Aokiji saw the Sword Glint before him, and his pupils shrank to Extreme. The usual lazy look vanished from his face.
He pressed both hands to the ground and growled.
"Ice Age."
A massive wall of ice rose before him. Behind him stood Vegapunk and Anita, who was slumped on the ground.
The wall kept rising and thickening until it was almost a towering fortress wall.
The instant it formed, the enormous orange-yellow Sword Glint arrived, about to strike it.
Loud cracks rang through the ice. Before the sword energy even touched it, the wall's surface was already taking damage.
With a sharp clang, the Sword Glint struck the wall, unleashing a tremendous impact.
Aokiji did not stop using his power. He roared, forcing the crumbling wall to repair itself again and again.
Even so, it could not stop the Sword Glint.
Protected by Aokiji's ice wall, Vegapunk and Anita escaped the impact. That left Werther to take the worst of it. Weakened after his powerful attack, he had to drive Intent Blood into the ground to keep from being blown away.
Aokiji was struggling too, veins bulging across his face.
A thunderous boom sounded, and a blinding light erupted. Everyone shut their eyes. At the last moment, Aokiji raised another ice wall in front of Vegapunk and Anita.
Then an even louder slash rang out.
When the dust cleared, Aokiji shook his head and glanced at the sword wound on his chest. He breathed a sigh of relief. It was not too serious.
But he was puzzled. He had turned elemental, so why had that Sword Glint still cut him?
Amid the impact, Aokiji had failed to notice that Werther's Sword Glint had shattered the very space he occupied.
"Doctor, how are you two?"
"I'm fine. My ears are