Mock Town.
"Ara ra..."
"I originally came here to properly greet a certain young lady with whom I have a bit of history..."
"But I imagine she's all grown up by now, mature, beautiful, intelligent, and composed. A fine woman, I'm sure."
"In the end, the person I hoped to meet is nowhere to be found, while a whole group of people I'd rather not see have popped up quite unexpectedly..."
The man, clad in a Marine coat, spoke in his characteristically lazy tone. His weary eyes, which looked as if they hadn't seen a good night's sleep in ages, swept over 'Blackbeard' Teach, 'Heavenly Yaksha' Doflamingo, and 'Fire Fist' Ace.
As for the other members of the Blackbeard Pirates, they were nothing more than insignificant small fry in his eyes.
"A current Admiral of the Marine Headquarters..."
Before the man could say more, the members of the Blackbeard Pirates standing behind Teach had already spoken his rank.
"...'Aokiji' Kuzan!!"
Then, everyone else present...
...finished the sentence, speaking the man's epithet and name.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa?! This is no joke..."
"Just what kind of existence requires Sengoku to dispatch a colossal power like you all the way from Marine HQ?!"
After 'Aokiji' Kuzan's arrival, the smile vanished from Doflamingo's face. He had no desire, nor any reason, to fight a monster of this caliber.
"Ara ra..."
"I volunteered. There was someone I really wanted to see."
Kuzan answered with surprising honesty.
"Teach, if we take out Kuzan here, we might just shake the entire world, don't you think?!" Van Augur whispered from behind Teach, his eyes cautiously fixed on Kuzan.
"Cough, cough..."
"I believe Van Augur is correct," Doc Q added, coughing up blood as he spoke.
"Huh?"
"Are you guys serious?"
"Me? Fight Kuzan? Now?!"
Hearing his crewmates' suggestions, Teach froze on the spot. He suddenly felt the urge to have their brains checked; the alcohol must have finally fried their minds.
"Hey! I can hear you, you bastards."
The Blackbeard crew's hushed whispers were, of course, no secret to Kuzan. In a single instant, he took out Van Augur, Lafitte, Burgess, and Doc Q, along with his horse Stronger, who were standing behind Teach.
Hiss.
Watching his comrades turn into ice sculptures one by one, Teach broke out in a cold sweat. He waved his hands frantically, "My apologies! It's my crew's fault. They shouldn't have said such foolish things."
"Foolish or not, what's the difference?!"
"You are pirates, and I am a Marine Admiral."
"Even if they had said nothing, did you really think I would let you leave peacefully?"
Kuzan stood with his arms crossed. He still hadn't moved an inch from his original spot...
The overwhelming difference in power was so vast that, if Kuzan wished it, everyone present—aside from a desperate 'Blackbeard' unleashing the full power of his Dark-Dark Fruit—would be powerless to even fight back.
"Fuffuffuffu..."
"Since you're here, Kuzan, there's no longer any point in me staying..."
"In any case, I wish you both the best of luck! 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, 'Fire Fist' Ace, and 'Blackbeard' Marshall D. Teach."
With that, Doflamingo turned, stuck his hands in his pockets, and began to walk away with large strides.
It seemed Doflamingo no longer wanted any part of the mess in Mock Town.
After all, a Marine Admiral had been deployed. His continued presence was meaningless and would likely end badly for him.
"That damn Warlord."
Teach and Ace couldn't help but curse as they watched Doflamingo swagger away.
Indeed, as a Warlord of the Sea, Doflamingo could come and go as he pleased in front of an Admiral. But for them, two bonafide pirates, their luck wasn't nearly as good.
"Uh, Kuzan."
"I heard that one of the Warlords, Crocodile, has been taken down and stripped of his title."
"Look, since there's a vacancy in the Seven Warlords, how about you let me fill the spot?"
"In terms of strength alone, I should be more than qualified, right? After all, I even took care of that guy Thatch."
As 'Blackbeard' Teach said this, he deliberately glanced at Ace. That's right, he was trying to provoke him...
If Ace completely lost control, he could find an opportunity to escape.
"..."
To his surprise, Ace stood uncharacteristically still, silently observing Kuzan, ready to adapt to the situation.
Ever since his Flame-Flame Fruit powers had been absorbed by Natsu, Ace had become much calmer. He had learned to use his head and think things through.
Tsk~
Seeing this, Teach felt a surge of helplessness.
Since Ace wasn't taking the bait, he would have to try and persuade Kuzan.
"Whether you can become a Warlord is not for me to decide."
"That's up to Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the higher-ups of the World Government."
"However, I imagine you no longer have any chance of becoming a Warlord. Because from this moment on, your journey ends here... permanently."
Kuzan gave Teach no further chance to speak. He tilted his head slightly, and a chilling cold emanated from his body.
In an instant, snow began to fall from the sky again, and the temperature plummeted!
The terrifying power of the Ice-Ice Fruit, which Kuzan had developed to its absolute peak, seemed poised to freeze the entirety of Mock Town.
