"Boom!"
Before he had even a moment to react, that huge hand seized Aokiji's head and dragged his entire body backward.
Wind roared around him, twisting and shaking his pale face.
His legs rapidly carved long furrows through the ice, sending chips flying, while River's huge hand clamped firmly around his head.
At that moment, Aokiji's mind went blank. He had no time to react at all.
On the ice, the figure enveloped in green energy hurtled forward, one hand outstretched, gripping Aokiji's head.
Yet Aokiji, an Admiral, seemed to have lost all his strength, dragged along helplessly by that hand.
"Boom!"
Only after dragging him nearly a thousand meters did River slam him viciously into the ice.
"Crack!"
The ice split, and an enormous crater appeared.
Aokiji lay sprawled spread-eagled, coughing up blood. His head shattered with a thunderous bang, leaving only his headless body.
In the next second, that headless body suddenly moved, flickering away from River. Ice immediately gathered above his neck, forming the shape of his head again.
"Hah, hah, hah, hah!"
Aokiji panted heavily, blood staining the corner of his mouth. Clear finger marks covered his forehead and head.
Staring at the man before him, his spirits sank to rock bottom.
Speed that left him no time to react. Savage strength like a wild beast's. Even as an Admiral, he found himself trembling at that moment.
"Power worthy of standing among the World's Strongest?"
"It really does send chills down your spine!"
As Aokiji murmured, a tremor ran through his body. The ice behind him shuddered, and sharp spears of ice emerged one after another.
In the blink of an eye, they filled the air, blotting out half the sky.
The next second, he swept both hands forward.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Countless ice