Although Roger, Rayleigh, and Gaban would usually take turns sparring with Valthior,
in reality, Valthior preferred exchanging techniques with Gaban, the master of the axe. Over the years, Gaban held nothing back, and Valthior had inherited his teachings almost in full.
The "Eighty Tribal Leaders (Yasotakeru)" was Gaban's signature technique, requiring two battle axes to cross and strike.
Occasionally, Gaban would fight with a single axe as well—the "Forty Tribal Leaders" was essentially a scaled-down version of the Eighty Tribal Leaders.
Clearly, only one axe was swung—but in Kozuki Oden's eyes, multiple axe shadows flashed at once.
There was no time to think. Oden instantly raised both of his famed blades, and with a series of clangs, clashed head-on with Valthior.
Both men possessed extraordinary combat skill. In just a few breaths, violent pressure waves and chaotic flying slashes erupted around them. The battle was so intense that neither side showed even the slightest sign of yielding.
The cold gleam of blades and the sweeping chains of the battle axe crisscrossed through the air. After dozens of seconds, a hint of pressure finally surfaced in Oden's eyes. His footing slipped slightly—and he actually chose to retreat.
With several quick steps, his figure pulled dozens of meters away, landing atop a wooden house not far off.
At the same time, Valthior's chain dropped before him. He held his axe in one hand, a faint smile on his face.
That Sharingan really is something else.
Oden's expression grew extremely serious. That brief close-quarters exchange, though lasting only a dozen seconds, had been filled with killing intent—every strike aimed to kill. Yet this man had completely withstood his years-honed swordsmanship, even suppressing him at times and forcing him to disengage!
Before Oden could suppress the shock in his heart, Valthior made the first move again.
With a flash of Soru, his figure appeared above Oden almost instantly, his battle axe crashing down in a fierce strike!
Oden immediately raised his blades to block—but in the next instant, a bone-chilling cold erupted before him.
At the moment blade and axe collided, frost energy exploded outward. Caught off guard, Oden had no prior intelligence on Valthior's abilities—Valthior hadn't shown anything earlier—so he hadn't even considered that he might be a Devil Fruit user.
In that split second, freezing energy surged. Enma in Oden's hand was instantly coated in frost, and the chill spread up his arm, completely freezing his left arm solid.
But Oden truly lived up to his reputation. After a brief moment of shock, Armament Haki burst forth, shattering the ice encasing his arm and restoring movement.
Still, the price had been paid. His left arm felt numb, and a sharp pain lingered—clear signs of frostbite.
Right after that, Valthior drove a heavy kick forward. This time, Oden failed to block it—he was struck square in the chest and sent flying backward, crashing violently into the street and smashing through several wooden houses.
"Frost Breath!"
Valthioropened his mouth and exhaled a stream of freezing mist. It traveled with incredible speed, encasing the ruins and the buried Oden in a solid block of ice.
But a moment later, the frozen Oden shattered the ice with his Haki. He looked pained; clearly, the force of that kick to the chest had been substantial. Before he could lock his gaze onto Valthior, a wisp of frost swirled around the man, and he vanished from the rooftop.
"Frost Mirror Reflection!"
From the ice behind Oden, Valthior's figure suddenly emerged, his axe chopping straight down toward Oden's head.
Caring nothing for his image, Oden dove forward in a desperate scramble, narrowly avoiding the axe in a ragged roll. He tumbled twice on the ground before springing up and unleashing two backhand flying slashes without even looking. Then, pushing off with all his might, he leapt into the air to reposition himself, regardless of whether his slashes had hit their mark.
He looked back. Nothing!
He had expected Valthior to be within the frozen ruins—but there was no sign of him!
Instinctively, Oden released his Observation Haki to track Valthior's position. But before he could sense anything, another wave of piercing cold surged from below. He glanced downward—
There stood Valthior in the street, his battle axe already sweeping upward in a semicircle, unleashing a fierce slash!
"Two-Way Heaven!"
The slash solidified into crystalline ice midair, like a dragon bursting from the sea, arriving before Oden in an instant. With no other option, Oden crossed his two swords beneath him in defense.
The attack slammed into his blades, carrying freezing energy and immense force. Frost roared upward—
Visible to the naked eye, a towering pillar of ice erupted from the street, lifting Oden's body higher and higher, as if sending him straight to heaven.
"RAAAH!"
Over a hundred meters in the air, Oden roared, both arms straining as he unleashed a cross slash that shattered the ice pillar beneath him.
At the moment the pillar exploded, Valthior's figure flickered out from within it. A chain shot through the falling ice shards at incredible speed, instantly wrapping around Oden's waist!
Before Oden could react, Valthior yanked hard, dragging him back across more than ten meters.
At that instant, Valthior gripped the chain with his left hand, while his right hand clenched into a fist, drawing back for a powerful swing.
Oden couldn't break free in time. Holding both swords, he raised them again in a defensive stance.
The next moment, Valthior's Haki-coated fist—wrapped in pale frost—slammed into Oden's blades!
"Winter's Wrath!!!"
Frost spread instantly, from the blades across Oden's entire body, freezing him into a humanoid ice statue—even as his body was still coated in Armament Haki.
Then the force detonated.
The ice statue shattered. Oden's Armament Haki collapsed under the impact—and Valthior's heavy punch, pressing through the two blades guarding his chest, slammed directly into him.
Pain twisted Oden's face into a grimace. His mouth opened involuntarily as a mouthful of blood burst out—only to freeze midair into ice crystals as it fell. With his Haki broken, the cold had invaded his body.
Unable to resist the force, Oden's body became like a fired cannonball, plummeting from over a hundred meters in the air, trailing frost as he smashed violently into the distant city wall of Hakumai.
The thick wall exploded on impact—but before the debris could fall, a winter-like chill erupted from the ruins. Ice spread instantly, freezing everything in its path, forming jagged icicles that shot skyward in a savage display.
In that moment, everything within several hundred meters of the city wall had become a frozen hell.
High above, Valthior did not descend. Without even using Geppo, he hovered in midair.
Sharp, icy winds circled his body—clearly a form of wind-based flight.
"The so-called beast of Wano… doesn't seem like much," Valthior muttered with a slight smirk.
He wanted to kill Kozuki Oden—but he had also hoped to use him to refine his combat system and real battle techniques.
But it seemed… Oden couldn't hold on?
I haven't even gotten serious yet, and you're already going down?
Just then, however, a streak of black lightning flashed abruptly through the frozen hell below.
Valthior raised a brow, a faint smile forming. "Looks like the beast can still struggle a bit."
As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful surge of Conqueror's Haki exploded from the ruins of the city wall. The violent shockwave shattered the surrounding ice into white mist.
Then, Kozuki Oden stepped out.
Though his Conqueror's Haki raged fiercely around him, he looked undeniably battered.
His kimono across the chest was already torn apart, exposing a frostbitten fist mark on his torso. Icicles still clung to the rope at his back. His breathing was uneven—his internal injuries were clearly severe.
...
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