"Whoooosh!"
Within Marineford, an enormous mass of ice blotted out the sky as it fell, compressing the air until a low howl rang out.
The colossal block of ice, spanning ten thousand meters, was like a mountain falling from the sky, crashing down toward River.
It needed no fanfare, no further display of power. An ice mass of that size was itself the deadliest, most earthshaking attack.
Crack, crack, crack!
At the same time, however, a rapid series of fine cracking sounds rang out in the air.
Even faced with such a staggering, immense block of ice, River still threw a punch. Faint ripples and a halo of light enveloped his fist, shaking the space around it.
Crack, crack, crack!
The cracking continued, spreading outward at tremendous speed. In the blink of an eye, dense, web-like fractures had appeared in the air.
Buzzz!
From small to large, from sparse to dense, the cracks rapidly appeared in midair. People soon noticed them, their pupils contracting in shock.
"You've got to be kidding!"
"River has mastered it too?"
"But how could two people possess the same Devil Fruit?"
Cries of shock and disbelief filled the air.
Within a few breaths, the cracking sounds and fractures had spread everywhere, radiating from River's outstretched right fist toward the enormous ice mass overhead.
At last, the two collided.
Buzzz!
The mountain-sized block of ice stopped dead. With a boom, cracks appeared at its pointed base, then raced upward. Countless fractures swiftly spread through it like shattering glass.
Crack!
The sounds were faint but densely packed, merging into a chorus until nothing else could be heard throughout the world.
Invisible ripples and white currents of air churned over the ice.
Boom!
The moment those fine cracks reached the summit of the ice mountain and spread across