Not to mention—
I'm the very Luffy who, together with the Okama King and the other escaped prisoners, literally fell from the sky and crashed straight onto the battlefield!
So what gives him the right?!
How could he possibly shatter Ice Ball, break free onto the open sea—
and right under Aokiji's nose, carry a wounded, exhausted Ace and still slip away?!
"Yeah…"
"Yasopp's right!"
"I agree with him! If Aokiji really made a move, then his Ice-Ice Fruit would be a true one-shot kill!"
"He'd completely snuff out any hope of the Straw Hat kid and his brother escaping!!!"
All around them, the other officers nodded one after another, signaling agreement.
Even though—
years and years ago, they had already met Luffy when he was still a child, and the entire Red-Hair Pirates crew had long since taken a liking to that upbeat, optimistic kid!
But.
Liking someone was one thing—
and cold reality was another matter entirely!
Everyone believed the "screen" exposing Sengoku was just Sengoku putting on an act.
That alone had already thrown the whole world into an uproar and made the Marines lose face on a global scale!
But if you added Aokiji too—
if even one of the "Top Combat Power" Three Admirals was also acting, also holding back—
then…
Were the Marines planning to blow themselves up and disgrace themselves as an organization on purpose?
Otherwise, there was no way to explain it.
There was no way to explain why, with Aokiji's strength, he would also appear on the screen!
It made no sense at all—
the Straw Hat kid's sixth… the next so-called "background backer"!!!
It was fake to an absurd degree!!!
———
At this moment.
The video resumed.
Under the stunned and deeply skeptical gazes of the countless powerful viewers—
the dark screen lit up again, a prompt flashing:
"Click to continue."
Just like before, the first thing that came into view was naturally Aokiji's character footage.
White suit. A military cap. Curly hair beneath the brim.
But Aokiji's part didn't continue the scene from just now—
Sengoku smashing the execution platform, and Luffy and Ace vanishing within the smoke and rolling shockwaves as they dropped down to the ground!
Instead—
time rewound once more, returning to an earlier point.
It revealed something the world had never known:
Aokiji's past encounter with the Straw Hat crew on the Grand Line.
Now—
the first half of the Grand Line.
On an island called Long Ring Long Land.
Aokiji, as the featured figure for this segment,
was sprawled lazily against a rock by the shoreline, wearing a teal sleep mask, basking in the sunlight and taking a noon nap.
However.
All of a sudden, in the distance behind him, a burst of noise rang out.
Immediately after that—
BANG! A heavy impact sounded out of nowhere!
With the camera trained on the scene, the audience could see it clearly—
something had appeared from behind and slammed right into Aokiji!
"???"
"Who is it?!"
"Who's that bold?!"
"Who dares to charge straight into a Marine Admiral's arms on their own initiative?!"
"Normally, the moment anyone sees an Admiral, they'd do anything to turn around and get as far away as possible!"
Shock.
The audience was thoroughly shocked.
No one had ever doubted the combat power of the Three Admirals—
top-tier Logia users, standing at the very peak of the sea!
Even someone as powerful as a Yonko—
or famous, vicious New World commanders like the Calamities and the Sweet Commanders…
Unless it was absolutely unavoidable,
or unless they had already gone to war with the Marines—
no one would ever willingly take the initiative to provoke an Admiral!
And so, right now—
when they watched with their own eyes,
when they clearly saw that in the footage, from behind Aokiji, something was charging in—
and it looked like it didn't know any better at all, stubbornly barreling straight at him head-on—
every last viewer was left dumbstruck.
Instinctively, they blurted out the same thought:
How could someone be this stupid?!
You pick a fight with an Admiral—
you're paying a heavy price in minutes, and if you're unlucky you'll lose your life!!!
And yet—
Aokiji himself widened his eyes slightly. He only needed to take one look.
In his mind, memories surged.
He immediately recalled the exact circumstances of that moment back then!
"Mm…"
Rubbing his chin, Aokiji straightened up.
He was no longer lounging around with one leg crossed over the other—he stared at the screen, his expression thoughtful as he murmured:
"So it really was that time."
"The one and only time I ever came face-to-face with the Straw Hat Pirates."
"If I remember right… the person who recklessly crashed into me from behind back then was… that Straw Hat kid."
At that thought, Aokiji's expression turned speechless.
So it really was because of Luffy—because of that old incident.
He'd always treated it as something trivial, something not even worth remembering…
And now—
it was going to be exposed from start to finish!!!
(End of Chapter)
[200 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
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