Water 7. On the sun-drenched balcony of a high-end seaside hotel room.
Buru buru buru... Gacha.
Vice Admiral Kuzan pushed his iconic sleeping mask up to his forehead and lazily picked up the Den Den Mushi. "Ah, Tsuru-san. What's the word?"
Kuzan had arrived in Water 7 a few days ago. Unfortunately, Marine Intelligence had completely lost track of Nico Robin's crew after the Skypiea incident, so he hadn't received any updates on their whereabouts. In the meantime, he had been enjoying a very peaceful, incredibly relaxing vacation.
"Kuzan," Tsuru's voice came through, sounding exceptionally grave. "Naval Intelligence just confirmed that Kaido has left the New World. He was recently spotted rapidly approaching the first half of the Grand Line. His ultimate objective is completely unknown. Be prepared; you might receive new deployment orders at any moment."
Tsuru had a massive headache. Kaido of the Beasts was a walking natural disaster. The man had a terrifying habit of maliciously seeking out Navy strongholds just to cause catastrophic damage. He had single-handedly destroyed several massive Marine prison ships and challenged the Navy repeatedly. Whenever Kaido made a move, absolute chaos was guaranteed to follow.
"Oh? Kaido has appeared on the fourth navigational route? Understood," Kuzan sighed, rubbing his neck and sitting up.
Kaido was an unimaginably terrifying opponent. Was this his cosmic punishment for slacking off on his vacation for the past few days?
"As for the matter regarding Nico Robin, put it on hold for now," Tsuru instructed, relaying the consensus she and Sengoku had reached. "Let the heat surrounding the 'City of Gold' die down first."
The World Government couldn't afford a massive, highly publicized incident right now. They needed to either strike swiftly to capture or recruit the crew before the public caught wind of it, or simply wait until the notoriously short attention span of the global public shifted to the next big scandal. With the Great Pirate Era in full swing, a new massive event was bound to dominate the headlines soon.
"Understood. I'll rendezvous with a battleship and head out. However, regarding Nico Robin... I formally request that you assign her case back to me when the time comes."
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Scrap Island.
Enel was casually lounging on the deck of the White Dragon, maintaining his massive Mantra net over the entire city of Water 7. He filtered through millions of mundane conversations, listening for any specific keywords.
Suddenly, his electromagnetic waves caught the name 'Nico Robin'. He instantly honed in on the frequency, quickly overhearing the Vice Admiral's conversation.
"Bardock," Enel called out, a wicked, bloodthirsty grin spreading across his face. "My Mantra just picked up one of those Navy dogs you mentioned. That 'Aokiji Kuzan' guy. One of the three 'Logia Monster Vice Admirals'."
"What? Seriously?!" Bardock frowned deeply. "How the hell did Kuzan get here so fast? Is he here for Robin, or did HQ dispatch him because you exposed your Rumble-Rumble Fruit? ...Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter. Everyone, pack it up! We need to leave the island immediately!"
Bardock rubbed his chin. He absolutely wasn't ready to face Aokiji right now. Kuzan's Ice-Ice Fruit was a terrifyingly broken ability. The man could instantly freeze the ocean, freeze entire tsunamis, and effortlessly flash-freeze powerful opponents. In the original timeline, Aokiji had casually frozen the majority of the Blackbeard Pirates' core commanders in the blink of an eye. If Kuzan used Ice Age on his crew, it would be a disaster.
"Absolutely not!" Enel sneered, electricity violently arcing around his body. "We are both Logia users! Are you seriously telling lightning to run away from ice?!"
BZZT!
Before Bardock could even shout a command, Enel dissolved into a flash of lightning and vanished from the ship, rocketing straight toward the hotel district.
Bardock stared at the empty deck, completely dumbfounded. 'You haven't even awakened Armament Haki yet, and you're voluntarily charging head-first at an Admiral candidate?! I admire the sheer, suicidal courage.'
"Sigh... Having a living radar is great, but having an idiot for a radar is a massive liability," Bardock groaned. He immediately turned to the rest of the crew. "Everyone, secure the ship! Prepare to launch at a moment's notice!"
Fortunately, Tom had already finished inspecting the White Dragon and had provided them with a detailed list of structural recommendations and maintenance advice. They couldn't stay for the actual upgrades, but the technical consultation was already worth the visit.
A few moments later, the deafening, booming roar of thunder echoed from the city center.
Bardock let out a small sigh of relief. The fact that he could hear thunder meant Enel hadn't been instantly flash-frozen into a popsicle the moment he arrived.
Of course, the fight was likely somewhat restrained. Because they were clashing in the middle of a heavily populated residential district, Kuzan was undoubtedly holding back significantly to avoid mass civilian casualties. And since Bardock had explicitly ordered Enel never to indiscriminately slaughter civilians, the arrogant 'God' was likely drawing the fight away from the city.
Sure enough, the flashes of lightning and the sudden drops in temperature were rapidly moving out over the open ocean near Scrap Island.
Hovering above the ocean, Kuzan landed on the water. The moment his boots touched the surface, the sea rapidly froze solid, creating a massive, sprawling ice platform.
"Ice Block: Partisan (Pheasant Beak)!"
Kuzan gathered absolute zero cold air into his right arm and launched a massive, violently sculpted bird made of solid ice directly at Enel.
"Yahahahaha! 60 Million Volt: Hino (Thunder Bird)!"
Determined to prove his superiority, Enel doubled his usual voltage. A colossal, hyper-charged bird made of crackling lightning screeched through the air to meet the ice.
The two elemental birds violently collided in mid-air. The deafening explosion shook the ocean. The surface of the sea was instantly flash-frozen by the spreading ice, only to be violently shattered and boiled by the chaotic lightning strikes a microsecond later. Giant fish floated to the surface, completely fried, only to be instantly frozen into ice blocks.