"This is bad! Admiral Kuzan is getting serious..."
"Get out of this town, now!"
"Mock Town is finished! It's going to be destroyed..."
The pirates of Mock Town began to desperately flee.
Mock Town had become a hornet's nest; only by escaping could they survive.
However, as the fleeing pirates reached the harbor, they all stopped in their tracks, filled with despair...
Many of them simply collapsed to their knees with a thud.
"The harbor... it's frozen solid."
"Even the sea itself is frozen."
The pirates stared at the ocean, which now looked like a vast continent, and at their ships, which were frozen in place by the ice. They spoke in voices choked with despair.
"If we can't escape, we'll go back and fight Kuzan!"
"When you get down to it, he's just one man! There are thousands of us! The advantage is ours!" one pirate declared, unwilling to give up.
"Fight Kuzan?"
"Brother, have you lost your mind?"
In response, the other pirates just gave a cold laugh, dropped their weapons, and sat down on the ground...
One of them looked up at the sky, a picture of resignation. "He's a Marine Admiral. Forget a few thousand of us; even if you multiplied our numbers by ten, or even a hundred, it wouldn't be enough to withstand a single one of his attacks."
"True enough."
Hearing that, the pirates who had felt a surge of fighting spirit, ready to go back and risk it all, silently recalled...
...the terrifying image of Kuzan from their memories. One by one, they also slumped to the ground in self-abandonment. They had completely given up all resistance.
A mere human could never defeat a monster like that.
Meanwhile.
"..."
Doflamingo had also run into a problem. He looked at the frozen harbor and the cloudless sky, his brow furrowed tightly.
Now he knew why Kuzan had let him go so easily. There was no escape.
"Damn it."
Muttering to himself, Doflamingo turned and walked back the way he came. With the harbor frozen solid and no clouds in the sky for his strings to latch onto, his only way out of Mock Town was with Kuzan's help.
However, just as Doflamingo was thinking this, a pirate ship appeared, heading towards Mock Town, against the tide of fleeing people.
"Huh?!"
In an instant, the ship captured everyone's attention.
"Hahaha..."
"Boss Lady Mirajane, look!"
"All your little underlings have come to the port to welcome us!"
Aramaki stood on the deck, a lit cigarette dangling from his lips. He chuckled as he watched the pirates on the docks waving at him.
"So they have."
Beside Aramaki, Gray, still braving the wind in the nude, saw the pirates waving at him and nodded in agreement.
"Charge!"
"Take their ship!"
At the same time, near the docks...
The pirates, having found their own ships completely frozen and unable to set sail, saw Mirajane's group approaching...
Without a moment's hesitation, they charged towards the Shark Supremo, screaming "Charge!", "Plunder!", and "Seize it!".
"Juvia has a feeling they aren't here to welcome us!"
Juvia tilted her head. If she wasn't mistaken, these men were clearly here to steal their ship.
"Aramaki, teach them a lesson."
Hearing this, Mirajane gently peeled off the moisturizing mask from her face and spoke to Aramaki on the deck.
"Leave it to me!"
Aramaki didn't hesitate. With a single leap, he jumped from the deck of the Shark Supremo and landed in the Mock Town harbor. He looked at the foolish pirates charging at him, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "Hey! You know what they say?"
"We humans have survived by stepping on things 'lower' than ourselves! And in the presence of Fairy Tail, all of you are lower beings."
The moment Aramaki's voice fell, countless vines erupted from the ground, covering the ice. They morphed into spear after spear, piercing through every pirate who had intended to steal their ship.
Even a rebellious Laxus, hearing Aramaki's words, would have thought him far too extreme...
First of all, yes, Fairy Tail was the best, but that was no reason to look down on others!
What was the difference between that and Sabertooth?!
Cough, cough...
On a side note, the half-dead Second Master Precht silently gave Aramaki a thumbs-up. "Mavis's Fairy Tail is simply a cut above the rest!"
"Huh?!"
"Where did this monster come from?"
Doflamingo's eye twitched as he watched Aramaki clear the field in an instant from a distance. His brow furrowed. "Things are starting to develop in an unpredictable direction," he thought.
"Boss!"
"Boss Lady Mirajane!"
"Your Majesty, the Queen!"
"You have to stand up for us!"
Only after Aramaki had cleared the area did Mirajane, along with Gray and Juvia, disembark from the ship.
When the pirates of Mock Town saw that the person who had arrived was Mirajane, they all fell to their knees, crying and wailing.
"Our own people?"
Aramaki was taken aback.
"What exactly happened here?"
Mirajane knelt down and asked the prostrating pirates in a gentle voice.
"It was the Marine Admiral, 'Aokiji' Kuzan! He's here!" the pirates answered truthfully.
"A Marine Admiral?"
"This so-called Marine Admiral... where is he now?"
Mirajane didn't understand what a Marine Admiral truly represented.
All she knew was that her underlings had been bullied, and now, she was very angry.
