"Be careful. This guy is incredibly difficult to deal with, and this time, he's very likely coming for this place!" After resting for a while, Owl had regained the strength to fight once more thanks to the formidable recovery ability of a Zoan Awakening user!
Standing beside Aokiji, Owl looked at Ian solemnly. "That firebird just now was probably the perfect fusion of swordsmanship and ability. His abilities aren't limited to lightning and ice! The previous intelligence on Ice Dragon Ian can only be used as a reference..."
During his earlier fight with Ian, Owl had held no advantage at all. He had been suppressed from start to finish!
His opponent was simply a monster, with almost no weaknesses...
The only weakness that barely counted as one was that Ian was not as physically strong as him!
But with the power of a Great Swordsman's slashes, that slight disadvantage meant nothing at all!
That firebird capable of being reborn through nirvana had also left a deep impression on Owl. Swordsmanship alone could never produce such an effect!
It was most likely a fusion of swordsmanship and ability!
This guy had far too many secrets!
"I know," Aokiji said flatly.
Even without Owl saying anything, Aokiji had already raised his guard to the highest level.
The strength Ian had displayed was already outrageous. Coupled with his immunity to cold, it was enough to give Aokiji a headache...
"Then let the battle continue! Today, we'll see whether you can capture me, or whether I crush you!" Intense fighting spirit flashed in Ian's eyes. His Conqueror's Haki continued pouring forth without pause, heavily suppressing the area ahead.
He raised his hand and slashed down. "Nameless Divine Wind Style: Azure Dragon!"
The wind suddenly surged. A gentle breeze transformed into chains that bound the surroundings. High in the sky, the phantom of an Azure Dragon appeared once more. Its roar echoed through the air as the lifelike Azure Dragon suddenly dove down, sweeping in every direction with boundless wind!
"Again with this move..." Owl's expression darkened. Haki erupted from his body, tearing apart the breeze chains around him as he left his original position.
"Looks like I can't hold back anymore..." Aokiji looked up at the lifelike Azure Dragon and exhaled a heavy breath of frost. Ice-blue light flickered in his eyes as frigid air—endless frigid air—suddenly spread from his body, turning into streams that swirled around him!
Snowflakes fell from the sky, and the frost on the ground thickened further. The area, already covered in ice and snow due to Hyorinmaru's chill, became even colder.
It was as though all life would be completely extinguished in this cold, like a world of utter desolation!
"This time, let's see whether you can still resist the cold after my Awakening! Awakening: Extreme Cold Wind!" Aokiji raised his hand, spreading his fingers as intense cold condensed and transformed into fine streams of extremely cold air that spread toward the sky!
The extremely cold airflow seemed capable of freezing space itself as it collided with the descending Azure Dragon!
There was no expected explosion. Instead, only the crackling sound of ice crystals freezing could be heard!
The tangible yet insubstantial Azure Dragon formed from the breeze was actually frozen solid!
Then, in the next instant, it abruptly shattered into countless fragments of ice that rained down from the sky!
"Extreme Cold: Twin Thorn Spears!" Aokiji spoke, raising his hand. The air currents swirling around him condensed into ice spears that shot through the air, carrying boundless cold that could even briefly interfere with Observation Haki!
"Are all Logia Awakenings this dangerous?" Ian's Observation Haki swept over the incoming ice spears, and he too sensed a threat. It was as though everything in the path of those spears would be frozen and shattered, carrying a cold capable of annihilating all things!
It was a cold sufficient to freeze the movement of particles!
Yellow Monkey's Awakening had once given him a similar sense of danger. However, Ian had always felt that Yellow Monkey had been holding back in their previous battle and had not used his full strength...
Only during Yellow Monkey's final burst had Ian sensed an intense threat. Yet when Ian's fighting spirit was at its peak, Yellow Monkey had run away...
Yellow Monkey was incredibly slippery. In their last battle, he had most likely been going through the motions. It wasn't that he had not tried at all, but he definitely had not gone all out!
"Nameless Divine Wind Style: Twin Dragons Convergence!" Ian sneered as his aura surged. He slashed twice in succession, sending two Ice Dragons soaring out, each carrying boundless terrifying cold as they collided with the two incoming ice spears!
Boom! Boom!
With two thunderous explosions, both attacks shattered at once, scattering ice crystals everywhere!
Over there, Owl moved farther away from Aokiji. A Logia Awakening directly assimilated an entire area, and the cold it released did not care whether someone was an enemy or an ally.
Still, he was also a Zoan Awakening user. Although it was difficult to endure, it was not enough to keep him from approaching!
