Perhaps it's because he's too weak, or perhaps it's because he's just emerged from the ice prison, Sage indeed didn't notice there was another ice mountain nearby.
In the gigantic cell, there's ample space for them to stand. From Sage's position, he could look directly at the brawny man without even having to lift his head.
Because they were encased in ice, neither Sage nor the man had any chains on their bodies...
"Cellmate?"
The brawny man clenched his hand, stared at Sage, and said in a deep voice, "Just in time, my long unvented rage, let me give you a glimpse first. Make some noise, and someone with the keys will come here!"
Bang!
His fist clenched with a sound, his eyes widened, and he kicked away the ice block at his feet, stretching his fingers forward.
"Tenfold Ice Pellet!"
Bang bang bang!
The walls of the prison broke apart with extremely fine ice crystal fragments, scattering all around with massive force, hitting the steel bars with a series of rapid impacts, like a swift hailstorm.
"Hmm?"
The brawny man frowned slightly, looking up.
"Oh doh..."
Sage's body was hanging upside down from the ceiling, showing a twisted grin towards him, "Such enthusiasm upon meeting me? Your speed is not bad!"
Whoosh!
As if the brief moment of suspension vanished, Sage's foot left the ceiling, instantly spun around, stretching out a leg like an axe that spun a circle, swiftly chopping down with a gust of wind.
The brawny man's pupils tightened, seemingly completely unprepared for this scene. As that leg neared, his face was covered with Armament.
Bang!
The heavy force made this brawny man kneel down suddenly, his knee touching the ground and stirring up a blast of air.
Using the force from the hit, Sage flipped and landed on the ground, chuckling lowly, "Haki indeed enhances defense, but it can't boost strength. You, just now, was that speed an illusion?"
"It hurts..."
The brawny man tightly covered his face for a while, revealing eyes filled with rage from between his fingers, "Twentyfold..."
Whoosh!
The brawny man who had just been kneeling suddenly vanished from Sage's sight. Without even looking, his body instinctively kicked to the side.
Bang!
The swiftly approaching brawny man was kicked into the wall, retreating at the same speed he approached, fiercely crashing into the iron bars.
"Sneak attacks are useless against me."
Sage turned his head, said, "Seems to be an Ability User, Haki level... mediocre, willpower very confused, body very weak, seems to have been sealed in ice for a long time, using such a fragile body yet able to move so fast, definitely a strong foe. But if the commotion is over, shouldn't we take a break?"
His eyes could no longer catch the guy's speed. In terms of speed, he was extremely fast.
But in front of his 'Thoughtless Shadow Kill', mere speed alone is useless.
Besides, as fast as he is, he hasn't reached Kizaru's level. But even against Kizaru, when attacking him, he could still react.
However, being able to react is one thing, catching the attack, even having his limbs make a move against Kizaru's attack, is another matter.
But the guy in front of him, not at that level.
No matter how weak Sage was, he could still use his Haki as usual, not diminishing with physical weakness.
Moreover, that kind of mere acceleration ability...
Meaningless to him.
Such Haki strength can't withstand him.
"Mo mo..."
In the instant the brawny man bounced off the iron bars, his figure suddenly became ethereal.
"Hundredfold!!"
In Sage's eyes, a red dot flashed quickly. Instinctively, at the moment this man's body vanished, his fingers wrapped in Haki stabbed swiftly forward.
Boom!!
A massive burst of air exploded from his fingertips, followed by a huge explosion of blood mist.
Hiss!
The brawny man's body solidified in front of Sage, being pierced through the heart by one of his hands, from the chest through to the back. Even a heart was skewered on his fingers.
"If you've not had enough fun, I'll have to ask you to quiet down, old fellow..." Sage said in a deep voice.
The brawny man just bent his knees, squatted in front of Sage, with his right arm completely exploded, constantly spitting out fresh blood, trickling down to his chest, joining the blood already flowing from his chest onto the ground.
"Um... why?" The brawny man's eyes revealed confusion.
"Quiet at last, but such a pity..."
Sage pulled his hand out of the burly man's chest, flicking away the struck heart, "You're already dead."
