With an angry shout, Kuzan unleashed a surge of freezing air from his right hand.
The ground froze instantly, spreading outward in a thick sheet of ice.
Across from him, Blackbeard had already finished gathering power.
Within the swirling vortex of darkness behind him, countless fragments shot toward Kuzan like bullets.
Crack! Crack!
The incoming debris froze midair, trapped in ice.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion echoed across the sky, smoke and frost erupting everywhere.
Blackbeard stared toward Kuzan through the haze.
Whoosh!
An ice spear tore through the fog, racing straight toward him.
Blackbeard snorted.
"Naive."
Darkness surged from his hands, shattering the spear in an instant.
But Kuzan had already used that moment to close the distance.
An ice blade formed in his grip as he engaged Blackbeard in close combat.
Not far away, groups of soldiers clashed with Van Augur and the others, the battlefield descending into chaos.
While the harbor had turned into complete turmoil, elsewhere…
Iceburg was calmly enjoying a lavish lunch with Ezra.
Just then, Kalifa hurried over, her expression tense.
"Apologies for the interruption, Admiral Vale, Mr. Iceburg. Something's happened."
Her urgency made Iceburg pause.
"What is it?"
"The Blackbeard Pirates have appeared on Admiral Vale's battleship!"
"What?!"
Shock flashed across Iceburg's face.
Across the table, however, Ezra remained perfectly calm.
"No need to worry, Iceburg. With Kuzan and the others there, even if the Blackbeard Pirates try to seize the ship, they can hold them off for a while."
"Let's finish eating first."
Iceburg's mouth twitched.
Was this level of composure really normal?
"Admiral… don't you want to go take a look?"
Ezra waved a hand dismissively.
"No rush. We'll go after lunch."
"…Alright."
Iceburg could only continue the meal with him.
Back at the harbor, Kuzan and Blackbeard were locked in an intense battle, neither gaining a clear advantage.
Kuzan possessed Admiral level strength.
Blackbeard, without the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, could only rely on the absurdly overpowered Dark-Dark Fruit to keep up through relentless exchanges.
In the distance, Rosinante and the others were beginning to show fatigue.
Especially Rosinante.
He had to monitor multiple skirmishes at once, stepping in whenever a Marine squad started losing ground.
The constant strain pushed him closer to exhaustion.
At that moment, a figure stepped off the Blackbeard Pirates' ship and walked straight toward him.
Rosinante's pupils shrank.
"Shiryu of the Rain!"
"Tch. I'll take this one."
Shiryu drew the blade at his waist and slashed downward with lethal force.
"Iron Body!"
Clang!
"Oh? That level of defense…"
Surprise flickered in Shiryu's eyes.
Rosinante snorted coldly.
"Finger Pistol!"
Two sharp bursts of air shot toward Shiryu.
He instantly pulled back, barely avoiding the attack.
Rosinante pressed forward again, fists coated in Armament Haki as he engaged Shiryu in brutal close combat.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of their collisions rang out continuously, raw and violent.
But no one else had the luxury of watching.
Without Rosinante's support, the other Marines were struggling badly against the Blackbeard Pirates.
They could only endure, waiting for either Rosinante or Kuzan to finish their fight.
Meanwhile, Kuzan and Blackbeard remained fully focused on each other.
Blackbeard had to admit he had underestimated Kuzan.
At this rate, even if Admiral Vale was not present, the commotion would soon draw him in.
Damn it. I need to end this quickly.
The thought flashed through Blackbeard's mind.
Kuzan seemed to sense it.
He leapt backward, widening the distance between them.
"Blackbeard… trying to finish this fast won't work."
His expression remained calm, but inside he was growing anxious.
If Ezra did not arrive soon, his soldiers would not last much longer.
As if confirming that fear…
"AAAAAAAH!"
A scream tore through the air.
Kuzan turned his head.
One of his subordinates had collapsed after taking a direct punch from Burgess.
At that moment, Blackbeard saw Kuzan's distraction.
A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.
"Now! Die!"
A surge of darkness erupted toward Kuzan.
"Not good!"
Kuzan shouted as freezing air exploded from his body.
Boom!
Smoke and frost filled the battlefield, swallowing his figure completely.
"Zehahahaha! Victory is still mine!"
"Once the rest are gone, this battleship will belong to me!"
Greed flashed across Blackbeard's eyes as he turned to move.
Then a calm voice sounded behind him.
"You said this battleship belongs to who?"
The voice was steady.
Familiar.
Every member of the Blackbeard Pirates froze.
"That voice… it can't be…"
They looked up.
As the smoke cleared, a figure stood before Kuzan.
A black striped suit.
A Marine coat of justice billowing behind him in the wind.
Dark crimson gloves covering his hands.
"M… Marine Admiral… Zanka no Tachi?!"
"…This is bad. We've been discovered."
Van Augur adjusted his glasses.
Shiryu and the others immediately stopped fighting and regrouped beside Blackbeard.
Ezra glanced back at Kuzan.
"You alright?"
Kuzan exhaled slightly.
"I'm fine. He just pulled a dirty trick while I wasn't paying attention."
Ezra could not help laughing.
"If you lose, you lose. There's no rule saying dirty tricks aren't allowed."
Kuzan fell silent.
Fair point.
Ezra's gaze returned to Blackbeard.
"So… you want to steal my battleship?"
Blackbeard's face grew extremely serious.
He was already calculating an escape route.
The man in front of him was not someone he could afford to provoke.
"Zehahaha… Admiral Vale, you misunderstand!"
"I already told Vice Admiral Kuzan. I had no ill intentions."
Ezra raised an eyebrow.
This man really was talented at lying.
"Admiral! He's lying!"
Rosinante spoke angrily from nearby.
"He was trying to kill us and take the ship!"
Ezra nodded slightly.
"I'll handle it."
Then his blood red eyes locked onto Blackbeard.
"Tell me. How do you want to die?"
Marshall D. Teach.