"Waaahhh!"
Nami pointed at the massive ice block and screamed.
Aokiji slowly withdrew his right hand, his gaze indifferent.
He had long grown accustomed to eliciting shock from bystanders after making his move.
He could practically predict what this girl named Nami would say next—something along the lines of "So this is a Navy Admiral" or "What terrifying power."
Instead—
"Nojiko, this guy's ability is totally copying yours!" Nami turned to Nojiko indignantly.
"I was first!" Aokiji felt utterly speechless, veins popping on his forehead.
"It's not exactly the same," Nojiko shook her head slightly. "If I were to act, I'd turn this elephant into a snowball, not this crystal-clear ice block."
"True that."
Nami smacked her fist into her palm as if enlightened. "I wonder what would happen if you two used your abilities on each other—who'd freeze whom first..."
"Is that even a question?!" Aokiji roared through gritted teeth.
"Sigh..." Aokiji rubbed his temples. The tense interrogation atmosphere he'd carefully built was now completely ruined.
Not wanting to argue with little girls, he turned back to Xiano:
"Not even a reaction. Seems this big guy really isn't with you."
"Hardly acquainted."
Xiano glanced at the frozen mammoth.
He had no idea why this guy had shown up here either, shouting about bonds and protection before getting instantly frozen.
"Let's leave him be then. Back to our earlier topic."
Aokiji locked eyes with Xiano. "You... were laughing just now, weren't you, Xiano? Was what I asked really that funny?"
"Was I?"
Xiano replied nonchalantly. "Maybe. I definitely felt like mocking you."
"Mocking me?" Aokiji frowned.
"Don't get it? Let me reenact it for you—" Xiano mimicked Aokiji's earlier tone, leaning in with a chilling voice:
"—Where do you place the Navy and the justice we uphold? What exactly are your ambitions?"
"Pfft—HAHAHA!"
Xiano couldn't help slapping his thigh. "Putting on such a domineering act just to ask such utterly stupid questions! Hey, Kuzan! How do you keep a straight face? Bet even you wanted to laugh hearing yourself!"
"See injustice? Act. Meet villains? Beat them down. Want to protect someone? Guard them with your life—that's what I believe in and what I've always done! Something so straightforward, yet you come at me with all these accusations... Clearly just masking your envy!"
Aokiji was silent for a moment before replying flatly, "I envy you?"
"Absolutely!"
Xiano laughed wildly. "And you're downright jealous! Because I can act freely while you can't!"
"You know better than anyone how filthy the World Government is, yet you still lick their boots as their lapdog, cleaning up after those bubble-headed scum! How many innocent civilians have died unjustly because of your so-called 'justice'—probably no fewer than those killed by Pirates!"
"In this situation, you still have the nerve to talk to me about the Navy upholding justice?"
"What justice?"
Xiano's voice suddenly rose an octave:
"Is it the justice of helping the Celestial Dragons wipe out a country every three years?!"
Aokiji could no longer maintain his composure. He jerked his head up, his expression drastically changing:
"Even I only learned these secrets by chance recently. How did you—"
"That's not important, is it?"
Xiano narrowed his eyes slightly, cutting him off, his tone growing increasingly aggressive. "What's more interesting is that you actually knew about it too... No wonder you're so despondent. A Navy Admiral, yet reeking of the confused aura of a washed-up old man—you can't even hide it anymore!"
"But this rotten stench has been lingering for a long time, hasn't it? About sixteen years, I'd say?"
"Kuzan, the reason you're so fixated on Robin, so obsessed with Ohara back then, is because from that moment on, your so-called justice couldn't overcome the barrier in your own heart—it collapsed in on itself!!!"
"..."
Aokiji's breath visibly hitched.
His face darkened, and he instinctively took a step forward. A biting chill suddenly radiated from his body, frost instantly coating his eyebrows.
But in the end, it all dissipated.
He lowered his gaze, shadows obscuring all expression.
A long silence followed.
Before this, Pirates had mocked his stance to his face.
But none of it had shaken his convictions in the slightest—after all, ruthless Pirates were scum that deserved to be erased from this world.
He wouldn't even bother listening to the end before freezing them into ice sculptures.
But Xiano... was different.
This so-called "Pirate" with a billion-berry bounty was acting with more integrity than the Navy itself.
It left Aokiji unable to strike against his own conscience, and powerless to refute even a word.
Aokiji slumped onto the bench, tilting his head back to gaze at the stars, arms spread limply as he exhaled years of pent-up frustration.
His eyes flickered—first toward Robin.
The woman who had once been accustomed to lurking in darkness now leaned against a streetlamp, all traces of her earlier tension and fear gone.
The evening breeze tousled her hair, a faint smile playing at her lips—an expression of peace Aokiji hadn't seen on her face in all these years.
Then he looked at Smoker.
His old friend of many years, who shared his temperament, had the corner of his cigar-toting mouth quirked up, silently staring at him.
Finally, Aokiji's gaze settled on Xiano.
"I'm starting to regret coming to see you today."
There was self-mockery in his voice. "I only wanted to probe your depths, but in the end, you saw right through me, didn't you?"
"I'm leaving."
Without waiting for Xiano's response, he shook his head and stood up.
"Time to call it a night. Honestly, getting outwitted by a teenager—how utterly pathetic."
Casually straightening the tie under his white suit jacket, Aokiji gripped the back of the bench and bent down, reaching behind it.
Only then did the others notice an old bicycle lying in the grass.
Aokiji swung his long leg over the frame with ease. The bike creaked but held firm under the Navy Admiral's weight.
"After all this time, won't you stay for dinner?" Smoker blew out a smoke ring, eyeing him sideways.
"Spare me the trouble."
Aokiji waved his hand dismissively. "Once we leave the garden, there'll be too many prying eyes. As a Navy Admiral, being photographed dining with a notorious Pirate would be rather inappropriate."
"Hey, kid."
He glanced at Xiano again.
"Let me continue to witness just how far an anomaly like you can go on these twisted seas."
With that, he strode off on his long legs, riding his bicycle out of the garden with one hand on the handlebars and the other casually tucked in his pocket.
Ding-a-ling!
The bell chimed softly as his tall figure gradually faded into the twilight, his final words drifting faintly on the wind:
"But remember what you said today. I hope you can maintain that original intention... Otherwise, next time we meet, I'll be the one to end you."
...
The night breeze brushed through the garden, carrying a slight chill as it swept past everyone.
They all watched the receding figure, exchanging glances.
"He's just leaving like that?"
Nami was the first to snap out of it, muttering discontentedly, "What's with that? Seeing how dejected he looked earlier, I thought big bro could convince him to switch sides right then and there."
"Cough!" Smoker nearly choked on his cigar. "Getting a Navy Admiral to become a Pirate? That's quite the bold thought."
"It's not entirely impossible."
Xiano calmly withdrew his gaze from the distance. "But someone like him has his own pride and convictions. You can't just talk him into changing sides overnight."
Rome wasn't built in a day.
Today's confrontation had planted a seed in the other's heart.
Who knows? Maybe one day, given the right opportunity, they could really pull Aokiji into their ranks.
After all, even someone like Blackbeard—a textbook Pirate villain—had managed to recruit him when he was vulnerable.
Xiano's chances of success could only be greater.
"Let's go, forget about him." Xiano shook his head and turned to his crew with a smile. "We've wasted enough time. Everyone must be hungry—let's head to the restaurant."
"Woohoo! Feast time!" Nami cheered, dashing out of the garden first.
The others followed, chatting and laughing, but Xiano deliberately lingered behind. Once his crewmates were out of sight, he looked up toward the distant sea.
Aokiji's movements might have seemed leisurely, but he had already ridden to the horizon, nearly vanishing from sight.
It was enough to make one wonder if, once out of view, he had secretly started pedaling furiously with those long legs.
Or maybe he was just carrying his bike and sprinting?
Either way...
"You think you can just drop a cool line and leave?"
Xiano crossed his arms and snorted. Was it really that easy?
He was the type to return every slight tenfold!
At least leave behind some wool for me to pluck!
...
That's right.
He hadn't plucked Aokiji's wool yet.
Facing a top-tier fighter of the world, even someone as skilled as him in the art of stealth lacked the confidence to take something unnoticed by the other's Observation Haki.
His previous successes with Garp and Akainu had only been possible because of prolonged, close-quarters combat where both sides were fully focused on the fight, giving him ample opportunity to act unnoticed.
This time... unfortunately, no fight had broken out.
Aokiji didn't even have the heart to make a move on him. It wouldn't be right for Xiano to preemptively slap Aokiji just to create an opportunity to steal something, would it?
That would be somewhat inappropriate.
Fortunately, with that new item, there was no way this sheep's wool was getting away.
Xiano opened his backpack.
"Kleptomaniac" card set activated!
—Effect: Five cards, five chances. Each time, he could randomly seize one item from any person within his line of sight, regardless of distance!
The first target was decided—Aokiji!
...
On the sea.
Aokiji rode his bicycle, his expression gloomy and silent.
Not long ago, in Sengoku's office, he had accidentally come across a certain document, and its contents resurfaced in his mind.
The truth behind the God Valley incident thirty-two years ago.
It was this document that had further shaken his faith in justice and planted the idea of meeting Xiano in person.
But in the end...
Aokiji shook his head, pushing these troubling thoughts away.
He recalled a small detail he had noticed earlier.
That orange-haired girl had emitted flames... So was she the actual Flame-Flame Fruit user?
Should he call the headquarters' intelligence division and have them adjust the bounty?
Aokiji tilted his head slightly.
He could easily guess the reason.
Xiano must have gone to great lengths to conceal the truth, not wanting his little sister to become a target, which led the intelligence division to make the wrong judgment.
A young girl like her was probably scared of having her bounty raised...
Forget it then.
A minor like her didn't need to be taken so seriously.
Aokiji lazily yawned and continued pedaling forward.
A narrow trail of ice formed behind him on the sea.
But suddenly, for some reason, he felt his foot step into empty air.