In that instant, Sage hit the fist coming towards him. His eyes couldn't see it, nor could his Observation detect it; the speed was too fast.
But he had 'Thoughtless Shadow Kill.' In terms of passivity, even if he actively released Observation, his body reacted faster.
Relying purely on subconscious instinct, at the moment of activation, he focused Haki on his fingers, colliding with the fist coated in Armament.
This guy's Haki was no match for his.
For Sage, once Haki suppresses an enemy, it's absolutely uncomfortable for the opponent.
No matter how strong the body, he will break it.
Moreover, even with knee-jerk thoughts, it's clear this guy is in an extremely weakened state, far from tough.
Strength, Haki, physical quality; even though Sage is currently extremely hungry and weak, he can completely surpass him.
When it comes to the North Star Divine Fist, once it surpasses the opponent, it's deadly!
At the moment of contact, his hand chopped through the Haki on the fist, striking the arm's Secret Hole. As Haki pierced the Secret Hole, it naturally made the arm explode, and without anything to resist, his hand chop went through.
This is the scene of stabbing through the heart.
No matter how miraculous the people on the sea, no matter how outstanding the physique, if the heart is pulled out and stabbed, it's impossible to live.
"I'm not reconciled!"
Vald clutched his chest and slowly fell to his knees, staring at Sage with deadly eyes, "I still have rage unspent! I want revenge against the World Government! I want vengeance on those who betrayed me..."
His face tightened, falling face-first to the ground, mixing with the scattered ice.
"How inexplicable."
Sage clicked his tongue, "Wasting my energy. Don't you know I'm starving? If you want revenge, go find someone for revenge, venting on me will only make you die faster."
He stepped over the burly man's body, knocked on the surrounding walls, and stomped the ground.
"Wall, but inside is the same material as that prison door..."
He walked to the grid door in front, clenched his fist, and coiled his Haki for a fierce punch on the iron grid full of square holes.
Bang!
"Very hard, it's impossible to break with my Haki; I can see the Secret Hole, but it takes too long..."
Sage shook his head, estimating in his mind that even in his normal state, using the North Star Divine Fist on these steel Secret Holes would take several days to crumble them.
The hardness of this thing is similar to a Poneglyph.
Not to mention now, he's so hungry that he's barely surviving; there's not much time to waste.
"At the junction of the steel, each has a protrusion, and that material is even harder than the steel itself... This is Impel Down, oh, it seems this protrusion is Seastone."
Sage reached out to touch the junction of the iron grid, his fist extended through a hole and hesitated for a moment; he withdrew his hand, stood before the grid, and surveyed the surroundings.
The cages outside vary in size, seemingly made for prisoners of different body types.
Including his own cage...
Sage glanced back at the body; in terms of height, it's similar to his full power form's height. That body type, and the same Iceburg, resulted in him being imprisoned here.
This... is a somewhat humane prison in some respects.
Sage looked at the iron grid for a while, a slight smile slowly curling at the corner of his mouth. He approached the iron grid, leaned his head forward, almost pressing against the edge of the square hole.
Why say it's humane...
Because it seems to be made with grids of different sizes according to different body types, while the square holes inside the grid are not exactly the same. At least they ensure that prisoners can reveal most of their faces in these square holes.
And for the currently shrunken-body Sage, with a bit of squeezing, his head can fit through.
"Life Return - Kami-e Martial Body."
Sage's face, just pressed against the edge of the square hole, suddenly shrank, and his head went through.
Moreover, his whole body shrank at this moment; not only in height, but physique, muscles, and even width became extraordinarily thin.
Like a skeleton with skin, slightly plump.
This move can make his speed faster than before.
Most importantly, besides becoming thin and slender, his body also became as soft as a willow.
"Snake Entanglement."
Like a twisting snake or a slippery slime, Sage's shoulders lowered left and right, inch by inch, squeezing out of the square hole in the grid, flowing outside like slime, until his whole body exited the square hole.
"I'm out!"
Sage's body stretched, jumping up as if regaining elasticity, returning to normal.
"Hahaha, hohohohoho!"
Sage laughed loudly with his hands on his hips, "Impel Down? Can't hold me!"