As the former Fleet Admiral and current Commander-in-Chief of the World Government's military forces, Steel Bone Kong was not a pure martial artist like Garp or Zephyr. Nor was he one of the powerful Logia users like Akainu, Aokiji, or Kizaru. He wasn't even a Mythical Zoan user like Sengoku.
He was a Paramecia: user of the Conviction-Conviction Fruit.
The Conviction-Conviction Fruit could be considered invincible, or it could be utterly worthless.
The fruit's power was entirely dependent on whether its user possessed an abnormally steadfast conviction. The user must have a single belief, believe in it unswervingly, and carry it out with absolute consistency.
No event, no person, and no power could be allowed to shake that conviction.
By always believing in and acting on this conviction, the fruit would transform that belief into power. An unwavering conviction would become an endless source of strength.
The Conviction-Conviction Fruit had similarities to the Fear-Fear Fruit. The Fear-Fear Fruit absorbed the fear of others and converted it into power for the user. The Conviction-Conviction Fruit, however, absorbed the user's own conviction and converted it into power.
The stronger the belief, the more terrifying the power. Conversely, for someone without a firm conviction, the fruit was useless.
Steel Bone Kong's conviction was Justice. For decades, he had embodied this belief as if every day were the same, firmly upholding his conviction. It was precisely this indestructible belief in justice that allowed him to dominate the seas, suppress the great pirates, and fight Patrick Redfield, the "Solitary Red," to the point of exhaustion.
It was also because of this unshakeable conviction that he had ascended to the high position of Commander-in-Chief.
Because across the entire World Government, across the entire world, no one's belief in justice was more steadfast than his.
Kong, radiating an almost demonic, terrifying aura, kicked off the air and shot toward Bege.
"I'm curious to see just how terrifying your Conviction-Conviction Fruit really is." A fierce light flashed in Bege's blood-red eyes. The castle gates on his body's surface opened, and rows of rocket platforms rolled into view at the entrance, alongside giant crossbows, all taking aim at Kong.
His figure vanished, using a spatial swap to instantly appear behind Kong. A beam of light shot from his internal castle and struck Kong.
It was a "Slow-Slow Beam."
Kong's face changed drastically as the beam hit. An instant later, a white cannonball shot from Bege's castle gates. It exploded in mid-air, unfurling into a giant white net that shot toward Kong.
It was a Seastone net, designed specifically to capture ability users.
Kong's expression changed again. A terrifying aura exploded from his body, like a hurricane erupting from within him, and it blasted the Seastone net away.
Bege's eyes narrowed. Kong spun around instantly, his tiger-like gaze locked onto him.
"Fire," Bege roared. Hundreds of rockets, including several of the super-rockets, blasted from his internal castle.
Bege's own figure vanished. He decisively used a spatial swap to teleport dozens of meters away, and then immediately began running to create even more distance.
Kong saw the dense barrage, and his expression changed dramatically. His body instantly blackened with Armament Haki. At the same time, a dense white light erupted from his body, coalescing in front of him to form a thick, white shield. The center of the shield bore the World Government symbol.
"Shield of Justice!"
Kong's eyes were resolute. The white light from his conviction continued to pour into the shield, making it even thicker. At almost the same instant, he used Soru to rapidly retreat.
One of the hundreds of rockets in the barrage exploded, triggering a chain reaction that detonated the rest. A heaven-and-earth-shaking explosion erupted.
A fireball hundreds of meters wide lit up the sky. The violent shockwave swept out in all directions. When it struck the ice, the ten-meter-thick sheet instantly shattered. Countless cracks spiderwebbed across the surface, and the entire frozen battlefield trembled.
The storm from the blast washed over the entire area, forcing the main battle between the pirates and Marines to a halt.
Even the top-tier combatants were forced to leap into the air to avoid it.
"It's that brat's underhanded trick," Kaido grumbled when he saw the massive fireball, a look of displeasure on his face. He still remembered Bege using the same tactic to blast him into the sea.
But seeing him use it on Kong now... while still annoyed, he couldn't help but feel a little schadenfreude.
The explosion battered the ice, shaking the entire field. It fractured into several large pieces, making the battlefield unstable, though it wasn't in immediate danger of collapsing.
Aokiji, seeing the shaking ice, broke away from Marco. He rushed toward the main battlefront, nimbly leaping across the fractured ice floes.
Marco pursued him closely.
Aokiji appeared at the edge of a large crack, plunged his hands into the seawater, and unleashed his cold air, freezing the sea once more and stabilizing the large battlefield.
Marco stopped, landing on the ice. He watched Aokiji's actions with a flicker in his eyes, but he didn't interfere. Stabilizing the frozen battlefield didn't just benefit the Marines; it also kept the pirates from falling into the sea.
Bege landed on a distant piece of ice. The invisible barrier in front of him was covered in cracks, and it shattered an instant later.
He looked toward the sky-high flames, his Observation Haki spreading out, and quickly located Kong.
Kong had crashed into an ice crater. The "Shield of Justice" was shattered. He was kneeling on one knee, coughing up blood. His uniform was shredded, and his body was covered in burns and shrapnel wounds. Some of the larger, sharper pieces of shrapnel were embedded deep in his body.
"That level of explosion and he's still not critically injured." Bege's expression turned grim.
Just then, Kong stood up. His aura hadn't diminished at all; in fact, it grew even stronger. His eyes were exceptionally firm. A white light began to glow around him, and as it covered his body, his wounds began to heal at a visible rate.
He grit his teeth and forcefully yanked the shrapnel from his body. Blood spurted out, but the white light flowed into the open wounds, sealing them rapidly.
"'The Conviction-Conviction Fruit can do that, too?" Bege's brow furrowed. This Devil Fruit was proving to be exceptionally troublesome.
Kong's gaze instantly locked back onto Bege. He leaped into the air, kicking off it to propel himself forward.
Kong's entire body was cloaked in Armament Haki, and he radiated an indomitable aura. With every inch he closed the distance, his presence grew stronger and more profound.
Kong clenched his fist, the veins on his arm bulging. His fist surged with an intense white light as he roared.
"I am the banner of Justice! I will guide Justice! All who are evil, all who dwell in darkness, will be turned to ash beneath its light!"
Bege's blood-red eyes were glacial. The cursed sword Hannya in his hand vibrated wildly, an endless, bloody light pouring from its blade.
"You think I'm afraid of you?" Bege also leaped forward, transforming into a streak of blood-red light to meet Kong head-on.
"Capone Bege, DIE! Justice Fist—" Kong threw his punch at Bege. The white light on his fist was as bright as a white sun, blazing forward.
"Banner!"
"Beast God!" Bege swung Hannya in the same instant, a terrifying, blood-colored slash that tore the air apart.
BOOOOM!
The blood-red slash and the white-hot light exploded on impact. A terrifying shockwave of red and white energy rolled outward, expanding in all directions, unleashing a hurricane that swept across the entire frozen battlefield.