The two stood close, their eyes locked.
Aokiji exerted force with his right arm, pressing his Ice Blade firmly against the Black Blade while simultaneously reaching out with his left hand, aiming straight for Mihawk's arm.
"Freezing Moment!"
A single touch would freeze him solid!
Mihawk flicked his wrist, the Black Blade surging with power to forcefully knock away the Ice Blade, while he sidestepped to evade the grasping hand.
He took several quick steps back, creating a three-meter gap, raised the Black Blade high with his right hand, and brought it down in a mighty slash!
Black Blade: Earth-Cleaving Slash!
A dark green Sword Qi swept along the ground, tearing a massive fissure in its wake. Shattered stones flew as it charged straight toward Aokiji.
This single slash was powerful enough to split a mountain in two!
Aokiji neither dodged nor evaded.
He concentrated Armament Haki into his right arm, his fist turning pitch-black as he met the Sword Qi head-on!
BOOM!!!
A Shockwave erupted!
Buildings within a hundred-meter radius cracked and splintered as if made of paper, countless shards of ice flying everywhere!
The ground caved in, forming a crater dozens of meters in diameter!
Aokiji shook his hand, ice fragments falling from his fist.
"Yare yare daze…"
He looked up, a serious glint flashing in his eyes.
"Are all the rookies these days this terrifying?"
As his words fell, the chilling aura around him surged violently!
With a flick of his right arm, a gigantic ice bird shot forth from his palm!
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
The ice bird had a wingspan exceeding twenty meters, its body crystalline and translucent, carrying an intent to freeze everything as it swooped toward Mihawk.
The bird was incredibly fast, arriving before Mihawk in the blink of an eye!
Expressionless, Mihawk gripped his sword with both hands and slashed down!
A dark green Sword Qi, thicker and sharper than before, shot out, colliding head-on with the ice bird.
BOOM!!!
Ice shards scattered like a blizzard!
The Sword Qi cleaved through the ice bird's body, but before shattering completely, the bird expelled one last burst of frigid air.
Mihawk twisted aside to avoid it, but the chilling air still grazed his left arm, a thin layer of ice rapidly spreading across it.
He frowned slightly, Armament Haki pulsing—
The thin ice shattered!
But in that very instant, Aokiji vanished from his spot!
The next moment, he appeared behind Mihawk!
His right fist, wrapped in Armament Haki, drove toward Mihawk's back!
Mihawk seemed to have anticipated it!
Observation Haki!
He shifted his footing sideways, letting the fist skim past his chest, while simultaneously sweeping the Black Blade horizontally to force Aokiji back!
But Aokiji pressed forward instead of retreating!
His left hand spewed freezing air—
"Ice Ball!"
An ice pillar shot from his palm, aimed directly at Mihawk's face!
Mihawk tilted his head to dodge; the ice pillar grazed his cheek and exploded on the street behind him, freezing an entire building into an ice sculpture.
Just as he was about to counterattack, he felt a sudden tightness around his feet.
Unnoticed, the frigid air had crept to the ground beneath him, freezing his ankles in place.
Seizing this opportunity, Aokiji reached out with his right hand again!
"Freezing Moment!"
Mihawk's pupils contracted sharply!
He forcefully lifted his leg, covering his ankle with Armament Haki, shattering the ice layer by sheer force!
At the same time, he swung the Black Blade upward from below!
The blade's edge aimed straight for Aokiji's abdomen!
If Aokiji continued reaching out to freeze Mihawk, his own abdomen would be sliced open.
Thus, Aokiji withdrew his hand and retreated.
The two distanced themselves once more.
In just a minute of fierce exchange, the surroundings for hundreds of meters had been rendered unrecognizable.
Fissures crisscrossed the ground, ice shards littered everywhere, with sword marks and frozen traces covering the landscape.
Aokiji looked at the silent swordsman before him, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
"Not bad strength. Why are you unknown?"
Mihawk remained expressionless, speaking coldly:
"That's because I haven't made a name for myself yet."
