Of course, Cudius had no iion of leaving that guy intact. After freezing him into an ice sculpture, Cudius casually tapped his scabbard against the man's chest. A crisp *crack* echoed, and in an instant, the guy shattered into tless pieces. The ground was covered in broken shards, and not a single drop of blood could be seen.

  Seeing this, Gion was visibly surprised and muttered, "Ice powers? Is this like Kuzan's ice?"

  Kuzan, the wielder of the Logia-type Frozen Fruit, was well-known for his ice abilities. Watg Cudius freeze a man to pieces with just a gesture, Gion couldn't help but be taken aback.

  Vice Admiral Tsuru, however, narrowed her eyes and studied the remains. "No, this isn't Kuzan's ice. Kuzan's power freezes people solid, but this... this is far more lethal. His ability seems different from Kuzan's, but I'm not sure how."

  Though Tsuru didn't fully uand it, she was right. Kuzan's ability freezes the exterior, eng people in ice, but it doesn't usually kill them instantly—strong individuals like Whitebeard or Dofmingo could even break free from it.

  Cudius's freezing power, oher hand, worked differently. His liquid nitrogen froze from the i, rapidly abs all the surroundi, making it far more deadly. The result? A person reduced tile shards with no ce of survival.

  However, while Cudius's ability was more lethal, it had its limitations. His freezing wasn't as fast as Kuzan's. Kuzan could freeze aire sea in the blink of an eye, while Cudius couldn't. Kuzan could also trol the degree of freezing, even leaving someone alive after being encased in ice. Cudius's liquid nitrogen had no such trol—o was used, the damage was irreversible, with no possibility of melting someone back to life.

  As the realization of what had just happened settled in, panic spread among the remaining people of Birka. One woman, her voice trembling with fear, screamed, "Demons! These wingless people are demons! They killed the envoy! Somebody, kill them!"

  Cudius stood there, holding the boy Enel in one hand, his expression thoughtful. He murmured, "It's true… no snowfke in an avanche feels responsible."

  If Enel had experienced even a sliver of warmth or kindness during the darkest moments of his life, perhaps he wouldn't grow up to resent aroy all of Birka iure. But the cruelty of the priests and the onlookers had darkened his heart beyond repair.

  Before Cudius could dwell further on his thoughts, a few of the remaining priests reacted, their anger boiling over. One of them, face twisted with fury, raised his hand and fired a shot at Cudius.

  "No! Protect His Highness!" Tsuru's voice rang out sharply.

  The bullet passed right through Cudius, leaving him unharmed thanks to his elementalized body. But now, this situation was no longer just a case of casual retaliation, it had escated into something far more serious.

  "Damn it," Tsuru muttered, knowily what this meant. Marines quickly moved to form a protective circle around Cudius.

  Cudius g the bullet hole left in the wall behind him, a wicked smile creeping across his face. "Vice Admiral Tsuru, what do you think?"

  Though Tsuru's expression remained one of frustration, she couldn't ighe shift in tone. Cudius had stopped calling her "Sister Tsuru" and had reverted to her formal title of "Vice Admiral." She uood immediately what that meant.

  With a sigh, Tsuru nodded. "These fools dared to attack a Celestial Dragon. That's a crime punishable by death."

  Cudius smirked. Tsuru's wave him the justification he needed. Even if what he had done earlier was seen as proteg himself, shooting at a Celestial Dragon—no matter the oute was an unfivable offense.

  "Hmph, exactly. These bastards had the audacity to shoot at me. In the name of Cudius, I o death!" Cudius decred coldly.

  Before anyone could react, Cudius's voied across the crowd. "I am Donquixote Cudius, the of Celestial Dragons, a desdant of the Creator, a god among men. You wretched fools dared to snder me, call me a 'wingless demon,' and even fired upohere is niveness. In my name, I sentence all of Birka to death!"

  The people of Birka stared at him, fused. While they had some knowledge of the world below, they had little uanding of what it meant to defy a Celestial Dragon. But they were about to learn the hard way.

