Kuzan Is Injured!

Kuzan Is Injured!

When the sea froze over, Vulture had already thought of Kuzan. But when he actually saw Kuzan himself, Vulture was still extremely surprised.

Because this was different from what the intelligence had said!

According to the intelligence, this was a warship escorting a Devil Fruit, departing from Marine Headquarters and heading to the nearest island.

Since the journey was relatively short and the waters were near Marine Headquarters, the strongest fighter aboard the warship was only a lieutenant colonel!

He had even deliberately used a small Pirate Crew to test the warship's combat strength.

That's right, the Takaya Pirates had been deliberately lured onto the warship's route by Vulture. Otherwise, with his strength, he could have wiped out the Takaya Pirates during their initial clash.

Kuzan had already possessed officer-level combat strength three years ago, and he was a Logia Ability User at that!

Vulture wasn't stupid enough to ask, "Why are you here?" A smart person would hide his true objective and display a reasonable motive to confuse his enemy.

"Ice Kid? I let you escape last time, but you won't be so lucky this time!"

"I'm not the same as I was three years ago."

Kuzan released a frigid aura from his entire body. Wisps of white frost mist visibly billowed out, and his whole body transformed into ice!

Vulture's eyes narrowed slightly. He had fought Kuzan before, so he naturally knew about Kuzan's ability.

The Ice-Ice Fruit was slightly weaker offensively, but its control and defensive capabilities were extremely powerful.

And Logia users were known to be invincible in the first half of the Grand Line and the Four Seas.

The reason was one of the abilities of Logia Devil Fruits—Elementalization.

Elementalization could render physical attacks ineffective.

Without Armament Haki or a Devil Fruit Ability that countered it, the mere fact that physical attacks were ineffective was enough to let someone run rampant throughout the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line.

Vulture had been favored by Golden Lion in this chaotic era not only because he was an Ability User, but also because he was proficient in Two-Color Haki.

Vulture wasn't afraid of Logia users!

"Is that so? Then let me see how much you've improved!"

"You'll see!"

The two men's gazes collided fiercely in midair like sharp arrows.

A howling wind swept through the air.

Vulture beat his wings and dove straight at Kuzan. Kuzan neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, he condensed an ice blade before him and leaped into the air.

Clang-clang-clang!!

Sharp talons and a bone-chilling ice blade slammed into each other. Both men's bodies shook, and they were sent flying backward.

At that moment, the cannon fodder of the Vulture Pirates also came charging across the ice. Their objective was extremely clear.

The warship behind Morito!

Vulture would take out the warship's main force, while the pirate underlings would seize the Devil Fruit and treasure.

It was the most commonly used and most effective tactic.

A horde of pirates surged past Kuzan and Vulture's battlefield and charged toward the warship. Morito was directly ignored as if he were just another grunt!

"They're heading for the warship?"

"Wasn't Vice Admiral Tarantula supposed to have colluded with the pirates and planned to have me die accidentally in a naval battle? Why doesn't the script seem right?"

Morito stood on the frozen, dilapidated pirate ship. The pirates of the Vulture Pirates surged past in a swarm as if they couldn't see him.

Several pirates happened to notice him as they passed by.

One of them held a flintlock rifle. "There's a marine on the deck!"

Bang!

As the gunshot rang out, two pirates nimbly leaped onto the deck. Wielding large machetes in their left and right hands, they charged at Morito.

Morito tilted his head slightly and dodged the bullet. Two gleaming machetes came crashing down toward his head.

"Too slow. Are you worried I won't be able to dodge?"

Morito merely flicked a finger. The Chakra at his fingertip struck the blades.

Ting!

The two pirates instantly felt a swollen ache in their tiger mouths. They could no longer hold on to their machetes and involuntarily released their grips, sending the weapons flying from their hands.

"What?"

"This..."

The two men's pupils contracted, their expressions filled with uncertainty.

They seemed not to have figured out what had happened when a figure closed in on them. Their vision suddenly went black, and they completely lost consciousness.

No one had seen how that marine had made his move!

Several nearby pirates stopped in their tracks and stared at Morito in terror.

"That kid can't be over twenty, right?"

"Isn't he wearing a Reserve Navy uniform?"

"He took the two of them out in an instant?"

After dealing with the two cannon fodder, Morito's attention returned to Kuzan and Vulture.

Of the Vulture Pirates, the only person Morito cared about was Vulture himself.

A master proficient in Two-Color Haki!

He was a rare target for testing his skills!

Morito looked over. "Huh? Kuzan is actually at a disadvantage?"

With the dilapidated pirate ship at the center, the sea had frozen into a vast ice field. Kuzan and Vulture battled fiercely across it.

Kuzan already had several gashes across his body, blood flowing freely from them.

Vulture had the high ground and repeatedly landed hits by taking advantage of the momentum from his dives.

Kuzan seemed unaccustomed to dealing with this kind of flying enemy.

Geppo from the Marine Six Styles could allow someone to briefly remain airborne, but it was very different from true flight.

Across the ice field, the cold wind howled.

Vulture seized a tiny opening in Kuzan's defenses. Armament Haki coated his talons, and he unleashed his strength, stomping down with one claw.

Crack!

The crisp sound of breaking ice rang out. The solid ice blade in Kuzan's hand was actually shattered.

Before Kuzan could condense another ice blade, Vulture's other claw lashed across the side of his face. The force kicked up a raging wind that sent Kuzan flying.

"You're still as weak as you were three years ago. Did you spend all three years sleeping?"

"You've wasted a Logia Devil Fruit."

Vulture landed on a jagged chunk of ice and looked down at Kuzan lying on the ground.

However, in the next second, the "Kuzan" whose head had been smashed suddenly shattered with a splash, turning into a pile of broken ice scattered across the ground.

"What?!"

"Ice Time!"

Behind Vulture, a mass of ice crystals rapidly condensed, forming a human figure at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Kuzan emerged from the ice crystals. With both hands held forward, he released an extremely frigid chill from his palms.

Crack-crack-crack—

The frost-white chill instantly froze the moisture in the air, forming threads of ice. One after another, the threads shot toward Vulture like tiny white snakes and climbed all over his body.

Vulture instinctively beat his wings, trying to take flight, but his movements were ultimately a step too slow.

The threads of ice wrapped around him as the cold surged.

In an instant, a lifelike ice sculpture of a bald bird appeared on the ice field.

Kuzan slowly lowered his hands, cold mist escaping from his mouth.

He looked calmly at the frozen Vulture and said coldly, "You're still as arrogant as you were three years ago."

"Am I?"

Suddenly, a ghostly voice came from behind. As an ice man, Kuzan couldn't help feeling a chill shoot from the soles of his feet up his back.

Vulture had already dispelled his beast form and appeared in human form.

He was a tall, burly, muscular man with powerful arms, wielding a pair of specially made eagle-claw weapons.

Buzz!

Armament Haki empowered the sharp eagle claws!

Vulture suddenly swung his hand. Three deep, bone-exposing gashes appeared across Kuzan's back, and the tremendous force sent Kuzan flying.

Blood sprayed through the air and dripped onto the ice.