Powerful.
Despairingly powerful.
That was Gion's first thought.
No wonder Kuzan was so wary of this guy who didn't even look that old. Just his Haki mastery alone surpassed everyone here.
"Ara ara, don't pretend I don't exist, Black Gun!!!"
Crack crack crack crack...
The instant Kake went flying, a frost-covered figure struck.
He was trying to catch Aus during his recovery.
Ice crystals spread through the air, freezing atmospheric moisture into brilliant ice flowers. Aus, still mid-kick, became a massive ice sculpture in that moment.
"Your teleportation ability is weird as hell, Doctor Aus, but when you attack, you gotta have a physical form, right? Unless you just keep running."
Teleport away, you can't attack.
Don't teleport, you get frozen.
Aus had to admit—Kuzan actually had some battle instincts.
Getting this far was enough to mess up his clothes.
Inside the crystal-clear ice, Aus maintained his extended kick pose, frozen like a statue.
In that instant, Gion endured her dislocated wrist pain and yanked her hand free from Aus's grip, retreating to Kuzan's side.
"Worthy of being on Pirate King Roger's crew. I couldn't fight back at all!"
Gion gripped her sword one-handed, staring grimly at the handsome long-haired man trapped in ice.
"The ice won't hold him long, will it?"
Kuzan agreed completely. Cold air kept pouring from his hands to reinforce the crystal while he watched the frozen figure.
Using this brief opening, Gion adjusted her stance while recalling what she knew about Aus.
She'd only heard Sister Tsuru mention him occasionally—someone Fleet Admiral Kong had specifically flagged as a major future Marine threat, with his bounty repeatedly hiked to insane levels.
Back then, she'd figured this Aus was just some punk trading on his Pirate King crew member status.
As part of the new generation, she believed the Marine rookies trained by Teacher Zephyr were geniuses who wouldn't lose to anyone their age.
Like Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, Kake, and herself...
Only after meeting this so-called Roger Pirates newcomer today did she realize how vast this ocean really was!
If she remembered right, he was only fifteen—younger than every Marine rookie officer.
What was she doing at fifteen? Probably wasn't even a swordsman yet.
"A monster like this has to stay at Marineford today!" Gion gritted her teeth.
"You want to keep who here?"
"What?!"
Who could've imagined that in one blink, the figure in the ice had vanished completely.
Terror shot through their bodies. Without thinking, both spun and attacked behind them.
Hit nothing but air.
Aus flashed onto a distant rooftop, lazily propping his elbows on the balcony railing. He looked down at the two on high alert below, that same calm expression never changing.
"Hey, you two—how about we pretend we never met? I'm just here as a tourist. Haven't done anything bad.
Hell, I even paid for my breakfast like a good citizen.
That's contributing to Marineford's GDP, right?"
His answer was a frost-trailing Storm Pheasant's Beak.
"Black Gun Aus!! What do you think Marineford is?! This is Marine Headquarters—a fortress of justice!
It's absolutely not some place pirates like you can waltz in and out of!"
Gion shouted righteously, but inside she knew his mobility was too insane, plus he had that troublesome advanced Observation Haki.
With just the three... two of them, keeping him here was basically impossible.
So even if it was dirty, she'd use whatever tactics worked—stall Aus until Sengoku, Garp and the others arrived.
Only then could they possibly take him down and ship him to that underwater prison, giving Aus the same fate as his captain.
"As a Pirate King crew member, do you only know how to run away?
Answer me! Doctor Aus!"
Gion yelled, seemingly forgetting who'd just been effortlessly restrained.
Aus just smiled.
He could obviously tell this was a provocation, but honestly, her words did spark his interest.
Could a future Admiral plus Admiral candidate actually let him cut loose?
He extended one hand.
Crooked his finger.
"You're right. Been way too long since I had a real fight.
Both of you, come at me. I should be able to wrap this up before Garp shows."
Aus saw right through the girl's scheme, making her flush with embarrassed rage. Kuzan beside her instantly exploded at Aus's arrogant attitude.
"Don't get too fucking cocky, Black Gun!!!"
Ice crystals spread across Kuzan's body again. Massive ice spears formed, carrying tremendous force as they shot forward.
Razor-sharp sword energy followed close behind.
Around the battlefield's edge, junior officers had sensed trouble and rushed to help.
After quickly evacuating civilians, they saw the guy fighting Rear Admiral Kuzan and Commodore Gion was actually a wanted pirate and immediately joined the battle.
But facing a fired-up Kuzan's massive freezing attacks, they couldn't get near this high-level fight. They could only watch from way back.
Meanwhile, they called Marine Headquarters command.
"Buru buru buru..."
"Click."
"Sengoku here. What's happening?"
"Admiral Sengoku! In Marineford's southern residential district, Rear Admiral Kuzan and Commodore Gion are fighting Roger Pirates remnants! Requesting backup!!!"
"What?!?!"
Right when Fleet Admiral Kong went to the Holy Land to report?
These bastards!
Hearing this, Admiral Sengoku shot up from his paperwork and smashed his desk to splinters: "What arrogant pirates! Roger's crew actually dares break into Marine Headquarters?! Still won't give up?!"
"Is it Rayleigh or Gaban?"
"Uh... neither... it's 'Black Gun' Doctor Aus!"
"Black Gun?"
Sengoku froze, confused.
If he remembered right, that brat was just an intern on the Roger Pirates.
How the hell did he dare?
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
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