Chapter 129 Thunder and Ice
"A strong enemy?"
"Protection?"
"Broadening horizons?"
While Manlong and the members of the Hunting Team were stunned by Zane's words, Zane, having finished his instructions, stepped forward.
Crack-boom!!!
He transformed into a bolt of lightning.
Hundreds of meters away on the ice, Zane landed composedly and raised his right hand. Violent thunder immediately bloomed in his palm, condensing into a spear of lightning several meters long.
"It's only polite to return the favor."
Since the opponent had already greeted him by freezing the sea, he naturally couldn't be stingy with his response.
Whoosh! Boom!!!
With his God's Eye fixed on the distant Kuzan, who was approaching on a bicycle, Zane threw the condensed lightning spear with immense force.
A dazzling bolt of lightning streaked across the frozen sea.
The next second.
A startling explosion erupted on the distant sea surface.
The violent shockwave shattered the thick ice.
Raging thunder surged, turning into a massive hemispherical energy field.
A deafening roar and intense vibrations followed the flash of lightning.
In an instant, a hole hundreds of meters in diameter appeared in the ice layer of the distant sea.
Under the changing pressure, a towering water column erupted from the huge hole like an ascending current, forming a magnificent ocean fountain.
Chilling air, like an arrow shot from a powerful bow, quickly shot out from the lightning blast zone, spanning a vast distance until it reached the air above Zane.
The snowy-white cold mist condensed into a physical form.
Looking down at Zane, Kuzan appeared lazy, but his actions were as decisive as when he had just frozen the sea.
"Iceberg Meteor Strike!"
Terrifying cold air erupted from his palm. Before Kuzan could land, he froze a massive iceberg with a wave of his hand and sent it crashing directly toward Zane.
"Bring it on!"
Facing the massive iceberg that blotted out the sky like a falling meteor, Zane did not dodge. Instead, he threw a punch that unleashed a pillar of lightning.
"God's Judgment!!"
Boom!!!
The pillar of lightning, lighting up the sky, struck the falling iceberg.
At that moment, an earth-shattering roar echoed across the frozen sea.
Countless ice fragments scattered in all directions.
The pillar of lightning pierced straight through the iceberg, then vibrated violently, exploding the entire mountain into a rain of ice.
'As expected, it is the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.'
'And with such power, he has clearly developed the Devil Fruit's abilities to a deep level.'
The shockwave from the exploding iceberg rushed toward him.
Kuzan's gaze pierced through the ice rain, landing on Zane below.
His eyes flickered. He didn't resist the impact, instead allowing it to shatter him into blocks of ice.
Gion's death had made his colleagues, and even himself, very angry.
Such a dangerous existence could not be allowed to run rampant on the sea.
Not to mention, he had Nico Robin by his side.
One of the shattered ice blocks landed on the frozen surface.
Cold air surged, quickly reconstituting his form.
"Way of the Soldier: Killing Fist — Dark as the Shadow!"
"Thunder-Fire Fusion: Aggressive as Fire!"
Swish!
Before the cold air could fully reform, a brilliant flash of lightning arrived before him.
A heavy punch glowing with thunder slammed into the misty form.
Coiled Armament Haki forcibly seized the physical body.
Caught off guard, the cold air instantly turned back into Kuzan, who was sent flying into the distance by the punch.
Cold air jetted out like a propellant.
After flying dozens of meters, Kuzan used the cold air jets to stabilize his body.
Crack!
His feet landed on the ice, shattering the solid layer. The momentum caused Kuzan to slide backward for a distance.
Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Kuzan looked at Zane in the distance with suspicion and surprise.
'Observation Killing?'
'Just what is his background? Having the Rumble-Rumble Fruit is one thing, but to think he has mastered such a high-level technique as Observation Killing.'
"Partisan!"
Despite his surprise, Kuzan did not stop his movements once he stabilized.
Numerous sharp ice spears condensed on both his sides and immediately launched a counterattack, raining down on Zane.
"Lightning Spear!"
God's Eye insight.
Zane copied the opponent's move on the spot.
Numerous spears of lightning also condensed on both his sides, firing back in the same manner.
Boom boom boom!!!!
The ice and lightning spears exploded frantically against each other, continuously creating ice shards and electric sparks, causing the ice surface below to shatter layer by layer as cracks spread out.
"You've got some skills!"
Seeing that the opponent used a similar method to block his Partisans, a flash of surprise crossed Kuzan's eyes.
Rolling his body, he instantly transformed into a swirling frost that swept across the ice, bypassing the clash of ice and lightning spears to close the distance to Zane at high speed.
"Ice Glove!"
His right fist turned into ice. A fist wrapped in high-intensity Armament Haki slammed toward Zane's face.
A blur of movement.
Kuzan's strike was incredibly fast, but Zane's reaction was equally sharp.
Using the God's Eye for insight, Zane composedly dodged the attack and even countered with a Lightning Kick as he turned.
Fist and arm dropped.
Kuzan responded quickly, using his missed fist to parry the Lightning Kick.
Boom!!!
Bitingly cold ice and violent thunder scattered wildly.
The ice surface beneath them collapsed instantly.
In the middle of the visible ripples of air pressure, both Zane and Kuzan were pushed back simultaneously.
'Top-tier combatants really have no weaknesses. With this level of Haki and physical power, an Admiral Candidate like Gion is indeed quite far behind.'
Tapping the ground with his right foot, which had just collided with the opponent, Zane felt a faint stinging pain.
Zane stared at Kuzan, marveling at the strength the man displayed.
Between an Admiral Candidate and an Admiral, there was only a difference of a few words in title, but the actual strength gap, while not heaven and earth, was certainly significant.
Take that collision just now.
The physical strength and Armament Haki Kuzan displayed were clearly a level above Gion's.
Especially in terms of technique.
If he hadn't used Steelification to enhance his defense in time, the opponent's Armament Haki almost would have bypassed his exterior to cause internal damage.
Exactly.
Kuzan's Armament Haki was not only extremely intense, but his application technique had also reached the level of Internal Destruction.
Zane wasn't surprised at all that the opponent possessed such a level of skill.
Or rather, it would be strange if he didn't know Internal Destruction.
Why hadn't Zane avoided Kuzan after discovering him early?
It wasn't just out of confidence in his own strength, but also to measure the gap between himself and a top-tier powerhouse, and of course, for his never-absent stealing of techniques.
His golden-glowing God's Eye swirled with invisible pupillary power.
In that collision just now, Kuzan's application of Armament Haki had fallen completely within the insight of the God's Eye.
These thoughts flashed by in an instant.
In reality, as soon as both sides stabilized after backing off, they immediately engaged in another clash.
"Ice Age Capsule!"
Cold air erupted like a shockwave, freezing the ice surface as it rushed toward Zane at high speed.
Crack-boom!!!
Thunder emerged, erupting and surging from beneath Zane's feet to quickly intercept the incoming wave of frost.
Boom! Boom!!!
One on the left, one on the right.
Viewed from the side...
The frozen sea seemed to have split into two different worlds.
One side was a world of ice overflowing with cold air, while the other was a world of thunder filled with violent lightning.
Ice and thunder continuously surged toward each other like tides, clashing back and forth, with neither side able to overpower the other.
[ Author's Note : If you're loving the story, a power_stone, review or comment means the world!
Want 40+ chapters ahead right now? patre0n.c0m/Royal_ink ]