Total Defeat

Chapter 86: Total Defeat

Boil Release evaporated the ice on his body, and Rodney easily avoided Kuzan's attack. He knew that the lazy guy in front of him wasn't using his full power. Kuzan might only be using one-fifth or even one-tenth of his strength.

"Ice Block: Partisan!"

With a gentle wave of his arm, several ice spears filled with bone-chilling cold flew toward Rodney.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball!"

The scorching fireball collided with the frozen spears, causing the ice spears to penetrate the fireball and melt into smooth short sticks, falling onto the icy surface and shattering.

"Ahaha, such a fiery attack." 

Aokiji raised an ice wall with his hand, blocking the Great Fireball.

"Young man, you're not Fire Fist Ace, how do you have the ability to control flames? Ice Time Capsule!"

Rodney sent a cold air shockwave toward Kuzan, freezing everything in its path, even the air turned bone-chilling.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball!"

Boom!

The highly compressed fire chakra clashed with the air explosion, rapidly raising the temperature, and ice and fire collided, generating a thick fog that covered the icy surface.

"Ice Time!"

In the mist, Rodney disappeared without a sound and appeared behind Kuzan. Even though Kuzan had used Observation Haki, he was still surprised by Rodney's silent approach. If not for Observation Haki, he might not have detected him at all.

A mysterious ability, Kuzan thought.

The Hiding in Mist Technique: Silent Killing, as the name suggested, was an assassination technique that could take a person's life silently and unnoticed. 

It originated from the Mist Village, also known as the Village of the Bloody Mist, and was mastered by Zabuza Momochi, who killed all of his fellow graduates.

Known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist.

Unfortunately, he met Rodney and the main characters.

"Throat, spine, lungs, liver, heart, brain, carotid artery, subclavian artery, kidneys... so many vulnerable spots in the human body. The human body is truly fragile, isn't it, Admiral Kuzan!" Rodney's fist shattered Kuzan's body, which was made of ice.

Elemental transformations like Ice without Haki were almost impossible to deal with unless there was a suppression of attributes; otherwise, there was almost no way to counter them.

"You're right," Kuzan said as Rodney's feet were frozen, making him temporarily unable to move. "Although you can use steam to melt the ice, it's over now!"

An ice blade rested on Rodney's shoulder, while Kuzan held another blade behind him.

"Indeed, but your Observation Haki should have already caught my real body." 

Rodney suddenly disappeared with a bang, and Kuzan remained unfazed. 

"Clone? Your ability is really strange. Did you know that I already came under the ice?"

He spoke with certainty, indicating that he had already detected Rodney's presence.

Using his Observation Haki, Kuzan sensed a shady figure swimming under the water, about several meters below the ice.

"So, what kind of Devil Fruit is this guy's ability? Even Mr. Garp himself wasn't sure." 

Rodney's mysterious and unpredictable ability was attributed to some peculiar Devil Fruit power.

"Here it comes."

Boom!

A figure broke through the ice, and a low voice said, "Raiton: Grateful Wave!"

Electric currents shot toward Kuzan, causing his body to tingle. The attack directly affected his real body through the conduction of the ice, but it only paralyzed him for a moment.

"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"

Rodney's foot struck again, and Kuzan's body shattered into ice, along with the ice surface he was standing on.

"Hey, Admiral Kuzan, can't you fight me without using your Devil Fruit ability? Can we have a fair fight with real swords and guns?" 

Rodney landed on a floating ice floe, his skin red, ready to release Boil Release to prevent himself from being frozen.

"I'm afraid that won't do, young man. Fighting you alone is already tiring, let alone without using my Devil Fruit ability." Kuzan reappeared, shaking his head with a lack of energy, his eyelids drooping.

He could easily see through Rodney's attacks, but he was too lazy to deal with them.

"That's okay then. The freezing ability of the Ice Ice Fruit is quite troublesome, and I don't like it. My leg hair is almost frozen off." 

Rodney moved his hands, and three hand seals were formed in an instant. 

