A stick suddenly appeared above Aokiji's head, causing his eyes to widen in shock.
At this moment, it was too late for him to revert to his elemental form. He could only cross his arms, coated with Haki, to shield his head.
"Bang!"
There was a dull thud, and the ground where Aokiji stood cracked like a spider's web, with him at the center.
The impact had dented the ground by more than a meter.
"Cough…"
Aokiji coughed involuntarily, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of his mouth. He looked up at Kai with a confused expression.
"Aren't you frozen?"
"Who said I was frozen? Use your observation Haki to see what's inside those ice blocks," Kai taunted.
"Huh?" Aokiji was momentarily stunned and then released his observation Haki to probe the frozen Kai.
After a few breaths, astonishment crossed his face. "Are you… a clone?"
From his careful observation, the Kai encased in ice had an odd aura, lacking the life force he expected. This detail was subtle and had eluded him before.
"Bingo, that's right!" Kai snapped his fingers, and the frozen clone began to dissolve, reappearing beside him in an instant.
Kai could directly recall and summon his clones. Even if a clone was critically injured, he just needed to withdraw and resummon it in full condition. This is why Kai initially thought it was a mystical ability.
The only downside was that summoning a clone required a fair amount of physical energy, and the clone's condition mirrored Kai's current state.
"Is this the power of your Devil Fruit? What kind of fruit is it?"
"It's a Devil Fruit ability, but I prefer not to reveal the specifics," Kai answered calmly.
He explained all his abilities as Devil Fruit powers, as it was easier than trying to clarify each one separately.
"Then is Portgas D. Ace also a clone?"
"Oh, not at all. He was truly frozen!"
Kai walked over to Ace's ice sculpture and, with a Haki-infused punch, began attacking the ice.
This ice was remarkably tough, requiring significant force to break through. Kai landed several powerful blows. At first, the ice didn't even chip, but with the final punch, the entire sculpture shattered, revealing Ace inside.
Seeing this, Kai felt a surge of relief. Luckily, with his advanced Haki and mastery of the Iron Body, he was able to break the ice. Otherwise, he wouldn't have managed it.
As Ace emerged, he stretched his limbs. Although he hadn't been frozen long, the intense cold had left him feeling uncomfortable.
Ace leaned in and whispered to Kai, "Luffy and the others are almost out. We should consider escaping ourselves. We can't beat him!"
Ace was realistic about his strength. While he could temporarily hold off an Admiral, a prolonged battle was beyond his capabilities. He had already decided escape was their best option.
"Hey, hey, hey, can you discuss this so openly in front of me?" Aokiji interjected, clearly annoyed.
"Huh?" Ace was momentarily taken aback. "I thought I whispered it in his ear?"
Aokiji replied, a touch exasperated, "We're only ten meters apart. No matter how quietly you speak, I can still hear with my Observation Haki…"
"(⊙o⊙)..."
"Forgot, my bad!" Ace exclaimed, covering his head in embarrassment.
Kai sighed, realizing that Ace's loudness was partly to blame for Aokiji's enormous ice barrier. Though Ace's clumsiness was frustrating, it was a minor issue compared to their current predicament.
At that moment, Aokiji announced, "You've given me a clear idea. If you want to leave, I might not be able to stop you. In that case…"
"Ice Age!"
Hearing the familiar phrase, Kai and Ace instinctively soared into the air, but Aokiji's intent was not to freeze them.
The ice began rising from the ground, spreading over a thousand meters and forming a colossal dome around them.
This immense display instantly captured everyone's attention, including Luffy and his crew who had managed to escape.
"Then… what is that?" Sanji asked in shock.
The huge ice dome seemed to envelop the entire city from their perspective.
Luffy, seeing this, shouted anxiously, "Kai! Ace!"
He turned to head back but was immediately kicked by Sanji.
Sanji glared at him, "What do you think you're doing?"
"I need to go back and save Kai and the others!"
"Do you think you can help them by going back? They finally let us escape. If you go back now, their efforts will be for nothing!"
"Do you understand what it means to face an Admiral? Even Kai told us to escape first against such an opponent. You don't grasp the strength gap between us and Kai. Going back now would only get you killed!"
Sanji laid it out bluntly, scolding Luffy.
If they could, they would have stayed to fight. But they knew they'd be a burden, which is why they'd left, not wanting to weigh Kai down further.
Luffy sat in silence, reflecting on Sanji's words. After a while, he stood up and said, "Let's get on the ship and get out of here!"
...
Back inside the dome, Kai and Ace were both bewildered.
From their vantage point, the outside world appeared as a distorted mosaic.
Even the sun seemed like a glaring light bulb.
Kai's face darkened as he glared at Ace. It was partly Ace's loudness that had led to this massive ice shield blocking their escape.
Feeling Kai's glare, Ace turned away, embarrassed.
It was too late to dwell on this now. The pressing issue was how to escape.
Moreover, being inside the enormous ice dome meant no fresh air could penetrate.
In other words, they had to conserve oxygen.
Kai suddenly remembered something important and shouted, "No!"
"Great Flame Ring: Fire Emperor!"
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Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.