Kuzan Understands

The warship's deck.

"Captain, this is bad. The men can't hold on any longer."

"These guys are too strong!"

"Let's retreat, Captain!"

Only six or seven men remained of the Takaya Pirates, led by their captain, Takaya. They were cornered by Momonga, Kazan, and Ulysses.

Retreat?

Where could they retreat to?

The sea was behind them. Were they supposed to jump into the ocean?

Takaya couldn't understand why three Reserve Navy soldiers were so fierce. It was just a small reconnaissance patrol warship.

Although Kazan, Momonga, and Ulysses wore the most basic Reserve Navy uniforms, their strength was at least at the Captain level, more than enough to handle pirates with bounties in the tens of millions.

Takaya's peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the surging sea behind them.

Jumping into the sea was out of the question.

He wasn't a Devil Fruit user and didn't fear the sea, but the closest island to this area was Marine Headquarters.

Could he swim all the way to Marine Headquarters?

"We surrender."

"Captain?"

"I'm sorry, our voyage ends here."

Takaya silently lowered the katana in his hand. He didn't want to lead his remaining few brothers to their deaths.

Seeing this, Kazan, Momonga, and Ulysses immediately tied them up.

The Takaya Pirates were defeated, but the battle was not over.

The Takaya Pirates were merely cannon fodder driven by the Vulture Pirates. The real battle was just beginning.

From the sky, a dense volley of cannonballs whizzed through the air.

"There's another pirate ship behind us! It's the Vulture Pirates, with a bounty of 102 million berries!"

A Marine soldier on the lookout platform shouted a warning.

Hearing this, everyone quickly turned their heads in unison. They saw a pirate ship bearing a vulture insignia sailing towards them.

Just then, an extremely cold air current enveloped them.

Everyone on the warship, including Momonga, Kazan, and Ulysses, shivered from the cold.

A tall, slender figure stood at the bow of the warship.

He let out a low cry, "Ice Age!"

A terrifying icy aura erupted, transforming into countless streams of water that spread out.

The water vapor in the air instantly froze, and visible threads of white ice spread outwards.

In an instant.

The vast ocean before their eyes was frozen by pure white frost, transforming into an endless, pure white glacial snowfield.

It was Kuzan, the user of the Hie Hie no Mi (Ice-Ice Fruit), the strongest among the "Three Monsters"!

Why was he on our ship!

Kazan glanced at Momonga, hoping to get an answer from the senior cadet.

However, Momonga was also filled with confusion.

"You all stay here and protect the warship. That guy is not someone you can handle."

After speaking, Kuzan stepped off the ship's railing and leaped into the air, soaring away.

His figure traced an arc through the sky, drifting like a swallow on the wind, descending towards the pirate ship whose hull was half-submerged in ice.

The cold air exploded, turning the world into a frosty white.

The tattered pirate ship was completely frozen.

Morito felt a chill creep up from his feet. He quickly leaped, treading on Geppo to briefly hover in the air.

Pure white frost swept across the entire ocean.

When Morito landed back on the deck, everything in sight was encased in ice.

This kind of entrance must be Kuzan's doing!

Zephyr wouldn't let a rookie lead the team; that would be irresponsible to his students.

Morito saw Kuzan, and Kuzan noticed Morito.

Kuzan landed at the bow of the ship, his gaze shifting to the frozen Rossi brothers on the deck, and then to the other pirate corpses.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, as if he had seen through everything.

"Hmm, so that's how it is?"

Kuzan nodded slightly, having already guessed what had happened here. "You don't need to say anything else, I understand."

Morito blinked. Understood?

Morito couldn't help but ask.

"What do you understand?"

Kuzan looked up and met Morito's gaze, a hint of confidence in his eyes.

"Because you thought the opponent was an unknown pirate crew, you underestimated them and were carelessly killed."

"Teacher Zephyr has warned us more than once to treat every enemy with caution."

"Luomen and Roer's personalities were like that; something was bound to happen sooner or later."

"You're avenging the Luomen brothers, aren't you?"

The Luomen brothers' strength was mediocre. To be able to take down the pirate who killed them, this young man had something special!

Kuzan recalled Teacher Zephyr's words: "Others don't matter, but you must protect Ōtsutsuki Morito. Don't let Morito get even a scratch!"

He now understood why Teacher Zephyr had said those things.

Morito tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You really are a clever little thing!"

Kuzan, the logical genius who had seen through everything, had nothing more to say.

"Huh?"

Kuzan looked at Morito in confusion. Why didn't that sentence sound like a compliment?

Splash!!

The waves churned, and a strong wind swept over them.

A large three-masted pirate ship approached, cutting through the waves with an imposing aura.

Kuzan didn't dwell on whether Morito was complimenting him or not; both of their attention was drawn to the pirate ship flying a vulture flag.

The Vulture Pirates, under the Flying Pirates, with Captain Vulture having a bounty of 102 million Beli.

At this time, when the Rocks Pirates had disbanded, the Pirate King had not yet emerged, and the three legendary pirates were vying for dominance amidst a chaotic era.

Pirates with bounties over 100 million were all extremely powerful.

Moreover, the enemy was connected to the Golden Lion, so they had to be taken seriously.

Kuzan had received orders from Zephyr not to act rashly. Upon seeing the Vulture Pirates' ship appear, he felt he had no choice but to intervene.

It would be too much for Morito, Momonga, Kazan, and the others to face the Vulture Pirates alone.

Vulture's strength was undeniable. Kuzan didn't believe Morito and the others could defeat Vulture, and he himself wasn't very confident.

"I'll hold off Vulture later. As long as we can stall until Teacher Zephyr arrives, we'll be safe," Kuzan said solemnly.

Vulture's bounty of 102 million Beli wasn't because his strength was only worth that much.

It was because Vulture himself was quite low-key.

Kuzan had fought Vulture once three years ago. If Zephyr hadn't been present, Kuzan would have been finished in that battle.

Three years later, a fated rematch.

"You seem to be very wary of that bald bird?" Morito feigned curiosity, actually trying to pry information out of Kuzan.

Morito didn't know much about the great sea before the era of the Great Pirates.

He only knew some of the famous names, like the Golden Lion, Whitebeard, Roger, Kaido, Charlotte, and so on.

Vulture? He'd never even heard of him!

And he was just a subordinate of the Golden Lion. Was there really a need to be so cautious?

"If you underestimate him, you'll suffer."

As Kuzan finished speaking, a large shadow fell over the sky.

Morito looked up and saw a black-feathered, bald, large bird descending from the sky. Its sharp claws tore through the air, leaving several streaks of cold white light as it attacked.

"Ice Block: Two-Spiked Spear!"

Kuzan clasped his hands together, and the frozen ice in his palms transformed into two sharp ice spears. With a casual flick of his wrists, the ice spears shot out with a whoosh.

It was just a probing attack. Kuzan wanted to see how much Vulture had improved over the years.

He didn't expect to defeat him with a single move.

However, to his surprise, Vulture didn't dodge. He directly swiped down with his claw.

Crack!

The two ice spears shattered instantly, scattering into a sky full of ice crystals.