One Piece: I am Imu-Chapter 279: A Frosty Upgrade

Outside the frozen training gym, Garp and Bogard exchanged shocked glances. The mysterious white light that had just passed through them had not gone unnoticed.

Garp instinctively protected himself with his Busoshoku Haki, so he was unaffected. However, Bogard felt his body becoming incredibly slow. Because his Busoshoku Haki was not powerful enough, it only allowed his mind to continue functioning normally, allowing him to notice the changes in his surroundings.

"Is this... what I think it is?" Bogard adjusted the brim of his hat, hesitating as he asked the question.

Kuzan had mentioned something to them about this before.

"No mistake, this is the so-called frozen time and space. The big fox named Guren used this trick on me before." Garp nodded with a serious expression.

Bogard raised his eyebrows in surprise, as Garp continued speaking, "I never imagined that Kuzan would be able to master something like that. Let alone that a Devil Fruit had this kind of potential."

Without another word, Garp walked resolutely into the training room. He had noticed that the fighting inside had already ceased. Bogard, without asking any further questions, followed him silently.

"Kuzan, boy, congratulations!" Garp exclaimed as he entered, letting out his signature roar of laughter, immediately attracting everyone's attention.

"Ara, ara~!" Kuzan scratched the back of his head with a carefree smile. "With this ruckus, I'm sure Marshal Sengoku will give me a good scolding."

"Bwahaha! If Sengoku finds out that you've mastered the technique to freeze space-time, he'll be so happy that he won't have time to scold you."

"Eh, but I'm still far from mastering it," Kuzan said with a sigh. He glanced at Issho, who was beside him, and added, "I've only just proven that my Ice Fruit can mimic that technique."

"What do you mean?" Garp asked curiously.

"I mean, I can't control this ability like Esdeath can yet. I can only feel that strange sensation in the heat of battle, and from there it comes to fortuitously freezing space-time."

Garp just laughed nonchalantly. "Bah! Sounds like a practice problem. If you train hard enough, you're sure to master it."

"Maybe it's a matter of practice, but it could also be a difference in the very nature of power," Kuzan replied with a hint of concern in his voice.

After all, the energy in the Danger Beasts' bloodline was something completely different from the power of Devil Fruits.

Issho spoke calmly, "I am willing to help you verify this, Admiral Kuzan. If after several successful attempts you still fail to control this skill, that would confirm that this is not a practice problem."

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"That would be a big help!" Kuzan smiled widely. He felt that he worked very well with Issho, much more so than with Sakazuki or Borsalino.

In fact, he was looking forward to the day Issho was promoted to Admiral of the Navy.

"Kuzan!" A loud voice echoed from the entrance. Looking over there, Kuzan saw Sengoku accompanied by several unknown figures.

Among them, one was wearing a white lab coat and looked like a calm and scholarly man. The rest were dressed in black, with a cold and distant attitude that revealed at a glance their affiliation with Cipher Pol.

"Sengoku!" Garp exclaimed excitedly. "Surely you've seen what Kuzan has accomplished! This kid has done something amazing!"

"Ahem, I saw it, but we'll talk about it later." Sengoku replied, giving him a quick glance before introducing the white-clothed man accompanying him. "This is Senior Researcher Wilmore from the Biochemical Research Institute."

"It's an honor to meet you, Admiral Garp, Admiral Kuzan, Vice Admiral Issho, and... this other vice admiral," Wilmore said, not acknowledging Bogard and opting for a general reference.

"I am here under orders to deliver to Admiral Kuzan this blood sample of Guren, the Super Class Danger Beast known as the Nine-Tailed White Fox of the Teigu World." he explained, taking out a small container. "Upon consuming it, you will develop a body capable of absorbing natural ice-type energy."

Wilmore paused before continuing in a serious tone, "However, blood contains many impurities that induce beastly ferocity. According to our experiments, the impact on you should be minimal."

"Absorb natural energy?" Kuzan asked, raising an eyebrow.

Around him, Garp and the others exchanged puzzled glances. Upon realizing this, Wilmore briefly explained the relationship between natural energy and Super Class Danger Beasts.

"So that's it!"

Kuzan and others suddenly realized.

"What are you waiting for, Kuzan boy? Drink up and see for yourself!" Garp said, his eyes shining with excitement.

Even someone like Garp couldn't help but be interested in something that promised to strengthen abilities and prolong life.

"Ah, I hope it's not as bad as the devil fruit."

Of course Kuzan would not refuse. After all, she had seen Esdeath, and she didn't seem to have any major problems after drinking this blood.

Shortly afterward, Wilmore took a white container from the hands of one of the men in black who accompanied him. After opening the refrigerated container, he took out a transparent bag filled with scarlet blood.

"That much?" Kuzan said, staring at the huge bag of blood with an expression of disbelief.

Finally, he took the bag with both hands, raised his head and began to drink.

