Whoosh!
Admiral Aokiji's hands radiated with an extreme chill.
Five massive pillars of ice burst forth, freezing Admiral Kizaru and Shirogai Yamikuro, who were clashing in mid-air, within a crystalline prison.
Crack!
The freezing energy spread rapidly, sealing the two in a colossal block of ice as if time itself had stopped.
Admiral Kizaru, still holding his light blade against Shirogai's slash toward his neck, sighed helplessly.
"Hey, Kuzan, you realize I'm trapped in here too, right?"
Aokiji remained expressionless, his tone low and steady.
"Thank you for your hard work."
The frost thickened, spreading downward and forming towering ice pillars that rooted into the ground. The forest below glazed over with white frost, the air sharp with cold.
Within the frozen mass, Shirogai and Kizaru were like insects sealed in amber—locked in their stances, completely immobile.
Aokiji scratched his head with his usual lazy air, muttering, "As expected… light can't be frozen completely."
He bent down, plucked a handful of grass, and exhaled. The blades instantly crystallized into jagged shards of ice.
"Ice Blade."
With a swing, Aokiji leapt into the sky.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, the enormous ice block pulsed with dazzling light. Two streaks broke free—one a golden flare, the other a black-violet radiance.
The lights burst through the ice, reforming into Kizaru and Shirogai midair.
The black-violet glow barely reshaped into Shirogai before an ice slash from behind engulfed him.
"Heh… so even Admirals rely on sneak attacks."
But the moment the frost spread across his body, Shirogai's form shimmered with ice particles, resisting the freeze. His smile carried a sharp edge.
"Such powerful ice… but not enough."
He kicked Aokiji's blade aside, his leg hardened with Armament Haki. The impact rang like steel on steel.
"Shirogai! Don't ignore me!"
Kizaru appeared from the side, wielding his shining Ama no Murakumo (The light sword). The twin Admirals struck together—light and ice converging on him.
They had clearly realized it: Shirogai could not unleash two different Devil Fruit powers at once.
"Ice Serpent!"
Shirogai spread his palms, unleashing a surge of cold. Two serpents of frost erupted, twisting through the air with fanged maws, one lunging for Aokiji, the other for Kizaru.
Kizaru chuckled with mock fear.
"Oh dear, terrifying snakes. I'm trembling."
With a flash, his sword split the serpent cleanly in half. The icy halves plummeted and shattered below.
Aokiji, by contrast, pierced through his serpent's belly with a thrust. Ice coiled around it, solidifying the beast before it collapsed into frozen shards.
"Smoker was right," Aokiji muttered lazily. "Your mastery over ice is absurd… almost beyond reason."
Shirogai seized the moment, vanishing from between them and landing lightly on the ground.
"Buddha's mercy."
Crossing his legs calmly, he pressed his palms together. Frost surged upward, sculpting itself into a colossal ice statue.
"Ice Buddha—Suppressing Evil."
The towering figure emerged from the earth, its massive palms forming to clasp the Admirals between them.
Aokiji raised a brow as the sky dimmed beneath the closing hands.
"Quite the show, Shirogai."
Boom!
The colossal palms clapped together, sealing the Admirals within, as if the world itself sought to smother evil.
But a second later—crack!—the Buddha shattered apart. Both Admirals burst free, their combined force crushing the ice into glittering fragments.
"Oh my, oh my~~ Suppressing evil?" Kizaru sneered, hovering midair, his face twisted with amusement. "Shirogai, don't mix things up. Between the three of us, who's really justice, and who's evil?"
Shirogai's faint smile didn't falter.
"Justice belongs to the strong. Since I can face you both alone… justice is mine."
Kizaru flashed forward, his body blazing golden.
"Oh my, oh my~~ A Pirate claiming justice? Even the Pirate King was still just a thief."
"Too shallow, Kizaru." Shirogai's voice turned solemn. "You mistake titles for truth."
His fingers formed a seal as the golden blade descended. With two crystal-clear fingers, he caught the tip of Kizaru's Ama no Murakumo.
"What—?!"
Before Kizaru could react, frost spread across his weapon, racing up his arm. In a blink, the Admiral of Light was encased in solid ice.
"Intent Fist."
Shirogai's punch shattered the frozen figure into glittering shards.
Yet the fragments rang hollow. Kizaru had already escaped as light, reforming in the sky.
"Logias truly are troublesome," Shirogai murmured, eyes sharp, though his expression remained eerily calm.
He raised his voice toward them.
"Kizaru. Aokiji. Turn away from your false justice. The World Government poisons what it touches. There's still time to free yourselves."
Kizaru almost laughed.
"Shirogai San, should I remind you—you're the pirate here? A criminal?"
Shirogai's eyes glinted with quiet conviction.
"Hell is empty. All the devils… stand before me."
Aokiji exhaled, the air chilling instantly. Ice spread from his feet, swallowing the land in a frozen tide.
"No more games. Ice Erosion!"
A storm of frost engulfed Shirogai.
Yet even frozen solid, his serene gaze lingered.
"Kuzan… is that absolute justice you're clinging to?"
But the truth struck harder.
The one sealed within Aokiji's glacier wasn't Shirogai.
It was Admiral Kizaru.
___
Thanks for the Power stones.