"Ice Age!"
As Aokiji roared, an explosive wave of cold burst from his body!
A bone-chilling wind swept through the battlefield, and a blinding white light flashed—
spreading outward from Aokiji as the center.
In the blink of an eye, the entire island that Kabalu had summoned was frozen over.
Faced with Aokiji's overwhelming attack, Kronos didn't dare be careless.
Just as the freezing wave reached him, he summoned his Black Mist armor, wrapping himself in its eerie darkness.
Kronos felt something subtly different about the Black Mist—it was reacting differently than before.
But this wasn't the time to dwell on it.
The frigid air gnawed at him.
Even his face began to frost over.
And as the temperature dropped, Kronos felt his body movement beginning to slow.
Still, it was within controllable limits.
After unleashing Ice Age, the entire island's temperature plunged drastically.
In this frozen environment, Aokiji's abilities became even more lethal.
Which was exactly what he wanted.
Sharp icicles began forming around Kronos, shooting at him like spears!
But to Kronos, these attacks were mere distractions.
He raised a space boundary wall, effortlessly blocking them.
Aokiji, of course, knew this too.
He wasn't expecting to take down Kronos with these minor attacks.
In fact, Aokiji had no delusions about defeating Kronos alone.
Close combat was out of the question—the Black Mist would sap his stamina relentlessly.
Aokiji was determined not to fall into that trap again.
So instead, he kept his distance, launched long-range attacks, and looked for the perfect moment to escape.
Kronos, easily fending off another round of icicles, narrowed his eyes.
He had figured it out.
"Trying to run, Aokiji?"
He blocked another incoming spike with ease.
Aokiji's calm voice drifted through the cold air.
"Heh. Kronos, I know the difference between our strengths. There's nothing wrong with retreating when you can't win."
His tone was calm and steady—
just like the ice he wielded.
"Then let's see if you can escape," Kronos replied, his dark eyes flashing.
Aokiji didn't respond.
His expression remained solemn.
And then—
crystalline ice clouds began gathering silently in the sky.
Moments later, the clouds scattered—
raining down countless tiny ice spikes, like sharp bullets.
Kronos didn't need to guess who was behind it.
It was obviously another of Aokiji's attacks.
Just like before, he raised spatial walls around himself to defend.
But unlike before, something felt… off.
The ice spikes didn't shatter on impact.
Instead, they melted into a thick white mist, swirling around him.
More and more ice tips fell, turning into fog on contact—
until the icy mist engulfed him completely.
His vision blurred.
Only then did Kronos realize the true purpose behind Aokiji's constant "harmless" attacks.
The earlier icicles were distractions—meant to dull his guard.
But these mist-generating ice spikes were the real trap!
Kronos reached out with Observation Haki—
but was stunned to find it heavily suppressed by the cold mist!
Even with his top-tier Haki, he could only sense vague outlines a short distance away.
Recognizing the danger, Kronos leapt upward, blasting out of the foggy trap while dodging the still-falling ice spikes!
Sure enough—just as he suspected—Aokiji had already slipped away under the cover of the mist.
Fortunately, outside the ice fog, Kronos' Haki returned to full power.
He closed his eyes for a second—
and there it was.
He sensed him.
Aokiji hadn't gotten far at all.
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