Finally, he got away from Kronos.
But at that moment, there was still no trace of relief on Aokiji's face.
His body, now fully elementalized, darted across the frozen terrain, jumping wildly and moving at top speed.
Because Aokiji knew—Kronos, temporarily trapped by the ice fog, would react quickly…
And he would find him.
Before he could escape the island, there was still the chance of being caught.
And the trick he used just now?
It wouldn't work again.
Kronos had already seen it once. There was no way he'd fall for it a second time.
There was only one chance to escape!
Kronos, having emerged from the ice fog, used his powerful Observation Haki and instantly locked onto Aokiji's general location.
Without hesitation, Kronos tore open the air in front of him—
creating a space rift.
A dark, ominous space channel formed, and Kronos stepped in without wasting a second.
Meanwhile, Aokiji—still desperately fleeing—suddenly noticed several familiar spatial cracks appearing in the air just ahead.
His eyes narrowed.
He recognized this.
It was the same kind of spatial tear Kronos had used during the Summit War.
"You're that fast already?"
Aokiji cursed under his breath and immediately released a dense layer of ice mist toward the forming portal.
At the same time, several ice spears formed around him.
As the space rift widened into a full channel, Aokiji saw Kronos begin to emerge from within!
"Two Spears!"
Without hesitation, Aokiji hurled the spears toward the portal.
Kronos, stepping out of the dark passage, instantly noticed the familiar fog.
Having experienced it once, he immediately grew cautious.
Then, the ice spears tore through the fog, glinting with lethal precision.
Kronos, already on high alert, reacted instantly—
his Black Mist surged forward, forming a shield that blocked the incoming spears.
He didn't stop.
Shield still raised, Kronos charged straight through the ice fog.
Within moments, he burst out—
emerging right in front of Aokiji.
Aokiji's face twisted with bitterness.
"Sorry. Looks like you're not leaving here today," Kronos said coldly.
"If you can't escape… then at least I'll leave some scars on you."
Realizing there was no way out, Aokiji gritted his teeth.
Without hesitation, he turned to face Kronos—and unleashed everything he had left.
In an instant, the world around him turned to absolute zero.
It was a temperature Aokiji had never reached before.
No creature could survive this cold.
The ice produced under such extreme temperatures was stronger and harder than anything Aokiji had ever created.
But the cost… was immense.
This attack was a final gambit—
a life-draining ability, sacrificing himself to push his Devil Fruit to its absolute limit.
Kronos, standing closest to Aokiji, was the first to be hit.
Even with the Black Mist armor shielding him, he couldn't withstand such intensity.
His limbs grew numb—
his heartbeat slowed—
his consciousness dulled—
He was freezing.
And the ice forming over his body—
he couldn't break it.
Feeling the power of absolute zero begin to consume him, Kronos knew he couldn't let this continue.
He painfully extended his frozen right arm and condensed a Black Flash Spear in the air using the dark mist.
Opposite him, Aokiji stood silently—his body battered and blood frozen around his lips into red ice crystals.
He couldn't move.
The toll of using such a deadly ability had drained everything from him.
All he could do was stand still, gasping for air.
Seeing the black spear forming in Kronos' hand, Aokiji chuckled weakly.
"Ha… Kronos… It's useless… Even if you kill me now…"
"Even if I die, you'll be frozen here with me. This ability won't vanish just because I'm gone…"
"Besides… even if you don't strike, I'm already dying…"
"Ala la… if I can trap you with my death… I suppose that's not too bad…"
Kronos saw his lips move—but the ice had already crept up to his ears.
He couldn't hear a thing.
He didn't care.
He had only one goal: Kill Aokiji, and end this freezing hell.
Just before the ice could fully overtake him, Kronos summoned the last of his strength.
With a stiff, trembling motion—he raised his right hand—
And let the black lightning spear fly.
It tore through the icy air—
—And pierced straight through Aokiji's chest.
Marine Admiral Aokiji — Kuzan.
Dead.
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