Kuzan's Great Crisis

After some time, Kuzan finally confirmed that neither Crocodile nor Nico Robin were in Rainbase anymore.

"Shurima... it seems necessary to investigate this further."

After a series of investigations, it was personally discovered that a large amount of Baroque Works's property had been transferred to this location.

So he began riding his bicycle, slowly traversing the Kingdom of Alabaster.

Along the way, he discovered that the legendary Alabasta Kingdom, which had suffered a massive drought, was now, if not exactly blessed with favorable weather, at least receiving rainfall and everything was reviving.

The farmers returned to their fields to work, and the children ran around naked.

"It has been raining again ever since His King Cobra disappeared from public view."

"And life has gotten better and better without His Cobra."

"Don't say that. I heard that His Cobra sacrificed himself to the gods to end the Drought."

"Could it be that His Cobra has already passed away...?"

"So the vanished Cobra was the best Cobra. He was so gentle, I'm crying my eyes out..."

"..."

Along the way, Kuzan heard far too many similar rumors and gossip.

He shook his head, feeling that something was off about this country.

Was this all part of Crocodile's plan?

But what does this have to do with me, a Marine Admiral?

Kuzan is not Akainu; he does not pursue Absolute Justice, but is only responsible for the justice in his own heart.

Therefore, in the hearts of many junior naval officers and ordinary citizens, Akainu is the true Marine Admiral, a man who can provide them with a sense of security.

However, Kuzan didn't care about these opinions; he only did what he believed was right.

Having learned from the previous experience, cycling in the desert this time went much more smoothly, without any accidents.

Three days and three nights later, Kuzan held a map in his hand, looked at the vast sea of sand around him, and felt that he had lost his way on the path of life.

Suddenly, he noticed a tall, robust middle-aged man walking slowly across the sand dunes.

Kuzan pedaled furiously and chased after him.

"Hey, old man, do you know how to get to Shurima?"

Are you asking a blind person for directions?

Fujitora turned his head, revealing only the whites of his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Kuzan apologized verbally, but his expression remained unusually wary.

He sensed a subtle pressure emanating from the chubby middle-aged man in front of him.

There are very few men in the world who can put pressure on him, a Marine Admiral.

However, the blind man in front of him was not someone Kuzan knew.

Fujitora also sensed Kuzan's power.

However, he could sense that the man in front of him was very innocent and had no ill intentions.

Fujitora smiled, raised his white cane, and pointed northeast.

"That's Shurima over there, a town known as the land of dreams. I just got back from there."

"The land of dreams?" Kuzan was taken aback.

"Yes, I saw the light again there."

Fujitora's expression turned reminiscent. "The Land of Wind, where I live, is really not a very interesting place, and getting skins is nowhere near as fun as gambling... Goodbye, biker."

With that, Fujitora tapped the ground with his cane and slowly walked away.

How did you know I was riding a bicycle? Even with Observation Haki, you couldn't see that, right?

Kuzan stared at Fujitora's retreating figure and asked coldly.

"Well, it's just a guess."

Fujitora replied without turning his head, "One more thing, when you're riding your bike later, you'd better..."

Sizzle--

Before Fujitora could finish the second half of his sentence...

He heard the sizzling sound of water being poured into a boiling pot behind his ear.

The black seat of Kuzan's bicycle reached a terrifying temperature after only a few minutes of exposure to the desert sun.

When he rolled over and got back on the bicycle, Kuzan's face twitched slightly, but returned to normal after a fraction of a second.

A layer of frost appeared between his buttocks and the bicycle seat.

The sizzling sound just now was produced by the rapid contact between the layer of frost and the hot black cushion.

Despite a minor hiccup, Kuzan finally found the right direction.

Today, Shurima is a burgeoning immigrant city.

Just like Crocodile and Cobra, who have already obtained Shurima residency, they can settle down by filling out a simple form and finding a legal job in the city.

However, it's clear that Kuzan won't follow any of Baron Ma Qiao Order No. 001 and go through the proper approval process.

