Shukaku, Save Me!

"Ice Thorns!"

Kuzan waved his right hand, and countless sharp ice spikes rapidly rose from the ground.

One Shadow Clone failed to dodge in time and was taken out instantly.

"Hakoku!"

Another Shadow Clone controlled an Iron Sand greatsword and slashed out a shockwave, destroying the ice spikes. However, Kuzan had already turned elemental and moved swiftly through the ice, leaving the area.

The distance between Kuzan and Brando's true body was steadily shrinking.

As Brando's physical burden increased, the strength displayed by his Shadow Clones gradually declined. They were no longer as overwhelming as they had been at the start.

After Kuzan dealt with two Shadow Clones, Brando no longer had them take the main offensive. Instead, he had the remaining three Shadow Clones feint from the side while his true body faced Kuzan.

"Finally done hiding?"

Kuzan said mockingly.

Brando's earlier words had gotten under his skin. Right now, all he wanted was for his fist to get acquainted with that blond brat's face.

"That was just a warm-up. Why are you already yapping?"

Brando clenched his right hand, and Iron Sand gathered in his palm to form a longsword.

He could have done as Kuzan did and formed a suit of armor from Iron Sand around his body, but it would not have been much use to Brando and would have reduced his speed.

More importantly, Kuzan's Armament Haki-infused punches definitely carried internal destruction. Iron Sand armor would not be able to withstand that force either.

"Let's see if your mouth is still this tough later!"

Kuzan charged straight at Brando after saying that.

Red chakra wrapped around Brando's body as arcs of electricity flickered around him. Whenever he moved, he resembled a flash of lightning.

In terms of speed, Brando was not much slower than Kuzan.

However, when Kuzan's fist struck the sword in Brando's hand, it shattered instantly. It could not hold out for even a moment.

Brando used the Rasengan he had formed in his other hand to meet the incoming fist. He poured in more chakra midway, rapidly enlarging the Rasengan and increasing its power.

"Ice Glove!"

Kuzan gathered icy cold around his right fist, enhancing its defensive power.

The instant the fist and Rasengan collided, neither side gave way. But Kuzan's raw stats were still higher. With greater force, he blasted Brando away together with the Rasengan.

Brando spun through the air several times before stabilizing himself. When Kuzan tried to follow up and finish him off, the three Shadow Clones used Magnet Release and Fire Release to interfere with Kuzan, buying the true body time to regain his footing.

"My arm went numb from just one clash?"

Brando's right hand trembled slightly.

But he had no time to think. Kuzan caught up again.

Brando did not know Armament Haki, so he could not fight Aokiji barehanded. And if they really traded blows head-on, Kuzan's internal destruction through Armament Haki would inflict even greater damage.

So Brando could only rely on the Rasengan and weapons condensed from Magnet Release to clash with him, but he could not keep up at all.

In less than ten seconds, Kuzan broke through every one of Brando's techniques in succession. At the same time, he controlled the cold air to instantly raise ice walls around them, trapping the two of them for a man-to-man 1v1 battle.

"With the strength of those clones, it'll take more than ten seconds to break through ten meters of ice. I'll finish you within ten seconds!"

Kuzan stared at Brando's face—or rather, that mouth. He just wanted to punch it.

"In your dreams. I can definitely last ten seconds!"

Brando answered confidently.

Kuzan was so angry he laughed. Even in this situation, Brando was still talking tough. This guy really had some nerve.

Kuzan stopped hesitating and clenched his fist as he rushed at Brando.

"Susanoo!"

Brando's Mangekyo spun rapidly.

A dark Susanoo formed directly around his body, quickly condensing bones, muscles, and finally armor.

The Susanoo held a longsword in its right hand and a shield in its left. It stood roughly twenty-three meters tall.

Kuzan had not expected Brando to have another trump card, but in this world, a difference in size meant nothing.

"Kagutsuchi!"

Brando knew that the Susanoo's attack speed could never hit Kuzan, so he directly used Kagutsuchi, instantly coating the Susanoo in a layer of Black Flames.

"Fist Bone Barrage!"

Kuzan became like an afterimage, rapidly appearing around Brando and bombarding the Susanoo with his fists.

Every spot his fists struck froze instantly. Although Black Flames clung to his fists as well, the ice armor that immediately fell away threw them off.

In just three seconds, Brando's Susanoo was completely frozen, and countless cracks appeared across its surface.

Brando did not sit around waiting to die. He continuously used Kagutsuchi to control the Black Flames, trying to hit Kuzan.

But he was always one step too slow. The Black Flames changed too slowly to match Kuzan's movement speed. Brando made several predictions, but Kuzan never fell for them. Brando guessed it was because of Observation Haki.

The ice walls around them shook constantly. The Shadow Clones outside were clearly fighting desperately as well.

"Fist Bone Impact!!"

Kuzan threw out his strongest punch.

It directly shattered the already crumbling Susanoo.

But what awaited him was the Rasenshuriken Brando had just formed. This time, it was not thrown. Brando had formed it together with a Shadow Clone, having the clone carry the Rasenshuriken over to self-destruct with Kuzan.

"You think I'd fall for that?"

Kuzan stomped his foot, and the ice beneath the approaching Shadow Clone rapidly rose, directly lifting it into the air. Seeing this, the Shadow Clone could only throw the Rasenshuriken downward.

But this time, Kuzan still did not dodge. Instead, he swung his fist toward the Rasenshuriken.

Seeing that, Brando, who had used the Transformation Technique to become the Rasenshuriken, could only return to normal. At the same time, he entered the Complete Tailed Beast Cloak state in midair. Crimson chakra covered his entire body, and a single tail emerged behind him.

Kuzan's fist collided directly with the chakra claw Brando extended. But the crimson chakra was instantly crushed, and Kuzan's unstoppable fist struck Brando's right shoulder.

Brando flew backward like a red cannonball and smashed into the ice wall, creating a huge crater.

Kuzan did not stop. He rapidly condensed the cold air between his hands into ice spheres and hurled them toward Brando, freezing him before he could escape.

The Shadow Clones broke through the ice wall at that moment and tried to help the true body break free, but Kuzan stopped them. The Shadow Clones were quickly dealt with by Kuzan.

"This ends here."

Kuzan walked toward Brando.

He knew very well that this Red Eye had only been at sea for a little over a month. If Brando were given more time to grow, he probably would not be so easy to subdue.

"Shukaku, save me!!!"

At the same time, Brando shouted inside the mental space.

"Hmph. I knew you couldn't handle it. And you wanted to become the second Sage of Six Paths?"

Shukaku mocked Brando.

But it acted as well. After all, in this world, only Brando and it were fellow townsmen. Even if Brando was going to die, he could not die at someone else's hands. He could only die at Shukaku's hands.

"Boom!!"

An immense burst of chakra erupted, instantly shattering the ice Kuzan had used to freeze Brando.

"Hey, hey, there's a second phase too?"

Kuzan had clearly sensed that Brando had already reached his limit.

Why was there a second-stage eruption?

At that moment, he wore the same bewildered expression Kaido had worn when he knocked Luffy down.