As for dealing with Aokiji, the only thing Maud could rely on was Haki technique.
However, although he had the technique, his endurance was poor.
Since he was unsure whether Aokiji was still watching this area, Maud did not immediately shatter the ice after Aokiji left.
He waited patiently for a while, only being forced to break free when his Armament Haki began to run out.
Otherwise, maintaining the Haki output would drain his stamina afterward.
With a series of crisp cracks, fissures rapidly spread across the ice freezing his legs.
The next second, the ice shattered.
Ice chunks of all sizes pattered onto the ground.
Maud withdrew his Armament Haki and shook his legs, dislodging the remaining ice chips.
Then he looked in the direction Aokiji had left. Only after remaining silent for a few seconds did he finally relax a little.
Sunny stared at Maud in astonishment and asked in a low voice, "How did you do that?"
"Armament Haki."
Maud gave a perfunctory explanation.
Although he had merely used Armament Haki to defend against Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit ability, fooling Aokiji's eyes required an Armament Haki technique with strong fluidity.
As the chill climbed from his feet toward his knees, the freezing speed gradually increased upward.
The method Maud chose in response was to control his Armament Haki and make it almost synchronize with the freezing speed.
The entire process was like painting a wall.
Using a practiced technique, Maud concealed his Haki between the pig-bristle brush and the paint.
Then, after the pig-bristle brush spread paint across the wall, he allowed his means of self-preservation to hide beneath the paint, thereby fooling Aokiji's eyes.
This technique, which allowed energy to flow through the body like liquid, was something that had to be mastered in combat in Hunter's