A Sudden Lightning Storm!

Kuzan doesn't actually use ice blades very often.

Although he is a master swordsman, he is not very interested in Swordsmanship, which is quite similar to Sakazuki.

Both of them gave up Swordsmanship training after eating Devil Fruit.

Borsalino, on the contrary.

Even after eating the Glint-Glint Fruit, he would still take some time each day to practice his lightsaber, and that's how he naturally became Great Swordsman.

Kuzan chose to attack Black Marlin with his ice blade this time.

It was because they sensed that the Black Mist and scales on the latter's body had an extraordinary protective function.

Therefore, in order to break through the defense more easily, I thought of using a swordsman's slash combined with the Hardening and Internal Destruction of Armament Haki.

Really.

One stab, and blood was drawn!

"Oh dear, the wound seems a little small."

Kuzan saw the giant sailfish fall into the sea, though it cried out in pain.

But since he was still full of energy, it was clear that his attack hadn't caused much damage.

Clearly, even a swordsman-level strike can only break through its surface defenses; it's insufficient for anything more.

"How dare you harm me! You deserve to die!"

Black Marlin felt a pain he hadn't experienced in nearly a thousand years, and his Wrath erupted uncontrollably.

At the same time.

The entire East Blue seemed to be responding to its fury, beginning to boil in large swaths.

At the same time, a large amount of Black Mist spread from its body, dyeing each wave a dark color.

[Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!]

Like mines exploding underwater, hundreds, even thousands, of black Water Hashira rose high into the air in an instant.

With astonishing speed exceeding the speed of sound, and amidst Sound Explosion booms, it hurtled towards the giant ice crystal bird in the sky.

The scene was incredibly grand and spectacular.

However.

Kuzan remained calm despite the onslaught, only the chill emanating from his body grew stronger silently.

He did not immediately use his abilities to defend or retaliate.

Instead, it controlled the 'Ice Storm Pheasant' beneath it to constantly dodge the black water cannons that attacked it.

Yes, in Kuzan's view, these Water Hashira far exceed the power of heavy howitzers, and calling them water cannons is perfectly acceptable.

However, no matter how powerful it is, it won't cause any damage if it misses.

Under the influence of his advanced Observation Haki allows him to 'Future Sight'.

'Ice Storm Pheasant' is like a 'white butterfly' dancing among black flowers.

They truly achieved what it means to be 'untouched by a single leaf'!

"Ugh, you're infuriating! You're such a buzzing, flyy bug—"

Black Marlin saw that no matter how many Water Hashira were fired...

I just can't hit Kuzan no matter what I do, and I can't fly.

I was absolutely furious, yet utterly helpless.

As for the idea of jumping back up, there was absolutely no such thought.

It also noticed Kuzan's chill, which was far more dangerous than frozen ice and was more than enough to counteract its own 'Divine Power'.

Yes.

It refers to the 'Black Mist,' which is the power of bloodline fused with Natural Energy, as 'Divine Power.'

However, there are various versions of the other super- Danger Beasts.

Like the divine Divine Dragon that dwells in the clouds above the Shenwa Island Country.

They like to call this energy 'celestial power', while the Empire and the Alchemi Kingdom record it as 'magic power'.

They're all the same thing.

Kuzan clearly had no interest in wasting time arguing with it.

As he let the 'Ice Storm Pheasant' beneath him fly rapidly, he raised his right hand, covered in Iceburg, and aimed his palm at the giant sailfish in the sea.

The next moment.

All around him, ice spears with trident-like structures began to condense in mid-air.

In the blink of an eye, thousands of ice spears densely covered the sky.

That's not all.

The tip of each ice spear was quickly stained with a black luster.

He then Hardening it with another layer of Armament Haki!

"Ice Spear!"

With a loud shout from Kuzan.

In Setsuna, all the ice spears turned into afterimages and shot towards Black Marlin like a torrential rain.

In an instant.

A series of rapid, piercing whistling sounds filled the air.

Black Marlin, not to be outdone, once again manipulated the surrounding seawater, creating streaks of black water cannons to meet the attack head-on.

Kuzan suddenly leaped off the back of 'Ice Storm Pheasant' at high speed.

Two long ice pillars were created high in the sky to connect with the sea.

Ice Age!

Yes, he used 'Ice Age' again this time.

In order to avoid affecting their own fleet, they had actually controlled a certain amount of power and area.

But now he wants to freeze the entire sea in this area.

Kuzan realized that it would be difficult to defeat this super- Danger Beasts without going all out.

[Click. Click]

The surging cold air erupted in the water, propelled by the Ice-Ice Fruit.

It froze into a thick layer of ice almost instantly.

One second the waves were surging, the next they transformed into lifelike ice sculptures.

This resulted in the World Government's fleet being firmly fixed in place.

However, the most tragic victims were the Danger Beasts and the naval Fish-Man Unit who were engaged in a fierce battle in the water.

The former, along with the surrounding water, froze instantly.

Although the latter was not frozen in Kuzan thanks to his Observation Haki and his superb micro-management of cold air.

However, because the seawater had turned into ice, they had to endure the frigid temperatures.

They had to smash through the layers of ice above them to get out, or they would either freeze to death or be buried alive.

Fortunately, the navy above was also trying various methods to break through the ice in order to rescue them.

At the same time, vibrations are used to guide the Fish-Man.

Kuzan simply couldn't afford to worry about those things anymore.

He was completely locked in battle with Black Marlin, and even adopted Sakazuki's fighting style from before.

As it transformed into its elemental form, it released a large amount of cold air, turning into a giant ice crystal bird that was over fifty meters tall.

Its beak and claws were covered with a layer of dark Armament Haki.

Each time, it grabbed onto the even larger body of the Black Marlin.

It always managed to easily break through the Black Mist and tough fish scales that tried to erode it, causing it to let out bursts of pain.

The scene looked like a mythical bird preying on a primordial beast called a sailfish.

The surging black water formed a terrifying Tatsumaki, which intertwined wildly with the frigid Blizzard, creating the most spectacular battle effects.

"Aaaaah, damn it, damn it! Why was I so easily injured!"

Black Marlin was both angry and confused, as his defenses shouldn't be so weak.

Yet these human attacks always managed to penetrate deep into flesh and blood.

This is actually the effect of Kuzan using his Armament Haki Internal Destruction technique.

It has to be said.

Imu's previous order to make all Haki techniques public to the military's high command has indeed had a very good effect.

The "Internal Destruction" technique, in particular, can often ignore and penetrate the opponent's defensive armor!

However, Black Marlin is also quite powerful.

Neither its black water, which is extremely corrosive and can damage the elementalized form itself.

That incredibly sharp upper jaw, which even Armament Haki to withstand, continues to inflict various forms of damage on Kuzan's Ice Bird form.

However, Kuzan will rely on his powerful ability to 'Future Sight'.

By separating the icy parts that were about to be attacked in advance, the upper jaw of the sailfish, Coating in Black Mist, repeatedly missed its target.

This allowed him to gradually gain the upper hand in his close-quarters combat with Black Marlin, whose cries of pain became more and more frequent.

[Crack!]

Suddenly, a thick, silvery-white bolt of lightning struck the back of the giant ice crystal bird from the sky, which had become covered in dark clouds, causing it to stagger.

"Um?"

Feeling the pain, Kuzan raised his bird head in surprise and looked upwards.

But at this moment...

A torrential downpour of lightning struck.