"Ice Saber!"
Faced with Hancock's fierce assault, Aokiji didn't flinch. He calmly extended his hand toward the ground, drawing from the frozen sea surface to form a gleaming frost-forged sword.
With a swipe, Aokiji brandished the icy blade, still exuding chill in the air, and met Hancock head-on.
Clang!
The icy weapon collided with Hancock's graceful leg, producing a sharp screech. Sparks flew as the two locked in a brief stalemate.
"Hold on a second~ I didn't come here to fight," Aokiji spoke in his usual slow drawl, but his hands didn't stop moving. His blade clashed repeatedly with the Empress's strikes, their weapons ringing in a rapid rhythm.
Hancock glared at him, attacking relentlessly. "Damn you! What did you do to Robin?!"
She hadn't launched a mindless attack. The moment Aokiji appeared, he'd sealed off the island and the ship's movement. And from the instant he showed up, Robin's expression had become visibly tense.
No matter how you look at it, Aokiji did not come with good intentions.
"Hey now~ You're Boa Hancock, right? I really didn't come, "
Aokiji was still trying to explain as he dodged her flurry of strikes, but Hancock had no interest in listening.
"Shadow Box!"
Before Aokiji could finish his sentence, Moria suddenly emerged. Manipulating his shadow, he launched a surprise attack, summoning a dark cube from Aokiji's own shadow that instantly imprisoned the tall admiral.
Hancock pulled back, breathing heavily.
"Kehehehe… Shadow Spear!"
Seeing his shadow box trap succeed, Moria let out a sinister laugh and immediately launched a follow-up strike.
The cube began to cave inward from all sides, morphing into a cluster of shadowy spears aimed directly at Aokiji inside.
Thunk!
A series of muffled, sickening sounds echoed, like flesh being pierced.
Moria narrowed his eyes, sensing something off. With a casual wave, the black box melted back into a pool of shadow and slithered to his feet.
Aokiji was revealed, his body riddled with holes of varying sizes, barely resembling a man.
If it were anyone else, that attack would've killed them ten times over.
And yet… Aokiji remained standing. He exhaled slowly, a cloud of cold mist drifting from his mouth. His once-lazy eyes were now sharp and focused.
"Not bad… Pirate Warlord Gecko Moria…"
Cracks of ice began forming over the holes in his body, sealing them shut with chilling efficiency.
Moments later, he stood completely healed, as if the devastating attack had never happened.
"Damn Logia types…" Moria spat, grinding his teeth. Then he shouted: "Shadow Spear, Rapid Barrage!"
A streak of black shot out from his fingertip like a bolt of lightning, tearing through the air toward Aokiji.
The shadow split into countless spears mid-flight and struck again, leaving Aokiji's body full of new holes, like a human pincushion.
Even Logia users weren't invincible. Turning into an element consumed stamina, and sustained physical attacks could wear them down.
Moria, a master of devil fruit combat but not proficient in Haki, specialized in overwhelming natural-type enemies with a barrage of high-frequency attacks, draining their strength before landing a finishing blow.
Unfortunately for him, this was no run-of-the-mill Logia user.
This was a future Admiral, trained under both Zephyr and Garp.
The Marine headquarters prided itself on its rigorous and scientific training regimens. Every officer that emerged from HQ had a solid foundation leagues above the average.
And Aokiji, Kuzan, had been a prodigy since his recruit days.
"Ahhh~ What a hassle…" Aokiji muttered calmly as black spears tore through his body. It was as if they weren't even there. Raising one hand, he suddenly shouted:
"Ice Age, Seal!"
A freezing surge exploded from his palm, racing across the icy ground toward Moria at breakneck speed.
A wave of overwhelming danger slammed into Moria like a tsunami.
"Shadow Wall!"
In an instant, Moria summoned his shadow double, forming a massive wall of darkness in front of him.
But the wall, no matter how wide, couldn't compare to the scale of Aokiji's attack, which blanketed the entire island.
The shadow wall froze instantly. The frost continued unabated, surging forward.
"Damn it!"
The cold had reached his feet.
In one more second, he'd be completely frozen.
"Soul Ballad, White Tiger!"
A roaring white tiger wreathed in pale blue flame suddenly leapt into the battlefield, planting its massive body between Moria and the icy wave. It opened its gaping jaws and inhaled forcefully.
The devastating frost, like food being devoured, was sucked into the beast's mouth.
"Yohohoho~ That was close, wasn't it?"
Brook strolled into view with his usual cheery laugh, walking with a spring in his step.
In his arms was a ghostly white electric guitar. Ethereal energy pulsed from its strings, resonating with the tiger beside Moria.
As he reached Moria's side, the spectral tiger lifted its head and let out a thunderous roar, sending cracks through the thick ice on the sea.
The King of Souls had entered the battlefield.
"Huh… Looks like things just got complicated," Aokiji murmured under his breath. The three people before him were clearly no pushovers.
And then…
He turned. Approaching steadily was Luffy.
Aokiji noticed something strange: as the young man drew near, the auras of Hancock and the others visibly softened, almost as if they were subconsciously yielding to him.
"A Vice Admiral, casually strolling onto our island?" Luffy said lightly, his tone teasing, but his eyes were sharp, testing Aokiji's intentions.
If he was here for Robin, then this was war.
Even with powerful allies at his side, Luffy wasn't confident he could defeat Aokiji outright.
But if it came to that, there was no running, only resistance. That alone might offer a sliver of hope.
Aokiji blinked at the question, then said with a trace of irony, "Admiral? No no… I'm just a Vice Admiral."
Then he fell silent, as if even speaking another word was too troublesome.
Of course, Aokiji had his reasons for withholding the truth.
Luffy let out a sigh, somewhat frustrated, but he could tell: Aokiji didn't seem to harbor any immediate hostility.
"Then let's hear it," Luffy said directly. "Why are you here? If you don't explain yourself, this won't end peacefully."
He gestured toward the seething Hancock.
Luffy could sense that Aokiji likely meant no harm to Robin. But he also knew that a younger Kuzan was still bound to Marine orders, lacking his future sense of independence.
He couldn't afford to let his guard down.
Aokiji paused, mulling over his words, then slowly said in a low, vague voice:
"Nico Robin. Bounty, 79 million."
"You are here for Robin!" Hancock erupted before he could finish.
Robin's obvious fear upon Aokiji's arrival had shaken Hancock deeply. She had projected her own painful childhood memories onto Robin, unable to understand why else she would be so terrified.
Aokiji ignored the outburst. With his hands in his pockets, he continued in a flat tone:
"A bounty doesn't just measure someone's strength. It reflects how dangerous they are to the World Government."
"A child who was wanted at the age of eight… who has survived this long by fleeing betrayal, using anyone who offered shelter…"
Aokiji lifted his head, his gaze dark and heavy as it fell upon Robin on the island.
His next words were not to Luffy or Hancock, but to Robin herself.
"You've stayed alive by drifting wherever the wind takes you… surviving in the underworld through manipulation and opportunism."
"This time, you've found yourself a hiding place stronger than all the rest!"
"SHUT UP!!!"
BOOM!!!
A monstrous wave of Conqueror's Haki exploded from Luffy, crashing down upon Aokiji like a thunderclap from the heavens.
The world seemed to lose all color, everything thrown into chaos.
It didn't matter if Aokiji had meant no harm.
Coming here to rip open Robin's scars?
Luffy would show him exactly what pain meant.
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