"30 Million Volt: Kiten (Thunder Beast)!"
Enel rapidly struck his drum again. A massive, crackling wolf made of lightning lunged at Kuzan. When it came to pure casting speed, electricity had the undeniable advantage.
"Ice Ball!"
Kuzan calmly extended his hand, firing five rapid streams of ultra-cold ice. The ice pillars violently clashed against the lightning wolf, pushing it back. While Enel's beast was capped at 30 million volts, Kuzan continuously pumped sheer cold into his attack.
The cold rapidly enveloped the lightning, and in an instant, Enel was completely trapped inside a massive, perfectly spherical block of solid ice.
KRACK-BOOOM!
Enel instantly transformed into pure electricity, violently shattering the ice sphere from the inside out and reappearing several meters away.
"Achoo!"
Despite being trapped for less than a second, Enel violently shivered, his teeth chattering uncontrollably. The bone-chilling cold had actually seeped into his bones.
"I see. So you haven't awakened Armament Haki yet," Kuzan noted calmly, exhaling a puff of frosty breath.
If Enel possessed even basic Armament Haki, he could have effortlessly insulated his body and completely ignored that brief exposure to the cold.
"Ice Saber!"
Realizing his opponent's glaring weakness, Kuzan instantly shifted tactics. He plucked a few blades of grass, blew a breath of freezing air over them, and instantly forged an indestructible, razor-sharp sword made of solid ice. He coated the blade in pitch-black Armament Haki and charged forward, forcing the fight into close-quarters combat.
Up until this point, Kuzan hadn't been fighting seriously. If he had genuinely wanted to, he could have unleashed Ice Age at the very start and instantly ended the skirmish. While Logia users could theoretically become intangible to dodge attacks, the physical transformation process still required a microscopic fraction of a second. If an attacker was fast enough—and possessed advanced Haki—they could strike and freeze a Logia user before their brain could even send the signal to transform.
Kuzan wasn't globally renowned for his swordsmanship. His primary combat strengths were his overwhelming Devil Fruit mastery and his terrifying physical Rokushiki techniques. However, all three of the current Admiral candidates (Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru) were undeniably Master Swordsmen in their own right.
Enel arrogantly attempted to block the first strike with his golden staff.
CLANG-CRACK!
The Haki-coated Ice Saber cleanly sliced through the solid gold staff like butter, chopping it in half.
Panic instantly flared in Enel's eyes. Forced onto the defensive, he desperately relied entirely on his Mantra to predict Kuzan's strikes, violently transforming into lightning to dodge just inches from the lethal blade.
Watching the fight from a distance, Bardock observed closely. Kuzan's swordsmanship wasn't just fast; it was highly tactical. Every single swing and feint was a meticulously calculated trap specifically designed to corner and overwhelm an opponent who heavily relied on Observation Haki. It was a masterclass in countering precognition.
If the opponent were anyone other than Enel—who possessed the absolute highest movement speed in the world—a standard Mantra user would have already been sliced into ribbons. If the fight dragged on, Enel's only options would be to transform into his massive Amaru form to force a clash of raw power, or shamelessly teleport into the sky and endlessly spam lightning from afar.
Enel's face was terrifyingly dark. He wasn't losing because ice was superior to lightning; he was losing because Kuzan was fundamentally, overwhelmingly stronger than him in every single martial aspect. For a 'God', there was nothing more humiliating than acknowledging personal inferiority.
His emotional instability caused his Mantra to momentarily falter.
Kuzan instantly capitalized on the micro-opening. The Haki-coated Ice Saber flashed, aiming directly for Enel's chest.
SHING!
Suddenly, a massive, crescent-shaped flying slash—heavily coated in pitch-black Armament Haki—tore across the ice field, aiming directly at Kuzan's flank.
"Oh? A swordsman of the Master caliber?" Kuzan muttered, instinctively dissolving his torso into ice to allow the lethal flying slash to pass harmlessly through him.
He lowered his saber and looked toward the origin of the attack. "Hey... do you have any idea what the consequences are for actively attacking a Marine Vice Admiral?"
Naval Intelligence hadn't provided any concrete data regarding Bardock's actual combat prowess. Kuzan suddenly realized that Smoker never stood a chance.
"Attacking? Who's attacking?!" Bardock laughed casually, stepping onto the ice platform holding his staff. "I merely saw the Vice Admiral displaying such exquisite swordsmanship, and I couldn't resist asking for a few pointers! Surely a man of your stature wouldn't be so stingy with a little sparring session?"
"Is that so?" Kuzan sighed lazily, pointing the tip of his Ice Saber past Bardock, aiming directly at the tall woman standing on the deck of the White Dragon. "That woman over there... she's the 'Devil Child', Nico Robin. Since we're just having a friendly chat, how about you hand her over to me?"
"Ah, I'm afraid I can't do that!" Bardock smiled cheerfully. "Firstly, we aren't Marines, and secondly, we aren't bounty hunters! We don't have the legal authority to arrest anyone! If you want her, Vice Admiral, you'll have to come and get her yourself... after you give me those pointers, of course!"
Without breaking eye contact, Bardock subtly flicked his wrist, signaling Enel to return to the ship and prep for launch.
Although Enel was violently furious and humiliated by the loss, he wasn't an absolute idiot. He transformed into lightning and teleported back to the White Dragon. Robin immediately relayed Bardock's escape plan, and Enel grudgingly nodded, taking his place at the ship's rotors.
Meanwhile, out on the frozen ocean, Bardock casually spun the Jingu Bang and stepped forward.
The clash between the Monkey King and the Ice Admiral was about to begin.
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