New World, Paris Port.
One of the islands at the border between the Marines and Knox's forces was guarded by Admiral Aokiji.
For some reason, Knox had gone mad, gathering a massive fleet to attack. He had even appeared on the battlefield himself, which gave Kuzan a bad feeling.
High above the island, more than a thousand meters in the air.
Boom!!!
A violent wave of heat from a steam explosion swept across the sky. Countless layers of ice melted, only to refreeze again.
Kuzan had just reformed his body, half of it still in a state of ice.
The heat and white mist churned violently, instantly condensing into four massive white steam giants, each hundreds of meters tall. Steam blasted from beneath their feet as they charged forward like rockets.
Seeing them rushing in from all sides, Kuzan shot backward through the air. He exhaled a dense stream of cold air and swept his hand across it.
Crack, crack, crack…
The sound of freezing spread rapidly.
The four steam giants slowed, then began freezing from the head down, layer by layer, until they were completely encased in solid ice.
Seconds later, they fell powerlessly, melting and exploding midair.
Above them, ice spikes extended from Kuzan's hand and instantly formed a long blade. Without even turning his head, he swung it behind him.
Clang!!!
The sound of metal colliding rang out.
The Haki-coated ice blade clashed with a steam-forged spear, sending sparks flying in all directions.
Kuzan slightly turned his head, his gaze sharpening. "Ah… so you've come out yourself."
Ever since Shanks had been driven back, the pirates had figured out Sakazuki's approach.
As long as there was no overwhelming intervention from top-tier fighters, Sakazuki would not step in.
So during this time, Knox and Shanks had advanced mainly through lower-level battles. Combined with Sakazuki's order to retreat if positions couldn't be held, the pirates had gained momentum.
But now, Knox had suddenly broken that unspoken rule. Kuzan could not understand what he was planning.
Knox held his steam spear as a feral grin spread across his face. "You can blame your Fleet Admiral for being too arrogant…"
Indeed, Sakazuki was powerful. But his ambitions were far too great.
Through intelligence passed by the World Government and the Four Emperors' own observations of the Marines' deployments, they discovered Sakazuki's true objective, and felt both rage… and a strange sense of relief.
The rage came from feeling underestimated. The way the Marines had spread out its forces made it seem as if Sakazuki did not take them seriously at all.
But the relief came from that same arrogance.
Because it gave them an opportunity.
The Marines's top-tier fighters could match the Four Emperors in strength, but they were scattered. In a one-on-one fight, it might be difficult to kill each other due to mutual counters, but everyone had their hidden cards.
When Bullet had still been present, Knox would never have entertained such thoughts. But according to the latest intelligence, Bullet had been reassigned by Sakazuki several days ago and had disappeared.
That… was their chance.
Kuzan and Enel were key counters.
Kuzan restrained Knox's steam, while Enel countered Shanks' Observation Killing ability.
If those two were eliminated, then Knox's steam-based annihilation would be unstoppable, and Shanks' ability to suppress perception would become absolute.
Against both the Marines's lower ranks and its top fighters, the pirates would gain an overwhelming advantage.
After all, steam was something only Kuzan could instantly counter with ice barriers. The other Admirals had no effective way to deal with it.
The same went for Observation Killing. Even Sakazuki's perception could be disrupted. Shanks fought by overwhelming force and disengaging at will. Aside from Bullet, the other Admirals would struggle to face him.
So at this very moment, it wasn't just Kuzan under attack. On the other side of the New World, the Red Hair Pirates had mobilized in full force to hunt down Enel.
Knox's aura surged, growing increasingly violent. A feral, murderous voice echoed across the sky.
"Pressure Kill: Steam Execution!"
A thunderous roar exploded through the heavens.
One after another, massive white steam giants, each hundreds of meters tall, burst through the clouds and descended, surrounding Kuzan.
Kuzan's expression grew serious, his eyes narrowing.
"…Same old tricks."
Even as he spoke, he did not relax in the slightest.
They had fought countless times. Both sides knew each other's abilities and techniques inside out. He couldn't understand what kind of trump card Knox possessed to be this confident in killing him.
Kuzan's arms transformed into ice as dense cold air gathered. Within that freezing mist, two massive thorn-like ice spears formed and shot forward, piercing two steam giants.
"Ice Age!"
The ice pierced through them before they could self-destruct, instantly freezing and solidifying their forms. From their bodies, frozen thorns spread outward, lashing toward the remaining giants.
In mere moments, the sky seemed covered by a vast web of ice.
The frozen steam giants were locked in place within this massive icy lattice.
Boom!!!
A violent explosion erupted, as if the sky itself had shattered.
And this… was only the beginning of their clash.
* * *
On the island below.
At some unknown moment, an endless black mist had begun to spread. It swallowed the soldiers guarding the island and slowly started creeping upward toward the sky.
* * *
Evening.
New Marineford.
WEEOO! WEEOO!
The long-absent, piercing alarm blared once more.
The entire headquarters fell into chaos.
Admiral Aokiji… had died in battle at Paris Port in the New World.
This was the highest-ranking loss the Marines had suffered since the war began. One of its strongest pillars had fallen.
No one knew how Knox had done it.
For over two years of war, the two had been evenly matched due to their elemental counters. This outcome had come far too suddenly.
The entire island sprang into action. Intelligence units scrambled to gather every possible clue, trying to uncover the truth behind Kuzan's death.
At the same time, reports came in, Admiral candidate Enel had also lost contact. The news was immediately relayed to Sakazuki.
His response was simple.
"Understood."
Nothing more.
The intelligence officer left, confused and uneasy.
* * *
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office.
If not for the blaring alarms, the room would have felt eerily calm.
Unlike the chaos outside, Sakazuki stood before the massive sand table, his expression indifferent. He raised his hand and crushed, one by one, the islands marked with Knox's and Shanks' flags within the black circle.
His low voice echoed softly through the empty office.
"The Marines… have arrived."
Crack!
The final island within the black circle, bearing a pirate flag, was casually crushed beneath his hand.
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