By now, Kuzan had grown even more doubtful of his own justice. Not long ago, when he saw Sakazuki order the evacuation ship to be bombarded, a gloom had settled over him.
And just now, a child barely ten years old had cursed him to his face. Kuzan had not stopped him, and had even felt that he was right.
Looking at the little girl whom the boy before him had protected to the death, Kuzan felt even worse. He crouched down, preparing to take Robin away. After all, there was no way she could escape while unconscious.
If he did not intervene, she would likely never wake up again after lying on the ice.
Just then, Kuzan suddenly froze, his expression turning serious.
"Get the hell away from her..."
The enormous block of ice encasing Lin Yuan shattered, and a black-and-red fist shot straight toward Kuzan's abdomen.
Kuzan, already somewhat surprised, did not dodge. An ordinary fist could not possibly injure a Logia Devil Fruit user, and he did not even activate his Observation Haki.
Although he was somewhat surprised that the child could break out of his ice, that did not mean the boy could threaten him. After all, he was too young.
But Kuzan suddenly felt a warning from his Observation Haki, and the sense of danger was actually coming from the child before him.
"Armament: Dragon God Strike..."
Kuzan tried to transform into his element, but his moment of hesitation had cost him his chance. He took Lin Yuan's punch head-on.
"Bang..."
Kuzan was sent flying off the ice, his face flushed red, as if a mouthful of blood were about to surge from his throat.
"Screech..."
Kuzan was not sent completely flying. His feet scraped across the ice, gouging two long tracks as he slid back dozens of meters before stopping.
"Whew... What strength!"
Once he stopped, Kuzan could not help letting out a breath. He rubbed his abdomen, feeling certain that the punch had left it red.
"Clang..."
The instant he stopped, another red slash came flying at him, with Lin Yuan close behind it, his Famous Sword poised for a thrust.
"Ice Shield..."
Kuzan no longer took him lightly. He used his ability to form a shield of ice ten meters thick in front of him in an instant, while both hands immediately conjured an ice blade. His expression turned serious as well.
"Boom..."
The red slash shattered the ice shield, sending shards flying through the air. Lin Yuan followed close behind, thrusting his sword at Kuzan as he came into view.
"Duang..."
But Kuzan casually blocked the strike. No matter how hard Lin Yuan pushed, he could not drive it any farther.
Damn, I'm still too young. The gap between Kuzan's strength and mine is too great.
Even so, he did not give up. He swung his Famous Sword more fiercely. If there was anything he could barely use to contend with Kuzan now, perhaps it was swordsmanship. As he recalled, Kuzan did not seem to be a great swordsman.
But Lin Yuan was shocked once again. Although Kuzan's swordsmanship was indeed not at the level of a great swordsman, his tremendous strength still brought his attacks to the peak of a swordsman's level.
"Oh, kid, looks like you don't have any other trump cards. In that case, I'll have to finish you off."
"You're just a running dog of the World Government. Even if I die, I'm still going to punch you."
Lin Yuan roared, but his strength was not up to the task, and Kuzan sent him flying.
"Two Pheasant Beaks..."
Lin Yuan barely managed to block one strike while airborne, but he was still hit by one ice spear after another. Shattered ice cut countless wounds across his body, as though he were being sliced to death.
The intense pain made him unable to keep hold of his Famous Sword. It fell from his hand and plunged upright into the ice.
"Boom..."
Lin Yuan crashed down not far from Robin, his blood staining the clear ice a deep red.
"Ugh..."
Lin Yuan could not help spitting out a mouthful of blood. The pain all over his body made him draw a sharp breath.
"Gah... That fucking hurts. Damn you, Kuzan. Even if I die, I'll shatter your Dao heart. Justice, my ass."
"Oh? What's a Dao heart? I never expected you to be so strong at ten years old. I doubt even a Marine Vice Admiral could beat you."
"Then I can only..."
"Brother Lin Yuan!"
Just as Kuzan was about to finish Lin Yuan off, a clear but frightened voice rang out.
It was Robin. The commotion had woken her, and she saw a scene that filled her with terror.
Her beloved Brother Lin Yuan was lying on the ground, covered in blood, while the man she feared raised an ice blade, ready to kill him.
"Slap..."
Robin looked at the clothes slipping off her body. Clever as she was, she quickly worked out roughly what had happened: Lin Yuan had been fighting the man to protect her.
Robin struggled to control the fear in her heart and immediately used her Flower-Flower Fruit ability. More than a dozen arms appeared on Kuzan.
But even using every ounce of her strength, Robin could not move Kuzan in the slightest. In her desperation, she slapped him across the face.
That single slap left both Lin Yuan and Kuzan stunned.
"Robin, run!"
Lin Yuan was alarmed. Although Kuzan had no intention of killing Robin, things had now developed in a direction whose outcome even he could not foresee.
I can only reveal some of it. I was planning to use it anyway.
"Roar... Whoosh..."
Just then, Lin Yuan worked his mouth, and a sound like a dragon's roar echoed through the heavens and earth. Crimson-gold flames erupted from his mouth.
The crimson-gold flames engulfed everything within dozens of meters. Lin Yuan instantly arrived in front of Robin, and the surrounding flames parted around them of their own accord.
Kuzan was shocked. He actually sensed a threat from the crimson-gold flames. He pushed his speed nearly to its limit while transforming his body into his element.
But even so, the flames still caught Kuzan's arm, and their terrifying heat burned it in an instant.
Fortunately, he had transformed in time and avoided serious injury, though a scar remained.
"You're both Devil Fruit users!"
Kuzan was truly surprised this time. He had not expected these two kids to have eaten Devil Fruits, which everyone wanted to obtain.
"Robin, don't be afraid. No matter what happens next, hold on tight to me."
"Mm, I'm not afraid!"
Robin's maturity brought a little warmth to Lin Yuan's heart.
"Now it's your turn, Kuzan. Watch how I shatter your Dao heart!"
The surrounding flames continued to burn, melting all the frozen sea around them except for the ice beneath Lin Yuan and Robin's feet.
"Oh, kid, I didn't expect you two to be Devil Fruit users. But in this situation, it looks like you can't escape anymore."
Kuzan looked at the two of them, unable to calm himself for a long time. He had been shocked far too many times today, especially by the boy named Lin Yuan, with his monstrous talent and terrifying Devil Fruit ability. He just did not know what that ability was.
"Escape? Heh, in this situation, we don't want to escape at all. But if you want our lives, that's impossible."
"Even if we die, we won't surrender. No one can kill us except ourselves. Look at the sins you've committed: Ohara burning, civilians dead. This is what you running dogs, who spend all day cursing the trash Celestial Dragons, have done."
"Just you wait. One day, someone will completely destroy Marineford, just as you destroyed Ohara, and then sink Mary Geoise beneath the sea for eternity."
With that, Lin Yuan and Robin leaped off the ice under Kuzan's astonished gaze, plunging straight into the churning seawater.
"Stop!"
Kuzan finally understood why Lin Yuan had said no one could kill them and that only they themselves could.
Kuzan rushed frantically to where the two had fallen, but all that remained was the wildly churning sea. There was no trace of Lin Yuan or Robin.