The zanbato sliced through the air, letting out a shrill wail.
The black blade rapidly enlarged in Onigumo's constricted pupils, and the chill of death stung his skin even before the edge could reach him.
He couldn't dodge.
Just as the blade was about to split this Marineford Vice Admiral in two.
Crack.
The crisp sound of freezing rang out abruptly.
A burst of extreme cold air erupted instantly, the surrounding hot air plunging to the freezing point; pebbles, bloodstains, and even the dust in the air were covered in white frost in an instant.
The unstoppable black zanbato stopped less than three inches from Onigumo's forehead.
A thick layer of ice spread rapidly along the blade, turning the massive weapon into an ice sculpture in the blink of an eye, and continued to climb up the hilt toward Abel's arm.
"Arara..."
A lazy and magnetic voice rang out from the entrance of the alley.
"I just got back and I see such an intense scene. Are young people these days always so short-tempered?"
A tall man walked over slowly with his hands in his pockets.
He wore a white suit vest, a deep blue shirt, and a green sleep mask on his forehead.
The highest combat power of Marineford.
Admiral Aokiji.
Having narrowly escaped death, Onigumo panted heavily, his sweat freezing into ice chips as soon as it emerged: "Ku... Admiral Kuzan!"
The cold was biting.
It wasn't ordinary cold; it was a deathly silence that made even the cells deep within the bone marrow stop moving.
The air in the alley seemed to solidify into tangible ice crystals, and every breath felt like swallowing razor blades.
Abel maintained his slashing posture; that massive black zanbato, capable of splitting mountains and cracking stones, had now completely turned into a translucent ice sculpture.
The ice spread frantically along the hilt, climbing onto his thick forearm in an instant. A layer of white frost formed on his bronze skin, making the eerie red tattoos beneath the ice look dim and lusterless.
Kuzan still maintained that lazy posture, one hand in his pocket and the other palm facing down, emitting wisps of cold air.
"Young man, this is Marineford."
Kuzan scratched his messy curly hair and exhaled a cloud of white mist. Although his eyes looked like he hadn't fully woken up, there was a cold scrutiny deep within them.
"I can't just let you keep causing trouble."
The surrounding Marine soldiers finally snapped out of it, the sound of teeth chattering echoing one after another.
"It's... it's Admiral Aokiji!"
"Great! The Admiral is here!"
"That monster is dead! No one can escape from the Admiral's hands!"
The joy of surviving a desperate situation made these Marine soldiers even forget the fear of being dominated by Abel just now. They raised their gun barrels again; though their hands were still shaking, their confidence had clearly grown.
Abel ignored the surrounding noise; he just looked down at his frozen right arm.
The numbness of losing sensation was rapidly extending upward, and his elbow joint could no longer bend.
He tried to exert force.
It didn't budge.
"Logia-type... the Chilly-Chilly Fruit, is it?"
Mordred evaluated silently in his heart.
Is this the level of the Marines' highest combat power?
The explosive power of that moment was indeed astonishingly fast. For an ordinary person, their blood would have likely frozen into ice shards.
The cold was still spreading.
The frozen massive black zanbato remained in its slashing posture, suspended in mid-air.
Abel glanced down at his completely frozen right arm.
Beneath the translucent ice, the bronze muscle texture was clearly visible, and even the pores were filled with frost.
The entire arm had lost all sensation.
"An ice-attribute attack?"
Abel shrugged his shoulders; his right arm was like a popsicle hanging on his body, making a clicking sound.
Kuzan still looked lazy, the cold air in his palm flickering in and out of sight.
"Young man, with frostbite of this degree, if you go to the infirmary in time, you might still be able to save that arm."
Kuzan pointed to the medical building in the distance, his tone flat.
"Although you attacked Onigumo, as long as you surrender quietly, I'll put in a word with Fleet Admiral Sengoku to have you locked in Level 6 of Impel Down. At least you'll stay alive."
The surrounding Marine soldiers breathed a sigh of relief.
An Admiral's move is indeed extraordinary.
With just one move, he had neutralized the monster's weapon and arm.
The outcome was decided.
"Ice-attribute energy erosion... it really is a bit troublesome."
That bone-deep chill was necrotizing his nerves.
A flash of violence flickered in Abel's gray, lifeless eyes.
Buzz!
His left hand gripped the air, and space vibrated.
A pitch-black short blade appeared out of thin air, held in a reverse grip.
"What are you trying to do?"
Kuzan's eyelid twitched, and an ominous premonition surged in his heart.
The next second.
Puchi!
A flash of black light.
Without any hesitation.
Without any delay.
Abel swung the short blade and slashed down hard against his own right shoulder!
Crack!
Accompanied by the crisp sound of shattering ice, that frozen, thick right arm snapped off.
The severed arm fell to the ground, shattering into a pile of ice shards mixed with flesh and blood.
The entire scene fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone's eyes widened, like ducks being strangled, unable to make a sound.
Even on Kuzan's eternally lazy face, an expression of shock appeared for the first time.
Madman!
This guy is a complete lunatic!
To escape the freezing, he actually cut off his own arm without hesitation?
At the stump, blood did not spray out as expected.
Zizizi... A tooth-gritting sound of granulation tissue wriggling rang out.
Abel threw away the short blade in his hand and looked expressionlessly at the clean cut.
Dark red steam rose from the wound.
Immediately after.
Under the horrified gaze of thousands of Marines.
Countless bits of granulation tissue grew frantically, bones extended, muscles reorganized, and blood vessels intertwined.
In just two seconds.
A brand-new bronze arm, covered in eerie red tattoos, grew back!
Abel flexed his new fingers, his knuckles letting out a series of popping sounds.
He looked up at the dazed Kuzan, his lips curling into a ferocious grin.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining +88 Astonishment Points from Admiral Aokiji!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining +66 Astonishment Points from Vice Admiral Onigumo!]
Mordred listened to the notifications frantically scrolling in his mind, feeling absolutely delighted.
This was exactly the effect he wanted!
"What? Haven't you seen a gecko drop its tail before?"
Abel shook his new arm, making a series of bone-cracking sounds. His lifeless gray eyes swept over the scene, finally landing on Kuzan.
"What's there to be surprised about with such low-level biological medical technology?"
Abel's nonchalant attitude almost made Aokiji laugh out of anger. Just listen to that is that even human speech?
Don't say such terrifying things with such a matter-of-fact tone.