The combined detonation of two Sky Flame Rasengans unleashed a force far greater than simply the sum of their parts. Just like how one plus one, under the right conditions, can be far more than two, the synergy of their impact was devastating.
A long time passed… before the world finally fell silent.
"Gah, cough, cough!"
From deep within the shattered ice layers of the sea, Aokiji suddenly rolled over, pulling his face out from where it had been embedded in the ice.
At that moment, he no longer bore the calm, composed demeanor from before.
His clothes were scorched and tattered, his skin mottled with severe burns. Even his elemental ice form couldn't heal these wounds.
And that wasn't the worst of it. The immense internal pressure from the twin Rasengans had ravaged his body with terrible internal injuries.
Since training under Vice Admiral Garp, Aokiji's physical endurance had grown relentlessly stronger.
He couldn't even remember the last time he had been pushed into such a brutal, high-intensity battle.
Even if it hadn't been evenly matched, the fact that a moment's carelessness left him this badly wounded… was almost unbelievable.
And yet, what truly shocked him wasn't the damage.
A cold mist slowly rose from beneath his feet, lifting him gently into the air.
The blast had turned the surrounding sea once again into a churning mix of water and ice.
From his vantage point, it was easy to spot Luffy, floating motionless far away in the frigid water.
"Ice Path."
A thick sheet of ice extended smoothly from beneath Aokiji's feet, forming a frozen bridge all the way to Luffy's location.
Shards of broken ice clung to Luffy's body, and the biting cold crept into his bones.
Suddenly, his eyes shot open.
Startled awake by the sharp chill, Luffy staggered to his feet. Aside from some scorched patches on his clothing, he had no visible injuries.
But the way his body wavered made it clear: he wasn't as fine as he looked.
"Kids these days... are they all this strong?"
Aokiji shook his head slowly as he walked down the ice path toward Luffy.
Luffy remained standing, eyes slightly dazed but filled with unwavering resolve as he stared down the approaching Admiral.
If Aokiji made one wrong move, Luffy was ready to use all four RapidGrowth Capsules in his pack.
Four years of instant progress. He was confident that would give him enough power to fight Aokiji to the death.
Aokiji's footsteps suddenly halted.
A strange, chilling premonition seized him, as if taking another step forward would mean his death.
It was absurd.
And yet... his instincts had saved his life too many times before. As a young Marine, it was that same gut feeling that had helped him escape countless deadly encounters with infamous pirates.
Maybe this was one of those times.
"Phew..."
Exhaling a deep, frosty breath, Aokiji muttered again in awe, "Scary kids…"
"Cien Fleur: Arboles!"
Before Aokiji could speak again, Robin, rushing from afar, activated her Devil Fruit powers without hesitation.
Though standing on seawater, her boots insulated her from the weakening effects. She remained at full strength.
Purple firelight flared as enormous petal-shaped arms sprouted from the ice, converging into four massive fists.
They interlocked into a single colossal blow, thundering toward Aokiji with a howling gust of wind.
Zzzzz!
But before the fists could land, frost surged up from beneath Aokiji's feet. In a flash, the frost raced up the arms and froze all four into dazzling, intricate ice sculptures, completely severing Robin's control.
She winced, her brows furrowed tightly, body trembling as she endured the backlash.
Still, she pressed on.
"Dos Fleur: Gigantesco Árboles!"
"Hey! Let me finish what I was saying!" Aokiji snapped, glaring toward her.
Suddenly, ice thorns erupted from beneath his feet and shot straight at Robin.
"Requiem: Ice Prism!"
Brook's deep, solemn voice rang out.
A dazzling prism of rainbow-colored light materialized in front of Robin.
The ice thorns struck the light, and instantly halted. The shimmering light seemed to consume the icy energy, sending the effect rippling back through the frozen spikes… all the way to Aokiji's feet.
The brilliant glow faded into a translucent crystalline layer that encased Aokiji's ice, sealing it completely and stopping its spread.
In the same motion, the light surged and froze Aokiji himself to the icy path.
Crack.
The rainbow crystal froze him for only a second, then shattered.
Aokiji, now fully coated in Haki, slowly emerged from the shards like a shadow from the mist.
He looked down at his foot, still dusted with faint rainbow fragments, then turned his gaze toward Brook.
"Luffy!"
Robin rushed to Luffy's side, catching him just before he collapsed again.
"Robin… don't… be reckless…"
With time, a bit of Luffy's mental strength had recovered. He spoke in broken breaths, barely coherent.
But he could feel it, Aokiji no longer had the will to fight.
And more than that… it seemed he had lost the intent to capture Robin.
Luffy had already gone all-out, inflicting serious wounds. But even with Moria and Brook, defeating Aokiji outright was simply unrealistic.
So Luffy stopped them, told them to wait.
He wanted to hear why Aokiji had come.
Step. Step.
Aokiji strode slowly toward them, his long legs crunching across the ice. Then he spoke.
"Why didn't you run… like before?"
He paused.
"The giant who died for Ohara… Jaguar D. Saul… was my friend."
"What?!"
The name sent a jolt through Robin.
Though her guarded expression didn't change, the shock in her eyes was impossible to miss.
She had seen Aokiji freeze Saul with her own eyes. Slowly. Mercilessly.
And now he called him "friend"?
Aokiji didn't react to her surprise. He looked upward and continued quietly.
"That day… I let you go, because I followed his wish."
"I felt responsible. Like I had to watch over your life from afar."
"But for years, you never found a place to belong. You kept running… hiding…"
"To the World Government, you were a ticking time bomb."
"So when we met again by chance, I decided… maybe it was time to end Ohara's legacy once and for all."
"But then…"
"But then what?"
Robin asked, still holding Luffy upright.
Though his words stirred up painful memories, her voice remained calm.
Aokiji closed his eyes slowly.
And then, like a father watching his daughter grow up, he spoke with a trace of relief:
"But maybe… you've finally found a place to call home."
"Saul's decision to save you… was it right or wrong?"
"Maybe you'll show me the answer one day."
"You will see it."
Before Robin could speak, Luffy cut in, eyes sharp and voice steady.
"You'll see the answer. The one you think is wrong."
"Whatever makes Robin sad, I'll destroy it, one by one."
Aokiji looked at Luffy, his hand subconsciously curling into a fist.
He seemed torn, whether to end things here and now, to eliminate this dangerous potential…
But for a moment, he was speechless.
"Forget it."
He exhaled, voice lazy, almost amused.
"Let the higher-ups deal with it."
"I'll just finish my mission for today."
Whether it was his laid-back nature or some hidden sliver of justice, Aokiji chose to turn a blind eye, for now.
He reached into his coat and pulled out a file, somehow untouched by the fierce battle that had nearly destroyed him.
Looking around at Luffy, Robin, Brook, and the newly arrived Moria, he said:
"I came here for three reasons."
"Mission One: Ensure the safety of Warlord Boa Hancock."
"Mission Two: Recruit the infamous pirate Gecko Moria and his crew, formally induct them as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. They will be granted plunder rights under World Government sanction, must remit a portion of their spoils to the Marine, and will have all prior bounties revoked. However, they must answer to Government summons when needed."
"As for Mission Three, "
Aokiji suddenly looked up, his eyes locking with Luffy's.
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