Firstly, Kuzan believes that he now represents the World Government and the Navy.

Although Kuzan wasn't as concerned with saving face as Akainu, his knowledge of Ma Qiao was limited to the fact that he had once spent 500,000 Beli to buy Nico Robin, making him Nico Robin's benefactor; he hadn't paid much attention to him beyond that. Therefore, he didn't feel the need to inform a mere baron of his itinerary.

Of course, if he knew which retired cadres were entrenched in the Shurima Town at this very moment, he might not have thought that way.

Another reason is that Kuzan wasn't actually there to investigate Galdino, but rather to confirm Nico Robin's safety.

Previously in the Rainbase, Kuzan thought Crocodile was protecting Robin.

Crocodile knew all too well what Kuzan was capable of.

So he chose to make a show of force and scare the enemy.

Ma Qiao couldn't be sure what kind of backing Baron Shurima had that allowed him to harbor a serious criminal like Nico Robin, or whether it was simply a case of ignorance leading Kuzan recklessness.

So he planned to sneak into the village, without firing a shot.

He planned to drive around the town first to get a general idea of what was going on, and then find a way to sneak in.

The plan was simple, but for an absolute powerhouse like him, the simpler the plan, the less likely it was to go wrong.

In the past, when Kuzan investigated the forces that had taken in Nico Robin, he had basically done the same thing.

Before long, he noticed that the ground beneath his feet was becoming increasingly damp.

The vast yellow sands have turned into arid loess, and the arid loess has turned into grassland with sparse vegetation.

Some shepherds were herding cattle and sheep around Shurima.

However, farmland is nowhere to be seen.

Riding a bicycle in such geological conditions wouldn't feel out of place at all.

Kuzan was very satisfied, finally able to ride his beloved bicycle again.

Kuzan continued riding inside.

On the sparse grassland, low shrubs appeared, gradually becoming denser, and further in, a forest emerged.

Is this really Alabasta?

Kuzan frowned.

He felt as if he had seen these forests somewhere before.

I rode for another half hour.

Kuzan slowly brought the bicycle to a stop.

He finally understood where this strong sense of déjà vu came from.

That was many years ago, when I was still a colonel, and I went to Whole Cake Island to carry out a mission for some reason.

There, the young Kuzan was briefly trapped in a strange forest.

The trees in that forest laugh, the flowers sing, and they change their positions to confuse and trap intruders who venture into the forest.

And clearly, the same thing is happening again right now.

"Does he think I'm an intruder? That's interesting."

"Iceball!"

Kuzan released five ice pillars from his palm, which suddenly shot out in all directions, instantly Ice Block the saplings that were secretly preparing to move.

Swish!

After being attacked, the plants began to fight back.

They usually do not attack strangers who have wandered into the forest; instead, they politely escort them out of the area by changing their location.

However, the Kuzan's proactive attack activated the plant's defense system.

Swish!

Each thorn seed quickly took root and sprouted, growing into thorn monsters that were over two meters tall.

They sprayed a corrosive liquid at the Kuzan.

However, it is clear that this level of attack poses no threat to Kuzan.

"Ice Block!"

He raised his right hand, gave a low shout, and the branches and leaves turned into ice blocks, falling to the ground and shattering into pieces.

Besides the thorny fortresses that grow from Zyra's seeds

There are also many real high-tech artillery emplacements scattered throughout the woods.

They are the Q skill of the Heimerdinger, the turret.

These turrets were dormant before Kuzan was identified as an enemy.

At this moment, all the turrets entered attack mode.

Beams of Laser Beam shot towards Kuzan.

"A laser similar to Borsalino?"

Kuzan snorted coldly, standing still without dodging or avoiding the Laser Beam. Only when the laser beam was about to hit his body did he actively transform that part of his body into elemental form, causing the laser to miss.

A dozen or so cannons launched a fierce attack on Kuzan, but not a single beam of light managed to harm him.

However, at the same time, several low vines silently wrapped around Kuzan's feet.

