At such close range, even someone with Kuzan's reflexes couldn't fully react.
Every instinct in his body screamed one truth—if that Shigan struck his head, it would be fatal.
He dodged—barely.
But the civilians behind him weren't so lucky.
BOOM!
The air cracked with an explosive blast. The townsfolk Kuzan had tried to shield were blown apart by the force of Brian's strike, their bodies shredded into fragments by the shockwave.
Brian didn't press the attack. He simply stood there, smirking at Kuzan's horrified, guilt-stricken expression.
"Heh… So this is your idea of justice? This is the righteousness you claim to uphold?"
"My justice… my principles…"
Kuzan's teeth ground together, his entire body trembling. Veins bulged on his forehead. He was only twenty-seven—young for a Marine Vice Admiral—and still far too human. Too emotional. Too compassionate.
Brian's grin widened. "What's the matter? Can't hold back that rage? Then let it out! Show me your strength, your conviction! Let me see if you have the resolve to call yourself 'Justice'!"
It sounded like he was provoking Kuzan—but in truth, Brian was perfectly calm. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew someone else would act before Kuzan lost control.
"Kuzan!"
From a distance, a hoarse voice roared.
It was Saul.
The dying giant, with his last ounce of strength, forced his mountain-like body to roll toward Brian, trying to crush him beneath his massive weight.
"There's a raft under the eastern cliff! Take Robin and get her out of here!" he bellowed.
Brian clicked his tongue. "Trying to die a hero? Fine, I'll oblige you!"
His right arm drew back like a bowstring, muscles coiling with power.
"Heaven and Earth Shatter with One Punch!"
A simple, unadorned strike—but one backed by terrifying, focused strength.
"Kuzan!"
Clenching his jaw, Kuzan scooped up the sobbing Robin from beside her mother's corpse and sprinted toward the eastern cliffs.
A thunderous impact echoed behind him.
When he glanced back moments later, Brian stood atop Saul's fallen head, blood dripping from his right hand.
Saul's body lay still—a gaping hole torn straight through his chest. His eyes were wide open in death, staring in disbelief.
Brian exhaled, hopping lightly down.
"As expected… sparing you earlier was worth it after all."
He glanced toward the distance where Kuzan had fled.
"Now then… I'll give him a little time. Once he's put the girl to sea, I'll let him freeze the island. That'll wrap everything up neatly."
A cruel smile touched his lips.
"Should I make it even cleaner? Maybe 'leak' the news that Kuzan helped the girl escape? …No. Better not. I've already made myself visible enough today. No point drawing suspicion now."
The decision made, Brian took a long drag from his cigar.
He didn't need to do more.
The seeds had already been sown.
Robin had watched her mother die before her eyes, powerless to stop it.
That hatred—Brian knew—would fester and grow.
One day, it would bloom into something that would shake the world.
Ten minutes later, Kuzan returned, his breathing ragged.
He'd done as Saul asked, sending Robin off safely—this time, on a crude raft rather than the ship of the original story.
But when he came back to the clearing, his heart nearly stopped.
No one was left alive.
The "execution ground" was soaked in blood.
And there sat Brian—perched on Saul's severed head, grinning.
For a long, silent moment, Kuzan just stared.
Then, the world snapped.
Rage—pure, unfiltered rage—erupted from the pit of his chest, consuming every ounce of restraint.
"You… bastard."
His voice trembled, thick with hatred.
"You're dead!"
"Ice Age!"
The words exploded from his throat.
In an instant, his body became the eye of a storm of frost.
A torrent of freezing vapor burst outward, devouring everything in sight.
The ground cracked and turned white.
The air itself froze solid.
Brian blinked, startled by the sheer ferocity.
"Oi oi… one minute you're holding back, the next you're throwing out your ultimate move? Ever heard of pacing, honor student?"
Still, his surprise didn't last.
With practiced calm, he coated his entire body in Armament Haki.
A heartbeat later, all of Ohara froze.
Grass and trees turned to crystal sculptures.
Rabbits in the fields froze mid-leap.
Bees, butterflies, and even birds in the sky turned to shards of ice and fell lifelessly to the ground.
The island was dead—transformed into a glittering graveyard of frost.
Far offshore, aboard the warships surrounding the island, the vice admirals felt it too.
"Brian's gone and done it now," murmured Burning Mountain, watching the spreading sheet of ice.
"Tch tch… That's what happens when you make Kuzan mad," added Mole, shaking his head.
Onigumo gave a dry laugh.
"Didn't think the guy had that kind of power. Guess we underestimated him."
He turned toward Akainu, expecting a reaction—but the magma man's expression was as cold and unmoving as stone.
"This… this is insane!"
Spandine was trembling, peering through his telescope.
From his vantage point, he could see the devastation clearly—the entire island frozen solid, the sea around it locked in ice for more than a mile out.
"Is it… over?"
Back at Headquarters, Sengoku received the report.
For a fleeting moment, he felt relieved—but then a thought struck him.
Would that monster really die so easily?
No. Brian wouldn't go down without a plan.
He hid his unease and barked orders into the transponder snail.
"Akainu! Take your men ashore. Use force if necessary. Stop them both!"
"Yes, sir."
Akainu closed the connection and gestured sharply to the Marines.
"Head for the shore."
Even before the order came, however, two figures were already racing across the ice toward the island—Snow and Star.
To them, Brian wasn't just a superior officer. He was their savior, the man who had lifted them up from obscurity.
They would not abandon him.
But when they finally reached the Tree of Knowledge—the scene that greeted them froze their hearts colder than Kuzan's ice.
Kuzan stood there, both hands gripping a massive ice spear, his breath coming in ragged bursts. Frost steamed from his body as he exhaled.
Dozens of bloody holes pierced his upper torso, each one sealed over with a thin layer of ice.
Anyone with eyes could tell who had dealt those wounds.
Brian, his face pale, still stood tall despite the damage.
"Honor student," he rasped, forcing a smile,
"looks like the audience has arrived. You sure you want to keep this going?"
Even with his body fully armored in Haki, being hit by Ice Age had done real damage—frozen capillaries, torn muscles, cells ruptured by frostbite.
It would take time to heal.
Still, he could stand. That was enough.
Then—
Tap.
A heavy footstep echoed behind them.
Akainu landed a short distance away, his coat billowing, his cap gone.
The molten heat radiating from his body was the only thing that didn't freeze.
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