Attention, Stand at Ease; The Battle Rages On / Yishuihan Appears; Aokiji Is Frozen

That attack had changed the weather across a vast area. Solid ice spread over the sea for fifty kilometers in an instant.

"Ice Age!"

"Holy shit!"

Enel's eyes nearly popped out of his head. An attack with that much range was absurd. In an instant, it had transformed the world around them.

"Dongze!"

Robin, whom Enel had carried into the air, felt as though someone had seized her heart. Her pupils contracted, and she lost her usual composure. Her cry tore from her throat.

But Enel sensed no movement from the Sword Intent in his head. Guessing Dongze was all right, he hurriedly grabbed Robin as she formed wings and tried to charge at Aokiji.

"Robin, the boss is fine—"

Before Enel could finish, a massive slash burst from beneath the sea. The thick ice did nothing to stop it. Still surging with force, it shot toward Aokiji, ruining his plan to reinforce the ice. He flashed away from the spot.

Aokiji narrowed his eyes at Dongze as he emerged from the sea.

Dongze's battle instincts had impressed him. If the slash had come from anywhere else, Aokiji could have reinforced the ice again. His opponent might never have escaped.

Dongze stared at Aokiji, his expression grim.

Just as I thought. None of these Admirals are easy to deal with. I need to be even more careful.

I was a moment too slow to shed that force. He nearly ended me right there!

Standing in midair, Dongze surveyed the spread of the ice and drew a sharp breath.

Fifty-five kilometers.

That was far bigger than the area Aokiji would freeze when he stopped Straw Hat Luffy later! It was almost as large as the island where he would face Akainu in their final battle. Dongze gritted his teeth at the man standing there sighing. When Aokiji struck, he held nothing back.

All I did was steal your daughter away. Do you have to be this ruthless?

The thought of Pirate King Luffy left a sour taste in Dongze's mouth. Connections really did make all the difference. During the Paramount War, two of the three Admirals might as well have been actors, while Garp and Sengoku had stood by. Akainu had carried the whole fight alone.

Yet here Dongze was, struggling against Aokiji alone. He would bet that if Aokiji had used this move during the Paramount War, none of the Straw Hats—not even those aboard Law's lifeboat—would have survived. So much for hiding underwater.

"Not bad, Dongze! I rarely see a Swordmaster as strong as you!"

"Same to you! Aside from Garp, I haven't met anyone stronger."

"Vice Admiral Garp? There's no comparing me to him! If I made that old man angry, I'd be stuck in bed for months!"

Dongze's mouth twitched. Is that why you'll give that Straw Hat such an easy time later? Doesn't your conscience bother you? I'm your son-in-law, you know!

Some bird: "Sorry, not yet. →_→"

Stand at Attention, Stand at Ease: The Battle Rages On

"Warm-up's over! Ready, Dongze?"

Ice rapidly covered half of Aokiji's body. The air around him seemed to change; even his breath turned to frost as soon as it left his mouth.

The power of his freezing air had risen by more than a single level.

Dongze's face darkened. Aokiji hadn't been boasting. If this was his real strength, then everything before truly had been a warm-up.

A cold wind swept past, and both figures vanished again.

Sonic booms filled the air at more than twice their previous frequency. Every collision made the space around them shudder.

"Ice Block: Polar Spears!"

A cold shout rang out without warning.

Silver light burst forth. Two short spears radiating bitter cold formed in an instant and shot toward Dongze.

The air along their path turned to shards of ice. The attack streaked across the sky like a comet trailing a tail.

But its trail held no beautiful starlight—only cold, murderous intent.

Dongze tensed. Aokiji's fighting style was downright unfair. Prolonged exposure to that freezing air numbed the body and slowed movement.

Even Armament Haki couldn't completely protect him from it.

In a battle between experts, the slightest gap could decide everything.

Aokiji had seized that opening to unleash a powerful attack at close range. It was maddening.

Unfortunately for him, Dongze was no ordinary swordsman. His figure blurred as he entered a state beyond description.

Non-Contention Sword Intent erupted.

Aokiji froze as Dongze twisted his body and dodged the sudden attack in a way he couldn't begin to understand.

"How does that even work?"

Dongze didn't care whether it made sense. While Aokiji was stunned, he launched Hundred-Pace Flying Sword.

Dense Armament Haki coated Forgotten Dust. Dongze hurled it with all his strength, and an ink-wash painting seemed to envelop Aokiji.

A tremendous pressure followed, locking onto him.

Aokiji frowned at the sheer force of it.

Conqueror's Haki? No, it's just pressure. But this is ridiculous!

The instant it locked onto him, Aokiji found he couldn't move. His feet might as well have been glued in place.

Before he could examine the sensation, Forgotten Dust arrived before him with unstoppable force.

"What a terrifying sword technique!"

With that exclamation, Aokiji was blown apart.

Dongze's eyes sharpened. He didn't stop. Riding his momentum, he rushed another hundred meters before coming to a halt.

He looked at Aokiji, whose form had reassembled not far from where he had been, and felt a wave of helplessness.

"An Admiral's Observation Haki really is something."

The moment Aokiji realized he couldn't block the attack, he had transformed into his element ahead of time. Dongze's severing strike had cut through empty space without achieving a thing.

Aokiji glanced back at the sea, where the blast had shattered the ice into crystals. Uncharacteristic gravity flashed in his eyes. If that sword had hit him, he would have been finished.

In the distance, Enel and Robin exchanged wry looks. For a moment, it felt as though they were watching a movie—one that needed no special effects.

