Frostbite is quite common—he could inflict it on enemies himself.
But he had never imagined that one day, as the user of the Ice-Ice Fruit, he would suffer frostbite.
Ice against ice—his own ice had little effect on the opponent, and could only cause damage through physical impact. But the opponent's cold energy could actually inflict frostbite on his body.
Granted, part of it was his own carelessness, not defending against Yamato's cold energy. But even so, this also meant that their abilities were no longer on the same level.
"Namuji Glacier Fang!"
Before Kuzan could even process why he'd been frostbitten, Yamato's next attack came right on its heels. Having learned from the previous exchange, Kuzan didn't touch Yamato's Ice Breath this time. Instead, he dodged using elementalization.
Logia Users still have a significant advantage. With the help of Observation Haki, they could disperse their bodies ahead of time to avoid enemy attacks. As long as the attack didn't land, no matter how powerful the Armament Haki was, it couldn't cause damage.
Aside from Red Hair's unique Observation Killing ability, it was actually quite troublesome for others to injure a Logia User.
"You're an Admiral, aren't you? Fight back! Just look at your colleagues—don't you have any moves that look powerful at least?!"
Kuzan's fighting style, in contrast, made Yamato anxious. His fighting methods were too plain and unremarkable, completely lacking any sense of intimidation. Without making some serious noise, there was no way she could bluff Kaido.
"Don't tell me that Admiral title of yours came as a freebie?"
Watching the lava splashing and lasers flying on Whitebeard's side, Yamato began to seriously doubt Kuzan.
"Ara ara, I'm really being underestimated here... Looks like freezing doesn't do much to you, huh."
"Who knows? Why would I explain my ability to you?!"
"You don't seem too bright, but your combat instincts are sharp."
"Thanks for the comp—wait, who're you calling not bright, you b*stard?! Say that again, clearly!"
There were only a few people who enjoyed explaining their abilities to their enemies. More often than not, understanding an opponent's ability had to come through battle. Marine Admirals each had their own unique combat talents.
From the fact that he got frostbite, Kuzan gained a new insight—but the rest would have to be figured out through testing.
The incomprehensible things Yamato said gave Kuzan the illusion that maybe he could coax some information out of her, but in the end, he failed.
"Whatever, it doesn't matter. I'll just fight to the end—Great Crimson Lotus: Ice Hell."
Kuzan's body was covered in frost. The frostbite he had sustained earlier gradually disappeared under the influence of Seimei Kikan and his Devil Fruit ability, while the cold energy he released formed sharp ice spears in the sky.
Since freezing didn't work, then he could only try physical attacks.
"Good, that's more like it."
Seeing the dense array of ice spears in the sky, Yamato showed a pleased expression. Only something with this level of activity could successfully deceive Kaido.
A flicker of lightning flashed at the corner of her eye, and wings formed of lightning appeared behind Yamato's back.
With a rumble, crackling lightning roared upward to meet the ice spears fired by Kuzan.
This wasn't the most optimal way to counter that attack, but it was the best way to notify Kaido. She was using this method to tell Kaido that she had already begun using the power of lightning—she wasn't slacking off at all.
….
Member No. 1 of the slackers group had finally started fighting for real, while the rest of the slackers started to make changes of their own—but it wasn't going quite as smoothly.
After Yamato confronted Kuzan, Hancock and Jinbe were temporarily without opponents. Seeing the two of them free, Queen seemed to discover a new ray of hope.
"Muhahaha! Then let me be your opponent next. Don't even think about interfering in Miss Yamato's battle!"
As someone whose hobby was performing during his spare time, Queen could lie without changing his expression in the slightest. Looking at the chaotic battlefield, he even felt the impulse to fire off a Plague Bullet.
But reason told him that standing out would only invite trouble—he already had more eyes on him than he could count—if he caused any more commotion, those two old men on the execution platform might actually make a move.
Watching Hancock and Jinbe slack off with Yamato for so long, he figured he could continue what Yamato had just been doing.
"Perfume Femur Magna!"
However, what greeted him was a kick from Hancock. Looking at his mechanical arm beginning to turn to stone, Queen's expression became extremely complicated.
"Such a terrifying ability... But I'm Plague, one of the Three Calamities alongside Phantom and Conflagration! If you have only this much skill, it isn't enough!"
But what Queen was really thinking: [I work with Olga, so take it easy on me, will you?!]
The feedback from his arm told Queen that if that kick had landed anywhere else, it probably would've turned to stone just the same. This woman wasn't holding back in the slightest.
"Apologies, but I despise men—especially your type. I trust you can understand that, right?"
Queen didn't say anything else. He simply wiped away his nosebleed, tacitly accepting Hancock's words.
At that moment, a shockwave from Jinbe's Fishman Karate brushed past Queen and struck the wall behind him, conveniently destroying one of the cannon mounted on the Encircling Wall.
The slacker group had once again found opponents of their own. Queen's luck was still pretty bad—but on this battlefield, there was a group even stranger than them.
…..
Due to the ongoing battle between Yamato and Aokiji, the number of icebergs on the battlefield had been steadily increasing, eventually forming an icy labyrinth. Hidden within these layers of ice, however, was a patch of fake ice.
It was a disguise created using the Wax-Wax Fruit by Mr. 3. Beneath it, Buggy and a bunch of prisoners from Impel Down were secretly plotting something.
"Captain Buggy! Please give the order—whether it's taking Whitebeard's head or defeating Kaido, no matter what it is, we'll follow you!"
"After all, you were also a member of Roger's crew! Show us the spirit of a Pirate King's crew member!"
"N-no... I don't really wanna fight either of them…"
Looking at the fanatical expressions on the prisoners' faces, Buggy looked troubled and could only mutter quietly. But in this enclosed space, his voice still carried to their ears.
"What? Captain Buggy, you actually..."
"I-I didn't say anyth—"
"YOU WANNA FIGHT BOTH OF THEM AT ONCE?!"
"What kind of ears do you people even have?! Do you only hear what you want to hear?!"
From the moment they left Impel Down, these prisoners had treated Buggy like a god. And somehow, their hearing had become increasingly ridiculous. Mr. 3, standing off to the side, found it harder and harder to accept.
The most infuriating part was that Buggy always knew how to roll with the delusions they threw at him.
"Ahem... that's for later. Right now, we must first... Buggy is great... then... Buggy is a genius... Understood?"
"Got it, Captain Buggy!"
"Alright! Men, let's move out!"
They stood up, trying to push away the wax barrier Mr. 3 had created—but the wax didn't budge an inch.
"What's going on? Why won't it move? Feels like it's frozen or something."
"Doesn't matter—let Brother 3 melt it down."
All the pirates turned toward Mr. 3, but in the next moment, an awkward situation unfolded. Although a flame had already ignited on top of Mr. 3's head, the wax above them didn't show any sign of melting.
"What's going on?"
"Something really cold must be out there... I can't melt it anymore..."
The awkward voice came from Mr. 3, and silence fell around them. Until one of the pirates finally raised a question.
"Hey... do any of you feel like you can't breathe? It's getting really hard to breathe..."
Another round of silence followed, and then the pirates suddenly realized something. They began frantically pounding on the wax block above them, trying to escape before the oxygen ran out.
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