Kuzan exhaled, frost spilling from his lips. The temperature around him plunged as a field of ice spread outward, coating the shattered ground in white.
Across from him, Patrick Redfield — the Red Count — tilted his umbrella blade and smiled faintly.
"Ahh… a Logia," he murmured. "The Hie Hie no Mi, is it? What an exquisite find. If I cut you down today, I imagine the Marines will put quite the bounty on my head."
He raised the umbrella sword, its tip gleaming crimson in the dim light.
"Try not to die too quickly, Marine boy. I prefer a long hunt."
Kuzan's expression hardened. "Guess I don't have a choice then… Let's see if a so-called 'legend' can still keep up."
He didn't wait — the ground cracked beneath his feet as he charged, ice condensing into a blade in his hand. The air rang with the clash of steel and frost.
The first exchange sent shards of ice spiraling in every direction.
Redfield barely moved, a whisper of motion, and the surrounding ice shattered from the sheer force of his killing intent.
"What speed…" Kuzan muttered, eyes narrowing. His heart pounded — not from fear, but from the thrill of meeting a true monster of the sea.
Redfield flicked his wrist, sending a razor-thin arc of air screaming toward him. Kuzan dissolved into mist, his frozen body reforming behind the pirate in an instant.
"Ice Bullets!"
Two spheres of ice shot forth, whistling through the snowstorm — but Redfield's blade moved once, and both shattered in midair.
"One-Sword Style…" Redfield's voice was almost lazy. "Pierce the Sky!"
A crescent of blinding light tore through the forest, cleaving dozens of trees cleanly in half.
Kuzan dodged, feeling the wind of the strike tear across his coat. The forest behind him erupted as massive trunks crashed to the ground, the sound echoing into the sea.
"…As expected of a man called 'Aloof Red,'" Kuzan said under his breath. "That's some swordsmanship."
He steadied himself, his eyes cold. Redfield's every movement radiated menace — his Observation Haki so sharp it seemed to read Kuzan's next breath.
Kuzan clenched his fists. He couldn't win — not head-on. But he could stall.
When Redfield had appeared, he'd already triggered his distress signal — a flare embedded in his transponder shell. The nearest Marine patrol might be hours away, but it was his only chance.
The air grew even colder.
"Let's raise the stakes," Kuzan muttered. Frost spread across his skin as his Haki surged, coating his arms in obsidian black. The icy mist swirled, merging with falling snow until the forest turned into a white void.
"Blizzard!"
Dark clouds gathered overhead, and heavy snow began to fall, carried by howling wind. The air temperature plummeted so fast that even Redfield's breath turned visible.
The pirate's smile didn't fade. "What terrifying potential… If you live long enough, boy, you'll become quite the menace."
He lifted his sword. "Which is why I'll end you now."
Boom.
His slash split the air itself, a scar of light that ripped through ice and earth. Kuzan shifted to mist again, reappearing behind him — but the second slash was already there.
Steel bit through his coat. Kuzan staggered back, blood staining the snow. His body shimmered as he tried to reform, coating the wound in a thin sheet of frost.
Redfield didn't relent. His slashes came faster, sharper — like a symphony of death. Kuzan blocked, dodged, and countered where he could, but his ice armor cracked under the relentless assault.
Every hit he took pushed him closer to the edge.
If this keeps up… I'm done for.
Kuzan gritted his teeth, blood dripping from his chin. Armament Haki flared again, coating him in a black sheen that made his whole body gleam like polished steel.
He thrust his hands into the frozen ground.
"Ice Giant!"
The land erupted.
Columns of ice surged upward, converging into a towering figure — an 800-meter titan of solid frost. Its eyes glowed blue as it raised a colossal blade, casting a shadow over the battlefield.
Even Redfield paused, eyebrows lifting. "A giant made of ice… ambitious."
Kuzan's voice echoed from within the giant's chest. "I don't need to win. I just need to make sure you don't walk away unscathed!"
He slammed his hands together.
"Ice Burst!"
BOOM.
Light consumed the island. A deafening roar followed as the explosion ripped through stone, sea, and sky alike. The world vanished beneath a wave of white light and roaring ocean.
When the shockwave settled, the island was gone — replaced by a broken sea and drifting icebergs.
Redfield floated above the wreckage, his coat torn, blood trailing from one ear. His Haki pulsed outward, searching through the rain and smoke.
"…Clever boy," he whispered.
But there was no sign of Kuzan. Only rain, falling softly over the shattered sea.
Redfield's smile faded into a quiet scowl. "You can't hide forever, Marine. I'll find you again."
He closed his umbrella sword with a snap — and vanished into the storm.
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