Kilo's body went a bit stiff. He slowly turned around, and a familiar figure stood before him.
It was a tall man draped in a black greatcoat, wearing iconic sunglasses on his face, with his signature curly hair on his head, and a bandana engraved with the Marine symbol.
It was a character Kilo was all too familiar with—one of the future three Marine Admirals.
Logia-type, Ice-Ice Fruit user—Aokiji!
Aokiji scanned Kilo from head to toe, and a decorative Pattern on his chest caught his attention.
"Hey, hey, that Pattern on your clothes... only Ohara scholars have that, right?"
Hearing this, Kilo checked his shirt and indeed found a complex Pattern near the collar.
Judging by the small engraved characters, it was faintly recognizable as the exclusive insignia of an Ohara scholar.
Noticing this detail, cold sweat gradually began to bead on Kilo's forehead.
He didn't remember such a detail from the original story at all!
But now, this detail he hadn't cared about would likely plunge him into a life-or-death crisis!
"Sorry, the mission I received was to eliminate the Archaeologists on the island."
"That little girl just now was different from you. I have no reason to let off such an obvious Archaeologist."
Aokiji's slightly apologetic voice rang out, but the content sent chills down Kilo's spine.
"Wait..."
Kilo hurriedly spoke, but in the next moment, he keenly felt a sense of palpitations he had never experienced before.
A trail of ice spread with Extreme Speed from beneath Aokiji's feet, reaching Kilo's feet in the blink of an eye.
Before Kilo could react, an intense cold surged from the soles of his feet to his heart, as solid ice rapidly climbed up his shins.
It all happened so fast. Kilo's pupils contracted; he hadn't even seen how Aokiji made his move!
By the time he reacted, it was already too late!
Watching the solid ice gradually turn him into an ice sculpture, a sensation of death like nothing Kilo had ever felt surged within him.
It was a frigid touch he hadn't even felt during his duel with Muzan, as if his heart were being squeezed tight by a cold, massive hand, and a faint sense of suffocation came from his throat.
The fear of impending death surged like a tide, and an inexplicable tremor made his heart pound violently.
No!
He couldn't accept dying like this, in this corner where no one cared!
Kilo struggled to twist his body, attempting to break free from the ice, but no matter how he struggled, he couldn't escape the iron-hard blocks.
What should I do!?
Scenes flashed through his mind at high speed as he tried to find a glimmer of hope.
The gap in their strength was simply too large. As a Logia-type user and one of the future three Admirals, Aokiji was a top-tier expert even on these seas. How could a newcomer like Kilo resist him?!
Countless possibilities surfaced in Kilo's mind, only to be dismissed one by one. A hint of resentment couldn't help but appear in his eyes.
If I don't do something soon, I'm going to die here!!
Suddenly, a wild idea surfaced in his mind.
If there's any trump card I have left...
The Pattern!!!
One of the ultimate powers in the Demon Slayer World, it was a powerful trump card that came at the cost of burning one's physical potential and overdrawing one's life.
During the siege against Muzan and his demons, all the Hashira had activated their Patterns for the final battle.
However, there were two conditions for activating the Pattern: first, one must have seen the Pattern before, and second, one needed an extremely strong physical constitution.
The first condition was no problem for Kilo, but for the second, his current body clearly didn't meet the requirements.
And Kilo didn't know what would happen if he tried to activate the Pattern with an ordinary person's physical constitution...
But right now, there was no room for choice. Whether he could activate the Pattern or not, it was his only option!!
Based on Kilo's knowledge of the plot, the current Aokiji was wavering inside, questioning the justice he upheld.
If he could tell Aokiji the truth and take the opportunity to shake Aokiji's heart...
There was still a chance!!!
...
Watching the young man before him gradually freeze into a silent ice sculpture, Kuzan reached out and took off his sunglasses, a rare look of confusion appearing in his eyes.
"Is doing this... really right?"
"Massacring scholars, blowing up evacuation ships... is this really justice?"
"Sauron, could it be... that I'm wrong?"
A moment later, he calmed his emotions, put his sunglasses back on, and turned to walk toward the warship.
Crack, crack.
A few crisp sounds came from behind him. Aokiji turned back, clearly somewhat surprised.
That ice sculpture was actually slowly cracking, and the area of the fissures was constantly expanding.
A moment later, a loud bang echoed out. A blood-soaked figure rising with white steam shattered the ice sculpture and stood holding a blade.
Aokiji was somewhat surprised because several crimson Patterns had appeared on the young man's cheeks, looking like a messy, broken design.
What was even more surprising was that Kilo's originally black hair had turned completely white, yet his entire body radiated an aura of vitality far exceeding before.
White steam billowed from Kilo's mouth, and his eyes were tightly shut.
As he gradually tightened his grip on the hilt, he actually exhaled visible flame clouds from his mouth.
He slowly but firmly raised the long sword in his hand, and faint crimson flames flickered around him.
He only had one chance. The life force constantly draining from his body was hollowing out his life.
Now!
The moment the rising aura reached its peak, Kilo snapped his eyes open and stepped down. The ground instantly shattered, and his figure blurred before suddenly vanishing.