Aokiji was taken aback, then laughed.
"Ahahaha... interesting."
...
On the streets of Loguetown, a light drizzle fell incessantly.
In the distance, explosions and shouts rose and fell, but this secluded alley was unusually quiet.
Doflamingo was running.
Diamante followed behind him as the two dashed between buildings, sprinting toward the harbor.
Suddenly—
Doflamingo stopped in his tracks.
He sharply turned his head, looking behind him.
There, a figure was chasing from the air, stepping with Moon Walk.
It was a woman.
Her face bore the marks of time, but her figure remained agile.
She wore a Marine uniform, her justice cloak flapping loudly in the rain.
Each step in the air kicked up a shockwave, her speed incredibly fast.
"Fufufufu..."
Doflamingo laughed, but the smile carried a hint of irritation:
"Being chased by an old woman—what kind of joke is this?"
He turned around, no longer fleeing.
His right hand spread open—
Five Color String!
Five transparent threads shot from his fingertips, tearing through the air, heading straight for Vice Admiral Tsuru!
This was an attack capable of slicing steel into pieces.
Vice Admiral Tsuru neither dodged nor evaded, raising her right hand, palm aimed at the incoming threads—
"Wash-Wash."
A stream of water sprayed from her hand.
The moment the water touched the threads—
A miracle occurred.
Those originally sharp and resilient threads, upon contact with the water, drooped limply like soaked cotton threads.
"What?!"
Doflamingo's smile froze.
He stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what he was seeing.
His threads—his proud threads capable of cutting steel—were softened by a stream of water?
Vice Admiral Tsuru landed before him, stepping onto the waterlogged street, splashing water everywhere.
She looked at Doflamingo, as if discovering something interesting, a playful smile appearing at the corner of her mouth:
"It seems... your threads, after a wash in my water, are no different from wet cotton threads."
Doflamingo's expression changed.
On that face always wearing an arrogant smile, an unprecedented expression appeared for the first time—
Unease.
"Don't get carried away!!!"
He roared, both hands spreading open simultaneously!
More threads surged from his fingertips!
Hundreds, thousands of threads twisted and gathered in the air, forming a thick column of threads, like a giant serpent.
"Super Impact String Whip—!"
The thread column swept forward!
This strike was enough to slice a mountain in half!
Vice Admiral Tsuru's gaze grew more serious.
She clasped her hands together, pushing them forward.
"Wash-Wash: Great Cleansing—!"
An even more torrential flow of water gushed from her palms!
The water collided head-on with the thread column!
The moment they met, the originally indestructible thread column began to soften and deform.
Finally,
three meters away from Vice Admiral Tsuru, the thread column completely disintegrated, falling to the ground like a pile of rotten ropes.
Doflamingo took a step back.
For the first time, he felt fear.
That fear did not come from a gap in strength, but from the absolute suppression of his ability.
His renowned String-String Fruit, when faced with the Wash-Wash Fruit, was like encountering a natural predator.
Any string that touched this water would lose its hardness.
Doflamingo gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.
He refused to accept this!
String Bullet!
His fingers flicked rapidly, dozens of thin strings shooting toward Vice Admiral Tsuru like bullets.
Fast, penetrating, and impossible to guard against!
Vice Admiral Tsuru did not dodge.
She simply stood in place, allowing those strings to strike her.
Thump thump thump—
The moment those strings made contact with her body, it was as if they had hit some invisible barrier, softening once again into ordinary cotton threads and falling limply.
"Wash-Wash: Protection."
Vice Admiral Tsuru explained:
"A layer of flowing water constantly surrounds my body. As soon as your strings touch me, they lose their hardness."
Doflamingo's expression changed completely.
It wasn't unease, nor was it anger.
It was fear.
Genuine, naked fear.
Since setting sail, he had experienced countless battles and faced numerous formidable enemies.
But he had never felt so utterly powerless as he did now.
His strings—the strings he took pride in, the strings he relied on for survival.
Before this old woman, they were as fragile as toys.
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