Zoro did as he was told, casually slashing his frozen arm with his sword. Aokiji also cleaned his blood, which had been tainted by the poison, and froze the wound together before finally thawing his arm. Blood instantly flowed through his arm and hand!
With no other unusual changes observed, Aokiji finally breathed a sigh of relief. Shura's abilities were unpredictable, and he dared not let his guard down for a moment.
Then, he raised his hand and placed it on Zoro's wound. The frozen poisonous blood instantly turned into black ice shards, which he then drew out of his body.
In the distance, Shura stood with his hands behind his back, quietly watching Aokiji help Zoro detoxify. He neither stepped forward to stop him nor made any other move. It was unclear whether he was wary of the battlefield, which was now covered in ice, or simply indifferent to it.
Having roamed the seas for so many years, how could Aokiji possibly help Zoro with his antidote without any precautions? He's been on guard against Shura for a long time!
This battlefield, covered with a thick layer of ice, has become his domain. If Shura dares to take even half a step in, he is confident that he can freeze him into a dazzling ice sculpture in an instant.
Unfortunately, Shura was not fooled in the end. To have survived until now on the ever-changing sea, this ruthless killer must have some skill.
"Be careful of his neurotoxins; the hallucinations we just experienced were probably caused by that toxin!"
"I'm afraid Aokiji said in a deep voice, a hint of lingering fear flashing in his icy blue eyes.
Having experienced countless battles, from the pinnacle of the Marine Admiral to a pirate who roamed the New World, and even set foot on the Laugh Tale, he also had considerable knowledge of poisons. After analyzing the situation, he realized that he and Zoro had unknowingly been poisoned with a neurotoxin.
Even now, thinking about it still sends chills down my spine. Just a hair's breadth away from completely succumbing to the illusion.
The power of a poison-using fruit is still a bit too much; it can even target a person's consciousness. This method of using poison is simply beyond common sense. He knew he couldn't delay any longer; who knew if that guy Shura had even more bizarre poison abilities?
After draining the poisonous blood from Zoro's arm and completely freezing and closing the wound, Aokiji used his ability to sense the condition of Zoro's arm before releasing the frozen state. The severed blood and bodily fluids began to flow again!
The moment the blood rushed to his arm, Zoro's vision went white, and a dizzying sensation swept over him, briefly plunging him into darkness. However, he quickly recovered; this was a side effect of the sudden massive loss of blood. Fortunately, his physique was as strong as a ferocious beast, and he gritted his teeth and pulled through in just a few breaths, though his face was a little pale.
The moment the blood flowed completely through his arm, Zoro clearly felt a warm sensation returning. Apart from a slight numbness, his entire arm felt perfectly normal.
Do you have a plan?
Zoro spat out the saliva in his mouth, drew Wado Ichimonji and bit it in his mouth, instantly assuming the Three-Sword Style stance.
His eyes were sharp as a hawk's, yet they couldn't hide a hint of seriousness. Faced with a poison user who manipulated consciousness, even he, known for his bravery, couldn't find a way to break the deadlock and could only turn his gaze to Aokiji, who was also a user.
"Let's just deal with it as it comes. That guy's abilities are a bit unpredictable, but putting that aside, his strength isn't anything to fear!"
After leaving behind a single sentence, Aokiji's body transformed into a crystal-clear ice sculpture.
Almost simultaneously, on the ice layer at the edge of the battlefield, an ice-blue figure suddenly solidified, instantly transforming into a real person, standing only seven or eight meters away from Shura!
The ice beneath his feet shattered with a deafening roar, and he shot out like an arrow, his target Shura. His raised fist was wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, and the air itself seemed to vibrate with an unbearable hum.
This move was practically teleportation! Shura's pupils shrank, his face filled with astonishment—he hadn't sensed the slightest fluctuation in his aura.
For a powerhouse of Aokiji's caliber, a distance of seven or eight meters is covered in the blink of an eye.
Therefore, Aokiji's punch was very solid, carrying the power to shatter ice and split rocks, and slammed hard into Shura's astonished face!
No one knew that Aokiji froze the entire battlefield not only to prevent Shura from getting close, but also to pave the way for this move.
In his own icy realm, he could transform into ice elements and move freely through the ice layers at a speed comparable to an electric current in a wire, which was no different from teleportation.
This was his trump card, a move he had never had the chance to use before—after all, there were very few enemies who could force him to use it.
Shura sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, but Aokiji did not stop and continued to follow, his figure chasing after her like a shadow.
His Conqueror's Haki surged even more intensely, and the crimson Conqueror's Haki on his fists almost solidified.
Although that punch felt good, it was a surprise attack, and the Conqueror's Haki around me was too weak to inflict a fatal wound. Since that's the case, I can only keep attacking until I completely crush my opponent!
The second punch, carrying the force of wind and thunder, came crashing down. Shura finally came to his senses, enduring the excruciating pain on his face, and hastily raised his arm to block.
With a sharp, piercing "crack," the fist, imbued with Conqueror's Haki, directly bent and deformed his defenseless arm bone!
A wave of excruciating pain swept through his body, and Shura's brows furrowed into a deep frown, veins bulging on his forehead.
He had spent his life immersed in the art of poison, always killing people in the shadows without leaving a trace. He had rarely experienced such direct combat, and his tolerance for pain was almost zero. At this moment, he felt pain screaming from the very marrow of his bones.
" Aokiji, a former Marine Admiral, actually resorted to a sneak attack!"
Shura clutched his twisted severed arm, staggering backward, his eyes surging with murderous intent like boiling water.
As he watched Aokiji closing in, an unprecedented fear welled up inside him— Aokiji was Garp's disciple and a Logia Ice-Ice Devil Fruit User freezing thousands of miles away and delivering devastating blows up close. He was a versatile monster, skilled in both martial arts and academics.
He was merely a stealthy assassin skilled in using poison, and being caught in close combat by such a powerful close-combat expert would be a terrifying prospect for him!
"I'm a pirate now!"
Aokiji's voice was devoid of any emotion, yet his footsteps grew increasingly rapid, each step causing the ice to tremble.
In a battle for life or death, or a battle for righteousness, who cares if it's a sneak attack? He sneered, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes!
When you used that insidious neurotoxin to ambush us, did you never consider the word "sneak attack"? The Celestial Dragons ' God's Knights, so hypocritical indeed! Used to being high and mighty, do you really think everyone has to indulge you?
Shura dodged Aokiji's fierce attacks in a sorry state, his severed arm twisting and healing at a speed visible to the naked eye—his body had already been modified by poison, and he possessed an immortal body and extremely strong self-healing ability.
He secretly held a poisoned needle made of highly toxic substance between his fingertips, intending to launch an attack several times, but Aokiji noticed it in advance each time.
Aokiji is now even more cautious, his body already covered with a not-so-thin layer of ice armor. The moment the poison needles touched the ice surface, they were blocked and frozen into ice shards. The slight vibrations transmitted through the ice armor were also the best warning.
Meanwhile, Zoro remained silent on the ice, gripping his sword hilts tightly with both hands, clenching his teeth Wado Ichimonji, his entire being in a peculiar state.
He gathered all his Sword Qi and Haki, and his surging momentum rose like a tsunami, distorting and deforming the air around him, with visible blood-red flames soaring into the sky.
In a daze, it seemed as if a phantom of the Grim Reaper wielding a scythe slowly opened its eyes behind him.