With the sudden arrival of Adrian and his crew. Without Kizaru needing to explain, both Akainu and Aokiji immediately understood the reason for their presence. It was obvious. This guy had come to attack both of them.
"Adrian, you despicable bastard, were you going to sneak attack us after we've fought each other and are injured?!" Akainu's pupils flickered with a tyrannical glint, and hot lava surged around him. The thought that he and Aokiji were almost taken advantage of by him filled him with endless rage.
This bastard is truly a complete lunatic.
I have to kill him today!
"It's a pity," a look of regret crossed Adrian's face. "I originally planned to kill both of you, but now it seems I can only kill one." He then looked at Kizaru and confirmed, "But... did that old geezer Garp really guess it?"
Kizaru was speechless. Did he really care that much about this?
"Aokiji, this battle should have ended with your defeat," Adrian said with a sly smirk as he glanced at Aokiji's injured left leg. With a piercing gaze, he continued, "Why don't we join forces? As long as you kill Akainu and Kizaru, the position of Fleet Admiral will be yours."
Kizaru's weary old face immediately drooped. Damn you! Why did you add me after killing Akainu? The old man didn't even want to compete for the position of Fleet Admiral.
"Wishful thinking!" Aokiji scolded indifferently. "Even if I were to die at the hands of Sakazuki, it's an internal matter for us in the Marines. A pirate like you dares to propose we join forces?"
Adrian wasn't angry. He immediately turned his gaze to Akainu and said, "Akainu, why don't we... Forget it, you definitely won't agree."
"Bullet, Akainu is yours... Shiryu, you and Van Augur, find a way to hold off Kizaru. Today, we kill... Aokiji!"
As his voice fell, Bullet's figure had already turned into a black shadow, slamming straight into the opposite Akainu. "Jee ha ha ha, this time I can finally have a good fight!"
"Mere pirates, don't you dare be presumptuous!" Akainu was instantly furious, throwing a magma punch at Bullet. The figures of the two collided fiercely.
At the same time, Shiryu and Van Augur formed a pincer attack on Kizaru. It's just that the Admiral seemed to be immersed in deep resentment.
Kizaru: Adrian, you son of a b***, why did you start the war without even asking me a word? How do you know I wouldn't agree? Can't I be a Fleet Admiral? Do you have to look down on me like this?*
"Aokiji, you missed your only chance to rise to the top," Adrian said, shaking his head regretfully.
"You're saying I'm not as good as Sakazuki?" Aokiji asked with displeasure.
"It's not that I think you can't do it, but that you really can't do it!" Adrian was just stating the facts, not deliberately belittling Aokiji. Even in the original storyline, he was the one who failed. If Akainu hadn't been willing to show mercy to his former colleague, he wouldn't have even survived to go to Blackbeard.
"Ice Pheasant!" Aokiji expressed his dissatisfaction with his actions. A huge ice bird, full of endless freezing power, attacked Adrian. Everything in its path became a frozen landscape.
"Fire Fist!" A super-high-temperature flame rose from Adrian's right arm, gathering into a giant fire fist that smashed toward the ice bird.
Boom!
At the moment of collision, the ice bird exploded and was then completely melted by the flames. The power of the Fire Fist remained undiminished as it blasted toward Aokiji.
"What?!" Aokiji's pupils contracted violently. As his body retreated, he released five icicles from his heart to freeze the fire fist.
"Your fire... something's wrong with it?!" Aokiji's face became extremely serious. In that last blow, his ice bird was incinerated by Adrian's fire fist. He knew that even Akainu's Lava Fist didn't do that in their previous battle. The Mera-Mera Fruit is considered a lower-tier fruit compared to the Magma-Magma Fruit. How could it erupt with such power? There had to be something wrong.
"Did you realize out?" The corners of Adrian's mouth curved into a smug grin. He spread his hands, and flames of two colors, one blue and one orange, rose from his palms.
"I originally thought that the blue flame from the Phoenix-Phoenix Fruit could only regenerate, but I didn't expect that when it was used accidentally with the Mera-Mera Fruit, it would reach a terrifying temperature far higher than before."
To be honest, even Adrian hadn't expected such a result. If you were to compare the temperature that the Mera-Mera Fruit could reach before to "one," then after fusing with the blue flames of the Phoenix Fruit, it was instantly raised to "three." Although Adrian wasn't sure if this temperature could match Akainu's Magma-Magma Fruit, he was certain that if the Mera-Mera Fruit was developed to its awakened state, there would no longer be a concept of "superior" or "inferior" fruits.
"Have you started integrating the fruit's abilities?" Aokiji's face grew more and more solemn. The growth rate of the young man in front of him was monstrous. It had only been almost a month since he got the Mera-Mera Fruit, and he had already reached a point where he could restrain him. What would happen if he were allowed to spend a few years researching?
No.
Even if I risk my life today, I must eliminate this serious threat to the Marines.
With that thought, the pressure around Aokiji suddenly increased. At the same time, he pressed his hands heavily to the ground, and a terrifying icy power enveloped Adrian like a landslide. It was Aokiji's famous move, "Ice Age." This technique could freeze an entire sea for up to a week.
However, at that very moment, Adrian suddenly put away the flames from his hands. Instead, he simply extended his right hand. "Aokiji, I don't need the power of fire at all. Just this right hand... is enough!" A very evil smile suddenly appeared on Adrian's face.
The next second, the endless cold power collided with his right palm. But Aokiji was shocked. An unbelievable scene that sent chills down his spine unfolded instantly. The frigid power that was cold enough to freeze the entire sea was absorbed the moment it touched Adrian's right palm.
It was completely absorbed.
It didn't even leave a single mark on Adrian's palm.
"This... this is impossible!!" Aokiji's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in disbelief. At that moment, he felt his understanding of reality begin to crumble. What method did this guy use to make his "Ice Age" completely ineffective?