The razor-sharp slash, fierce as a blade, was instantly shattered by Jason's punch.
Without pause, his towering frame advanced like a moving fortress. Every step thundered against the wooden deck, each footfall heavy and ominous.
A terrifying force pulsed from his body. With a primal roar, Jason hurled his fist forward again.
"Pī li pā lā!"
A thunderous crack echoed through the air and the sound of the atmosphere itself shattering under the force of his punch.
Kuzan's pupils contracted. He could clearly see the ripples in the air— shockwaves radiating outward in expanding rings.
"Tekkai!"
Abandoning the safety of his Devil Fruit powers, Kuzan gritted his teeth and braced himself, relying entirely on his own physical strength.
"Power Amplification— 20x!" Jason growled. His arm blurred into motion, launching a punch like a cannonball.
Bang!
The blow landed squarely on Kuzan's guard. His entire body shuddered violently from the impact before he was hurled backward, sliding uncontrollably across the deck.
Twin gouges tore through the wooden planks in his wake.
"Huā lā!"
Just three breaths later, as Kuzan's momentum slowed, his body abruptly shattered into countless shards of glittering ice.
Total defeat.
A Marine Rear Admiral— a Logia-type user with the potential to become an Admiral, had been utterly overwhelmed in just two or three exchanges.
In raw power and sheer durability, Kuzan had been crushed by this unknown, monstrous warrior.
The impossible outcome left him visibly shaken. Even so, the next moment, the scattered ice reassembled with a glacial whisper, and Kuzan stood once more.
"Ice Saber."
He spoke quietly. A short sword of pure ice formed in his right hand, gleaming under the sun.
His expression remained calm, but there was no mistaking the weight behind his words.
"Your strength is... impressive. To think a powerhouse like you was hiding on a simple wooden ship— I honestly didn't see that coming."
There was a subtle edge of respect now in his tone.
"I'm a Logia-type," he continued, voice steady. "User of the Hie Hie no Mi. Everything I touch turns to ice. So... be careful."
Despite being clearly outmatched in brute force, Kuzan pressed forward without hesitation.
After all, his specialty wasn't physical combat, it was his Devil Fruit mastery.
With a subtle flick of his wrist, shimmering particles of ice swirled into the air, catching the sunlight and scattering in a dazzling display.
"Meow!"
Right then, Lordling let out a sharp, urgent cry.
"Power Amplification—100x!" Jason's expression darkened, turning almost savage. His overwhelming power was now so intense it distorted the very air around them.
The deck beneath him cracked and buckled beneath the strain of his strength.
His instincts screamed a warning: the man before him wasn't someone to be taken lightly.
So he didn't hold back.
"Behind you!" Jason suddenly twisted his waist and slammed a punch behind him without looking.
Buzz!
The air erupted behind him, violent turbulence ripping through the space, shrieking like metal under pressure.
The very atmosphere became unstable, chaotic, the void itself groaning from the sheer weight of Jason's rampaging force.
Kuzan's face grew even more serious. This wasn't just raw strength—this was on another level.
He had faced many enemies and seen countless abilities, but never someone like this.
No technique. No finesse.
Just pure, unrelenting power—so vast and brutal it became a weapon all on its own.
A man who climbed to the top using nothing but raw force.
And that force… was terrifying.
"One strike to conquer all!"
At Jason's level, techniques were unnecessary. Every punch he threw carried devastating kinetic force— raw power that could crush everything in its path.
Boom!
The air around him compressed violently and then ruptured like a bursting balloon.
Kuzan, having used Soru to close the distance from behind, was immediately caught in the blast. His body cracked apart mid-motion, fragmented by the sheer force of Jason's punch.
From his chest down to his legs, everything was blown away. And yet, despite this brutal destruction, Kuzan showed not panic, but faint admiration for Jason's rapidly growing strength.
His intact right hand, still gripping the Ice Saber, suddenly lashed out.
Whoosh!
In an instant, the icy blade was already at Jason's face, close enough to reflect in his widened pupils.
"So fast!"
As expected of a Marine prodigy. Kuzan's reflexes were as sharp as ever, swift and precise. Jason jerked back just in time, narrowly evading a fatal blow. The blade only managed to graze his side.
"Too close…" he muttered.
Kuzan remained composed, his tone flat, unwavering.
Then, visible even to the naked eye, a wave of frost crept from the torn edge of Jason's coat. The icy chill surged across his side, quickly spreading to his torso.
"What the hell is this?!" Jason stumbled backward, shocked.
But the freezing aura wasn't done.
Kuzan began to approach, calm and relentless. With each step he took, frost bloomed across the deck, and the temperature plummeted.
"Kā cā cā…"
As Jason backed away, the ice crawled upward—reaching his neck by the third step.
Tap.
One more step and in that instant, Jason was completely encased.
Frozen solid.
The towering man, nearly two and a half meters tall, had been reduced to a magnificent ice sculpture within seconds of contact.
"What a powerful opponent," Kuzan murmured, walking up beside the frozen titan.
"But still… just a bit lacking."
Now, having fought at length, Kuzan could see it clearly—Jason was all brute strength. No technique. No finesse. And crucially, no understanding of Haki.
That lack had decided the fight.
Against a Logia-type like Kuzan, anyone without Haki or another method to bypass intangibility was at a huge disadvantage. Without the power to touch him, they could never truly win.
"Now then…" Kuzan turned his attention to the cat. "Little kitty, how about telling me where that woman is?"
He slowly crouched before Lordling, his presence calm but heavy.
Behind him, the Jason-shaped sculpture shimmered under the sunlight—an ice-blue monolith glowing with refracted colors.
Lordling's fur bristled. Her wide golden eyes trembled.
She knew just how strong Jason was. He was a monster who could flatten buildings with a punch— And yet, not even he lasted a minute against this man.
Fear clenched at her small heart.
Creak…
At that moment, the wooden bedroom door slowly swung open.
Kuzan froze. His gaze sharpened.
"So… you were here all along?" He turned his head—ever so slowly—toward the doorway.
(End of Chapter)
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