Of course, it still affected him. Owl felt his reactions slowing and his movements becoming somewhat sluggish!
"Tempest Kick: Dark Owl!" He swung his right leg, launching a black Tempest Kick that spread its wings like a bird of prey and shot forward with overwhelming force!
"Tempest Kick: Ice Saber!" At the same time, Aokiji attacked again, sending out an extremely cold Tempest Kick like a sharp ice blade. Everything in its path froze!
Ian was completely unaffected by the cold and moved freely. He used Flash Step to evade the attacks, then charged straight at Owl. Ice crystals trailed behind his blade as he swept it horizontally!
"Hmph, such a straightforward attack. Do you think you can hit me with it?" Owl snorted, preparing to evade Ian's strike.
"You can't run. Six-Garment Ice Purification Formation!" However, Ian revealed a faint smile and pointed forward!
"Huh? Not good!" Seeing Ian's smile, Owl was immediately alarmed. Looking down, he saw six points around his feet glowing ice-blue. Terrifying cold began converging around those six points of light!
The sound of ice crystals spreading rang out. Six beams of light shot into the sky, and amid the extreme cold, ice crystals spread upward from beneath Owl's feet, seeking to freeze him completely!
Faced with this, Haki erupted from Owl's body. His muscles bulged as he tried to break free from the ice crystals binding him!
But how could Ian simply stand by and watch?
"Ice Dragon Tailspin!" Ian sneered as he charged in, gripping his sword with both hands and slashing down fiercely!
"Ah la la, you haven't forgotten about me, have you, Ice Dragon Ian?" At that moment, Aokiji attacked. A thin ice blade appeared in his hand, covered in Armament Haki. Before Ian's sword could descend, he instantly stepped in front of it.
He swung his ice blade upward, colliding with Ian's slash!
Boom!
Their weapons collided with a terrifying roar, and violent force burst outward!
"So what?" Ian pressed down on Aokiji. He raised his right leg, coated it in Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki, then kicked toward Aokiji's abdomen!
Aokiji's gaze turned cold. He made no visible movement, yet a wall of ice rose from the ground, blocking Ian's kick at just the right moment.
With a boom, the ice wall shattered under Ian's kick. His strike continued forward, but it hit nothing.
Using that fleeting instant, Aokiji had transformed his body into an element in advance. A hollow opened in his abdomen exactly where Ian's kick landed!
Ice crystals flowed around Ian's foot, completely binding it in place. Aokiji said coldly, "I've got you now, Ice Dragon Ian!"
Behind him, Owl broke free and shattered the ice crystals. He flashed forward, placing his loosely clenched hands against Ian's chest. His aura surged as power exploded from beneath his feet, and he shouted, "Six Powers Secret Art: Staff Gun!"
The attack came too suddenly, and the distance was too close. Ian had no way to evade it!
"Die!" Cold light flashed from behind Owl's mask. Even physical monsters like Big Mom and Kaido would not have an easy time taking this attack head-on!
Boom!
Crack!
Amid a deafening explosion, a penetrating force struck Ian in the chest. Immediately afterward came the sound of ice breaking!
"Hm? A fake?" Owl and Aokiji's expressions darkened. Before their eyes, Ian had been struck by the penetrating force, yet the sound that followed was that of ice shattering.
In the next instant, Ian's body transformed into countless shattered pieces of ice!
"Nameless Divine Wind Style: Twin Gods!" Ian's voice rang out from high above!
In midair, the Azure Dragon coiled through the sky while the White Tiger crouched low. Dragon roars and tiger howls resounded as they suddenly charged down toward the two below!
"Block it!"
"Zero-Degree Wind!"
"Tempest Kick: Dark Owl!" Aokiji and Owl's expressions darkened. They shouted at the same time, unleashing their techniques to confront the Twin Gods diving down from the sky!
Boom, boom, boom!!
The heavens collapsed and the earth split apart. The entire world seemed to contain nothing but the clashing attacks!
In the next moment, a tsunami-like shockwave radiated outward, making nearly the entire island tremble!
The ground began to crack. Spiderweb-like fissures spread across the whole island, and Gold Coin Island, as though it had finally reached its limit, split into two halves from the middle. Seawater rushed in, only to be quickly frozen by the Extreme Cold Aura surrounding the battlefield!
The shockwave continued sweeping outward with unstoppable force. Even the frozen sea surface began to crack beneath the impact!
The sky collapsed and the earth split apart!
A true collapse of heaven and earth!
Meanwhile, at the underground harbor.
The battle there had briefly come to a stop due to the island splitting apart.
The fractured island allowed huge amounts of seawater to flood into the sealed underground harbor, forcing them to flee upward!
