A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Bang! !

The icicles collided with the flames in mid-air, creating a large amount of mist that obscured the vision of both sides.

At the same time, the information he had received from Smoker flashed through Aokiji's mind: 'Natsu Dragonneel, a mage who claims to use Fire Dragon Slayer Magic, possesses the power to devour flames and fight with fire.'

'This ability...could it be some kind of fire-attribute Paramecia-type Devil Fruit power? Or perhaps a Zoan-type dragon form?'

Yes, like most people, Aokiji didn't think it was magic, because that kind of power had never appeared in history, so he believed it was the power of a Devil Fruit!

'However, this temperature is higher than the Flame-Flame Fruit... maybe even higher than Sakazuki's magma!!'

"This is troublesome..."

Just then, the high temperature dispersed the thin mist, and a ball of fire rushed towards us!

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!!"

Aokiji was not flustered. Since the opponent's ability was fire, it would counteract his ice. Moreover, he had been training on the sea for many years. Facing this mere 20-year-old brat was a piece of cake.

The power of the Ice-Ice Fruit was activated once again, and a large amount of cold air was released, forming a thick ice wall two meters in front of Aokiji to block Natsu's flames.

Bang! ! !

The moment the fire wings struck the ice wall, the solid ice wall was smashed to pieces by a powerful force, and then quickly melted and evaporated in the high temperature!

"Not just pure fire attacks, but also physical attacks? This kid's physical abilities are comparable to a lieutenant general..."

In the second exchange, Aokiji realized just how high Natsu's flames were, and what alarmed him even more was that this temperature seemed to be far from its limit!

"Fire Dragon's... Crushing Fist!!"

With his third move, Natsu increased his output, delivering a punch to Aokiji's chest with a power far surpassing the previous two moves.

Crackle! ...

To everyone's astonishment, Aokiji's entire body shattered into countless pieces of ice and fell to the ground, leaving only the three-meter-wide ice field where he had stood.

"Hey hey hey?! That old man's body is shattered?!"

Natsu's face instantly turned ashen, and he screamed in terror, "Did I kill someone? I'm sorry!! I didn't mean to!!"

Natsu slapped his hands together and bowed repeatedly to Aokiji, who had scattered into ice shards on the ground, apologizing profusely. Behind him, Aokiji, who had reformed his form, paused slightly as his hands, which had turned into ice and were about to press down on Natsu.

'This kid... is he really that oblivious?'

"Idiot Natsu, watch out behind you!!"

Gray's shout startled Natsu awake. He sniffed and immediately detected the scent coming from behind him. With a thought, he activated his magic, and a cloak of flames surged from his body to cover his entire skin.

At the same time, Aokiji resumed his movements. He stepped forward and grabbed Natsu's shoulder. In less than a second, silver-white ice froze Natsu's entire body into ice.

"What a pity. Without knowing how to use Haki, attacks against Logia-type Devil Fruit users are ineffective. Flame Kid, you should take a break for a bit..."

Crack!

Aokiji's eyes widened instantly.

Before he could finish speaking, a crisp sound came from Frozen Natsu's body, followed by a loud boom as flames erupted, evaporating all the ice on his body.

"I'm fired up!!"

Chapter 899 Ice has no effect on me.

Is it on fire?

I'll put out your fire right now!

Aokiji released a large amount of cold air in an annoyed manner. Under his command, a large amount of ice spread rapidly on the ground. However, when this ice encountered Natsu, it was as if it had encountered its natural enemy and could not advance even an inch.

Even Aokiji couldn't help but frown: the temperature of this flame is too high...

What surprised him even more was that Natsu broke free from his ability to freeze his entire body. He could tell that Natsu didn't use Haki; he was completely relying on the heat of the flames to melt the ice, which wasn't easy to do. This control over fire was definitely far superior to that 'Fire Fist' Ace!

The two attacked with lightning speed, taking less than half a minute to complete the three moves. Seeing Natsu start the battle, the others didn't stand still either. Gray quickly took off his clothes and joined the fight, wanting to see for himself the strength of the so-called Marine Admiral.

