"How about this... Yasakani no Magatama!"
Countless Light Bullets formed a dense barrage, blasting straight towards Sage.
There were too many, and they were too fast... utterly impossible to block.
Sage's pupils shrank; the Haki concentrated on his fist rapidly spread across his body, forming a Haki blaze. He crossed his arms in front of his face, slightly curling up, adopting a protective posture.
This was a laser, completely untouchable, and just blocking it with Haki was an accomplishment.
The headache with Logia-types is that aside from their bodies, their attacks can only be defensively countered.
Bang bang bang bang!
The Light Bullets struck the Haki blaze, making the Haki ripple like stones dropped into a pond.
The intense Light Bullet barrage even forced Sage, who had stopped his Moon Step, to remain suspended in mid-air, its impact leaving him rigid in the air.
"Oh~ this Haki... how terrifying."
Borsalino pouted, expressing his surprise, "Can it last this long?"
Haki isn't infinite. Using it to defend against the Yasakani no Magatama is futile, as it will eventually be exhausted.
This brat has lasted too long, hasn't he?
But soon, he chuckled warmly, "However, it's not just me here."
"Sage, you brat!"
Garp leapt to Sage's side, raising his fist high, laughing heartily, "I'm going to attack! From the seabed..."
Boom!!
"Fall!!"
The distributed Haki intensity across his body couldn't withstand the aggregation of Haki on Garp's fist. Garp's punch shattered through Sage's Haki defense, sending him shooting towards the icy surface.
The impact created a crater before his body even hit the ice; seawater surged upward, and just as it touched Sage's body, it rapidly froze, turning him into an ice sculpture displayed on the ice.
Kuzan placed his hand on the ice, exhaling heavily, lifting his head to say, "It's over."
Thud!
Garp landed heavily from the sky, shaking his hand, and then, in rare silence, he bared his teeth in a smile, "What a pity, Sage... If I caught you back in the East Sea, I might've made a fine Marine out of you."
"Turning a Pirate into a Marine, huh..."
The light converged on the ice, revealing Borsalino's figure. He extended his finger, aiming at the frozen Sage, chuckling, "First, absolution is needed; otherwise, you'll just end up in pieces."
Swoosh!
A laser shot from his fingertip, headed straight for the ice sculpture's head.
The fragile ice sculpture would crumble if hit, shattering its head completely.
Crack!
But just as the light emitted, a crack appeared on the ice sculpture. The ice on Sage's arm shattered, transforming into a fist enveloped in Haki, scattering the laser with a punch.
Bam!
In the next instant, the entire icy surface shattered completely, revealing Sage's terrifying figure beneath.
"Oh~ it's not that simple after all," Borsalino marveled.
"Oh dear..."
Kuzan sighed, "Can't you just give up? The damage you'll suffer will be less. Or... if you want to live and get sent to Impel Down, you could just say so."
Sage moved his body slightly, feeling the injuries on him, looked up at the clear sky, and clicked his tongue, "It's not always good when it doesn't rain!"
The punch from Garp caused significant damage, with blood leaking from half of his body; many of his bones must be broken, and even his organs were somewhat damaged.
But...
He looked at the three in front of him, "Do you think this is over?"
The fighting spirit in his eyes hadn't diminished at all, which stunned all three for a moment.
Honestly, to have fought this far, Sage was impressive, but looking at him now, he still intended to continue fighting?
No matter how much more they fought, they wouldn't lose...
Sage closed his eyes, exhaled a turbid breath, and at the same time, a large amount of white smoke lingered around him, healing his injuries.
Against three high-caliber opponents, he may not be able to win, but for them... victory won't be that easy either.
"I initially didn't want to use it, and I don't like that form, plus once it's used, it requires a substantial amount of food intake afterward, but now..."
Sage's eyes suddenly opened wide, his body slightly hunched, growling fiercely, "Don't use that easy victory look against me; who do you think I am!"
Bang!
It was as if some restriction had been lifted. The white smoke emitted during Life Return did not dissipate; instead, it intensified around him, and his already fierce figure expanded even further.
Hiss!!
The white breath exhaled from his nose shot out like an arrow, with such force that it blasted a small indentation in the thick ice on the ground, the ice shards vibrated and floated upward, as if they were revolving around him.
Sage's physique continuously expanded, rising from just over three meters, his muscle armor thickening, appearing even more fierce and brutal.
The muscles on his chest expanded, becoming like a chest plate, the outer muscles twisted upward, winding around his shoulders like steel bars. The previously bifurcated muscle shoulders became three identical shoulder armors, with the uppermost extending to his face, forming something akin to a mask on Sage's cheeks.
In his neck, two bulges appeared, resembling exhaust vents, drawing in the surrounding white smoke, and then spewing it like a steam locomotive, the white smoke wrapping around his shoulders and arms, though sparse, creating a faint white fiery cloud.