It's common knowledge that Devil Fruit users fear seawater.
But there is one person in the Marines who has overcome this fatal weakness.
The Logia-type Ice Fruit user, Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral codenamed "Aokiji" - Kuzan!
During an operation to capture a major pirate crew, he even froze an entire sea, earning him the title among Marines as "The Man Nearly Invincible in Naval Warfare"!
Years later, the prefix "in naval warfare" would be dropped from this title.
...
The power sufficient to freeze an entire ocean, when applied to an individual, resulted in the current situation.
Kyoshiro, who possessed considerable strength and was selected by Kurozumi Orochi as a guard, was instantly frozen and defeated without any ability to resist.
...
"My, my~ Kuzan, you could have waited a bit longer to intervene. I quite wanted to see this guy wet his pants in fear."
Compared to the nearly three-meter-tall Kuzan, even the woman's tall figure appeared slender.
She had delicate, beautiful features with one side of her long hair styled into a high ponytail, adorned with a gilded decorative flower that gave her a noble and elegant appearance.
She wore a black, form-fitting short soft armor on her upper body, revealing her flat, pale abdomen, with black skirt bottoms and a pure white belt with metal buckles.
She carried a weapon on her back that resembled both a knight's lance and an unusually shaped greatsword.
Crossing her arms, she looked at the panting Saint Shangong with mocking eyes.
...
"Marines... I suppose you came just in time..." Saint Shangong recognized Aokiji's uniform and was about to offer praise when he heard the woman's words. His body moved faster than his mind.
Click—
He immediately raised his hand and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"You bastard! How dare you treat a World Nob... Nob..." Saint Shangong's words caught in his throat just like his gun when he clearly saw the woman's face.
...
"You are... You..."
Saint Shangong's lips trembled as he spoke the woman's name: "Lady Miya Gong!!"
He immediately threw away his pistol and bowed his head nervously: "My apologies! You appeared so suddenly, I didn't recognize you!!"
"Oh~ So according to you, I shouldn't have appeared?"
"No! You have every right to appear anywhere! I misspoke!"
...
At this moment, it was exactly like that moment.
Saint Shangong had taken on King Riku's former role.
...
Miya Gong smiled faintly and poked Kuzan's side: "See? Even among Celestial Dragons, there are hierarchies. My status is much higher than his."
"If you agree to follow me, you'll enjoy status like mine!"
"This is the exquisite taste of power!"
...
Celestial Dragons... have hierarchies?
King Riku had never considered this concept before, staring blankly at the two newcomers.
One Celestial Dragon appearing was bad enough.
Now another, even higher-ranking Celestial Dragon had arrived!
This isn't right...
This isn't Mary Geoise's World Conference! This is just an event hosted by our Dressrosa!
Kuzan kept his hands in his pockets, ignoring the conversation - he'd heard similar dialogues too many times these days.
He slowly approached Saint Shangong, casually raising his hand in a perfunctory salute: "Saint Shangong, I'm Headquarters Vice Admiral Kuzan, currently on a mission with Miya Gong."
"It's a secret mission between Kuzan and me~ You mustn't tell anyone."
Miya Gong smiled as she scanned the room. King Riku instinctively sensed danger and quickly lowered his head, not daring to meet her gaze.
Kyros had a deeper understanding... In this woman, he seemed to see countless entangled and distorted vengeful spirits.
...
"Don't look. It'll bring misfortune," Kuzan softly warned. Kyros immediately lowered his head.
Miya Gong gave Kyros a meaningful glance, her smile ambiguous, then playfully punched Kuzan's waist. "What misfortune? Saying things like that will hurt my feelings~"
...
...
This woman...
Saint Shangong's body trembled slightly, not only because this woman held the authority to judge Celestial Dragons.
But also because...
Thirty years ago, when he first saw this woman as a child, she looked exactly the same!
Like the Five Elders, she was an ageless monster...
"Since Miya Gong is carrying out a mission, I'll leave immediately, right away!" Saint Shangong stumbled backward, about to climb onto his slave mount.
"Hey, if you leave, how are we supposed to complete our mission? You're the bait for fishing."
Miya Gong's words seemed like invisible chains wrapping around Saint Shangong.
...
The common hobby among Celestial Dragons was collecting slaves, differing only in the types of slaves they preferred.