On the Hope, the group had been under Kira's control for a long time and hadn't fought in a while. They were eager to get some exercise, so how could they let it pass?

So the battle quickly turned into a two-on-one fight.

As for Eric, Lucy, Juvia, Wendy, and the others, they weren't very interested in it. Erza, on the other hand, was eager to try, but in the end, reason prevailed.

She wasn't as impulsive and reckless as Natsu. Just by looking at Robin's attitude, you could tell that CP9 and the Admirals were probably not under the same command. The Council had several different military units, let alone this 'World Government'.

"Ice-forged Lancer!!"

Gray placed his hands together, releasing the same chilling aura. Several ice spears appeared out of thin air and shot through the air, a sight that made Aokiji feel as if he were looking in a mirror.

"This guy is Gray, the one from the intelligence who uses Ice Shape Magic? He can actually use the power of ice?!" Aokiji raised his eyelids, quite surprised by Gray's technique.

Although he already knew that one of these people could fight with ice and had a long ice sculpture, when he actually encountered him, especially when the other person used fighting methods that were extremely similar to his own, he still had a mirror-like feeling, as if he were fighting himself.

"Ice Block - Two-Spiked Spear!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Aokiji also raised his hands, releasing a chilling aura that condensed into several ice spears in the surrounding air, which he then projected forward, mirror-like in their symmetry.

Gray's ice spears were thin and long, faster, more numerous, and more penetrating; Aokiji's ice spears were short and thick, with greater destructive power.

Two different ice spears collided in mid-air, breaking into several pieces, with some shattering into ice shards that scattered across the ground, adding to the cold air around them.

Since consuming the combined experience pack of Leon, Ultear, and Inbel, Gray's ice magic has improved by leaps and bounds. Now that he has finally encountered an opponent with similar abilities, Gray is not willing to easily let go of this opportunity to test his strength. So, before Natsu could react, he quickly launched a second attack.

"Ice-Crafted Ice and Snow Cannon!!"

This battle involved his specialty, and Gray was extremely excited. The first probing attack he had just received showed him that his speed in using ice magic to create shapes was far faster and more stable than his opponent's speed in using Devil Fruit abilities to cool down the surroundings and then condense them into a fixed shape.

"Ice Cube - Tyrannosaurus Beak!!"

Aokiji covered his right arm with cold air, then suddenly waved it, releasing a giant ice bird. This ice bird was lifelike, with exquisite feathers and focused eyes, as if it had a spirit. Under Aokiji's control, it flew straight towards Gray with flapping wings. Its destructive power seemed to be stronger than Leon's 'Action' type ice form.

As expected, when the Ice Cannon was fired at the Tyrannosaurus Rex's beak, it was blocked by the tyrannosaurus Rex with a slight flap of its wings, which made Gray take another look at the Aokiji.

'Truly worthy of a Marine Admiral, his mastery of ice is unparalleled…'

After this attack, Gray realized his own shortcomings: the ice weapon he created using Ice-Shape Magic was not as hot as the attack created by his opponent using the Ice-Ice Fruit ability.

For a moment, Gray had the illusion that he was facing an enhanced version of Inbell.

The next moment, Gray had a thought, and the dark patterns quickly spread upwards from his arm, taking over the right half of his body. His hair stood on end, and he entered the state of destroying evil!

"What is this?! This person doesn't look like a good guy..."

Just as Aokiji was astonished by Gray's change and couldn't help but mutter to himself, Gray had already used his third move.

"The Ice Demon's Fervor!!"

With a deafening roar, a torrent of pinkish-white ice erupted from Gray's mouth, a spectacle comparable to a tornado, a tsunami, or an avalanche, causing Aokiji's expression to change drastically: "Emitting a torrent of ice from his mouth? There's such a thing?!"

Instinctively, Aokiji used his area-of-effect skill: "Ice Age!!"