[Sun Breathing, Eleventh Form: Solar Halo Dragon]!
The crimson blade light turned into an afterimage, striking at the prepared Aokiji with speed indiscernible to the naked eye.
A wall of ice, far sturdier than before, instantly rose in front of Aokiji, intending to block Kilo's blade. But in the next instant, it was suddenly split in two by the flame-wrapped edge.
The crimson afterimage didn't slow down, bringing a soaring flame light as it arrived before Aokiji.
Aokiji was a bit shocked. He immediately condensed high-intensity ice to protect himself while simultaneously elementalizing the parts of his body that might be attacked.
However, the target of that blade light wasn't Aokiji.
As a sharp blade light flashed past, Aokiji felt his back lighten. That greatcoat with the word 'Justice' printed on it had actually been slashed off and fell to the ground.
Under the high temperature brought by the blade's flames, the sunglasses Aokiji always wore suddenly slid off, revealing eyes full of shock.
Aokiji slowly turned around, his gaze fixed on Kilo behind him. His tone was no longer calm like before, but was clearly filled with doubt and shock.
"You... the target of that strike just now was my cloak?"
"Why?"
Kilo slowly turned around. The Pattern on his face gradually dimmed, and the dense aura of vitality he radiated withered at a rapid pace.
He didn't answer Aokiji's question directly, but spoke softly instead.
"Massacring scholars, not even sparing refugees... is this really the justice you uphold?"
"Kuzan, just like Sauron, you can hear the cries of those innocent people in your heart, right?"
Ignoring Kuzan's increasingly shocked expression, he continued.
"I can tell you that the history studied here has nothing to do with Ancient Weapons."
"The Gorosei, the World Government, the Void Century... Vice Admiral Kuzan, aren't you curious about what kind of 'truth' needs a Buster Call to cover it up?"
"What Ohara studied was merely the keyhole. Behind that real door, something that can shake the foundations of the world is hidden!"
His tone gradually became agitated.
"And now, only I know all of this! If you kill me, this period of history will only have the version written by the World Government left!"
Kilo looked directly into Aokiji's eyes—those eyes that revealed hesitation.
"Aokiji! I can tell you what kind of justice you are pursuing! And all you need to do is overlook one remnant who luckily escaped from the Buster Call!"
After saying this, Kilo's nearly collapsing body could no longer hold out. He fell to the ground with a thud, but even as he fell, his eyes remained fixed on Aokiji.
Aokiji didn't speak, an inexplicable light glinting in his eyes as if he were contemplating something.
Staring at the 'Justice' cloak on the ground that Kilo had deliberately slashed off, as well as the sunglasses that had shattered into two pieces, Aokiji seemed to have made some sort of decision.
After a long silence, Aokiji turned away without a word. At the moment he turned, an inconspicuous path of ice began to freeze on the sea behind Kilo, extending along the previous ice path.
Seeing this, Kilo grinned.
He knew he had bet correctly.
Even though he had activated the Pattern, he could never be Aokiji's match. The most likely outcome would have been Aokiji using Elementalization to avoid him and then easily defeating him after adapting.
Only by using his advantage of knowing the plot and considering Aokiji's current inner turmoil...
Combined with his quick thinking at the end, could he trade for a slim chance of survival.
Clearly, he had done it!
With the excitement of surviving a disaster in his eyes, Kilo painfully climbed to his feet and limped along the ice path toward the sea.
The deafening sound of cannon fire continued to come from behind him.
If only some of his muscles had been torn when he fought the Marine squad earlier, now that he had activated the Pattern, almost no part of his muscles was intact.
His strike just now seemed simple, but in reality, it had burned through most of his body's life force, as evidenced by his hair turning completely white.
Moreover, his target just now wasn't Aokiji's body but the cloak on his back; only then could he succeed.
The purpose of aiming for the cloak was also simple: to further shake Aokiji's convictions.
That grand-looking strike probably couldn't even wound Aokiji, who was a Logia-type Fruit user.
He didn't know any Armament Haki yet; as long as Aokiji elementalized, none of his attacks would be effective.
Kilo's current physical state could hardly be described as just 'bad.' If he didn't receive timely help and rest, his body, which was cracked like porcelain, would likely slowly collapse.
After walking along the ice path for an unknown amount of time, Kilo's vision began to go black.
Damn it, I celebrated too early. I haven't even escaped Ohara yet!
He began to feel uncertain if he could make it off this ice path.
Could it be that I didn't die at Aokiji's hands, only to die on the escape route from excessive blood loss?
Kilo grit his teeth. He was unwilling to fall here, but his consciousness began to gradually blur.
Although he persisted for another stretch through sheer willpower, his severely damaged body was truly unable to support him.
Thud.
Kilo collapsed onto the ice.
Was it really going to end like this?
Kilo thought resentfully.
However, at the last moment, Kilo heard a cry of surprise.
The owner of the voice was a young girl. Considering his current location...
It could only be Robin, who hadn't gone far yet!
A slight curve barely formed on his lips, and Kilo's head slumped to the side as he fell completely unconscious.
Robin-chan, you came just in time.