Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Kuzan, Borsalino, and Sakazuki were all slated to be officially promoted to the rank of Marine Admiral within the next year or two. This meant that the Kuzan standing before Bardock right now was practically at his absolute peak.
Facing him head-on, Bardock finally understood exactly how terrifying a future Marine Admiral truly was. Leaving everything else aside, the sheer, omnipresent wave of absolute zero cold constantly invading his body was incredibly difficult to endure.
The ice platform beneath their feet was rapidly expanding. Whether Kuzan was doing it intentionally or not, the battlefield was steadily drifting away from the shores of Water 7 and out into the open ocean.
CLANG!
Bardock's swords violently clashed against Kuzan's Ice Saber once again. Bardock jumped back and exhaled a heavy cloud of white, frosty breath. He could feel his stamina draining at several times its normal rate. In just this short exchange, he had pushed his swordsmanship and Haki to their absolute limits. This was the very first time he had fought an opponent with virtually zero weaknesses.
"Your Devil Fruit is way too unfair, you know that?" Bardock muttered, shaking his freezing limbs to keep the blood flowing. "It's so damn cold my joints are starting to lock up."
"Arara... I think you're the unfair one here," Kuzan replied lazily, exhaling a puff of cold air. "Master-class swordsmanship, highly proficient Armament and Observation Haki... you're as strong as a monster. And the most ridiculous part is how young you are. Seriously, why don't you just join the Marines?"
Kuzan wasn't joking; his expression was completely serious. He realized that if Bardock was allowed to continue growing at this staggering rate, he would undoubtedly become one of the supreme powerhouses of the sea. If a man like this officially aligned himself against justice, he would become a catastrophic threat to the World Government.
"The Marines?" Bardock chuckled dryly. "I actually really like the word 'Justice'. It's a shame the Navy's version of 'Justice' is far too heavy for my tastes. In the name of 'Justice', you'll bombard a civilian evacuation ship full of innocent scholars, won't you? In the name of 'Justice', you'll ruthlessly hunt down and execute newborn babies just because of their bloodline, won't you? And in the name of 'Justice', you'll gladly turn a blind eye to the World Nobles running a global slave trade... won't you?"
Those three simple rhetorical questions struck Kuzan like a physical blow, plunging the Vice Admiral into total silence.
Back in his youth, Kuzan had passionately followed the path of 'Burning Justice'. Now, his motto was 'Lazy Justice'. The horrific trauma of the Ohara Buster Call had completely shattered his worldview, leaving him lost and deeply cynical about the World Government's true motives. He absolutely despised Sakazuki's 'Absolute Justice', yet he was still a cog in the exact same machine. Bardock's words brutally tore open his oldest scars.
"So... you plan to become a pirate?" Kuzan finally asked, his voice strained. "You're actively harboring Nico Robin. It won't be long before your face and a massive bounty are plastered all over the World Economy News Paper."
Kuzan was genuinely conflicted. He didn't actually want to arrest Robin, but he couldn't just turn a blind eye to a monster like Bardock roaming the seas.
"Pirates? Marines? Does this massive ocean really only have room for those two extremes?" Bardock shook his head. "My dream is absolute freedom, and my alignment is strictly Lawful Neutral. I have absolutely no desire to become a pirate unless you force my hand. I hope you can understand that, Vice Admiral."
Bardock despised the Celestial Dragons and the World Government that served them, but he didn't like pirates either. With a few rare exceptions, the vast majority of pirates were absolute scum—murderers, thieves, and leeches on society.
"Neutral, huh?" Kuzan murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Then let me see if you possess the sheer strength required to maintain that neutrality in this world. Ice Time Capsule!"
Kuzan slammed his hand onto the ground, unleashing a concentrated shockwave of absolute zero cold. A jagged line of ice tore across the frozen sea, shooting directly toward Bardock at terrifying speeds.
"Monkey King Form!"
Bardock hadn't originally planned on exposing his Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, but Kuzan was clearly getting serious; hiding his trump cards now would be suicidal.
The exact moment Bardock completed his transformation, the wave of cold hit him. It was simply too fast. Had he not paused to transform, he could have easily dodged using Soru, but finding another opening to transform mid-combat would have been incredibly difficult.
He was instantly encased in a massive block of solid ice.
CRACK... SHATTER!
A split second later, the golden-furred Great Ape violently shattered the ice block from the inside out.
Bardock finally understood why Donquixote Doflamingo hadn't been able to kill Smoker in front of Kuzan in the original timeline; the Vice Admiral's freezing speed was completely unavoidable. Fortunately, Bardock's 'Indestructible Vajra Body' granted him absolute Magic Immunity. Even though he was physically encased in ice, the supernatural cold was completely neutralized. He didn't suffer a single millimeter of frostbite, even without coating himself in Armament Haki.