Ice Age is a technique that releases a large amount of cold air from the body, freezing everything around it. Its power is enough to freeze a large area of ​​sea or land into an ice world in an instant, and the effect can last for more than a week.

The reason for using this move was that Aokiji already intended to end this meaningless battle. By using absolute power to suppress the restless hearts of these mages, he could both warn them and gain more say in the subsequent conversation.

He was just here on vacation to see Nico Robin, so why did he have to fight this group of young people with unknown origins and terrifying potential?

If Erza and the others were pirates, Aokiji could convince himself to take action, but they aren't, so wouldn't it be pointless for him to fight them?

Are they afraid that the Navy's conflicts with "Eileen's crew" in the New World are not enough?

bass--!!!

As Aokiji made his move, a large amount of ice instantly covered an area of ​​several hundred meters in radius, freezing the surrounding land, which had been eroded by the sea, and the waves that were crashing in.

The icy chill sent a shiver down Lucy's spine as she and the others were instantly enveloped in a world of ice: "So cold..."

boom!!

Flames erupted from Natsu's body, instantly dispelling the chill around them. Gray, not far away, remained motionless. He possessed a cold resistance far exceeding that of ordinary people, and this level of cold had no effect on him whatsoever!

Furthermore, Gray in his Ice Extinction state is absolutely immune to ice-attribute attacks. Therefore, the ice that Aokiji applied to Gray not only had no effect, but was also completely absorbed by him.

And so Aokiji witnessed the most mind-blowing scene of his life—

"Sorry, ice is ineffective against me!"

After saying this, Gray suddenly opened his mouth and inhaled sharply, unleashing an irresistible suction force. The ice, harder than steel, instantly became as soft as water, rushing towards the bottomless abyss!

In an instant, Gray swallowed the ice world created by Aokiji, which covered an area of ​​hundreds of meters in radius!

"What is this thing?! This kid ate ice?! Eating ice is one thing, but how can he eat it like this?! This is so weird!!"

Aokiji was so shocked his eyes almost popped out. He didn't understand it, but he was greatly shocked: "Speaking of which, Smoker did say that that kid named Natsu can eat fire. I didn't quite understand what he meant at first, but now it seems that he really does eat it!"

"This ability is somewhat similar to the Gluttony Fruit, but it should only be able to eat certain things..."

Just then, he saw Gray wipe his mouth, frown, and mutter to himself, "My stomach feels cold after eating this ice. Did I swallow some sand from the ground too? If I get diarrhea, I'm doomed!"

Aokiji: "..."

You've already eaten so much ice, are you still worried about getting a stomachache from eating sand?

Gray didn't think much of it. After eating so much ice in one go, he only felt his magic power surge and his stomach was cold. He just wanted to expel something, so he held his right hand in front of him. With the help of magic, a cold current surged around him, turning into a cool breeze that kept blowing his black hair that stood up.

"Try what it feels like to get hit by the same move!"

Then a soft shout rang out: "Silver World!!"

In the blink of an eye, surging magic spread in all directions, freezing everything in sight. The temperature difference that changed several times in a short period of time caused a bone-chilling wind to blow along the coast, carrying crystalline ice particles into the sky.

The world, which had already shed its silvery hue, was once again covered in ice and snow, and even Aokiji's more than three-meter-tall body was frozen into ice by Gray's magic!

This magical attack still couldn't cause him any harm as a Logia-type ability user.

However, Aokiji was still taken aback, because this ability was exactly the same as his Ice Age ability from before!

The kid named Natsu can eat fire to restore his stamina, and this guy named Gray seems to be able to restore his stamina by eating ice. Do these mages have the ability to increase their power by eating certain things?

Try again!

Aokiji's body re-emerged from the icy ground and slowly transformed into human form.

Gray wasn't surprised and grinned, "I knew you'd be alright! Being able to turn your body into elements and be immune to most attacks, you must be a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, right?"

"You seem to know quite a lot. I thought you guys didn't even know what Devil Fruits were... So, can you tell me what your abilities are?"