced his forearms.
"Brat! Compared to Roger's Kamisari, you're still far from good enough!"
Despite his words, Garp was still pushed back about ten meters by this move before he could barely block it.
"What about this move then? Go to hell, you old bastard!" Nero clenched her other hand into a fist, and terrifying Haki condensed upon it.
"Paradise Impact!"
A punch landed heavily on Garp's chin, sending him flying.
"Are you kidding? Vice Admiral Garp was sent flying?"
"And that last punch, what was that about?"
"Even if the name is changed, I recognize it! That's clearly Vice Admiral Garp's Galaxy Impact!!"
"What's with that woman? She used both Roger's and Vice Admiral Garp's moves at the same time?"
Nero's hands trembled, but she clenched them tightly to stop it. Looking at the flying Garp, she snorted, two streams of white air puffing from her nostrils. Nero finally felt much more at ease.
"Hahaha! Lads! Time to retreat!" Roger raised his sword and declared victory while uttering words of escape.
"Too cunning, Captain! Did you secretly give Nero special lessons?" Shanks, wearing a straw hat, complained with a disgruntled face.
"Exactly! Exactly! Captain, you're too much!" Buggy, with his red nose tilted up, also started shouting.
"Idiot! Haven't you figured it out yet? The Captain didn't teach Nero anything. Whether it's Kamisari or Garp's techniques, Nero learned them all in that short amount of time just now."
Haki surged around Bullet. He was now completely interested in Nero.
"Eh~~! Just in that short amount of time? And was that punch Garp's move?"
"Umu, naturally! Currently, it's just a clumsy imitation, but I've already grasped the knack. With a bit more practice..."
"Whoa! Nero! What happened to you?" Buggy was startled by Nero, who suddenly joined the conversation, and then asked curiously after seeing Nero's appearance.
"Umu, no need to worry, I'm just exhausted. Those two moves are still too much of a burden for me right now!"
Nero was being carried in a princess carry by Hathaway. Compared to the clean and tidy Hathaway, Nero was in a very disheveled state.
Her clothes were wrinkled, her small face was smudged with black, and her golden hair was scattered and blown by the wind. Yet, her face bore a smile even brighter than usual.
"Next time we meet, I'm going to smash that old man's Armament Haki to smithereens!"
Perhaps the sunlight was just right, that smile looked incredibly radiant, deeply imprinted in everyone's minds.
Even many years later, when the seas were filled with legends of the Rose Emperor, what they first remembered was still that bright-smiling girl from that year...