"Borsalino, how are you?!"
Seeing Kizaru's condition, Aokiji moved to help him, but Kizaru held out a hand to stop him.
He endured the pain and stood on his own.
He was badly hurt, but not to the point where he couldn't stand.
Right now, Kizaru's body was covered in small, dark marks, and even the blood seeping out was darkened.
"Kuzan… I lost. I'll leave the rest to you."
"His Devil Fruit can suppress other Devil Fruit users. Be careful."
Aokiji nodded gravely and had the Marines tend to Kizaru's wounds.
Then he turned toward Sabaody.
Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned beside him.
Aokiji's power was roughly equal to Kizaru's—and if the two fought seriously, Kizaru might even have the advantage.
But now Kizaru had been defeated.
That meant…
Meanwhile, on Sabaody, Malverick wasn't unscathed either.
Even though his Yami-Yami power suppressed Kizaru's abilities, Kizaru was still a Marine Admiral with immense battle experience.
Malverick had won, but he too was covered in injuries.
Blood had soaked the front of his clothes.
[Ding! Congratulations to host for defeating a King-level opponent: Admiral Kizaru. Reward: 10,000 Supreme Points!]
The system's voice rang out, and Malverick smiled.
At long last, he had defeated his first King-level opponent.
Took long enough!
He shifted his gaze to the sea.
Using Five-Sights Universal — Far Vision, he could see Aokiji and Vice Admiral Tsuru standing aboard a warship.
[Marine Vice Admiral and Admiral Candidate — Aokiji. Power Level: King. Defeating him will grant 10,000 points!]
The Ohara incident had been years ago. Aokiji had grown even stronger since then.
As for Vice Admiral Tsuru… her strength hadn't changed—she was simply too old to improve further.
And after the fight with Kizaru, Malverick no longer had the stamina to beat Aokiji—
let alone with Tsuru and so many Marines backing him.
Winning was impossible.
But Malverick wasn't afraid.
After all… he had hostages.
And even if the Marines didn't care about those hostages, Rayleigh was still somewhere on Sabaody.
Looking at the flames still burning across the Archipelago, Malverick raised his hand and summoned a black vortex, absorbing all the flames.
In the eyes of Aokiji, Tsuru, and the surrounding Marines, the vortex swallowed everything—
and then several streams of black matter stretched out across the sea, emerging near the warships.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, Aokiji—long time no see!"
Malverick stepped out from the darkness.
"To get all of this for me… the Marines are really showing me face today."
Two Admiral-level fighters, plus a senior veteran—definitely a heavy lineup.
Aokiji and Tsuru didn't bother responding.
An ice-bird formed instantly in front of Aokiji and launched toward Malverick.
Malverick summoned another vortex—
—but this time what emerged were glowing spheres.
They were the Eight-Foot Magatama shots he had absorbed from Kizaru earlier!
With no restrictions, that move was incredibly useful.
High power, fast speed, dense fire.
Very practical!
Aokiji's ice attack shattered instantly under the barrage.
Just as Malverick was about to speak, a streak of blue light swept past.
His view was blocked by chunks of ice, so he didn't see it coming—
—and he got hit.
It was Vice Admiral Tsuru's Wash-Wash Fruit, which could turn a person into clothing.
He had been caught by this ability once before, but this time he used Haki to block it.
With previous experience, resisting it was easy—his body didn't show any signs of being turned into fabric.
"…Can't you people at least let me finish a sentence?!"
Roar—roar—roar!
Malverick raised the ring of Water Dragon Possession — Black Marlin.
On the open ocean, seawater was limitless—perfect for this item's true power.
Three giant water dragons surged up from the sea, rushing toward the warships!
But Malverick forgot one crucial point:
Aokiji.
Aokiji's ability wasn't something seawater could restrain—
if anything, it was the opposite.
"Ice Age!"
A wave of cold burst from Aokiji, dropping the temperature instantly.
The water dragons froze solid on the spot.
Malverick felt a headache forming.
"Black Marlin versus Aokiji… what a horrible matchup."
Against almost any other power, the ring would dominate on the sea.
But Aokiji was the worst possible opponent.
"Still… once you add my Yami-Yami into the mix—things change."
A strange smile appeared on Malverick's face.
"Aokiji, Tsuru… be careful now."
He raised both hands.
From his left hand surged a torrent of darkness, forming a swirling black storm.
From his right hand—more than a dozen massive water dragons appeared again.
Slowly, the darkness merged with the water—
turning the blue-and-white dragons into dark ones.
Aokiji immediately tried to freeze them again—
—but he did not expect that the darkness coating them would block his freezing power!
It wouldn't last long.
But even a moment was enough.
The dragons reached the warships.
One battleship was torn apart instantly, its sailors swept into the waves.
Aokiji formed several ice walls to defend.
Crash—crash—crash—
Each wall shattered, weakening the dragons until they finally dissipated.
Aokiji and Tsuru both let out a quiet breath.
But when they looked back toward the sea—
Malverick was gone.
"Damn it… he escaped!"
Aokiji clenched his teeth.
Next time, they wouldn't get such an opportunity.
"Forget it, Kuzan. Let's return."
Staying served no purpose.
The Marines counted casualties and withdrew.
They had come with three warships—
and returned with only two.
On Sabaody, Rayleigh and Shakky watched the battle from afar.
Seeing Malverick escape successfully, Rayleigh took a long drink from his flask.
"That brat has already reached this level… I can relax now."
Just moments earlier, Rayleigh had almost gone out to intervene.
"Yeah. I believe he'll become a major force in the New World."
"Let's head back. The bar opens in a few days—we should prepare."
—------------------------------
Patreon Advance Chapters: patreon.com/FrostWarden