"Both sides ready... 3, 2, 1! Begin!"
As Kuzan's voice fell, Aldo lunged forward. His massive body cut through the air with a whistling roar, charging straight at Loya.
"Get lost, kid!"
This guy is a pure taijutsu specialist... damn, let's hope it's not so weird fruit ability, Loya thought. As Aldo closed in, Loya shifted his weight and adopted a bracing stance. A layer of ice armor rapidly coated his body, shimring in the twilight. Aldo was fast—not quite at the level of Soru, but fast enough that Loya didn't want to risk dodging only to be countered by those long limbs. He chose to tank it.
Loya let out a roar and slamd into his opponent.
Kuzan raised an eyebrow, watching the collision with genuine surprise. "That kid... does he really have that much power?"
The kid's finished, the other Elite Camp mbers thought, bracing themselves to see how far Loya would be sent flying.
CRASH!
It sounded like two locomotives colliding. A deafening shockwave erupted from the center of the plaza. Everyone looked in shock as a dark shadow went tumbling backward—it was Aldo!
Aldo didn't fly far; he adjusted his posture in a single breath and landed gracefully on his feet. Unlike the others, he wasn't surprised.
He isn't stronger than ! Aldo realized. Loya's raw power was high, but it couldn't match a freak of nature like himself. As to why he was the one sent flying? Aldo looked at the suit of ice armor on Loya—specifically, the long ice spikes that had instantly pierced the ground to anchor Loya in place. It was like a catapult locking chanism; by coming to a dead halt, Loya had converted all his kinetic energy into raw defensive impact. But to do that without breaking his own bones from the lateral stress was no small feat.
Loya shook his shoulder, hissing in pain. It felt like he'd slamd into a steel plate; the force had sent a sickening thud through his chest. He ripped his ice spear from the ground and glared at Aldo.
That guy just used 'Iron Body' (Tekkai), one of the Rokushiki. To have this level of effect...!
Loya lunged again, brandishing a sharp ice pillar. He couldn't use his Roar or Wing Attack in such close quarters—they took too long to charge.
Aldo's hands turned pitch black, an eerie energy field radiating from them. "Armant Haki!"
CLANG!
The ice pillar shattered under Aldo's fist. Loya didn't even blink; he dropped his broken weapon, ducked a whipping roundhouse kick, and ignited his right hand with deep blue light.
"Ice Dragon's Iron Fist!"
WHAM!
Aldo caught the strike with his massive palm. Though he was huge, he was anything but slow. That black energy gave him the confidence to face any Devil Fruit power.
But this ti, he miscalculated. Loya wasn't a Devil Fruit user. Unlike Natsu's Fire Dragon's Iron Fist, which exploded on impact, Loya's technique acted like a drill, burrowing into the target to freeze them from the inside out.
The internal damage caught Aldo off guard. His Armant Haki couldn't block the freezing cold, which crept along his bones. He felt his very blood sluggishly thick-freeze, stiffening his limbs.
Loya, seasoned by life as a scavenger on a deserted island, knew to press the advantage. He kicked off Aldo's thigh, flipped, and launched a heel-kick at his head, the blue light proving it was a Dragon Slayer skill.
"Ice Dragon's Talon!"
THUD!
The force of the blow actually sent Aldo's massive bulk flying!
Kuzan nodded in the distance. "A decent counter. Although his form is sloppy and lacks any real technique, his ability to capitalize on Aldo's split-second of stiffness... that's a beast's instinct."
The nearby mbers asked, "Admiral Aokiji, is Aldo going to lose?"
"h, it's a toss-up."
Dust scattered as Aldo rose from a broken wall. He rubbed his numb arm, a bruise forming on his forehead, and let out a booming laugh. "Haha! You little brat! Did you skip dinner? That kind of attack won't hurt no matter how many tis you land it!"
The Elite mbers watched in silence. Aldo's greatest weapon wasn't his strength or his Haki—it was his mastery of the Rokushiki Iron Body. Every recruit studied the six styles, but usually, they only mastered one or two. Aldo had spent two years doing nothing but hardening his Iron Body. His defense was so absolute that even mid-ranking Marine officers couldn't break it. He was the undisputed defensive master of the camp.
If Loya couldn't break his defense, the match was far from decided.
Loya was genuinely impressed. He knew his Ice Dragon magic wasn't just physical force; it was a deep, soul-chilling frost that was almost impossible to defend against. Aldo must have trained even his internal organs to be as hard as steel.
Loya felt a surge of excitent. What a perfect sandbag! Where else am I going to find one like this?
He sucked in a breath, his hand glowing with a blinding blue light as he slamd it into the ground. Not the Iron Fist this ti, but...
"Ice-Make: Ice Field!"
Horrendous cold flooded the ground, turning the floor into a thick, solid sheet of ice. Kuzan clicked his tongue, jumping onto a nearby rack to avoid the frost. The elite swordsman nearby stabbed his blade into the ground, balancing on the poml to keep his feet clear, coating his sword in Haki to repel the cold.
Aldo, standing too close, felt his feet freeze. But this wasn't Dragon magic—it was just standard Ice-Make. It didn't take much for him to snap the ice.
"Kid, you want to have a snowball fight?"
Loya didn't blink. He asked, "Big guy, do you know how to ice skate?"
"What?!"
Aldo's eyes widened as Loya appeared in front of him, blue light pulsing in his fist—a reminder of the pain he'd just felt inside his bones.
Why is he so fast?!
BOOM!
Loya struck, followed by a flurry of hooks and claw swipes. Aldo realized he couldn't stand straight on the ice; he kept losing his center of gravity. Loya, skating on ice-blades he'd crafted, moved like a monkey teasing a bear, spinning and leaping around him.
"Damn brat! Don't get cocky!"
Aldo took a punch to the nose and roared. He stomped his feet, sinking them deep into the ice to anchor himself, and spread his arms to catch Loya.
Loya wasn't surprised; he was no match for Aldo in a pure brawl.
"I'm going to crush you!"
Aldo swung a fist downward, his Armant Haki radiating cold killing intent. Loya gritted his teeth, thickening his ice armor.
THWACK!
Aldo's fist connected. Loya's shoulder went numb, and he spat blood.
Gritting his teeth through the pain, Loya used the force of the blow to drop low, slamming his fist into Aldo's frozen instep.
Ice Dragon's Iron Fist!
This was what he'd been waiting for. Once Aldo sank his feet to anchor himself, Loya used his Dragon magic to reinforce the ice around them. With Aldo's stance locked, his chances of breaking free were effectively zero!
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