Kuzan frowned deeply, observing the golden monkey form. 'Based on that appearance... a Mythical Zoan?'
"Ice Block: Partisan!"
Four massive, razor-sharp spears of solid ice materialized around Kuzan, shooting simultaneously toward Bardock.
Seeing the incoming projectiles, a bizarre, deeply ingrained instinct suddenly popped into Bardock's head: Use 'Tekkai' (Iron Body) to tank it!
A cold sweat instantly broke out on Bardock's forehead, and he violently threw that suicidal thought out of his mind. Everyone knew the absolute golden rule of the sea: Anyone who confidently uses Tekkai to tank an attack gets absolutely crushed.
"Nitoryu (Two-Sword Style): Dual Slash!"
Swinging both of his blades, Bardock launched two massive, parallel flying slashes. The Haki-coated air blades easily shattered the four ice spears and continued screaming toward Kuzan.
Kuzan effortlessly dissolved his torso into cold air, allowing the slashes to pass through him harmlessly. Reforming instantly, he lunged forward, his massive hand reaching for Bardock.
"Ice Ball!"
This was the exact same technique Kuzan had used to trap Enel earlier. Knowing that Kuzan could continuously pump freezing air into the ice sphere, Bardock knew he couldn't win a battle of attrition. He instantly activated Soru, vanishing from the spot just as the ice enclosed his afterimage.
"Arara..." Kuzan noted, turning his head. "You claim you don't want to be a Marine, yet you've perfectly mastered our Rokushiki techniques."
The explosive footwork of Soru was too iconic; Kuzan recognized it instantly.
Bardock felt his face heat up slightly in embarrassment, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. Kuzan had already used his own Soru to close the distance, unleashing a relentless, suffocating barrage of attacks.
Kuzan's simple Ice Saber was coated in terrifyingly dense Armament Haki. Even though Bardock was wielding Shusui and a custom White Iron blade—both top-tier, exceptionally forged weapons—he couldn't gain a single inch of advantage in the clash.
When it came to the sheer density and refinement of Armament Haki, Bardock was still far inferior to the absolute apex predators of the sea.
CLANG! BOOM! CRASH!
They constantly vanished and reappeared, clashing in high-speed, hyper-lethal exchanges across the frozen ocean. It was incredibly dangerous, and Bardock could feel himself rapidly approaching his physical limit.
By now, the island of Water 7 was completely out of sight. Only the golden White Dragon hovered high in the sky, safely trailing them from a distance.
Up on the ship, Enel had been meticulously preparing ever since he retreated. Finally, the setup was complete.
The sky above the frozen ocean had turned pitch black. Dense, apocalyptic storm clouds blotted out the sun. Silver lightning violently danced through the churning clouds, and deafening thunder shook the very atmosphere.
"Yahahahaha! RAIGO (Thunder Greeting)!"
Because the White Dragon had been heavily retrofitted with the Ark Maxim's technology, it perfectly amplified Enel's Devil Fruit, allowing him to easily unleash his ultimate, island-destroying technique.
This had been Bardock's contingency plan from the very beginning.
By utilizing his innate Magic Immunity, Bardock planned to violently tank the lightning blast. The apocalyptic heat of the lightning would completely vaporize Kuzan's ice, forcing the Vice Admiral to expend massive amounts of energy and Haki to defend himself. In that split second of chaos, Bardock would use the explosion as a smokescreen to escape.
High above, a colossal, terrifying sphere of black, violently swirling thunderclouds began to rapidly descend, aiming directly for the two fighters.
Both Bardock and Kuzan's Observation Haki instantly detected the apocalyptic threat above them, yet neither man broke their clash.
Bardock desperately wanted to retreat, but Kuzan immediately deduced the tactical purpose behind the massive lightning strike. He knew it was designed to cover Bardock's escape. If Kuzan relaxed his offensive pressure for even a fraction of a second, Bardock would undoubtedly slip away.
The colossal black sphere of lightning drew closer and closer.
Bardock mentally cursed. He couldn't believe Kuzan was this ridiculously stubborn! The Vice Admiral absolutely refused to let go!
Originally, Bardock had planned to just ride the shockwave of the blast out of the combat zone. Now, completely pinned down by Kuzan's relentless assault, he had no choice but to take the full, concentrated force of Raigo head-on.
KRA-KOOOOOOM!
An endless, blinding explosion of apocalyptic light and heat violently erupted across the ocean. The devastating lightning annihilated everything in its path. Kuzan's massive, sprawling ice continent was instantly vaporized into steam. The lightning surged violently through the boiling ocean, instantly electrocuting countless schools of fish and instantly killing two massive Sea Kings lurking beneath the surface.