On the vast ice field, the battle between the two men had reached a fever pitch. Each clash of their fists was like two mountains grinding against each other. The swirling shockwaves scraped away layers of solid ice, and the surging winds even pushed back the black smoke lingering over the distant ruins.
Kuzan's breathing grew heavy, each exhale a large, visible cloud of white mist. He was beginning to realize that no matter how much Armament Haki he poured into his attacks, he couldn't faze the man in front of him. Kyle's punches seemed casual, yet he always managed to dissolve Kuzan's powerful blows with the perfect angle and just the right amount of force.
This can't go on!
Kuzan's eyes narrowed, and the aura around him changed completely. A moment ago, he was an unbreakable iceberg; now, he was a blizzard powerful enough to freeze the world.
"Ice Age!"
The bone-chilling cold exploded outwards from him in all directions. The already frozen sea groaned as the ice layer rapidly grew thicker and thicker. On the once-smooth field, countless ice spikes, as sharp as knives, burst from the ground, creating a chilling forest of ice.
"Now this is getting exciting! Hahaha!" Kyle chuckled, leaping back to easily avoid the spikes shooting up from under his feet. He finally stopped fighting bare-handed. With a flip of his wrist, an ornate, black-and-gold naginata appeared in his hand. The long blade shimmered with a cold, eerie light, and golden dragon patterns coiled up its black handle. It was his prized weapon, Nidhogg.
"It felt a little disrespectful to only use my fists against you," Kyle said, twirling the large weapon with one hand as if it weighed nothing. "I suppose I should get a little serious now."
As a senior, he thought, it's my duty to push this young Marine, to make him understand how vast the sea truly is. I'm such a good person.
Kuzan had no idea about the drama playing out in Kyle's head. He only saw that his opponent had finally drawn his weapon. He took it as a sign of respect for his efforts, and his fighting spirit soared.
"Ice Blade!" Kuzan roared. Cold air condensed around his arm, forming a sharp saber made of ice. He shot across the ice field, a blue blur charging straight for Kyle.
Instead of retreating, Kyle advanced, swinging Nidhogg in an elegant arc. He left a blurry afterimage in his place and, in the next instant, appeared right beside Kuzan. He didn't swing the blade to cut; instead, he brought the thick, blunt back of the weapon around, aiming for Kuzan's waist.
An alarm went off in Kuzan's head. He twisted his body, blocking the blow with his ice saber.
Clang!
With a crisp crack, the ice blade shattered instantly. The immense force of the blow continued through the broken shards and slammed into Kuzan's side. He grunted as he was sent spinning across the hard ice, carving a long trench before finally sliding to a stop.
"Good reaction, but you were too slow," Kyle's voice drifted over, sounding like a teacher giving a practical lesson. The comment completely ignited Kuzan's rage. He sprang up from the ice, his eyes turning slightly red.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
A giant bird made of ice materialized behind him and shot toward Kyle with a sharp whistle and incredible speed. Kyle watched the lifelike pheasant approach, calm enough to even offer a comment. "Nice design. It's much more detailed than the one you used at Marineford."
As he finished speaking, Nidhogg vibrated slightly. The sound waves condensed in the air, forming the shape of a phoenix. The phoenix, made of pure, high-pressure sound, left circular sonic booms in the air as it flew forward to meet the ice bird head-on.
Boom—!!!
The moment the two attacks collided, the ice bird began to collapse from the inside out, fine cracks spreading all over its body. Then, with a deafening roar, it exploded into a sky full of shimmering ice shards. Kuzan's pupils contracted, but he didn't retreat. He used the explosion as cover and charged forward again.
Kyle gently tapped his own shoulder with the butt of his naginata and tilted his head. "Do you have any other moves? If not, I think this little spar is about over."
Kuzan could feel it clearly. From the very beginning, Kyle had not been using his full strength. He was like a relaxed hunter toying with a trapped beast, enjoying a game where the power levels were completely one-sided. The confidence he had built through relentless training since the war at Marineford was completely shattered.
Frustration, anger, and humiliation all mixed together, finally erupting in a roar that shook the heavens.
"Don't you underestimate me! KYLE—!!!"
Rumble—!!!
The entire ice field groaned and trembled violently. Four massive glaciers, each hundreds of meters high, rose from the ground around Kyle. They closed in like four celestial walls, sealing off any possible escape route.
With his target trapped, Kuzan leaped high into the air, ascending hundreds of meters until he was directly above the converging glaciers. He gathered all of his power, all of his rage, into his right fist. Dark Armament Haki coated his knuckles, and the extreme cold intertwined with it, forming a dazzling, red, cross-shaped light in the center of his palm, like a falling sun.
"Fist Bone: Galactic Impact!!!"
Looking up at the supreme attack descending like divine punishment, the relaxed smile on Kyle's face finally faded. It was replaced by a look of genuine admiration. "Now that's more like it, Kuzan." You have to work hard if you want to inherit Garp's will.
He bent his knees slightly, sinking into a low stance. The black-and-gold naginata in his hand let out an excited, dragon-like roar as he gathered his own power into the blade, ready to meet the all-or-nothing punch.
But at that critical moment, another roar, even more filled with murderous intent than Kuzan's, exploded from behind him.
"Perish, Kyle!"
Kyle glanced back out of the corner of his eye and saw a crimson figure flying toward him. Sakazuki had completely transformed into rolling magma. He spread his arms wide in mid-air, and countless giant magma fists, like a meteor shower trailing black smoke, rained down on Kyle's back.
"Meteor Volcano!!!"
In front of him, the Galactic Impact that could freeze the world. Behind him, the Meteor Volcano that could incinerate all things. One blue and one red, one ice and one magma. The two future highest powers of the Marines had, at the same moment, launched their ultimate killing moves at Kyle from two different directions.
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