Saint Shangong considered himself a Celestial Dragon who had risen above vulgar tastes—he enjoyed collecting slaves pierced by famous swords.
In his treasure vault, three slaves served as sword stands for famous blades. The swords pierced through non-lethal parts of their bodies, their painful moans continuing day and night.
This collection earned him high praise among the Celestial Dragons, though only the highly artistic Saint Luo could surpass him.
When he heard about Saint Luo's death, he had been secretly pleased for a while.
...
Because he knew the full story of the Saint Luo incident, he quickly understood what Miya Gong meant.
And then there was the incident at Sabaody, which had shaken many Celestial Dragons.
The Marines actually dared to use Celestial Dragons as bait, and the Five Elders hadn't objected!
...
Turning his stiffened head, Saint Shangong forced a smile uglier than crying. "Um... Lady Miya Gong... it couldn't be... what I'm thinking, right...?"
Miya Gong smiled like a blooming flower, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly. "What a pity, but it's exactly what you're thinking."
...
...
In a palace chamber serving as Kuzan and Miya's temporary quarters.
Miya Gong reclined on a long chair, her feet resting on the armrest, revealing a glimpse of spring scenery. "Kuzan, is your information accurate? I'd hate for us to have come all this way for nothing."
"It's not like no Celestial Dragons have descended recently. How can you be sure that guy will come to Dressrosa?"
"Who gave you this information anyway?"
Kuzan stood with his back to Miya Gong, fiddling with a roly-poly toy on the table. "You've asked many times, and I've answered many times. It's from my informant in the New World. You wouldn't know them even if I told you."
"Let's just say the probability is high. Nothing's ever certain."
"After all, Kari is a living person. He might suddenly change his mind and not come."
"Let's just wait."
...
...
Miya Gong rested her cheek in her hand, pouting. "So cold~ How boring~"
"I never had much to say to those guys anyway. I finally get a normal partner... sigh, but you don't seem very normal either."
Kuzan lowered his gaze and said in a deep voice, "Are there many... special World Nobles like you?"
He was assisting this powerful figure from the Celestial Dragons on the orders of the Five Elders, but he knew nothing about Miya Gong's specific identity.
After that incident, Kuzan began questioning the justice of the World Government. If there were many powerful individuals like Miya among the Celestial Dragons...
...
Miya smiled sweetly: "Well... how about you become my Blade Attendant Adjutant, and I'll tell you?"
"Not interested."
Though this woman talked a lot, after days of conversation Kuzan hadn't obtained any useful information. This attempt had failed, and he couldn't be bothered to ask further.
...
...
After a long silence, Miya Gong started wailing strangely again: "So bored~ So bored~~"
"I wish a meteor would suddenly fall from the sky!"
——
——
At this very moment, high in the sky.
Amidst the sea of clouds.
Kaido and Kari sat facing each other.
"So... you're going through all this trouble just to kill one trash Celestial Dragon?"
Kaido snorted disdainfully: "I told you, join the Beasts Pirates, and you'll have plenty of that trash to kill in the future!"
Kari looked downward, his eyes flashing: "An ordinary Celestial Dragon wouldn't require this much trouble. But what if... it's a Celestial Dragon from God's Knights?"
...
Kaido's hand, which had just lifted his gourd of liquor, froze: "What... did you say?!"
Kari turned his head, his tone calm.
"They want to use the Celestial Dragons to lure me out, but I'm using myself as bait too."
"Mr. Kaido, you've encountered them before, haven't you."
...
Kaido remained silent for a moment. Back when he was just an eighteen-year-old boy, he had participated in that world-class battle.
That experience taught him one truth.
Only Haki can reign supreme above all else!
"Ah... I've seen them. They're mediocre."
They were pretty mediocre. Anyway, when Rocks, Whitebeard and I were fighting together later, they were nowhere to be seen.
"Though their strength is ordinary, their escape and survival skills aren't bad. Speaking of which... is that your Lunarian Tribe's technique too? That space teleportation-like ability."
...
Kari nodded: "Yes, God's Knights copied it from us."
"I have a way to hinder their teleportation, and I know how to break their immortal bodies."
"Mr. Kaido, would you be interested in trying?"
...
...
Kaido's pupils contracted, then he grinned widely: "How interesting! I'll try killing someone that guy couldn't finish off!"