The battlefield situation became instantly clear.
Barring any unexpected developments, the downfall of the Blackbeard Pirates was only a matter of time.
Outside the battle zone.
Kuzan's gaze swept over Maude, who had just knocked Blackbeard to the ground. His expression was slightly complicated.
That was way too fast…
Scratching the back of his head, Kuzan turned to assess the state of the other fights.
Apart from Gaya, the third strongest combatant in the team, everyone else was fighting with a numerical advantage. From the looks of it, victory was practically guaranteed.
After all, they not only had the upper hand in numbers but also held a natural counter against their opponents.
Take Brook, for instance—completely immune to Shiryu's Venom-Venom Fruit. And then there was Hawkins, whose numerous substitutes far outnumbered the bullets Van Augur had in stock.
If Van Augur wasn't skilled in rapid-fire style, he'd likely end up being smashed to a pulp by Urouge's lead pillar hammer once his bullets ran out.
Of course, the most critical factor was that, with Blackbeard down, neither Kuzan nor Maude had even joined the fray yet.
"Looks like I won't have to make a move."
Having assessed the situation, Kuzan let out a sigh of relief.
Before leaving the Marines, he had already considered the Blackbeard Pirates a potentially major threat. Left unchecked, they could rapidly rise to become an undeniable force in the pirate world.
Encountering them here today was purely coincidental—but at the same time, it presented an opportunity to eradicate them on the spot.
However, Kuzan hadn't expected Maude's killing intent toward Blackbeard's crew to be so intense. Nor had he anticipated that what should have been a hard-fought battle would end so swiftly and decisively.
Regardless, the Blackbeard Pirates would meet their end here.
Oddly enough, this conclusion left Kuzan feeling a sense of inexplicable relief.
"Ara ara…"
Without overthinking it, Kuzan shifted his gaze downward, fixing his eyes on Ace, Marco, and Vista.
"You guys still haven't answered my question from earlier… But, well, never mind."
With that, Kuzan slipped his hands into his pockets.
"After seeing Blackbeard's fate, I doubt you have any reason to stay here, right?"
"Don't oversimplify things…"
The flames on Ace's shoulders flared up, burning even hotter as he spoke in a deep voice: "Since we've run into Maude here, turning back isn't an option."
Marco and Vista stood on either side of Ace, their expressions equally solemn.
They were willing to forgo the fight over the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, but they would reclaim Whitebeard's body. More importantly, they would never allow Maude to use his Shadow abilities to turn their father's corpse into a zombie.
"So that's your answer… Well, then, I have no choice."
Kuzan's gaze remained calm as bone-chilling frost rapidly seeped from his body.
He wasn't sure why they insisted on staying—but since they were here for Maude…
Ice Age!
The cold air radiating from Kuzan instantly coalesced into massive blocks of ice, forming what looked like a moving glacier surging toward Ace, Marco, and Vista.
Fire Fist!
Ace reacted instantly. The moment Kuzan attacked, he raised his hand and unleashed a blazing fire punch.
A wave of roaring flames surged forward, colliding with the advancing ice.
Sizzle—!
The scorching flames melted a large portion of the ice, producing thick steam that billowed into the air.
Yet, in the blink of an eye, even the steam—along with Ace's flames—was completely frozen by the relentless Ice Age.
The unstoppable frozen mass continued its advance toward Ace, Marco, and Vista.
"Wha—!?"
Ace's heart pounded.
Blue Flames!
Seeing Ace's flames overwhelmed, Marco transformed into a Phoenix, spreading his wings to create a shield of blue fire before grabbing Ace and Vista, swiftly carrying them out of Ice Age's range.
Crack—!
As Ice Age rolled over Marco's flames, it only hesitated for a brief moment before freezing the blue fire solid within its thick ice layers.
Marco, Ace, and Vista hovered in midair, narrowly escaping.
Where they had once stood was now occupied by a colossal, frost-covered glacier, exuding an ominous chill.
Had they not moved in time, they would have been completely encased in Kuzan's full-powered Ice Age.
"…Damn. Kuzan's more oppressive than he was at Marineford."
Marco hovered in the air, his wings flapping as he stared in astonishment at the freezing aura radiating from Kuzan below.
Vista furrowed his brows, clearly uneasy. "Yeah… It feels like he's finally serious this time."