"Boss Lady Mirajane."
"There's a monster on this island."
However, before Mirajane could speak...
Aramaki had already pinpointed someone's location. He spat the cigarette from his mouth and stamped it out with his foot. "A powerful one has landed," he said grimly.
At the same time...
Kuzan, who was in a standoff with 'Blackbeard' Marshall D. Teach and Ace, also noticed Aramaki's arrival. His brow furrowed.
"Aramaki, are you confident you can take him?" Mirajane asked, looking at him.
"Under normal circumstances, given my personality..."
"If I encountered a master of such immense power on the sea, I would avoid a fight if possible."
"But if a fight is unavoidable, then what's the harm in having one?!"
"As for whether I can win or not? We'll only know after we fight."
Aramaki's eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, were deadly serious. He seemed to have already prepared himself for battle.
"In that case, let's all work together and drive that despicable fellow out of here!"
"After all, we still need to wait for Eden and the others here~"
Mirajane raised her fist to cheer everyone on. "Let's go, let's go! Wooo!"
"Let's go, let's go! Wooo!!"
Aramaki and Juvia shouted along. Gray, who didn't want to, was forced to join in as well.
"So embarrassing," Gray muttered, tilting his head.
"Don't worry, little brother. You're already embarrassing enough; this little bit won't hurt," Aramaki said, patting Gray's shoulder.
I mean, no matter how embarrassing this cheer is, it can't be more embarrassing than you being completely naked, right?!
And so.
Once Mirajane made the decision.
Aramaki lit a new cigarette for himself, stuck his hands in his pockets, and walked straight towards Kuzan's location.
As he walked, countless flowers and plants bloomed on the ground in his wake, creating a stark contrast with the ice falling from the sky.
By the time Aramaki stood before Kuzan, half of Mock Town was covered in vibrant flowers and lush greenery, facing off against the other, ice-covered half of the town.
Hooo~
After reaching Kuzan, Aramaki took a deep drag from his cigarette, as if composing his lines.
"Ara ra~"
"You're Aramaki, the former policeman who caused a ruckus in the Taya Kingdom of the South Blue, correct?!"
"They said you joined a pirate crew. I didn't believe it at first, but it seems the rumors were true."
The moment Aramaki arrived before Teach, Ace, and Kuzan, Kuzan's gaze shifted away from the two pirates. He looked deeply at Aramaki and spoke.
"Stop right there!"
"Let's not talk about my past!"
"None of that matters anymore."
"What matters is that I've finally found the place where I belong."
"And I've found the people I'm meant to protect."
As Aramaki spoke, he recalled his time in prison and the guidance someone had given him. It was there that he first felt the radiance of humanity; that besides love and romance, humans would risk their very lives for their comrades.
Truly... magnificent!
"Is it that white-haired woman?"
Kuzan's Observation Haki had long since covered the entire town. He glanced into the distance and asked Aramaki.
"It was the naked man," Aramaki replied.
"Huh?"
For a moment, not only was Kuzan stunned...
Even Teach and Ace were speechless.
"That guy taught me many of life's truths."
"And he helped me leave my prison!"
"It was then that I realized..."
"Something like 'the law' could never truly bind someone like me."
"In return, I am willing to fight for Gray, Juvia, Mirajane, and for Fairy Tail."
As Aramaki spoke, his body began to grow, and in the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a colossal giant hundreds of meters tall.
"So what's going on? That makes absolutely no sense..."
Teach was completely bewildered. He had no idea what Aramaki was talking about.
"Simply put, this guy was imprisoned for some reason. Out of a sense of morality and law, he never escaped, even though he could have at any time..."
"Then, this thing called 'Fairy Tail' helped him cast aside his inner sense of morality and law and taught him a whole new philosophy on life."
Ace, more or less, understood what Aramaki was saying and explained it.
To be precise, after being locked up with Gray for so long, his thought patterns had been brainwashed and assimilated by Fairy Tail, and his values had been reshaped.
"I see, I get it."
Teach nodded, looking as if he roughly understood.
"Wait, why am I even explaining this to you?!" Ace suddenly roared, glaring at Teach.
His feud with Teach was far from over.
BOOM!!
At that same moment, Aramaki and Kuzan had begun their fight, using the entire town of Mock Town—or rather, the entire island—as their battlefield. They began a clash of elemental assimilation and bombardment.
In an instant.
One half of the island bloomed with flowers!
Trees and vines regenerated endlessly, launching themselves towards the other half.
The other half of the island was covered in frost.
Ice and blizzards constantly raged, freezing the attacking vines.
BOOM!!
Under the elemental onslaught of Aramaki and Kuzan, the entire island was beginning to crack apart.
It was just like the battle that would take place a year later on the island of Punk Hazard...
...the great war between Admiral 'Akainu' and Admiral 'Aokiji' for the position of Fleet Admiral.
A battle between Admirals was nothing short of a natural disaster.
In fact, strictly speaking, this was a showdown between an old Admiral and a new one.