"Gern, only you can make me realize just how far I've come, so..."
As his words faded, ice crystals spread in an instant, frigid white mist still lingering on Kuzan's fingertips.
He had already appeared behind Gern, while Gern had been frozen into a glittering ice sculpture.
On the Warship's deck, Enel's pupils abruptly contracted, and his Golden Long Staff hit the deck beside his feet with a clack.
"When?!" A rare note of shock entered his voice.
That was Gern-the man who could shake Birka with a single punch and catch his El Thor barehanded. How could he have been frozen in an instant?!
"It seems..." The Snake Princess couldn't help growing tense either. "This battle is going to be spectacular!" she said softly.
Veins bulged at Enel's temples, lightning crackling around him, yet for once, he didn't argue.
Instead, he frantically tried to detect any movement inside the ice sculpture with his Observation Haki.
But he sensed nothing except deathly still cold.
Could it... really be over?
But the next second-
"Heh." Kuzan chuckled, half his face frozen as he tilted his head lazily. "As expected, this much isn't enough to freeze you."
Boom!!! The ice sculpture suddenly exploded, countless fragments spraying like bullets. Gern stepped out, black flashes produced by Armament Haki coiling around his entire body.
"Kuzan..." Gern's lips curled upward as he rolled his neck, his joints cracking crisply.
"That kind of greeting isn't nearly enough." Before his words had faded, he vanished!
Bam!!! The ground cracked under the vibrations. Gern shot toward Kuzan like a cannonball, pale energy from High-Frequency Vibration wrapped around his right fist. The air twisted and shattered before his knuckles.
"Well, well..." Kuzan's gaze sharpened. He raised his index finger, and an ice wall instantly surged from the ground.
**"That