The dragon's roar shook the heavens.
At that moment, every eye was drawn to a single thing—
the dragon-shaped sword light Kairos had unleashed.
It tore across heaven and earth, dazzling beyond belief.
This strike had gone far beyond anything Kuzan expected.
Kairos had merged with the slash itself, surging forward with the dragon and crossing a thousand meters in a single breath.
Fast.
Too fast.
So fast it surpassed the limits of the human body.
So fast that even top-tier Observation Haki could barely follow it.
Kuzan's gaze turned cold.
Boundless frost burst from his body and spread in all directions. Ice formed out of thin air as though an entire ice age had descended. In an instant, everything for miles around froze solid.
The surging sea.
The seabirds flying ten thousand meters away.
The shattered mountains and ruined land of the nearby islands.
Everything in sight froze into exquisite sculptures of ice.
The whole world seemed to enter deep winter.
But for all that cold could freeze everything in creation—
it still could not stop that golden sword light.
The dragon roared again.
Raging Dragon: Void Sever came crashing down.
And in the final instant—
Kuzan's body blurred, melting into pale frost.
Elementalization.
Slash—
Kairos stopped directly in front of him, the Magic Blade Thousand Blades in hand.
The golden radiance around him faded.
For one brief moment, time itself seemed to halt.
"What happened?!"
Tens of thousands of people across Fire Country stared wide-eyed, unable to look away.
No one could understand how that world-shaking strike had simply… stopped.
Had Kairos' attack failed?
But before the shock could settle—
Kuzan's body bent backward.
There was no sound.
No visible impact.
And yet his body was still being forced back, like a bolt of lightning dragged across the frozen sea.
The ice beneath him split apart in stages.
First his feet sank in.
Then his calves.
Then his thighs.
Then his waist.
Then his whole body carved a path across the frozen surface, pushed farther and farther back.
When he finally stopped, the fissure he had gouged through the ice was still spreading.
The force rippled outward, widening and deepening until the crack became a true frozen canyon.
The ice split and overturned on both sides, leaving behind a trench five thousand meters long.
Five thousand meters.
Hundreds of meters wide.
The clash between Kairos and Kuzan had carved a canyon straight through the frozen sea.
From that day on, the southeastern edge of Fire Country no longer faced open water.
It faced a frozen rift.
Kuzan suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Most of his suit had been shredded to rags. He looked badly battered now, and even his breathing had turned ragged. Cold mist still spilled from his lips—but now it was stained with red.
At the far end of the frozen canyon, Kairos remained standing where he was, one hand resting on the Magic Blade Thousand Blades, his body straight as a spear, as if nothing in the world could force him back.
The ten thousand borrowed weapons had long since scattered and returned to their owners.
The iceberg giant had collapsed as well, breaking apart into glittering fragments of ice before vanishing into the sky.
With both colossal forces gone, sunlight finally broke through the clouds and fell on Kairos.
Warm.
Quiet.
His presence changed with it.
The razor-sharp edge that had defined him throughout the battle slowly faded, replaced by a distant calm, detached and almost unworldly.
Because Kairos already knew—
the fight was over.
Then he lifted his head and looked toward Kuzan at the far end of the canyon.
"I lost."
Kuzan spoke weakly, coughing up another mouthful of blood as he did.
The moment those words fell, the system's cold mechanical chime rang out in Kairos' mind.
"Ding. Host has defeated Marine Admiral Aokiji Kuzan. Reward obtained: Toshiro Hitsugaya Card (Complete Bankai Version — 1 Use)."
Kairos' eyes flickered.
Kuzan used ice.
Hitsugaya also used ice.
Coincidence… or was the system doing it on purpose?
He chuckled and let the thought go. Then he raised his hand and slowly sheathed the Magic Blade Thousand Blades.
"Admiral Kuzan… lost…"
In Fire Country's capital, a muscular man with Observation Haki activated stared at the distant frozen canyon and spoke in disbelief.
The moment his voice rang out, everyone around him widened their eyes in shock.
They had not heard the exchange between Kairos and Kuzan.
But the result was already obvious.
The canyon cut into the ice.
Kairos lowering his blade.
The answer was right in front of them.
One of the Marines' highest powers—
Admiral Kuzan—
had truly been defeated.
"Kairos…" one resident murmured, staring at his distant figure. "One day, he'll become one of the emperors ruling the New World."
"An Admiral lost…? This is the biggest story in the Grand Line!" A reporter frantically raised his camera and snapped photo after photo of the frozen canyon, his face flushed with excitement.
"Get me Marine Headquarters! Connect me to Fleet Admiral Sengoku! A-Admiral Kuzan has been defeated in Fire Country by the super rookie Kairos!!" A Marine officer stationed in Fire Country grabbed a Den Den Mushi and shouted into it, repeating the message over and over as he stumbled over his own words in shock.
Farther away, atop a mountain ridge, Robin watched in silence.
A faint smile bloomed on her elegant face.
She said nothing.
She simply looked at Kairos.
That was enough.
The battle was over.
It was time to meet up with him again.
Robin had already decided—
at noon, she would treat him to Fire Country's local specialties.
That was the only proper way to celebrate his victory.
But just as she turned and took her first step—
Rumble…
A vast, ancient sound rolled in from the distance.
It came from above.
Robin spun back at once.
High in the far-off sky, a black shadow was descending.
No—
not descending.
Pressing down.
It was so vast it seemed immeasurable, blotting out the heavens like some monstrous beast crushing the sky beneath it.
"There's… an island in the sky?!"
Cries of alarm broke out all across Fire Country as countless people looked up in horror.
And then, at that same moment—
a voice rang out from the heavens.
Deep and resonant, like a temple bell struck across the clouds.
"Kairos… join hands with me, and let us rule this world!"
Along with that voice came an overwhelming aura of absolute dominance—
as though a king above all kings had descended upon the world and was gazing down on everything below.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/StrawHatStudios