  Tsuru's expression shifted, but in the end, she said nothing. Cudius had given them no choice. These people had brought this upon themselves when they cursed and attacked him. There was n baow.

  Cudius raised his arm, stretg it toward the sky, and quietly muttered, "Death Field—God's Punishment."

  As his words echoed in the air, Tsuru couldn't see any visible ge, though she felt a strange gust of wind pass by. More importantly, she sensed an overwhelming surge of energy radiating from Cudius.

  "What kind of power is this?" Tsuru muttered, frowning.

  Before she could figure it out, the people standing five meters beyond the Marines began clutg their throats, gasping for air. Their faces flushed red as they struggled to breathe, colpsing to the ground in agony.

  This invisible force spread outward in waves, sweeping across the city. Teers, fifty meters, a hundred meters… No one could escape. The panic spread, but it was futile. The people who tried to run away fell just as quickly as those who stood frozen in fear, their bodies writhing as the life was choked out of them.

  Gion, watg in horror, muttered, "What… what is this power?"

  Even the birds in the sky were not spared. One by ohey dropped like stones, as if death itself had taken hold of everything in the area.

  Crocodile, who had been from the side, g Cudius. "God's punishment, huh?"

  Ihis was Cudius's ultimate move his version of an isroying teique. As a Logia user, he had to have an atta par with the destructive powers of other top-tier Logia users like Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Kizaru. While their powers were fshy aating, Cudius's approach was more subtle, yet equally deadly. His attack suffocated everything in its path, draining the air and life from any living being that relied on oxygen.

  Within moments, the once-bustling city of Birka was deathly silent. No birds chirped, no animals stirred. The people, animals, and even is had been wiped out by suffocation. The entire isnd had fallen uhe weight of Cudius's power.

  While Tsuru felt a pang of guilt for the lives lost, she couldn't say she objected. Defendiial Dragons was one of the Marines' highest responsibilities. Birka had made itself an enemy of the Wover, and in that text, they had done what was necessary.

  Besides, she thought, Marines have done worse with Buster Calls.

  "Yhness," Tsuru begaantly, "now that the city is gone, I suppose our mission is a failure."

  Cudius, gng at the lifeless isnd, shrugged. "Maybe, but I have a feeling that when we reach the isnd, they'll be more willing to talk. Especially after hearing about what happeo Birka."

  Tsuru couldn't argue with that logic. What was done was done.

  "Oh, by the way," Cudius added with a sly grin, "I'm sure Birka has some valuable resources lying around. It would be a shame to leave it all behind. Let's nationalize it, shall we? Hahaha!"

  Crocodile shot Cudius a sideways gnce. "You sound more like a pirate than a noble."

  Cudius ughed. "What? If they hadn't provoked me, I wouldn't have bothered with them. sider this the price they paid for their arrogance. Besides, if we take their resources, it strengthens us and helps protect the seas. It's all in the name of peace, after all."

  To say something so self-serving right after wiping out an isnd… Only someone as brazen as Cudius could do that with a straight face.

  Tsuru smiled wryly. "His Highness has a point. inally, we came to explore Sky Isnd teology. Let's not waste the opportunity. Gion, search the temple."

  "Uood!" Gion replied, immediately heading off to follow Cudius's orders.

  Before she left, though, she hesitated and asked, "It's safe to go out nht?"

  Cudius chuckled. "Don't worry. My power's dissipated, but the air might still be a little thin for a bit. Give it some time, and everything will return to normal."

  With that reassurance, Gioo carry out the search.

  Cudius turned his attention to the young boy still in his arms, smilily. "So, kid, what's your name?"

  The boy, Enel, looked up at him with wide eyes. Though he didn't fully uand what had happened, ohing was clear—this man had saved him from the people who had tormented him his entire life. To others, Cudius might have seemed like a demon, but to Enel, he was an angel sent from the gods to deliver him from his suffering.

  "My name is Enel," the boy whispered, his voice barely audible.

  Cudius smiled warmly. "Enel, huh? A strong name. Well, Enel, you're with me now."