Smoker: There's a Shady Scheme Here! (34)

Boom!

Sizzle... sizzle...

Scorching magma and freezing ice intertwined, and the hiss of melting rose with white steam, rapidly climbing into the sky.

Thunder God Island, shrouded in dark clouds, had been turned half to ice and half engulfed in flames. Combined with the pillars of lightning that occasionally crashed down from the heavens, the battlefield looked like the end of the world.

Ice Age!

Hell Hound!

Rolling magma collided with the iceberg once again. The ice abruptly cracked apart and scattered in every direction.

"Not good!"

Aokiji's pupils contracted. He had not expected Akainu's punch to be so vicious, and the impact sent him stumbling.

Whoosh!

Of course, Akainu would not let such a perfect opportunity slip away. He stomped through the air with Geppo, turning into a black streak as he drove a punch into Aokiji's stomach.

"Guh!"

Aokiji could not help coughing up a mouthful of clotted blood. The terrifying heat instantly shattered the ice around him that had been used for defense, and the scent of cooked flesh wafted from his abdomen.

"What's wrong? Huh?! Is this the resolve you've got, Aokiji?!"

Akainu roared, lifting his foot before slamming it down hard.

Boom!

Aokiji, suspended in midair, was immediately smashed down like a cannonball, leaving a spiderweb-shaped crater dozens of meters wide in the ground.

Their Fruit Abilities countered each other, but Akainu was undoubtedly stronger!

After fighting for so long, Aokiji's exhaustion had become plainly visible. Akainu, on the other hand, grew fiercer with every battle, his attacks becoming increasingly savage.

Although Akainu had shown no particularly dazzling performance during the years since Ron's appearance, aside from displaying remarkable prowess when he fought Kaido alone in the last New World war, that did not mean he was truly weak.

Even Kizaru had to admit that