Ace remained silent.
In his brief clash with Kuzan, he had felt the gap between them.
Kuzan looked up at the trio floating above, raising a hand as more ice condensed into three jagged ice spears.
Whoosh!
With a flick of his wrist, he launched the ice spears, sending them hurtling toward Marco, Ace, and Vista.
"Marco!"
Vista shouted.
Marco instantly understood. He swung his talons, hurling Vista toward the incoming ice spears.
While airborne, Vista crossed his twin blades in front of him.
Rose Rondo!
The crossed blades suddenly swept apart, unleashing a flurry of crimson rose petals that spiraled forward in a storm, colliding with the ice spears.
Boom!
With a powerful explosion, both the rose petals and ice spears shattered, their remnants scattering through the air.
But Vista wasn't finished.
Still midair, he bent his elbows inward before thrusting both swords forward in a straight stab.
Thorned Rose!
A crimson, thorn-covered slash shot toward Kuzan like an extending bramble, piercing through his chest before embedding itself deep into the frozen ground.
From above, Vista narrowed his eyes.
Detonate!
He whispered internally.
In the next instant—
The rose-covered thorns that had punctured Kuzan's chest exploded violently. The blood-red thorns burst apart like shrapnel from a grenade, tearing through Kuzan's body and scattering in all directions.
"Ara ara…"
Kuzan looked down at his ravaged chest, speaking lazily:
"I may be slothful, but I wouldn't be so careless as to only partially transform into ice when I should be fully elementalized."
As the disintegrating Thorned Rose dissipated in midair, Kuzan's torn-apart chest rapidly regenerated before their very eyes.
Vista landed on the ground, clicking his tongue.
"Well… If an ex-Admiral could be taken down that easily, that would've been the real surprise."
Kuzan exhaled a frosty breath, ignoring Vista's comment. Instead, he looked up at Marco, who was soaring toward him at high speed.
"Trying to use your 'immortal' body to engage in close combat while creating an opening for your comrades…"
Realizing that Marco intended to gain the upper hand through close combat, Kuzan made no move to counter. Instead, he allowed Marco to charge straight toward him.
As Kuzan focused on Marco's movements, a massive fireball carrying intense heat hurtled toward him.
It was Ace, unleashing his "Flame Emperor" from midair.
Boom!
The raging flames of the Flame Emperor instantly engulfed Kuzan's body.
The fire then crashed to the ground, transforming into a blazing wave that swept in all directions.
Even as the flames consumed Kuzan, Marco, who was flying straight toward him, did not pause for even a moment.
Neither he nor Ace believed that a single attack, even one that seemed like a direct hit, would be enough to take down Kuzan.
Just as they expected, a surge of cold air swiftly weaved through the roaring flames, freezing them solid in an instant.
In his phoenix-human hybrid form, Marco flapped his blue-flame wings, shooting forward like an arrow toward Kuzan, who was emerging from the frozen inferno.
"Phoenix Brand!"
His talons, clad in hardened Armament Haki, struck Kuzan's body with immense force.
Crack—!
The sheer impact shattered Kuzan into countless tiny ice fragments that scattered into the distance.
After executing the attack, Marco landed directly on the frozen ground, spreading his blue-flame wings to either side.
The heat emanating from his wings subtly melted the ice beneath his feet.
"Did I get him…?"
Marco focused intently on the scattered ice shards.
Under his gaze, the fragments coalesced rapidly, reconstructing Kuzan's form.
"That would've been quite the hassle if it actually hit me."
Kuzan rolled his shoulders, casually stretching his arms.
"Tch… I don't think your Armament Haki is any weaker than your Observation Haki…"
Marco sighed as he looked at the unscathed Aokiji. "You're a Logia user, yet your Haki is this strong… You Admirals really are monsters."
"Same to you, Phoenix Marco."
With his face partially shrouded by cold mist, the former Admiral saw no need to correct Marco's misconception.
Whoosh—!
Ace, using the propulsion of his flame-transformed lower body, flew to Kuzan's left, his entire arm and fist engulfed in roaring flames.
At the same time—
Vista moved with light footwork, positioning himself on Kuzan's right, his dual swords fully coated in Armament Haki.
"Fire Fist: Flaming Cross!"
"Blossom Sword!"
