The air was cold.
Snow drifted silently from the sky, blanketing the world in white.
Centered on the G1 branch, the sea within a radius of ten kilometers had vanished—replaced by an endless stretch of glacial ice. Towering icebergs jutted from the surface like frozen spires.
"Ice Age."
A low, calm voice rolled with the wind, echoing among the glacial peaks.
In an instant, the landscape responded.
The cold winds howled, now a storm ten times fiercer than before. Snowflakes cut through the air like razors. At the epicenter, where Aokiji stood upon a jagged iceberg, the temperature dropped rapidly—plummeting toward absolute zero.
He looked down from his vantage point, his eyes like frozen lakes.
"Do you like it, brother?" Aokiji said, voice devoid of warmth.
"This is your tomb."
Without further ceremony, he raised his right hand and leveled his palm toward Ragnar below.
BOOM—
With a crack like the roar of an avalanche, an enormous wave of icy energy erupted from Aokiji's hand. A frost shockwave surged forth, freezing everything in its path—even the air itself seemed to crystallize, solidifying into towering icicles mid-sky.
"Tch..."
Ragnar narrowed his eyes and attempted to move—but his feet, which weren't even touching the ice, had frozen in mid-air.
Out of thin air.
Before the shockwave even reached him, hoarfrost webbed up his body. The frost gnawed into his muscles and nerves like thousands of needles. His limbs seized up, and his movement halted completely.
All he could do was watch as the monstrous wave of cold engulfed him.
Wind screamed.
Snow flurried.
And then there was silence.
A colossal humanoid ice sculpture—300 meters high—stood on the frozen plain. It was Ragnar, frozen in an upward pose, hand half-raised.
This was no ordinary ice.
This was the awakened form of the Hie Hie no Mi—a fruit capable of altering the climate and terrain over dozens of kilometers.
"This is the power of a Marine Admiral..."
Aokiji exhaled slowly, lowering his right hand.
"You're strong, brother Ragnar—but this battle is over."
He began to turn.
Don't let the calm fool you—he knew the devastating potential of his fruit. Even pirates like Whitebeard's Diamond Jozu, whose body was made of unbreakable diamond, had been immobilized and maimed after facing this same power.
At such temperatures, even steel shatters. Human flesh? It doesn't stand a chance.
But then—
Crack.
The unmistakable sound of shattering glass sliced through the howling winds.
Aokiji froze mid-turn. His eyes widened.
"...No way."
He spun around.
Before him, the humanoid ice sculpture was webbed with cracks—like a porcelain statue struck by a hammer.
And then—
BOOM!
The sculpture exploded from the inside.
Countless shards of ice sprayed across the frozen plain, catching the pale light like glass shrapnel.
And from within, Ragnar stepped out.
Steam hissed from his body as he moved his neck, cracking the frost from his joints. A faint aura shimmered around him—one that defied the cold entirely.
He turned his head sideways, eyes meeting Aokiji's.
"An admiral?"
He scoffed.
"That's it?"
Aokiji's expression returned to its usual stoic calm—but the glint in his eyes shifted.
Gone was the amusement.
Gone was the curiosity.
What remained…
Was ice-cold intent.
"What a troublesome guy..."
Aokiji's breath condensed in the air as he muttered.
"But... if once isn't enough—let's freeze him a few more times!"
He had already realized—Ragnar wasn't someone who could be taken down in a few moves.
A one-on-one battle between them wouldn't end in mere minutes... it would take a day and night to settle.
"Ice Time Capsule!"
With narrowed eyes, Aokiji raised his hand again, intending to freeze Ragnar out of thin air as he had done before.
But—
"You won't get another chance."
Ragnar's voice was calm, yet chilling.
He raised a cold arc at the corner of his mouth.
"Aokiji, just now you said I misunderstood the strength of a navy admiral."
"Then let me ask you—
Have you truly seen me, Ragnar, clearly?"
"As a navy admiral... have you perhaps misunderstood Ragnar?"
With that, he stepped into the void.
In the next breath, Aokiji's eyes widened in horror.
A dazzling divine light engulfed Ragnar's figure—
And then, from within the swirling ice and snow, a deafening dragon roar erupted!
ROOOAAAR!!!
The sky shook.
The wind and snow, which once howled like ghosts, were utterly swallowed by the sudden, divine bellow.
The glaciers, the icebergs, the frost-covered peaks—shattered under the weight of that sound.
Even the sea beneath trembled.
"Wh-what is that sound?!"
"It's freezing cold... Mr. Kuzan's power is terrifying!"
"It's the polar opposite of Mr. Sakazuki's flames..."
Suddenly, someone aboard the nearby prison ship stopped talking and listened.
That roar—
That dragon's cry—
"Wait a second... why does this sound... familiar?"
"Yeah! We've heard it before!"
The realization hit like thunder.
"Kaido!!"
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