Kuzan frowned, and all the moisture inside the vines froze. He gently exerted force with his ankle, and the vines wrapped around him instantly shattered.

But in the blink of an eye, more than a dozen little tree people swarmed forward.

"A waste of time."

Kuzan wasn't entirely sure if someone was secretly observing his battle.

However, he believes it's highly likely. These plants don't seem to be as intelligent as the Big Mom's Homies, so it's very possible that someone is secretly manipulating them.

Since people are going to watch it, it has to be as high-class as possible.

He exhaled cold air, his gaze icy as he looked at the small tree-men rushing towards him, seemingly trying to pin him down. A look of disdain crossed his face. "Is that all?"

However, before the words were even finished, the little tree-men, like ruthless bandits from the Middle East, began to self-destruct the moment they made contact with their target:

Theoretically, Maokai, at only level 11, is only at the level of Supernovas.

Even against Admiral, it's just a matter of kicking them one by one.

However, there is a commonly overlooked yet incredibly powerful attribute in League of Legends called "maximum health percentage damage".

Why is Vayne called the Tank Killer?

Besides its ability to deal True Damage that ignores armor, the main reason for its high level is that its max-level W [Silver Bolts] is also a skill that can deal up to 14% of the target's maximum health as damage.

In comparison, Maokai's E skill [Sapling Toss] deals much weaker damage, but it is still a skill that deals damage based on a percentage of maximum health.

Although it's only 8%, and it's just magical damage, it's still an undeniably divine skill in the world of One Piece, where everyone is a tank.

With a bang, three saplings exploded on the Kuzan's body.

His expression shifted from ease to slight surprise, then to utter astonishment; he could no longer maintain the cool composure of a master.

"This is really a headache... If I had known this thing would self-destruct, I shouldn't have let them get so close."

Compared to Laser Beams, or swords, bullets, and explosions, this attack method, which has the lowest fatality rate in traditional war science fiction films, has actually achieved quite a good record in the world of One Piece.

Vergo and Pedro, both Quasi-Shichibukai level fighters, died in the explosion.

In comparison, Pell, who survived a massive bomb capable of destroying the entire Alabasta capital, is truly a hidden master in the world of sit-ups.

Kuzan looks like he's destined for a short life, like a protagonist in a shonen manga. He doesn't look like someone who's good at sit-ups at all.

He had a deep fear of explosive attacks.

Even Logia Devil Fruit User can transform their bodies into elements still find it difficult to avoid explosive attacks and must resort to other methods.

"Iceturtle!"

Kuzan shouted loudly.

Dozens of saplings were exposed one after another.

As the ashes from the explosion dissipated, only a pristine, brand-new ice-carved tortoise shell remained.

The Kuzan crawled out of the tortoise shell and patted the dirt off its body.

He frowned as he looked at the tortoise shell, which showed no signs of explosion even a crack.

"That shouldn't be happening. These saplings hurt when they hit me, so why would they hurt on the ice...?"

The ice that Kuzan created with his ability was as hard as steel, but its defensive effect was still a bit too good.

But now is not the time to think about these things.

Kuzan pointed to the sky, and a huge ice prism appeared in mid-air.

It can focus the sun's rays and refract them at a fixed angle in a certain direction.

This was the solution he came up with when he got lost in the Seducing Woods on Whole Cake Island years ago.

This tactic is still applicable at this time.

At the same time, Kuzan decided to stop fighting.

He transformed his body into elements and, following the markers of the light, moved at high speed towards Shurima.

It flew for quite a while.

Kuzan restored his upper body to human form.

Because he could faintly hear music coming from inside.

He followed the sound.

Deep in the woods, Kuzan vaguely saw what appeared to be a tall, white-haired old man dressed in extremely revealing and offensive clothing, singing and dancing in front of a mobile phone.

The music he had just heard was coming from the speaker next to his phone.

As Kuzan tried to squint to observe more closely, a sharp pain suddenly shot through the back of his head, followed by a blackout, and he lost consciousness.