The feast of ice and fire in the waters off Long Ring Long Land finally ended with both sides standing down and Zhang Fei leaving first.
Over five thousand meters across, the terrifying battlefield was half boiling seawater and steam, half jagged ice, like an ugly scar upon the earth, silently recounting the brief duel that had just taken place-a duel worthy of the history books. Turbulent air still howled, and small storms formed by the collision of hot and cold air swept up seawater and ice fragments, weaving and whimpering between the shattered floes. The air was thick with the salty dampness of evaporated seawater, the sulfurous smell of cooling lava, and a lingering chill that seemed capable of freezing the soul.
Aokiji stood on a relatively intact ice floe, gazing toward the horizon where Zhang Fei had vanished. Only after a long while did he slowly exhale a white breath laden with ice crystals. He appeared calm, but his slightly heaving chest and somewhat pale complexion revealed how much the fierce battle had taken out of him. A clash between Admirals, particularly a battle of attrition between two top-tier Devil Fruit powers, was a severe test of both stamina and Haki.
"Arara... what a troublesome fellow." Aokiji muttered, rubbing his slightly throbbing temples. He lowered his gaze to his right hand. A small, inconspicuous patch of blackened skin marked its back, where a stray thread of lava had grazed him. Even Armament Haki and Elementalization had failed to prevent it from leaving a mark. The Groudon Fruit's magma was not merely absurdly hot; it also seemed to contain an earthlike weight and corrosive force, with an extremely strong resistance to his freezing ability.
"Hua Country... 'Flame Tiger' Zhang Fei..." Aokiji's gaze deepened. The battle had seemingly ended in