Vice Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates

Ennies Lobby, Liam VS Kuzan;

Kuzan and Liam were standing in front of each other. Both had several injuries on their bodies.

Kuzan had most of his clothes burned. Fortunately, it was only the upper part of his body.

As for Liam, he had several wounds and some ice still stuck on his body. Despite the constant effort from him, Kuzan was easily able to damage his body with his ice.

[Ice Saber]

Kuzan used a small sword and turned it into an ice blade by using his powers. With an ice blade in his hand, he dashed forward and swung it toward Liam.

Although Liam was heavily injured, he still moved with great speed. A single step would create a hole in the ground, leaving several broken pieces of earth behind.

He tore through the air as he clenched his fist. The blood and armament haki coated his fist as he charged forward.

Kuzan also merged his armament with Ice Blade and slashed.

Bang!

When both collided, Kuzan's ice blade shattered like glass, leaving a small sword mark on Liam's fist. The moment it shattered, Liam's fist charged forward, unwavering and unstoppable.

Kuzan turned his ice power instantly, and the moment Liam punched, it tore apart his body. His fist pierced through Kuzan's body, and before Liam could take it back, Kuzan froze him with his ice.

When half of his body was frozen, Liam released a massive burst out of Conqueror Haki and pulled back his hand. Kuzan also released his Conqueror, though his Conqueror was much weaker than Liam's.

The moment their conqueror clashed, Liam covered his foot with Armament Haki and swept up. His foot struck Kuzan on his chest and sent him flying away.

Despite being attacked, Kuzan stabilized himself in mid-air and released his Ice Powers. This ice power moved toward Liam while condensing into a large pheasant.

[Ice Block: Pheasant Beak]

Seeing this attack coming towards him, Liam pushed both of his hands back and channeled a large amount of Armament Haki into his fist, reaching the state of hardening.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Then, he began moving his arms, punching forward like a crazy machine, similar to Luffy's Gatling Gun except without any stretching. As he continued to do so, several sparks were created in mid-air.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Soon, his fists were covered in flames. They tore through the air and struck pheasant beaks with enormous explosions. Despite that, the heat of his attacks wasn't powerful enough to melt it.

Liam knew just how durable Kuzan's ice could be. So, he never thought of relying on those explosions. Instead, what he wanted was to light his fists in flame and strike it with all of his strength.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As he began to punch that pheasant, it slowly began to break into pieces. As they got broken, those small pieces also began to melt.

"Man, you are stubborn. You do realize that you can't win this battle unless you use your devil fruit ability?" Kuzan slowly walked toward Liam and asked.

Although he suffered some damage due to that kick, Liam suffered more than him. Liam's attacks weren't just power, they were also ruthless but more than himself than his enemy.

Liam smiled with contempt. He clenched his fist and said.

"Oh, I already am using my powers. You see, when I started my journey as a pirate, I didn't think I would be able to catch up to Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji. I was a bit worried."

"As I continued improving, I realized that my talent was only weaker than Luffy. Then again, it didn't surprise me, considering his background. It didn't matter to me either. Because I am the Vice Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates."

Suddenly, the smile disappeared from his face, replaced with a serious face and unwavering determination.

"But I can't be weaker than Luffy. Because I am the Vice Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. Because I am the right-hand man of the Future Pirate King, I must be at his level all the time."

"So that if Luffy is ever in trouble and can't protect the crew, I will always be there to protect the crew for him. That's why, Kuzan, I am using my devil fruit. And, I am using it to reach his level."

At this moment, Conqueror began to rise once again. It was understandably powerful that even Kuzan couldn't raise his Conquer. It shattered the moment he did so.

Left with no choice, Kuzan charged forward, conjuring several spears of ice in mid-air.

"Despite everything you stand for, I can't let you live. Your ideas are too dangerous for this world."

[Ice Block- Partisan]

Those ice spears moved forward to stab Liam. But how did Liam let that attack harm him so easily? He moved forward and gathered a lot of strength in his fist.

[Paragon Impact]

The armament haki covered his fist as he punched three spears in an instant. But until he withdrew his fists, nothing happened.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The moment he pulled back his fist, those spears suddenly got blown from inside. This attack was a powerful version of those vibrational attacks he used to use before.

Paragon Impact releases Armament Haki into the object he made contact with and destroys it from inside. This was the advanced form of Armament Haki.

[Ice Ball]

The moment he destroyed those spears, Kuzan appeared in front of him and covered him with a giant sphere of ice.

When Liam was stuck inside the ice, he found himself freezing extremely fast. If he couldn't escape this move quickly, it would freeze his blood.

Faced with such a situation, Liam released a small amount of Armament Haki and started vibrating it all around his body.

Liam had two ways to destroy the Ice Ball. First, he could use a large amount of Armament Haki, which would decrease his reserve quite quickly.

Second, he could use the advanced form of Armament Haki while using a new skill he created.

[Paragon Shockwave]

Boom!

The ice ball shattered into pieces, sending small shockwaves around him. The ground itself was covered with ice, so it was breaking apart quite quickly.

As soon as he came out of that Ice Ball, Liam dashed toward Kuzan, not even giving him a chance to do anything, and punched him in the face.

Although he poured a lot of strength into his fist, he didn't manage to push Kuzan away. Kuzan also clenched his fist and punched at Liam's face.

Their actions shattered the ice beneath them, revealing the ground. The entire island was shaking with their punch. And it didn't stop there.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

They punched after punched after punched. They didn't stop as if this was the greatest moment of their life.

Their punches were creating shockwaves and sonic booms all around them. The Armament Haki was creating the sound of two metals colliding against each other.

And, at each moment, they would occasionally release their Conqueror Haki.

Although Kuzan had future sight, what he lacked against Liam was the advanced form of Armament Haki. This was very important because it was this that gave him an edge in his punches.

Bang!

One punch landed on Kuzan's chest. The Haki penetrated his skin and destroyed his organs from the inside.

"Gah!"

Kuzan coughed out blood and quickly used his Ice powers.

[Ice Time Capsule]

The ice powers froze Liam for a moment. Although he was frozen, his Armament Haki was working in its best condition to break the ice.

Kuzan knew this. And, knowing this, his eyes turned serious.

"Originally, I thought I would be able to solve you without destroying this island. Now, that seems impossible. You are a perfect counter to me, just like Sakazuki."

"That's why I must use everything I have to destroy you."

At this moment, Kuzan used his Awakening. The coldness of his ice began to increase. The temperature began to shift, and the entire island's condition began to change.

Suddenly, he noticed a large wave of Conqueror Haki coming from the other side of the island. Unlike before, this burst of Haki was different. And, he had only felt it when he found Garp and other Emperors.

"Advance Conqueror"

Kuzan's eyes widened as he uttered those words.

Bang!

The ice around Liam suddenly shattered. At this moment, a large strike of red and black lightning burst out of him, moving toward the source of Conqueror coming from the other side of the island.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The red and black lightning began to emerge from both sides and collided at the same time. They moved toward the sky, and suddenly, the ice weather brought by Kuzan began to fade away.

The black clouds instantly got cleared by those bursts of red and black lightning.

At this moment, just like Luffy, a large grin spread across Liam's face. He looked at his palm, and his entire body was covered in a golden shroud of energy.

Then, he raised his head toward Kuzan and said.

"I told you, Kuzan. I can't be weaker than Luffy."

"I am the Vice Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates."