Kuzan stood atop the sea, frost spreading from beneath his feet, freezing everything within a ten-thousand-meter radius.
His curly black hair stirred in the wind. Blood thundered through his veins. A violent, surging aura erupted from him—completely at odds with his usual lazy, cold demeanor.
This—
was battle intent.
It rose like a raging river, as if it wanted to punch straight through the heavens.
Even the air trembled. Invisible ripples spread outward, reaching into the sky and plunging deep into the sea below.
"Hm?"
Kairos arched a brow.
The pressure coming from Kuzan was immense.
Pure.
Overwhelming.
Kuzan was about to stop holding back.
"Then let's make it worth it."
Kairos let out a low shout.
In his hand, the Magic Blade Thousand Blades suddenly shattered apart—
splitting into a thousand fragments that shot outward in all directions.
Each fragment glowed with a deep blue light.
Together, they formed a brilliant river of stars across the sky.
Kairos—
had gone all out.
All thousand fragments moved at once.
Each one became a streak of blade-light.
One line.
Ten lines.
A hundred.
A thousand.
It was as if the stars themselves had fallen from the heavens.
Then—
the light vanished.
Darkness swallowed the sky like a curtain being drawn shut.
In an instant, the sea across tens of thousands of meters fell into shadow.
And then—
Boom!
The world shook.
The sea roared violently.
No—
it wasn't the sea trembling.
The sea…
had risen.
A massive expanse of frozen ocean was ripped upward by Kuzan and raised into the sky.
A towering iceberg stood between heaven and earth, radiating a cold so deep it felt capable of freezing time itself.
This—
was the full power of a Marine Admiral.
This—
was Kuzan at his peak.
With his own strength alone, he had raised an iceberg of unimaginable scale.
At that exact moment—
the thousand blade fragments struck.
They crashed into the iceberg like falling meteors.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The iceberg shattered.
The blade-light shattered with it.
Fragments embedded into the ice—only to be blasted away by the force of the collision, scattering like stars across the sky.
The sea split apart.
Water exploded upward.
Countless sea creatures were torn to pieces, their blood spreading across the waves.
Some fragments shot far into the distance—
crashing into remote islands.
Forests collapsed.
Mountains split apart.
Massive boulders were blasted into the sky before crashing down in clouds of dust.
For a brief moment—
it looked like the end of the world.
Across Fire Country—
people stared toward the battlefield.
Some activated Observation Haki.
Some raised telescopes.
Others simply stood frozen in place, desperate to witness even a glimpse of the clash.
This was no ordinary fight.
An Admiral had taken action.
And his opponent—
was the super rookie Kairos D. Vale.
A man rumored to have defeated Vice Admiral Garp.
"My God… he lifted an iceberg…"
"And Kairos is matching him…"
"Are they even human?"
No one could stay calm.
Everything they had just witnessed had gone far beyond reason.
And yet—
despite the catastrophic destruction surrounding them—
the two men stood still.
Kairos hovered above the sea, his posture upright and unyielding. His aura was so sharp it felt capable of slicing through the air itself.
In his hand—
only the hilt of the Magic Blade Thousand Blades remained.
All one thousand fragments had been scattered across the battlefield.
Far away—
Kuzan stood atop the shattered iceberg, cold mist rolling off his body as he looked down at Kairos.
"Kairos," he said calmly, "every fragment of your weapon has been frozen in place. Are you really going to keep fighting?"
White vapor drifted from his lips.
Even for him—
this battle wasn't effortless.
Kairos focused.
His will extended outward.
Just as Kuzan had said—
every fragment had been trapped.
Some were embedded in ice.
Some sealed beneath the frozen sea.
Others buried deep in distant land.
Not only were they scattered across an enormous range—
the ice itself interfered with his control.
Recalling them now would not be easy.
But—
Kairos' expression did not change.
"Kuzan," he said, a faint smile forming,
"who told you… I only have one weapon?"
Kuzan's eyes narrowed instantly.
His gaze shifted—
to the Sandai Kitetsu at Kairos' waist.
But that blade was too weak for this level of battle.
It would shatter in a single clash.
Then—
his eyes moved to the wooden sword on Kairos' back.
But he had already sensed it.
Ordinary.
Nothing special.
Could there still be something hidden?
Kuzan's gaze darkened.
Then—
he got his answer.
Kairos raised his hand.
And reached into empty air.
A silent ripple spread outward.
What he called for—
was not Sandai Kitetsu.
Nor the wooden sword.
He called—
to the entire Fire Country.
"What's happening?!"
Across the land—
weapons began to tremble.
Blades sheathed at warriors' waists rattled violently—
then flew free on their own.
Swords tore themselves from their owners' grips and shot into the sky, as if responding to a king's summons.
The same thing happened everywhere.
Countless weapons rose into the air.
From villages.
From cities.
From battlefields.
Every blade answered the call.
This—
was the power of Sword God Soderos.
The ability to resonate with all weapons.
To understand them.
To command them.
To rule over them.
On that day—
with a single gesture from Kairos—
every weapon in Fire Country awakened.
And one by one—
they all flew toward the sky.
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