"Let me show you my new technique: Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

A ferocious water dragon burst out, roaring with its teeth and claws, rushing towards Kuzan.

Unfortunately, Kuzan simply raised his hand, and the Water Dragon Bullet turned into an exquisite and gorgeous ice sculpture, a piece of art.

"You can control seawater?" 

Kuzan's expression changed. Seawater and Seastone were the natural enemies of Devil Fruit users. As long as they were on the sea surface, even the strongest Devil Fruit users would become lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

"In that case, Rodney, did you use this move to kill Moria?"

"Who knows?" 

Rodney shrugged and said, "We have no conflicts of interest, Admiral Aokiji. Come on, let's fight with real swords and guns!"

Kuzan fell silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"

A single arm condensed into an ice bird that soared through the air. Immediately after, the ice bird rapidly grew to the size of a five or six-story building, carrying incomparable speed and coldness as it flew towards Rodney. The ice surface that had just been shattered was re-frozen, leaving a path covered in ice spikes.

Rodney stood his ground, forming a single-hand seal, "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

The surging sea of fire clashed with Raging Pheasant Beak.

Ice and fire resisted each other, trying to eliminate one another, and for a while, neither side gained the upper hand.

"Shadow Clone!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"

The two Shadow Clones used Wind Release to enhance the power of the flames, boosting their strength.

Hiss!

The ice melted into vapor in the air, and several figures swiftly moved through the mist. Suddenly, the sound of the Chidori's thousand birds chirping was heard.

Thunder gathered on the palms, tearing through the mist and striking directly toward Kuzan.

Kuzan's large hand grabbed Rodney's arm, and he said in a low voice, "I locked onto you from the beginning; you are the real one."

Physical clones were made of real substances, even Observation Haki couldn't distinguish their essence. However, if the real body was found from the beginning, it would be different.

Once the real body was caught, victory was certain.

"Chidori!"

The Shadow Clones charged forward, with Chidori surrounding their right hands, aimed at Kuzan's heart.

"Ice Time!"

Hiss! Crack! Crack!

The bone-chilling cold froze all the Shadow Clones, along with Rodney's real body. Kuzan stood up, "Well, that's the end of it. But I guess you'll break free quickly, right?"

Kuzan had probably figured out Rodney's strength. His flashy ability was quite tricky, especially since he was a Logia user. If not for Kuzan's Observation Haki, he would have had a hard time dealing with him.

Especially when he could control seawater...

Navigating on the open sea meant reliance on water. This move could almost control many abilities, and although Rodney was a pirate hunter, he wasn't a threat to the Marines for now. But if he became a pirate...

Many former pirate hunters ended up becoming pirates themselves...

Forget it; he should remain a Shichibukai for now.

Mission complete. I'm so tired. Let's find a place to rest.

Kuzan thought this way and left leisurely. Reiju rushed over with Robin, and he saw Reiju wearing a Germa combat suit. 

"No wonder I felt familiar with her. She's Germa's eldest daughter. I remember Vinsmoke Judge asked the Marines to help find his daughter. Turns out Rodney took her. Well, it's not within the mission scope, so let's forget about it."

"Unrivaled Strength!"

Another low shout came, and both Rodney and his Shadow Clones broke free from the ice. However, the Shadow Clones couldn't hold on and disappeared. He grunted, "As expected of an Admiral, I can't beat you at all."

That was the difference in strength. Kuzan hadn't even used Body Techniques yet; he was relying solely on his Devil Fruit power, and not even all of it.

Haki...

He could keep up with Kuzan physically, but there was always a feeling of a barrier that he couldn't break through, making him feel uncomfortable. No matter how he trained, he couldn't use it.

He formed a sword with his fingers, contemplating using his Inferno Seal, but then changed his mind.

Originally, he wanted to release the Inferno Seal, but even if he did, it would be of no use. So he decided to forget about it.

"Captain, are you okay?" Reiju and Robin rushed over with concern.

"I'm fine."

He shook his head, and the tall man was still walking slowly. Rodney said, "Let's go, let's head back."