Immediately, the place was filled with a strong metallic smell.

"Huh..." Kuzan exhaled, looking at the nearly empty bag with a bitter smile. "It tastes horrible, but compared to a Devil Fruit, it's not that terrible."

"Huh?!"

Suddenly Kuzan felt a wave of violent emotions surge through him, hitting his conscience directly.

Then he was easily blocked by a 'wall' in his mind.

Haki.

For Kuzan, apart from the faint nauseating smell he perceived, that energy had no effect. On the contrary, it vanished against his iron will.

At that moment, Kuzan noticed that the heat he felt in his body was rapidly dissipating, giving way to an icy sensation. He raised his right hand and waved it lightly towards the air in front of him.

In an instant, a huge ice sphere formed about ten meters high, falling with a loud bang onto the frost-covered ground.

The sight left Garp and Bogard slightly confused, while Sengoku and Issho seemed to understand something.

"That doesn't seem the same as how you used your abilities before, does it?" Sengoku commented curiously.

"That's right." Kuzan replied, looking at his hand in satisfaction as a slight smile appeared on his face. "Ara, ara~ It seems I've acquired a new and rather interesting skill."

"Speak up!" Garp exclaimed, eager as a curious child.

"You see..." Kuzan began, his voice calm as he gazed at the light icy mist emanating from his hand. "Before, when using my Devil Fruit ability, I had to release cold from my own body to perform any action."

He paused, then looked up. "Although I have trained to make this process as fast as possible, there was always a slight time lag. Now, however, I can directly manipulate what appears to be natural ice-attribute energy within the range of my perception, instantly generating cold or ice."

To illustrate his words, Kuzan created two human-shaped ice statues about twenty meters away.

First, he stretched out his hand and released a blast of cold air that enveloped the statue on the left in a sphere of ice.

"This is my previous method."

Then, he snapped his fingers, and the statue on the right was quickly surrounded by layers of ice that condensed into a solid sphere in a matter of seconds.

"Although the result is the same, the new method is more efficient both in speed and energy consumption."

"I see!"

Sengoku and others nodded.

At this moment, Wilmore asked in a calm tone, "Then can you sense the natural ice-attribute energy in the air now? If so, could you try to absorb it?"

"The ice-attribute natural energy you mention are those white points of light?" Kuzan asked, as he glanced around.

Although Garp and the others couldn't see anything, in Kuzan's vision, the air was filled with countless points of light. He then turned his entire right hand into elemental ice.

"Right now, this hand seems to me to be the source of the brightest white light. Then, could it be that the elementalization of Logia-type Devil Fruit users is essentially converting oneself into natural energy?"

"As for absorption..." Kuzan muttered, as he followed the method described by Wilmore. It involved using the mental waves of his Kenbunshoku Haki, imbuing them with emotions to attract the points of light.

The process was not complicated, and he completed it in a few minutes.

[Whoosh!]

Suddenly, Garp and the others felt the surrounding air currents shift, forming gusts of cold wind that converged towards Kuzan.

"Hmm, this feels quite nice." Kuzan commented.

In his vision, the icy winds were nothing more than bands of white light formed by the luminous points, which flowed towards his elementalized right arm. The sensation of freshness, which went beyond the physical, was deeply pleasurable.

Out of instinct, he elementalized his entire body, completely becoming a being of pure ice.

[Boom!]

In an instant, a blizzard visible to the naked eye raged inside the training room, with Kuzan at its epicenter. This forced Garp and the others to retreat so as not to interfere.

"As we suspected, Logia-type users gain an innate talent for handling natural energy. Perhaps they will even surpass Super Class Danger Beasts!" Wilmore exclaimed excitedly, as he watched the scene from outside.

Sengoku asked, "Researcher Wilmore, can Guren's blood be consumed by others?"

"Yes, but it requires exceptional talent for natural ice-attribute energy. Without such talent, even if one's will is strong enough to resist the inherent bestiality, the results would be minimal." Wilmore replied, before adding, "Anyway, we will continue to improve our research. Perhaps, in the future, we can develop a safer serum without attribute limitations, capable of modifying the human physique to channel natural energy."

Afterwards, he mused out loud, "However, in my personal opinion, this natural energy seems more suitable for those who have already mastered some sort of elemental power."

Hearing this, both Garp and Bogard began to give up on the idea of ​​testing natural energy.

Meanwhile, inside the training room, the snowstorm began to calm down. A smiling Kuzan walked out of the room.

"Ah, the natural ice energy here is too scarce. It seems I'll have to make another trip to the frozen continent. Marshal Sengoku, you'll have to approve a permit for me!" Kuzan said with a carefree smile.

"Hehe, permission won't be a problem, but I have some matters to discuss with you. First, come with me to the office," Sengoku replied, clearly in a good mood, as he noticed that Kuzan's aura had increased considerably.

"Issho, you come too."

"Okay."

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