"Hahaha! What do you think, Garp? Our newcomer's pretty good, right?" Roger said with a smug laugh.
"A Devil Fruit User... these tremors-could it be the Tremor-Tremor Fruit? Roger, you actually let your crewmate eat the Tremor-Tremor Fruit? Don't you know that fruit mustn't be eaten?" Garp said grimly.
"Zesi was already a Devil Fruit User before joining the Roger Pirates. Besides, while it might be a Devil Fruit that brings death to others, that isn't necessarily true for Zesi. He's the man who'll make the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's name resound across the seas!" Roger said with a laugh.
"Is that so? Then never mind. But even if that newcomer of yours is a Tremor-Tremor Fruit User, he can't possibly beat Kuzan as long as he doesn't know Armament Haki!"
"A Logia's elemental transformation, huh? It really is a cheat ability against anyone who doesn't know Armament Haki!"
"But..."
Roger, Garp, and the others looked toward the two figures on the sea.
Zesi and Kuzan were each using their own abilities to stand atop the sea.
Kuzan, of course, had frozen another patch of ice and stood on it.
Zesi, meanwhile, stood in midair.
A closer look revealed pulses of vibration coming from beneath Zesi's feet.
Those very vibrations were holding Zesi up.
"The Tremor-Tremor Fruit? What a frightening power!" Kuzan said, looking at the ice around him that had shattered in an instant.
"It's not as terrifying as you imagine. At most, it can cause a few earthquakes and stir up some tsunamis!" Zesi said with a smile.
"And that's not frightening?" Kuzan said, rolling his eyes.
"You can freeze the sea in an instant. You don't get to talk!" Zesi said.
"It might be a bit of a cheat, but without Armament Haki, you have no way to defeat a Logia like me. You should just surrender!"
"Who knows how things will turn out until it's over? Besides, have you ever seen the Roger Pirates surrender of their own accord?"
At Zesi's words, everyone in the Roger Pirates puffed out their chests, smug expressions on their faces.
"There's a first time for everything, isn't there?" Kuzan said coolly.
As he spoke, icy vapor rose from Kuzan's hand, and five pillars of ice shot from his palm.
The five ice pillars shot out at tremendous speed, enveloping Zesi in an instant.
By the time everyone looked again, Zesi had already been frozen inside a massive block of ice.
The Roger Pirates' expressions changed.
A few of the more impulsive crew members were about to rush forward to save him.
Zesi was the ship's brewer. They couldn't let anything happen to him.
"Wait. Zesi hasn't lost yet!" Roger said just then.
Roger's words stopped everyone in their tracks.
Just then, cracks spread across the block of ice encasing Zesi. The entire block shattered, revealing him completely unharmed before everyone.
"No need to be so impatient, is there?"
"I was only saying hello!"
"That greeting of yours was truly bone-chilling. In that case, I'll say hello too. I guarantee mine will be brimming with warmth!"
As Zesi spoke, he drew his long blade.
The instant Zesi's blade left its sheath, a mighty dragon's roar rang out from it.
At the same time, a flood-dragon-shaped slash flew toward Kuzan in an instant.
"Look out! That slash contains Haki!" Garp warned, his expression changing.
"Brimming with warmth indeed. Impossible to turn down!" Kuzan said, his expression changing as well.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!" The mighty dragon's roar had already distorted the surrounding air, making it difficult for Kuzan to dodge.
Since he couldn't dodge, he could only meet it head-on.
A massive bird of ice surged from Kuzan's arm and collided with the flood-dragon slash.
A thunderous boom rang out!
The ice kept cracking apart, and icy vapor scattered in every direction.
The Ice-Ice Fruit's ability was powerful.
Unfortunately, Kuzan was still too inexperienced to unleash the Ice-Ice Fruit's power.
The ice bird held back the Azure Dragon's Roar for only a moment before the Azure Dragon's Roar gradually tore it apart.
Just as the Azure Dragon's Roar was about to strike Kuzan, a figure suddenly appeared and stood in front of him.
"Iron Fist!"
A pitch-black fist struck the Azure Dragon's Roar.
The Azure Dragon's Roar let out a mournful cry before the punch blasted it apart, sending sword energy flying in every direction.
"Garp!" Roger appeared just then as well.
The two wasted no more words and went straight at it, clashing in an instant.
The Roger Pirates and the Marines attacked at the same time, both sides locked in fierce combat.
Zesi and Kuzan also resumed their fight.
After unleashing a single Azure Dragon's Roar, the blade in Zesi's hand shattered as well, leaving him to fight Kuzan with only his fists and Haki.
Even so, he still kept Kuzan on the defensive.
Kuzan was still far too green. He had only just joined the Marines and was merely a student at the Marine Academy.
Garp had dragged him along this time, both to show him the cruelty of the New World and to use his power to freeze the sea and see whether they could trap the Roger Pirates.
Unfortunately, Garp's plans fell through. Using the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power, Zesi easily shattered Kuzan's ice.
Even without Zesi, Roger naturally had ways to escape.
With the Roger Pirates' strength, they could have carved a path out with slashes alone. It would simply have been more troublesome.
"Haha! We're pulling out, boys!"
The battle was fierce, ultimately destroying several Marine warships. Once Roger decided that was enough, he ordered a retreat.
As for why all the destroyed ships were Marine warships rather than Roger's pirate ship...
With Rayleigh guarding the pirate ship, who among the Marines could damage Roger's ship? With Gaban and the others handling the attacks, how could the Marines stop their destruction, no matter how many men they had?