"Why not?" Arton shrugged as he spoke to Kuzan.
"Even if you've got that strange power to fuse with your crewmates, using ice against me still doesn't really add up, does it?" Kuzan said with a frown.
He knew Robin had already used her ice powers in a fight against Ace. The fact that she could go head-to-head, to some extent, with a Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit user like Ace was proof enough that the ice Robin commanded now was extremely powerful.
Not to mention, as captain of the Flameblade Pirates, Arton could fuse with Robin and unleash an even stronger ice attack.
That power had even frozen Fire Fist Ace's signature move solid, leaving Ace standing there with a completely dumbfounded expression.
Kuzan thought that if his own ability were fire-based, Arton keeping Robin here to use ice against him would be perfectly reasonable, but his element was ice—and not just any ice, but the Ice-Ice Fruit, the power that stood at the very pinnacle of ice abilities.
He really couldn't understand why Arton wanted Robin to stay and fight him of all people.
He might look lazy and unmotivated, but depending on the situation, he could absolutely get serious.
Whitey Bay: "This Marine admiral looks totally confused. There's no way he'd ever guess Robin also has Signora's flames, right?"
Domino: "Well, Arton never showed that power in front of Morgans. At this point, we're probably the only ones who know about Signora's flames."
Galette: "Arton bringing Robin along absolutely has to be because she can use that witch's flame power."
Kujaku: "This is bad, we've got to find some way to warn Admiral Kuzan."
Doll: "Problem is, will Arton give Kuzan time to even pick up a call? If he slips up because he's distracted by a Den Den Mushi, that'll be a mess."
Kalifa: "Even if the Marines want to tell Kuzan what's going on, they can't exactly explain how they learned any of it, can they? Or maybe the diary copies won't even let them speak about it in the first place? …Wait, are those completely naked photos of Robin?"
Sadi: "So Arton's already in a fused state with Robin? He even dumped this many full-body pictures all at once… just how many points is she going to rack up this time? Damn it, if only I could earn that many points too…"
…
"If only I could earn that many points too…"
On the Flameblade Pirates' ship, Ain stared enviously at the photos Arton had taken of Robin in her fused state as she spoke.
"Sounds like you're really jealous of Robin. You'd honestly just let Arton photograph your whole body that easily?" Nami asked curiously.
"Yeah. I want to get stronger… I want to save Instructor Zephyr." Ain's face flushed bright red, but she still nodded firmly.
"If your teacher knew what you were thinking, I really wonder what kind of face he'd make." mNami shook her head with a sigh.
She did see Ain as something of a rival, but that desire to rescue someone precious—that part, Nami respected deeply.
"With Zephyr's personality, I doubt he'd ever accept Ain sacrificing herself for his sake." Tashigi murmured.
"No… I don't feel like I'm sacrificing myself at all." Ain looked at Tashigi, speaking earnestly. "I just want to do what I can."
"Tashigi, I'm really jealous that you got to join the Flameblade Pirates before I did… and that you're already so close with Arton."
Ain wasn't stupid; vaguely, she could tell that the way Tashigi looked at Arton was very different from everyone else. She couldn't quite put into words how it was different, but she was sure Tashigi's relationship with Arton was something special.
"Ahem… I think you'll reach your goal too, Ain." Tashigi said, cheeks slightly red.
"Mm."
Ain nodded hard again, then shifted her focus back to the diary copy.
"Captain just took more than twenty shots of Robin in one go. Converted into points, that's another huge sum. Does someone as tall and long-legged as Robin really make Captain more eager to take pictures of her? If only I could grow a bit taller myself… But that's probably impossible now. Unless there's some template out there that could actually make me taller?"
Chapter 484: Kuzan: You Must Have a Secret Weapon!
You had to remember the templates Arton provided would always change their host in some way. Not long ago, Robin's skin had turned paler and smoother thanks to Signora template.
Going back a bit further, ship's doctor Kaya had gained a body perfectly suited for nursing and nurturing children because of the Tsunade template.
Others, like Nami and Carina, were also slowly changing because of their templates. Naturally, all of those changes were in the direction of making them even more irresistibly feminine.
Even if their changes came a bit more slowly.
All in all, since everyone else could gain some kind of transformation from their templates, Ain couldn't help thinking that there might really be a template out there that could make her a little taller too.
"But compared to height, those are definitely what attract Captain more, aren't they…?" Ain glanced at Kaya, then lowered her eyes to look at her own chest and muttered softly. "Maybe I should be hoping for a Tsunade-style template instead?"
It wasn't as if she had no reason to think this way. In Arton's works, there were plenty of scenes of her using her chest against Arton.
And from what she'd learned, other women had similar scenes in their stories too.
It was obvious that their Captain had very particular tastes in that department.
Ain felt her current size was already more than adequate, but if it meant making Arton as pleased as possible, she didn't mind powering up those weapons even more.
If she could do that, Arton might end up even more addicted to her… the same way he was obsessed with Kaya.
Just imagining that possibility bringing her closer to Arton made Ain more and more excited.
"No, no, this is not the time to be thinking about stuff like that. What really matters right now is Captain's fight with Kuzan."
"Since Captain was able to push Instructor Zephyr back, even against Admiral Kuzan he should be fine… right?"
Murmuring to herself, Ain focused her gaze more intently on the diary copy.
…
Out where Arton, Robin, and Kuzan were facing each other—Kuzan's eyes were locked on Arton and Robin, who were currently in their fused state.
He'd known for a while now that Arton possessed this kind of ability, but this was the first time he'd actually seen two people turn into one with his own eyes.
To say he wasn't curious at all would definitely be a lie.
Of course, curiosity only occupied a small part of Kuzan's thoughts. Most of his mind was focused on the power Arton now held.
Thinking of the article Morgans had published earlier, a spark of realization flashed through Kuzan's mind.
"No… even though you and I have never met before, I have done my homework on you."
"Just like how Nami possesses a power similar to Unlimited Blade Works, creating a separate dimension—Robin's newly gained Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit ability should still have aspects you haven't shown to the world yet."
"In other words, now that you've fused with Robin, you're using that hidden part of her power too, aren't you?"
"Let me think… you're insisting on having Robin's ability face me head-on. Am I supposed to take that as a sign that her power specifically holds some kind of advantage against mine?"
As Kuzan spoke, cold air poured off his body, continuously freezing the sea around them into thicker and wider sheets of ice.
"I really should say, you're Kuzan all right—you're as sharp as they come." Arton shook his head, sounding genuinely a bit regretful. "Looks like I won't be able to spook you with a little bluff after all."
"So it is like that. In that case, why don't you go ahead and show me what this power can really do?" Interest flickered in Kuzan's eyes as he stared straight at Arton, issuing his challenge.
"In that case, you'd better watch carefully."
As soon as Arton finished speaking, his body slowly rose into the air. At the same time, an intense, biting cold began to spill out from him.
Kuzan's brows knit together. In that instant, he could clearly feel that the chill Arton was releasing now was in no way inferior to his own, but just as he was marveling at the strength of Arton's frost, he watched, stunned, as Arton used that very cold to form a cocoon of ice around himself—sealing his own body tightly inside it.
"What is this supposed to be? Attacking yourself?" Kuzan muttered in confusion.
....
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