As they closed in, Ace and Vista launched their attacks in perfect unison.
At that very moment—
A dazzling white light illuminated the space beside Ace and Vista.
It was Maude's "Hakoku"!
The compressed, cylindrical shockwave struck Ace and Vista with overwhelming force.
Ace, unable to resist, was obliterated into dozens of scattered flames that flickered across the ground.
Vista, on the other hand, took the full brunt of Hakoku, his body sent hurtling through the air like a cannonball, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.
"Ace! Vista!"
Marco's expression changed as he watched them get blasted away by Maude's sudden attack.
His eyes quickly shifted to Maude, who had appeared beside Kuzan like a specter. A heavy sense of caution and apprehension surfaced in Marco's gaze.
Maude casually rested the back of his blade, Shusui, on his shoulder, while his other hand gripped the transformed gun handle of Bailey.
He looked at Marco, who was now on high alert, and spoke indifferently.
"Three against one? Isn't that a bit excessive?"
"…"
Marco furrowed his brows, his peripheral vision catching glimpses of the ongoing battle between the Maude Pirates and the Blackbeard Pirates.
Most of them were fighting with superior numbers…
Kuzan, without any noticeable movement, withdrew from his stance and turned his head slightly, glancing at Maude, who was still in his Shadow Demon Form.
With a sigh of relief, Kuzan remarked, "That was a close call. Good thing you stepped in, Captain."
"Cut it out."
Maude raised an eyebrow. "Even if I hadn't intervened, you could've blocked Fire Fist and Blossom Sword with your eyes closed."
"Ahh, my Observation Haki isn't that good."
Kuzan scratched his cheek with a finger before casting a quick glance at the distant battlefield. Then, in a serious tone, he said, "That aside, I can handle things here on my own. But over there… If you stepped in, we could end this fight much faster."
As he spoke, Kuzan gestured toward their crewmates, who were locked in battle with the Blackbeard Pirates.
"I know. But those guys need the experience. That's a valuable stepping stone for them. I won't interfere."
Maude nodded slightly, also watching his comrades fight.
Kuzan had no rebuttal.
Fair enough.
After all, Maude was the last person in their crew who needed battle experience…
Maude withdrew his gaze and swept his eyes over Marco, whose expression had grown more serious, Ace, who had reformed from his flames, and Vista, who had blood at the corner of his mouth and a limp left arm.
"Two minutes ago, you had plenty of chances to escape. So tell me—why didn't you?"
As he spoke, Maude lifted Shusui and flicked his wrist, angling the blade downward so that its tip pointed at the frozen ground.
A casual release of sword energy from the tip instantly carved a deep fissure into the thick ice, stretching far into the distance.
Even in his Shadow Demon Form, a mere idle movement carried immense destructive power.
Holding Shusui at an angle, Maude's eyes remained devoid of emotion.
"Don't tell me… you actually think you can control the battlefield with just your strength?"
"…!"
Marco, Ace, and Vista's expressions shifted slightly.
A brief silence followed.
Marco was about to speak, but Ace beat him to it.
"We're here to take back Pops' body from you!"
Ace's cold eyes locked onto Maude, and black-red lightning crackled visibly around his bare torso.
It was the manifestation of his Conqueror's Haki.
"Oh…"
Maude suddenly understood.
So they were here to reclaim Whitebeard's body… No wonder they were acting so irrationally.
As the thought crossed his mind, Maude moved.
In a flash, he disappeared—only to reappear before Ace, bringing his foot down onto Ace's chest.
"!?"
Ace's pupils shrank. He barely had time to react before a fierce force crashed into his torso.
Marco and Vista, standing on either side, also recoiled in shock.
Boom!
With explosive speed, Maude stomped Ace to the ground.
Ace coughed up a mouthful of blood from the devastating impact.
The force traveled through his body into the ice, causing countless fractures to spiderweb across the surface.
A sudden shockwave sent Marco and Vista flying before they could react.
"Ace!"
"So fast…!"
For a fleeting moment, both Marco and Vista were shaken.
Meanwhile, Maude pointed the tip of Shusui at Ace's face.
"Whitebeard's body, huh…? You really think you have what it takes to take it back?"
—————————
Want to read waaaay ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/EmperorGarus [remove the parentheses ( )]
NOTE: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon!