"Wouldn't it be nice to have a little more trust between people?"
"Since you distrust me so much, I'll just have to ask you to be more careful in your next life."
Kazu took Muramasa out of his isolated space, his aura surging abruptly. His eyes fixed on Smoker, making it clear that he was about to attack.
"Arresting pirates is my duty as a Marine, even if my methods aren't entirely honorable."
Smoker did feel a little embarrassed. After all, Kazu had already said back then that as long as no one provoked him, he was merely an adventurer traveling around.
Now, Smoker had become the one who provoked him, breaking their earlier verbal agreement first.
"Your duty?"
"Hmph. Enough talk. Pay for what you've done."
"I can bear the consequences of my actions. I hope you can too."
"Battō Slash!"
A fierce slash coated in Armament Haki shot straight toward Smoker, moving too fast for him to dodge.
"So fast."
Smoker exerted all his strength, yet only managed to shift his body a fraction.
Shlick!
The strike that should have cut into his chest and gone straight for his heart instead severed his left arm.
Blood sprayed through the air, his left arm flying along with the sleeve of his Marine uniform.
The slash was so fast that Smoker had already lost his left arm before he could even feel the pain.
With no time to examine his injury, Smoker immediately transformed into his element and sent his upper body flying high into the air.
His opponent's attacks were too fast. He needed to put some distance between them to give himself more time to react.
"Hmph. Too naive."
Kazu was a Space-Space Fruit user. Did Smoker think escaping into the air would let him keep his distance?
"Hey, hey, young man. You're going too far."
As the voice rang out, a mass of ice followed.
Kazu swung the slash he had been about to unleash straight behind him instead.
The slash shattered the ice behind him. Using Geppo, Aokiji had already reached the harbor.
He had abandoned his beloved bicycle on the ice covering the sea.
Clearly, Kazu's attack on Smoker had been too much for this Marine Admiral to sit by and watch.
As a Marine Admiral, he had long since trained both forms of Haki to unfathomable heights.
"Marine Admiral Aokiji."
"Perfect. Now I can cut loose and really enjoy myself."
"Carlmand, Behrens, that Marine captain is yours."
Kazu looked at Aokiji before him, his fighting spirit rising to its peak.
"No problem. Leave him to us."
Carlmand and Behrens knew they could not help Kazu with his fight. They could only settle for the next best thing and keep the Marines in town from interfering with him.
Carlmand and Behrens charged straight toward Smoker and the dozens of Marines.
Carlmand, who possessed Armament Haki, took on the Logia user Smoker.
Behrens rushed into the Marine soldiers and unleashed a dazzling series of moves.
Smoker was Aokiji's good friend, and now a pirate had severed his arm in battle. Fury instantly blazed within Aokiji.
"What an arrogant fellow. In that case, I'll arrest you myself."
Aokiji extended his right hand, the chill seeming ready to freeze the surrounding space.
"Ice Time Capsule."
Cold air shot from Aokiji's hand, rapidly closing in on Kazu at incredible speed.
Kazu's Observation Haki and the Space-Space Fruit's area perception had long since covered all of Loguetown.
"Space Swap."
The next second, Kazu appeared on Aokiji's right, precisely on the side where he had raised his hand.
Taking advantage of Aokiji raising his hand to unleash his technique, Kazu brought his blade down from above, coated in Armament Haki.
Aokiji was shocked. This man was even faster than his colleague Borsalino. He had not even seen how Kazu had gotten there.
With no time to think or dodge, he coated his right hand in Armament Haki and used his arm to block Kazu's sudden strike.
Clang!
With a metallic crash, Aokiji blocked Kazu's strike, but his expression became frighteningly grave.
Kazu's strike felt heavy. His opponent wielded Armament Haki with great proficiency, and his swordsmanship was formidable as well. A bloody line had been cut into Aokiji's arm.
That bloody line was not to be underestimated. He had trained in martial arts under Garp, and his body was absurdly strong. Even with his Armament Haki added to that, he had failed to completely block the damage from this strike, which was enough to show how powerful Kazu was.
"Ice Glove!"
Aokiji held off Kazu's Muramasa with his right hand, while wrapping his left in a layer of ice and coating it with Armament Haki. He punched straight at Kazu's face.
Kazu sprang back two steps, dodging Aokiji's heavy blow, but Aokiji did not stop. He immediately moved at high speed, pursuing Kazu relentlessly.
Indeed, Aokiji did not understand Kazu's abilities or methods, so he would first press him hard and throw him off balance. Sooner or later, an opening would appear.
"You're really underestimating me."
Kazu saw through Aokiji's intentions as well. He raised Muramasa high above his head and unleashed a technique.
"Raging Dragon Slash!"
Sword energy condensed into a pale golden dragon's head, and Kazu instantly charged toward Aokiji, swinging Muramasa.
"This is..."
Aokiji had not expected Kazu's swordsmanship to be so bizarre either. After a brief moment of surprise, he chose not to dodge, instead throwing a punch to meet his opponent head-on.
As Ice Glove collided with Raging Dragon Slash, Kazu rushed past, and Aokiji's glove shattered into fragments of ice.
Just as Aokiji was about to turn around, his Observation Haki blared a warning. Kazu was already attacking from behind with Raging Dragon Slash again.
"Ice Saber!"
Aokiji hurriedly turned, taking up an Ice Saber to clash with Kazu once more.
After rushing past, Kazu gave Aokiji no chance to catch his breath, launching Raging Dragon Slash for a third time.
Aokiji formed another two Ice Sabers and clashed with him again.
The two collided three times in succession, their speed astonishing. Ordinary people could not even follow their movements as they exchanged blows.
By the fourth Raging Dragon Slash, Aokiji had already anticipated it. The first thing he did after their clash was turn around.
Sure enough, Kazu came charging at him again.
Clang!
Four rapid charges, the ultimate display of strength and speed.
It was not that Aokiji did not want to dodge, but Kazu's technique was too fast. Dodging would only expose more openings and allow his opponent to land a hit.
Aokiji had never heard of swordsmanship like this. In all his years at sea, he had never seen this school of swordsmanship.
In the distance, Smoker was holding his own against Carlmand. Seeing that Kazu had actually tied Aokiji down, his heart was already in turmoil.
He knew Kazu was strong, but that was a Marine Admiral.
A bounty of two hundred million Beli-which idiot had set that bounty for this monster? Was this the strength of someone worth two hundred million Beli?
They needed to add at least another zero. Otherwise, other Marine officers would be misled by that bounty too.
Meanwhile, seeing their captain fight so valiantly reassured Carlmand and Behrens and filled them with pride.