Ren swept his hand, and the verdant ocean of forest surged like waves toward the dozens of massive warships beyond the coastline, their cannons still firing without pause!
The advancing forest tore through soil and pierced through rock!
Lush branches swayed in the undulating rush of the charge, like the opening and closing scales of swimming dragons!
"WHOOSH—"
Massive, powerful roots and trunks cleaved through the sea surface, leaving two trails of white foam. Before the water could rush back to fill the gap, several more azure dragons followed close behind!
Countless sounds merged in his ears, like the thunderous roar of collapsing mountains.
For ages, the spread and growth of forests had always been slow. But at this moment, Ren compressed what might have taken thousands of years into a single instant.
The ever-expanding life force seemed ready to destroy everything!
The forest…
It would erase all traces, leaving only the mists of time.
Aokiji's pupils contracted. The overwhelming tidal wave bearing down on him seemed to turn entirely black in his eyes, ready to crush him whole.
He nearly forgot how to react, until blazing flames carrying rolling waves of heat slammed into his face alongside a hoarse shout.
"Kuzan, what are you doing?!" Akainu's entire body was already encased in magma, his arms like primed volcanic craters continuously erupting with searing fists!
Flaming meteors rained down one after another toward the advancing wooden dragons!
Aokiji snapped back to his senses. This was no time to be gawking. As one of the executors of this Buster Call, he had to block this spreading sea of trees. "Freeze — Great Ice Blade!"
He stepped out and launched himself into the air. His right hand was encased in ice, the frost gradually condensing into the shape of a blade, which he swung with all his might.
The blue-white blade extended hundreds of meters in an instant, casting a dim glow in the fading twilight!
In a flash, it cleanly severed the trunks and roots of the foremost giant trees!
"CRASH…"
Countless massive trees, cut through, toppled into the seabed. The Marines on the warships, seeing Aokiji display such divine power, couldn't help but cheer.
"Incredible — truly Vice Admiral Kuzan!"
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki is strong too!"
"…"
But their celebration didn't last long. The forest behind them had already surged forward again!
Ren stood far away atop the wooden dragon's head, arms crossed, and said coolly: "That level of power won't stop the forest's advance."
He had considered adding more difficulty for Aokiji and Akainu, but decided against it after a moment's thought.
The current Forest World was already more than enough to keep them busy.
"Ice Age!" Aokiji immediately began fully releasing the cold within his body. The extreme cold did slow the forest's spread to some extent, but what truly stood before the forest was the frozen earth — solid as steel!
"CRACK—"
The entire sea surface was instantly frozen by his power. The deep ice layer extended hundreds of meters below sea level, nearly freezing all the water around the island solid!
The tree roots submerged beneath the sea were completely sealed in ice. The trees above the waterline were also affected by the cold, their massive trunk surfaces — thick as giant pillars — coated in a layer of frost.
"WHOO—"
Releasing this degree of cold in a single instant had consumed enormous stamina, even for Aokiji.
Even though it was the same Ice Age technique, the amount of cold released was completely different. Freezing several kilometers of ocean in a single moment was no simple feat.
In that instant, the temperature he released had nearly approached absolute zero. Even Akainu's scorching magma nearby seemed to have been dimmed considerably by the frigid wind.
"Not bad," Ren praised. But then a mocking smile crossed his face. "But if you think that's enough to settle things, you're mistaken."
He pressed his palms together. From the trunks of countless giant trees, new branches sprouted and intertwined, forming yet another enormous dragon.
"Wood Dragon Technique!"
This wooden dragon was even more ferocious than the one Ren stood upon. It bared its sharp fangs the moment it opened its mouth. Though it had only forelimbs and no hind limbs, since it floated in the sky anyway, it was no hindrance at all.
The moment the wood dragon formed, it immediately roared and lunged toward Aokiji and Akainu!
The dragon's head alone was larger than the warships beneath them. If its body twisted across the ice, it could crush every last one of those ships in an instant!
"We can't let that thing come down! Hell Hound!"
Sakazuki shouted toward Aokiji, and the next moment unleashed his magma. Scorched rock condensed into a massive canine monster — charred black rock was its flesh and bone, and molten lava was its flowing blood!
"THUD!"
This giant molten hound, as if a hellhound crawled from the underworld itself, stomped across the ice and frozen tree trunks, leaping toward the dragon soaring in the sky!
"Pheasant Beak!"
Aokiji also raised his right arm. A giant white bird instantly took flight, its sharp beak piercing toward the wooden dragon in the sky like an arrow!
The frozen white bird arrived first, striking the flying dragon's chest like a flash of white light. Its beak nearly pierced through the dragon's torso!
But the next instant, the dragon crushed the white bird's throat with its forelimb, then twisted its serpentine body to wrap around the Hell Hound, which had been charging through the frozen forest, and sank its fangs into the Hell Hound's throat!
But Akainu's Hell Hound wasn't one to take a beating passively. Its burning fangs bit through the wooden dragon's body. The three elemental monsters tore at each other — it felt like they'd been transported to a planet of monsters!
Surprisingly, the victor of this battle was Sakazuki's Hell Hound.
The burning giant dog had been smashed to pieces over much of its body, but it still stood on the ice sea as the victor, balanced on its three remaining legs, howling at the sky.
"Hmph, I am magma that can devour even flames. A mere bunch of trees — what?!"
Sakazuki's smug expression froze on his face in an instant. His normally stern face nearly cracked apart from the sight before him.
And the Hell Hound, fresh off its victory, was now completely dumbfounded.
There, on the nearby ice sea, a wooden figure estimated at over five hundred meters tall brought down a fist and grabbed the previously triumphant Hell Hound in its hand…
Compared to that, the Hell Hound — already a monster dozens of meters tall — looked like a mere puppy in front of the wooden giant.
"Sorry, Hell Hound. You're just too strong," Ren said with an apologetic face.
Hell Hound: ???
[
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