"Damn it, what exactly happened up there? Could it be the battle between the captain and Ice Dragon Ian? They've nearly destroyed the whole island!" Night Hawk's expression was grave behind her mask. Seeing seawater surge toward them, she swept out a Tempest Kick to drive it back, stepped through the air with Geppo, then launched another Tempest Kick to cut through the earth and escape through the opening!
"All the supplies on the island have been swept away by the sea. This is going to be troublesome. How are we supposed to explain this to our superiors?" Tailed Fox took a deep breath. Her expression was ugly as she looked at the massive quantity of supplies submerged beneath the seawater.
Another CP0 agent wearing a strange mask, codenamed Lone Wolf, also revealed a cold gleam in his eyes. "We can't worry about that now. Get up there first. That blind man is very likely Ice Dragon Ian's companion. We can't let him escape!"
Earlier, they had fought Issho. However, Issho was incredibly powerful, and even with the three of them joining forces, they had been unable to defeat him!
Issho had sensed something in advance and had already left the harbor.
"Don't worry. My Observation Haki has already locked onto him. He can't escape!"
"Let's go up!"
"Alright!"
The three did not waste any more words. They rushed through the opening and emerged onto the surface!
Elsewhere, Issho had already reached a high point. His blank eyes faced the distant direction as he muttered, "What intense battle fluctuations. Who is Ice Dragon Ian fighting...?"
Issho had learned of Ian's identity from the CP0 agents.
It was then that Issho learned the person he had encountered earlier was Ice Dragon Ian, whose name had been causing such an uproar recently!
"Forget it. It has nothing to do with me. I can only do what is within my power. Since the matter is settled, it is time for me to leave... I have no desire to be targeted by the World Government..." Issho looked in that direction again and shook his head. His ability pulled out a massive rock as he prepared to leave.
However, the three CP0 agents appeared again and launched an attack against him!
"You still think you can run? Where do you think you're going?" Night Hawk swung out a Tempest Kick, blocking Issho's movement.
Tailed Fox and Lone Wolf also used Geppo, surrounding Issho.
Issho let out a breath and said calmly, "I merely wish to offer the common people what little help I can. I do not wish to become enemies with your World Government..."
Issho had a headache as well. He had only wanted to perform an act of chivalry, yet he had somehow ended up clashing with the World Government...
Although he was not weak, he had no wish to confront a behemoth like the World Government. It was simply too troublesome!
In the past, Issho had always been careful when acting chivalrously. He would not intervene in situations beyond his control!
As he said, he could only offer what little help he could. There was too much darkness in this world, and he could not deal with all of it!
It was only this time that, for some reason, his Observation Haki had failed to detect the existence of these CP0 agents, leading to this entire chain of events...
"You talk too much! You dared attack agents of the World Government. Your crime has already been decided!" Lone Wolf snorted and attacked directly!
The other two CP0 agents did not waste words either. They would capture this blind man first!
"This is truly giving me a headache..." Issho gave a bitter smile, but he had no intention of waiting to be captured!
Boom, boom, boom!
The four began a fierce battle, and the commotion was far from small!
Back on this side, the shockwaves from the earlier collision gradually subsided.
Ian stood in midair, breathing somewhat heavily. The consecutive bursts had consumed a great deal of his strength. However, as he looked below, his brows furrowed slightly. "They withstood even that?"
"What an outrageous attack!" Aokiji wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He had also been injured in the previous clash. A wound stretched from his neck down to his abdomen, blood steadily flowing from it!
But he had not completely lost his fighting strength. He could still fight!
"Cough, cough... Damn it..." Nearby, Owl knelt on one knee and could not stop himself from coughing up blood. His aura had also weakened considerably. It was clear that he had been injured again in the earlier collision!
Moreover, this injury was extremely serious. If not for the powerful vitality of a Zoan user and his astonishing willpower, he would likely have already fallen unconscious!
"I refuse to believe I can't defeat you two today!" Ian looked down at them, his expression hardening. His aura erupted again, ice-blue light appearing in his eyes as terrifying cold poured from his body!
Hyorinmaru pointed toward the sky. Ian looked down and spoke coldly. "Try my final move! Ice Heaven Hundred Flower Funeral!!!"
Bzzzz...
The clouds in the sky seemed to awaken, suddenly churning as though they contained something terrifying!
Then, snowflakes began falling from high above, beautiful beyond compare!
Though they fell slowly, they carried endless killing intent!
This was Hyorinmaru's ultimate secret art, and also the strongest technique Ian could unleash with Hyorinmaru at his current stage—Ice Heaven Hundred Flower Funeral!
Before you continue