Paramount War 24

Whitebeard's battlefield.

Kuma's arrival did little to improve the situation.

In those brief dozen seconds or so, Aokiji and the other two had already been focused down by everyone more than once.

Eight of the Nine-Tailed Snake's nine tails had been severed, with Shalltear responsible for half of them.

The Wind Tanuki's blue, ferret-like body was now limping on one leg. Not only had its speed dropped, but Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit had also inflicted severe damage on its internal organs, bones, and muscles.

Fortunately, they were all awakened Zoan Devil Fruit users. Both their stamina and recovery abilities were monstrously strong.

Even so, there was still a limit.

After suffering severe injuries repeatedly within such a short span of time, even the greatest recovery ability could not hold up. On top of that, Shalltear kept drawing the blood flowing from their wounds, further draining their vitality.

As for Aokiji, he was in the worst condition of the three.

At the start, things had been manageable. With the two Cipher Pol agents serving as meat shields, he only needed to stay behind them and provide proper damage and battlefield control.

But after Shalltear disregarded her mana consumption and hit him with nearly a hundred high-tier fire spells in succession, the situation changed abruptly.

Neither cold nor heat could be called inherently stronger than the other. Their true strength depended more on how each person used them.

As a Marine Admiral, Aokiji had naturally developed his Devil Fruit to an exceptional degree.

Under normal circumstances, Shalltear's fire magic, while powerful, would have been nothing much to him.

With a bit of effort, he could have suppressed it.

But in a situation he was already barely sustaining, the blazing flames became the last straw that broke his back.

Enveloped in endless high temperatures,