Chapter 217: Burning Ice!
Faced with four bizarre-looking ice weapons attacking from the sky, Adrian didn't dodge or evade. A flash of red light appeared in his eyes, and he allowed the terrifyingly cold ice spears to pierce through his body.
Just as Kuzan thought he had easily dealt with the notorious pirate with a bounty of over 600 million berries, he was taken aback. The ice spears seemed to pass through air, phasing Adrian's body without causing any harm or negative effects. The ice weapons struck the ground of Ohara, shattering instantly and freezing the ground with a thick layer of frost.
The intense flames from the surrounding area, caused by shelling, were significantly subdued due to the freezing.
"What?!" Kuzan's pupils slightly contracted.
"Heh." Noticing Kuzan's surprise, Adrian chuckled lightly.
"Vice Admiral Kuzan, it seems you didn't take intelligence on me seriously enough. Ordinary pirates, when facing you, have to waste a lot of energy and strength, using Haki to defend against the pervasive freezing cold. They must also avoid direct contact with your ice weapons, as that would lead to their weapons being frozen and the effect spreading to their limbs. But for a ghost, no matter how cold the world is, what does it matter?"
When it comes to the Navy's future Admirals, Adrian had already faced two. Sakazuki was disfigured, and Borsalino was gravely injured. Now, standing before him, Kuzan was the last of the "future Admirals" he had yet to encounter.
In Adrian's assessment, among the future Admirals, Kuzan had the least combat advantage against him. The power of the Ice-Ice Fruit was formidable, capable of freezing anything it touched, even vast oceans. Anyone with a flesh-and-blood body had to remain vigilant when fighting Kuzan, as the Ice-Ice Fruit's attacks were continuous, and any carelessness could result in muscle numbness or body freezing.
The three natural Logia ability users of the Navy each had their strengths. The Glint-Glint Fruit was fast, the Magma-Magma Fruit was strong, and the Ice-Ice Fruit was best at control. However, the max-level [Ghost Body]'s suppression—or rather, disregard—for Logia users had been proven time and again.
Kuzan's ice, capable of freezing the sea, posed no threat to a ghost. Seeing his usual fruit ability ineffective, Kuzan said nothing, his feet exploding with force as he vanished using 'Soru'. In the next moment, Kuzan reappeared in front of Adrian, producing an ice saber in his empty hand to slash at Adrian's throat. This time, the ice saber was coated with Haki.
Clang! A clear, crisp sound of metal clashing rang out. Adrian calmly raised the Nidai Kitetsu, the sharp blade effortlessly blocking Kuzan's ice saber.
"Is this all the strength you have, Vice Admiral Kuzan?"
"Hmph! Damn pirate!" A glint of cold light flashed in Kuzan's eyes. With a forceful swing of his left arm, he formed another Haki-coated ice saber, aiming at Adrian's right rib. The angle was vicious, designed to pierce through the gaps between the ribs and puncture vital organs.
Adrian's left hand formed a ghostly energy sword, intercepting Kuzan's ice saber as if he had foreseen the attack, shattering the ice weapon into fragments that scattered on the ground, instantly forming a thin layer of frost.
"Damn pirate? The 'pirate' you see is trying to protect this island, Vice Admiral!"
"Evil justice should be crushed!!"
[Dragon's Strength]! Adrian's right arm burst with power, swinging the Nidai Kitetsu upwards and easily forcing Kuzan back.
"The Buster Call executed by the Navy and the World Government is a necessary measure for the future of the world!" Kuzan's expression was stern, his tone vehement, his entire being like a block of ice burning with righteous fire.
"The actions of the scholars of Ohara have indeed broken the law!" Adrian raised an eyebrow, looking directly at the Vice Admiral, who in the original story was exceedingly lazy.
"That's why, everyone must be killed, right?"
The fire in Adrian's eye calmed down.
In the original, this Buster Call had done great harm, but now…
"I see, the "Burning Justice" has not yet turned into the future "Lazy Justice," huh?'"
"But this hot-blooded Kuzan really is hard to get used to…"
If Kuzan's naval career were divided into three stages, the Ohara Buster Call and the Punk Hazard battle would be the dividing points. Before the Ohara Buster Call, Kuzan was proud, passionate, competitive, and reflective, always seeking to improve. After the Ohara Buster Call, witnessing Sakazuki slaughter innocent civilians on the refugee ship, Kuzan's beliefs wavered. After a long period of painful reflection, he adopted Lazy Justice. As for the Punk Hazard battle, it was a clash of ideologies between ice and magma. After a ten-day and night battle, Kuzan lost to Akainu and left the Navy.
Unaware of Adrian's thoughts on his life's changes, Kuzan's body began to crystallize with ice. This near-half-natural state signified Kuzan was ready to unleash his true power!
With a series of crackling sounds, the bone-chilling cold spread around him. White mist began to drift around Kuzan as the temperature difference between his icy body and the surrounding air caused the moisture to condense.
Standing opposite, Adrian was immune to the terrifying cold due to his ghost body, but the dreadful low temperature seemed palpable even to the naked eye!
Half-naturalized Kuzan opened his mouth, exhaling white cold air, and then raised his right arm, releasing a blast of cold air from a distance.
"Ice Time Capsule!"
Adrian flew forward, even as the freezing shockwave from the Ice Time Capsule failed to slow him down. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Kuzan, raising the Nidai Kitetsu for a seamless horizontal slash at Kuzan's waist.
"So fast!" Kuzan was slightly shocked, using Observation Haki to sense the danger, dodging while continuing his attack.
"Ice Time!"
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Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone