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"This is... really troublesome," Aokiji sighed, rubbing his forehead.
Ikki had always been active in these waters as a bounty hunter. The Marines generally had a good impression of people like him. Aokiji knew that his old friend Smoker thought highly of Ikki. It was partly because of Ikki's positive relationship with the Marines that they had considered asking him to help treat Vice Admiral Gion.
But if Nico Robin was part of Ikki's crew, everything changed.
After thinking for a moment, Aokiji shook his head and addressed Robin:
"Nico Robin, you're a wanted criminal with a bounty from the World Government. Though I don't know why you're following Ikki, I hope you'll leave his ship."
Before Robin could respond, Nojiko stepped in front of her protectively.
"Sorry, Admiral Aokiji, but you can't make decisions for her," Nojiko stated firmly.
"Blue-haired girl, you must be Nojiko," Aokiji replied. "The woman behind you is known for betrayal and using others. I think it's best you stay away from her."
"Whether we should stay away or not is something for our captain to decide," Nojiko countered with a polite smile. Despite the sword in her hand, she looked like a gentle, kind-hearted young woman. "Please, Admiral, don't make decisions on your own. Why not talk to our captain first?"
"I think we should hear from Robin herself," Aokiji said, ignoring Nojiko's suggestion as he looked past her at Robin.
At this point, even for Gion's sake, he couldn't attack Nojiko recklessly. If Ikki refused to treat Gion because Aokiji had attacked his crew member, Aokiji could imagine Tsuru's reaction. So for now, he needed to hear Robin's thoughts.
"I... I..." Robin gritted her teeth. "I'm sorry, Nojiko. I should leave—"
"Robin," Nojiko interrupted with a smile, "Ikki cares about you a lot. He'd be really disappointed if you left like this. Who'd be his model for drawings then?" She turned back to Aokiji. "Without Ikki's permission, I won't let anyone take her away – not even a Marine Admiral."
Aokiji scratched his curly hair and sighed deeply. "Why make this difficult? I just want to talk to Nico Robin."
"Sorry, but I can only ask you to stay put for now."
Aokiji stepped forward, and a streak of ice rushed toward Nojiko along the ground beneath his feet.
Nojiko raised her eyebrows and, with a swift movement, slashed out a blazing sword energy that collided with the ice. The extreme temperature difference instantly formed a mist that enveloped all three of them.
Taking advantage of the mist, Aokiji quickly moved in front of Nojiko and reached for her shoulder.
At that moment, a gleaming metallic blade came swinging from the side, forcing Aokiji to stop and look toward the attack.
Robin was moving her sword in a complex pattern, delivering nine consecutive slashes from four directions, covering both Aokiji's outstretched hand and the man himself.
The slashes bloomed like flowers, with pink cherry blossom petals scattering from the blade itself.
"Flower Breathing: Fifth Form - Peonies of Futility!" Robin called out instinctively as she attacked Aokiji, keeping her eyes fixed on his to prevent him from continuing his assault on Nojiko, who had just stood up for her.
As someone who had witnessed the tragedy of Ohara, she couldn't bear to see any of her companions attacked by Aokiji again.
'Armament Haki, and that sword technique... she really has become part of Ikki's crew,' Aokiji thought with a frown. Cold air dispersed from his body, directly freezing Robin's slashes and her Zanpakutō.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura," Robin whispered.
Her Zanpakutō instantly dissolved into hundreds of cherry blossom blades that shattered the ice freezing her attack.
Seeing this, Aokiji looked at the flower blades surrounding Robin's body with curiosity. With his keen eyesight, he could clearly see how razor-sharp each petal was.
"Nojiko is right," Robin said, regaining her composure. "Now that we're here, let's wait for Ikki to arrive and talk, Admiral Aokiji."
Robin didn't continue her attack. She knew her strikes wouldn't be effective against someone of Aokiji's caliber. More importantly, she didn't want to worsen the conflict between Ikki's crew and the Marines. She knew Ikki had no intention of breaking ties with the Marines right now, and that he had several close friends among them.
"Robin, you're really making this difficult for me," Aokiji sighed, shaking his head.
Seeing this standoff, Nojiko placed her hand on Robin's shoulder. Robin glanced at her, confused, and the next moment Nojiko pushed her back with a gentle shove, giving her a reassuring smile.
"Instead of leaving decisions to others, let's take control ourselves," Nojiko said. "Robin, please find Ikki. I'll handle things here for now."
Nojiko stood facing Aokiji, sword raised high. She had expected Aokiji might not agree to wait, and she'd decided to use all her strength to stop him if necessary.
'Ikki will definitely notice if I use Bankai,' she thought, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. Under the guidance of Minazuki in her hand, a blue-white brilliance began to gather around her body.
"I don't want to fight you..." Aokiji frowned, trying to stop Nojiko from escalating the situation.
But before he could finish speaking, a shocking aura erupted from her.
"Bankai: Minazuki!"
WHOOSH!
With an otherworldly sound, the clear sky suddenly darkened, startling Aokiji. The surrounding greenery transformed instantly into what looked like a blood-filled prison.
A large amount of crimson liquid filled an area hundreds of meters around Nojiko.
Aokiji stared intently at her and saw that her sword had become more slender, with blood constantly flowing from the blade.
For a moment, he thought he glimpsed a skeletal figure wrapped around Nojiko's body.
Just as he tried to focus on this apparition, Nojiko had already lunged at him, swinging her blood-wrapped blade.
"Die!" she cried, her mouth twisted into a crazed expression he'd never seen on her before as she slashed at his head.