Enel in particular shuddered at the sight of Hundred-Pace Flying Sword again. Dongze had nearly killed him with it on Sky Island. Being pinned by that pressure was the stuff of nightmares.

The slash had smashed through ice for ten kilometers in every direction. His scalp tingled. Thank goodness he had injured himself to break free of its hold back then.

If he had taken that strike head-on, he would have been done for.

"Hey, Dongze, are all your moves this vicious?"

Aokiji stared at Dongze in the distance, his head aching. He could accept a Swordmaster sending out flying slashes. That was what swordsmen did.

Even coating them in Armament Haki was fair enough. Dongze had no Devil Fruit ability, so developing his Haki made sense.

But a move that made him stand at attention and then stand at ease? That was too much.

This was a fight, not a military parade. Having that sprung on him mid-battle was miserable, regardless of who won.

Dongze chuckled. "Yours are no better!"

Truthfully, Dongze no longer wanted to fight Aokiji at close quarters. One touch of that freezing air, and Aokiji would batter him with a lightning-fast combination.

It was as though Aokiji meant to finish him in a single flurry.

"Whew."

Before the sigh had faded, Aokiji vanished and charged Dongze. After facing Hundred-Pace Flying Sword, he had no intention of fighting from a distance anymore. If he got pinned in place again, he would be too embarrassed to face anyone even if he won.

"Ice Time!"

Ice Time was an instant close-range move, and it had rarely failed Aokiji.

But Dongze wasn't foolish enough to stand still and take the hit.

As Aokiji closed in, Dongze had already used Shave and Geppo to widen the gap once more.

In midair, Dongze's upper-arm muscles swelled to nearly twice their size. He swung Forgotten Dust through a full crescent arc.

"Sword-Draw Technique!"

A black slash tore through the air toward the approaching Aokiji.

Aokiji's mouth twitched at the pressure coming off it. What happened to ordinary attacks? Does every swing have to be a finishing move?

He wasn't a Swordmaster, but he knew slashes well. Plenty of Marine officers used swords.

Even Akainu had carried a long sword when he was a Vice Admiral.

If an ordinary slash had a power of one, a finishing move could multiply that by two to four. Armament Haki could double it again.

After their exchanges, Aokiji had a fair idea of Dongze's strength. There was no way an ordinary slash would put this much pressure on him.

Even the World's Greatest Swordsman, Hawkeye, didn't—well, Hawkeye didn't count. His ordinary swings might be stronger than other people's finishing moves. He was an exception.

Aokiji narrowed his eyes. Dongze had taken the familiar opening stance for Hundred-Pace Flying Sword. He wants to use that again?

Confident in his skill, Aokiji gritted his teeth and pushed his Observation Haki to its limit. He planned to transform ahead of the strike, dodge it, then close in and hit Dongze hard.

He's not dodging?

Dongze stared. So great Observation Haki makes you that cocky?

Then he remembered that Aokiji could even evade Whitebeard's attacks. He shook his head helplessly. Fine. You're the one who can pull off the impossible. You win.

"Then don't dodge this!"

Dongze raised Forgotten Dust and poured black slashes down on Aokiji. It was like mounting a machine gun in midair and firing five thousand rounds a minute.

Aokiji had just dodged Dongze's Sword-Draw Technique. At the sight of the barrage, his face went green, and he vanished.

Cold River Appears: Aokiji Frozen Solid

Logia Devil Fruit Users were said to be walking natural disasters. As Aokiji and Dongze's battle spread, so did the ice. It now stretched nearly eighty kilometers.

The bitter cold gnawed at anyone caught within it, wearing down their will.

Only now did Dongze understand why Aokiji had opened with a powerful move. Creating a battlefield that favored him had quietly improved his chances of winning.

Another slash flew past. Aokiji never broke stride. He had pushed his Observation Haki to its limit from the start, and transforming ahead of each attack had become routine.

"Dongze! Your Observation Haki isn't as strong as mine!"

"You can't hit me!"

Dongze tightened his grip on Forgotten Dust. He had expected Aokiji's Haki to be stronger than he imagined.

But even so, he hadn't expected the gap to be this wide.

Aokiji could transform ahead of even his Haki-infused slashes. They had fought for so long, yet the man hadn't made a single mistake.

So I have to use it after all.

Dongze sighed softly. A Marine Headquarters Admiral who could hold the seas in check was no simple opponent.

It was time to play another of his trump cards.

Sword Intent.

Of the three forms of Sword Intent he had comprehended, only two could attack: Erosion Sword Intent and Thunderclap Sword Intent.

Their proficiency stood at 420,000 and 200,000, respectively.

He had already confirmed that Sword Intent could hit a Logia Devil Fruit User whether they had transformed into their element or done so in advance. Once the Sword Intent reached them, the strike would land.

After spending the past few days relentlessly fighting the god of Sky Island, he had begun to understand why.

Sword Intent was usually a manifestation of the laws of nature and could affect how those laws worked. Elemental transformation was also a Devil Fruit User's way of using such laws. When Sword Intent reached them, it disrupted the laws governing their transformation, causing it to fail.

That meant they couldn't dodge the sword strike by transforming.

As Dongze considered which Sword Intent to use, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

"Ding!"

"Swordsmanship (The Legend of Qin world locked): Sword Intents unlocked—Hundred-Pace Flying Sword, Crossing the Eight Directions, Cold River!"

Dongze's eyes lit up at the synthetic voice. If the timing hadn't been so bad, he would have burst into song. This good fortune had come out of nowhere.