Caesar moved at blinding speed, almost transforming into a radiant golden beam as he closed the distance to Aramaki in an instant.

BOOM!

The air compressed layer by layer, forming a devastating shockwave that detonated towards the injured Aokiji on the ice.

Aramaki's expression twisted in fury. "You bastard! Attacking a heavily wounded man? How despicable can you get?!"

Her dark green hair instantly grew dozens of times longer, transforming into countless writhing vines that completely enveloped both herself and Aokiji's bodies.

BOOM!

Caesar's powerful punch from a distance shattered the thick curtain of vines before him, blasting straight through the icy surface.

The vines hissed in pain as they rapidly retracted.

Moments later, the figures of Aramaki and Aokiji were revealed once more.

"Cough, cough! You're... Ryokugyu? You shouldn't have saved me. We're enemies now."

Aokiji, who had been severely wounded, actually staggered to his feet.

The devastating injuries he had suffered moments ago were now mostly healed.

Apart from his missing left eye, even his shattered right eye had been restored.

"Enough talk! Let's deal with this monster first!" Aramaki snapped irritably.

Her delicate face was pale, and beads of sweat dotted her forehead.

In that split second, Aramaki had frantically poured the Life Force stored within her body into Aokiji, allowing his injuries to heal significantly in an instant.

A bitter smile crossed Aokiji's face as he formed an Ice Spear in his hand and stepped in front of Aramaki.

"You go. I'll hold him off."

Aramaki froze, momentarily stunned, but then her face twisted in anger.

"Hey! I'm an Admiral too! What kind of admiral runs from a fight? You, a traitor to the Marines, have no right—"

"GO!!"

Aokiji roared at her, his remaining eye filled with resolve and reluctance as he stared straight at Aramaki.

No—at the Justice cloak draped over her shoulders.

Aramaki flinched at his sudden outburst, even taking two steps back.

BOOM!!

Caesar didn't stop to listen to their conversation.

His massive golden fist, wreathed in crimson flames, came crashing toward them again.

"Ice Wall!"

Aokiji stomped the ground, and a thick wall of ice erupted from below, slamming upward and sending Caesar flying back.

WHOOSH!

"You—" Aramaki's eyes widened as Aokiji suddenly turned and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Justice, justice... Hahaha, human strength has its limits! Even as an Admiral, I couldn't achieve the justice I longed for. Maybe the justice I believed in—the rational kind—won't come to pass in this era."

Aokiji murmured these words, hot tears streaming from his eyes and dripping onto Aramaki's neck.

His body was icy cold, but those tears burned like fire.

Aramaki stiffened.

"I just wanted everyone to live well. Why is that so hard? Hahaha... How I wish I could return to the Marine, to everyone's side—to Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr, Vice Admiral Tsuru, Borsalino, Sakazuki... to all of them."

Aramaki stood frozen, her lips trembling as she rasped, "Then... then come back."

Aokiji hugged her tightly, then flashed her a bright smile.

Even with one eye missing, he didn't look frightening at all.

"I can't go back. I can't."

He gave Aramaki one last deep look before turning to face Caesar, who was charging at them again.

"Sakazuki's ideals might suit this era better than mine. Aramaki, tell him for me—"

Aokiji shot into the sky, his Ice Spear gleaming with frost and Haki as he thrust it toward Caesar.

"JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL!"

BOOM!!

In midair, Aokiji's body erupted with an endless torrent of frost, like an icy volcano exploding.

Thick columns of frost burst forth, instantly submerging Aokiji's figure in the boundless deluge, transforming him into a colossal, spiky ice porcupine.

The hardness of this ice was astonishing—far tougher than steel, with a density beyond imagination.

Countless frost pillars grew wildly, piercing the sky, stabbing through the earth, and shattering the ice-covered sea.

The already ravaged ocean froze over once more as the icy domain rapidly expanded in all directions.

Everything in its path was encased in ice.

In the air, Caesar's massive golden fist came to a halt.

His towering frame was instantly swallowed by the icy torrent unleashed by Aokiji.

A flood of ice buried Caesar, the layers impossibly hard, firmly sealing his body within and growing thicker by the second.

Ten meters.

A hundred meters.

A thousand meters.

Caesar's figure vanished into the ice, frozen at the core of a kilometer-thick glacier.

.....

High above, at an altitude of ten thousand meters, Dragon sighed.

"Farewell, Kuzan."

From his vantage point, he could see a massive ice sphere standing on the vast land below.

Its surface bristled with countless icy spikes, some plunging into the sea, others stabbing towards the sky.

At the core of the kilometer-wide ice sphere, the temperature was terrifyingly low.

Caesar was frozen here.

The extreme cold jolted his body, and the crimson in his eyes gradually faded, his vision becoming clear.

"Is this... Kuzan's power? Did he awaken his Ice-Ice Fruit abilities? What a shame. Logia-type abilities shouldn't be awakened recklessly. Once awakened, the user becomes assimilated by natural energy, turning into part of nature itself.

It seems he still betrayed us in the end.

What a pity—my plans aren't complete yet."

Caesar felt a pang of regret.

Not out of sorrow for Aokiji's death, but simply lamenting the loss of a top-tier fighter.

Caesar was a pirate, the sworn enemy of justice-seeking men like Aokiji.

Between them, it was always a fight to the death.

He wasn't an adventurer, nor had he come to the New World for sightseeing.

Pirates like Caesar could never coexist peacefully with the righteous Marine.

"Hmm? Wait... It seems my current power can capture... souls in this state!"

Suddenly, Caesar's eyes flashed.

The next moment, crimson flames erupted from his body, radiating terrifying heat.

In an instant, they melted a massive hole in the surrounding ice, freeing his trapped form.

-----------------------------

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