Under the fiery vortex unleashed by Ron's slash, the colossal ice beasts charging toward him were instantly obliterated and vaporized.
Waves of scorching heat rippled outward, spreading across the frozen sea.
Within a hundred-meter radius, a layer of ice was evaporated into a dense, white mist.
Not far away, Aokiji, his body half in an icy state and exuding an intense chill, appeared and gazed at Ron. "Oh? A high-temperature slash imbued with flames… Let's see how much strength you're still hiding."
He raised his hand, a terrifying cold radiating from his palm.
With a single swing of his palm, five massive ice pillars shot out rapidly toward Ron.
Ron's figure blurred as he disappeared from his spot, Raikiri still in hand.
The five enormous ice pillars slammed into the ice-covered sea, shaking it violently. Massive cracks extended outward in all directions.
Using Shave, Ron appeared near Aokiji's side and swung his sword down.
A vicious slash, imbued with the deep purple hue of Haki, tore through Aokiji's ice-formed body. Yet, it caused no damage.
Under normal circumstances, even an elementalized body should be injured if attacked with Haki-infused strikes.
Aokiji, too, should not have been an exception.
Ron's Haki-laced attack should have wounded him—but it didn't.
Through this probing strike, Ron, utilizing both the Transparent World and advanced Observation Haki, discovered something peculiar.
"Preemptively using Observation Haki to detect the range of the attack and manipulating your elemental body to evade, is that it?" Ron asked calmly, his gaze steady.
Aokiji glanced at him, somewhat surprised by his keen perception and combat sense.
He didn't bother to hide the truth.
"With narrow-range attacks like slashes, I can manipulate my elementalized body to avoid damage, even if your attack is imbued with Haki."
His entire body was now encased in ice, cold vapor continuously emitting from it as he spoke. White mist even escaped from his mouth as he exhaled.
The surrounding temperature dropped further, growing colder with every passing second.
Manipulating elementalization—this must be a deeper mastery of the Logia Devil Fruit's abilities.
Ron's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So, Haki-infused, narrow-range attacks are ineffective…"
Ron squinted, then stomped heavily on the ground. The surface shattered as his figure shot toward Aokiji like a cannonball.
As he surged forward, fiery red flames, fierce and dragon-like, began to coil around Raikiri, his sword.
This slash carried a momentum and dominance that even made Aokiji's expression turn serious.
Aokiji raised his fully ice-formed right arm, white vapor condensing around it.
"Flame Breathing: Fifth Form."
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak."
A massive ice bird, radiating intense cold and devastating force, shot from Aokiji's arm.
Leaping into the air, Ron instantly activated Essence of Strength, his body emanating a steaming, blood-red heat. Gripping Raikiri with both hands, now fully imbued with Armament Haki, he swung the flame-wrapped blade toward the ice bird.
A gigantic slash of flames transformed into a ferocious, blazing tiger that lunged toward the ice bird with unrelenting ferocity!
The moment the two collided, the world seemed to freeze.
Even the air felt as though it had been locked in place.
The still air exploded violently!
A terrifying shockwave rippled outward in all directions.
The frozen sea shattered layer by layer, with massive cracks spreading far and wide.
The Traveler was swept up by the shockwave and thrown back.
Robin quickly activated her powers, forming a pair of enormous hands from countless arms to stabilize the ship. It slid across the ice but managed to land steadily.
After the Traveler skidded to a halt over a hundred meters away, Robin let out a sigh of relief.
"What… what was that?"
Bonney's voice trembled with awe, barely above a whisper, as if caught in a dream.
Turning her head to look, Robin was similarly stunned.
In the distance, the icy sea within a hundred meters had been divided into two stark regions—one engulfed in blazing flames, the other shrouded in frigid cold.
The two forces clashed violently, neither giving way, their collision sending waves of heat and cold into the surroundings with devastating shockwaves.
The frozen sea beneath them continued to crumble, cracks spreading incessantly. Snow fell from the overcast sky, only to melt into steam mid-air from the heat, rising in white plumes.
The scene was overwhelming, making one question if such destruction could truly be wrought by humans.
Beneath the massive clash of flames and cold, Ron, wielding Raikiri, and Aokiji, holding his ice blade, engaged in close combat.
Even though Ron's strength was slightly superior, his slashes were ineffective against Aokiji. The flames wrapped around his blade were instantly extinguished by the icy aura emanating from his opponent. As a result, Ron found himself at an absolute disadvantage.
Frost began creeping up Ron's limbs, slowing his movements and reducing his speed. Even with his Essence of Strength at Lv.2, which enveloped him in a searing crimson mist, the overwhelming cold from Aokiji's body was unrelenting.
While Transparent World and his Observation Haki provided Ron some advantage in evading attacks, they fell short in allowing him to launch effective counterstrikes.
Direct physical attacks, even when enhanced with Armament Haki, could land on Aokiji but often lost their impact as he manipulated his Logia powers to avoid critical damage. At the same time, Ron faced the ever-looming danger of being frozen solid in a single misstep. Techniques like Shave, Tempest Kick, or Moonwalk were utterly useless against an opponent of this caliber.
After forcing Ron to retreat with another icy attack, Aokiji, still radiating his usual lazy and indifferent demeanor, remarked casually,
"So, this is the limit of your strength."
Cold, bone-chilling breath escaped Aokiji's mouth as he raised his hand. The flames that had been fiercely opposing his icy aura were finally extinguished. The freezing energy surged into the sky, forming colossal icebergs that rapidly converged around Ron.
Swinging his blade, Ron unleashed a massive slash that shattered countless layers of ice. But the frozen shards seemed alive, reforming instantly and continuing their relentless advance.
Under this onslaught, Ron resembled a small insect trapped in an icy lake, surrounded on all sides with no escape.
"So, you're finally serious. Is this the power of an Admiral?" Ron muttered, his gaze fixed on Aokiji's half-ice form in the distance. His grip on Raikiri tightened.
As expected, he couldn't reach that level yet.
A flash of red glinted in Ron's eyes.
"You think this is my full power?"
With a resounding stomp, Ron's foot slammed onto the frozen ground. The ice beneath him sank deeply, fracturing into a web of cracks before exploding upward. Massive chunks of ice were hurled into the air, forming a jagged barrier between him and Aokiji.
Raising his empty left hand, Ron reached into the void and pulled out Shusui, the legendary black blade. Armament Haki surged, coating the sword in a spiraling, almost tangible aura of destructive energy.
"Lv.2 Essence of Strength: Full activation!
Lv.5 Armament Haki: Full activation!
Breath of the Sun: Total Concentration!
Lv.3 Transparent World + Lv.4 Observation Haki: Fully unleashed!"
In an instant, the world around Ron transformed. The fine details of the environment—every crack in the ice, every shift in Aokiji's stance, every vibration in the air—became crystal clear. Time seemed to slow, and even the flow of Aokiji's blood and the rhythm of his heartbeat were laid bare to Ron's perception.
Aokiji's eyes narrowed slightly behind his signature sunglasses as he observed Ron's overwhelming aura.
"Still have strength left, huh?" he muttered. "That body of yours is truly terrifying…"
Ron stood tall, both Shusui and Raikiri in hand, his figure exuding a fiery red mist of vitality and raw power. His black hair flowed wildly, and his eyes glowed with a menacing crimson hue. He wasn't wasting time on words.
This was his peak state, and Ron knew he could only maintain it for a single minute.
A single, decisive minute to settle this fight.
"Let's end this quickly!"
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