When the energetic Marines of Marineford saw Admiral Kuzan step into the arena, the crowd instantly erupted with excitement.
So it was real after all.
Some of them had thought this so-called "duel" was just a rumor.
But now that both Kuzan and Noah had shown up, there was no doubt.
"Admiral Kuzan versus Vice Admiral Amamiya Noah…"
"This is a battle between two peak combatants in the Navy."
"Who do you think will win?"
"Obviously Admiral Kuzan. Noah's only been in the Navy for a few years."
"Don't be so quick to say that. Instructor Zephyr talks about Noah all the time."
"Yeah, even Zephyr himself called Noah a once-in-a-generation genius."
"Well, let's see. Admiral-level power isn't a joke."
"Exactly. A Vice Admiral trying to challenge an Admiral? He's either brave or stupid."
————————————
The viewing stands buzzed with countless voices.
Marines debated and speculated with excitement and skepticism.
Many still doubted Noah's strength.
After all, he hadn't been in the Navy long enough to build a solid reputation.
Even with the title of "genius," the gap between him and Kuzan seemed enormous.
Not just a bit, it was miles apart.
To most, that kind of strength was unreachable.
Still, everyone was eager to watch the fight.
If nothing else, Noah's performance would give them a benchmark, a real sense of how far they were from Admiral level.
They all had dreams of reaching that height.
But maybe today, they would witness what true distance really meant.
"So, who do you think will win?" Zephyr asked, stroking his chin thoughtfully. His expression was unreadable.
"Kuzan, obviously," Sengoku replied without hesitation.
Noah was one of the Navy's rising stars, sure.
But when it came to clashing with the old guard, Sengoku didn't believe he stood a chance.
"I'm with Kuzan too," Garp chimed in, clearly annoyed.
"That brat never trains. He slacked his way to Vice Admiral and still doesn't show any motivation."
"If this keeps up, how are us old-timers supposed to retire?"
"Well then, I guess I'll root for Noah," Kizaru said, scratching his beard with a lazy grin.
Gotta show a little love for the Slacker Squad, after all.
"Huh?" Zephyr looked at him, surprised, but didn't question it.
Kizaru was never his favorite student.
"Noah doesn't have much of a chance," said Akainu, who had arrived to observe the match.
There was no way he'd miss this.
"Looks like no one believes in Noah, huh?" Kizaru sighed.
Why was no one giving the slackers any credit?
People like them might seem lazy, but if you gave them the right motivation...
They could create miracles.
Still, all they got were dead-end salaries.
Even Kizaru couldn't be bothered to put in real effort anymore.
"Hahahaha!"
Garp burst out laughing.
Of course no one believed in Noah.
They were the Navy's two biggest slackers.
Did they really not see their own reputations?
"The fight's starting," Sengoku announced.
Kuzan drew a blade of ice from his palm.
Frigid air swirled around him, so cold it made people instinctively want to back away.
"Noah, ready yourself," he said casually. "I'm coming in."
This was just a probe, a simple test of the waters.
That time Noah approached him without a sound, he still didn't understand how it happened.
"Come on, then," Noah replied, lifting an arm.
He shifted into a strange stance. Between his hands, it looked like water was flowing.
It gathered and rippled, forming a focused pose.
"Flowing Water, Rock-Smashing Fist!"
Someone in the crowd gasped. They recognized it instantly.
It was a technique Noah had used during a major clash in the New World, one that had made him famous.
The move was powerful enough that the Navy hadn't even finished analyzing it yet.
Since it was Noah's personal creation, no one had dared to pressure him to hand it over.
"He's not holding back," Kuzan muttered, eyes narrowing.
If he was opening with that move, then he was taking this seriously.
Funny how he never fought pirates this seriously.
BOOM!
In a flash, the ground under Noah's feet shattered.
A blur cut through the air. A figure flying forward at high speed.
A shadow flickered.
A fist dropped.
Kuzan's pupils shrank as his body instinctively bent backward.
A blast of wind shot past his cheek, a punch that barely missed.
He swung his ice blade toward Noah in return, sending waves of cold surging outward.
CLANG!
Fist met blade.
But the sound that echoed out was the sharp clash of metal.
CRACK!
The next moment, Kuzan's ice blade shattered into pieces.
"DIE!"
Noah roared, and the wind around his punch suddenly shifted.
From Flowing Water, Rock-Smashing Fist, he transitioned into Underworld Body Style: Ascending Demon Fist.
If it was raw power he needed, this was the one.
He poured seventy percent of his strength into that one strike.
His fist became coated in perfectly controlled Armament Haki.
CRUNCH!
The tiles beneath his feet exploded into shards.
A crater formed instantly underfoot.
Even the earth couldn't withstand the buildup of that blow.
"This guy's insane," Kuzan thought, now truly alarmed.
That punch wasn't just strong, it was terrifying.
He was throwing his whole body into it.
If it landed...
Yeah, he'd definitely feel it.
"Ice Wall!"
Kuzan threw up a palm, his body coated in frost.
A thick, towering wall of ice surged up before him.
He backed away step by step as the wall thickened, up to two meters deep.
"Underworld Body Style: Soaring Phoenix Fist!!"
Noah shouted.
His fist smashed forward with a burst of howling wind.
BOOM!
It struck the ice wall.
It didn't shatter right away.
But spiderweb cracks began spreading across the surface.
Crack after crack, the entire structure started breaking down.
It only needed a nudge.
Before Kuzan could react—
BOOM!
The punch broke through.
Ice exploded in all directions, raining shards into the crowd.
Marines screamed and scrambled, raising weapons to block the flying debris.
Freezing mist swept across the field, shrouding both combatants.
The entire arena fell into silence.
It took half a minute before their silhouettes reemerged from the fog.
"…What just happened?"
"Holy crap, Vice Admiral Noah is incredible!"
"Admiral Kuzan didn't even get the chance to strike back."
"This feels like a dream. Noah's actually this strong?"
"It all happened in an instant. These two are absolute monsters."
"Holy shit! HOLY SHIT! HOLY-"
"..."
The Marines were stunned, unable to believe their eyes.
Was this some kind of rigged match?
How was Kuzan, an Admiral, on the defensive the whole time?
Wasn't he supposed to be the one suppressing a Vice Admiral?
Why did he look like the underdog right now?