Instinctively, he looked down—where his bicycle should have been, there was nothing but dashed lines. Before he could react, he plunged straight into the sea—
Splash!
The icy seawater swallowed him instantly. Bubbles gurgled upward as Aokiji stared blankly at the sky through the water.
"Huh?"
...
"Hmm?"
Xiano looked curiously at the bicycle that had suddenly appeared in his hands.
What a pleasant surprise!
He hadn't expected much from this random draw. Getting anything—a suit jacket, gloves, sunglasses—would have been valuable enough. An eyepatch would have been even better.
But this was the jackpot.
His luck was really something.
Without hesitation, he initiated the offering.
[Offering: Kuzan's Bicycle]
[Quality: Epic]
[Value: 4,500 Points]
[Appraisal: The signature ride of Marine Admiral Aokiji. Though an ordinary bicycle at first glance, it has witnessed countless legendary moments. While it offers no combat bonuses, its status as one of the most recognizable vehicles in this world makes it invaluable.]
4,500 Points?
Definitely worth it—same as Akainu's sweat-stained cap.
His remaining Points, originally at 27,000, suddenly skyrocketed to 31,500.
"Nice."
Xiano clapped his hands in satisfaction and closed the system panel just as Nami turned ahead, waving impatiently. "What are you doing, bro? Hurry up!"
"Coming!"
He laughed heartily, quickening his pace to catch up with long strides.
And behind him...
In the silent park, the cold night wind blew past, yet the mammoth frozen in ice remained motionless...
Just like how no one cared how Aokiji would get back after losing his bicycle.
...
Night fell, and the lights of Gourmet City sparkled like stars.
Xiano and his group stepped into the reserved restaurant, where the warm lighting, rich aromas of food, and soothing melodies instantly put everyone at ease.
"Cheers!"
Amid the crisp clinking of glasses, they all drank deeply.
After several rounds, Robin held her glass in her right hand, her fair cheeks tinged with a faint blush.
Usually poised and graceful, she now showed rare hints of tipsiness, resting her chin on her left hand as she gazed quietly at Xiano.
Perhaps it was the alcohol, or maybe the dim lighting.
When she blinked...
She seemed to see it again—the nightmare that had haunted her since childhood, that towering figure radiating bone-chilling cold, the one who had personally killed Saul...
But when Xiano crudely spat out a bone, patted his belly, and laughed boisterously...
She blinked again.
And that terrifying, icy figure vanished without a trace.
"Captain..." she called softly, her voice gentler than usual.
"Hmm?" Xiano turned his head, mouth stuffed full, meeting her slightly glistening eyes.
Robin blinked, then suddenly chuckled. "You know... sometimes I wonder, if you hadn't reached out to me on that turtle's back that day..."
She paused, fingertips lightly tracing the rim of her glass. "Where would I be now?"
"Why bring this up all of a sudden?"
Xiano frowned, shoving more grilled meat into his mouth as he chewed. "Couldn't stay with Baroque Works, so... probably joined some other underground group, playing hide-and-seek with the World Government?"
"Maybe."
Robin laughed quietly, but her gaze drifted away. "But more likely... I would have given up."
Her voice was soft, yet it gave Xiano pause.
Robin tilted her head back and drained her glass, the burn of alcohol making her frown briefly before relaxing again.
Setting the glass down, she suddenly reached out and lightly tugged at Xiano's sleeve.
"So... thank you."
She looked up, her drunken eyes carrying an unprecedented sincerity:
"Really, thank you... for showing me that people don't have to hide in darkness forever, that sunlight—no, even streetlights—can feel this warm."
Xiano froze for a moment, then laughed, ruffling her hair.
"Don't talk nonsense. Of course they can. You're our nakama."
Robin didn't pull away. Instead, she half-closed her eyes like a lazy cat.
Unnoticed, she had leaned closer, her alcohol-tinged breath brushing Xiano's ear. "Ara... just nakama?"
Xiano's hand stilled.
At the other end of the table, Nami and Nojiko froze mid-motion, pretending to reach for napkins while stealing glances their way.
Smoker's cigar ash had grown long without being flicked, his attention fixed on his glass as if suddenly fascinated by the condensation.
As for Kuina—
The young Master Swordsman sat quietly in the corner.
Her gaze seemed fixed on the dessert before her, but the marks her knife left in the cream grew deeper and more erratic…
Woof?
Agin, too, keenly sensed the shift in the atmosphere, tilting his head left and right before deciding to bury his entire furry face into the giant bowl of strawberry milk in front of him.
Just as the mood grew delicate—
"Hic!"
Robin suddenly let out a tiny drunken hiccup, covering her mouth uncomfortably as she swayed slightly before collapsing right into Xiano's arms.
Flustered, Xiano caught her, pulling out a napkin to wipe her mouth.
By the time he set the napkin aside and looked down again, Robin's eyes were already closed, her breathing steady—clearly passed out from the alcohol.
"..."
He sighed helplessly and gently lifted her into his arms.
"Let's call it a night," Xiano said to the group as he stood. "I'll take her back to the ship first. The rest of you, keep eating..."