"Wow!"
Nami exclaimed, pointing at the massive ice block.
Aokiji slowly lowered his right hand, his gaze indifferent.
He was long accustomed to the shock his actions caused in those around him.
He could already guess what this girl named Nami would say next.
Something along the lines of "Is this what a Navy Grand Admiral is like," or "What a terrifying power."
In the end—
"Nojiko, this guy's ability is completely copying you!" Nami turned to Nojiko, protesting indignantly.
"I was the first, clearly!" Aokiji was speechless, a black line emerging on his forehead.
"It's still somewhat different," Nojiko shook her head slightly, "If I were to act, I'd turn this elephant into a snowball, not an incandescent ice block."
"Indeed." Nami struck a pose of realization, wondering aloud, "I wonder if the two of you used your powers on each other, who would freeze the other..."
"Do I still have to say?" Aokiji shouted in frustration.
"Sigh..." Aokiji rubbed his brow, his attempt to create a tense and challenging atmosphere was completely ruined.
Not wanting to argue with the girls, he turned to Shano:
"No reaction at all, seems like this big guy really isn't associated with you."
"No familiarity, indeed," Shano glanced at the Mammoth.
He didn't understand why this guy was here, shouting about bonds and protection, only to charge in and fall instantly.
"Let's leave him aside and continue with the previous topic."
Aokiji stared into Shano's eyes, "You... were laughing earlier, right? Shano, was my question really that funny?"
"Was I laughing?" Shano replied nonchalantly, "Probably, since I was indeed trying to mock you."
"Mock me?" Aokiji frowned slightly.
"Don't you get it? Let me demonstrate, just like this..." Shano mimicked Aokiji's previous tone, approaching him with a cold voice:
"—Where do you intend to place the Navy and the justice we believe in? What kind of ambition are you harboring?"
"Pahahaha!"
Shano couldn't help but slap his thigh, "Puffing up like a menacing force, yet asking such unconditionally silly questions, hey, Kuzan! How can you keep a straight face? You probably wanted to laugh hearing it yourself, right?"
"Standing against injustice when you see it, knocking down villains, protecting who you want to protect to the end—these are what I believe in and have been doing! Such straightforward matters, yet you insist on shrouding them with allegations... Clearly, you're masking your own jealousy!"
Aokiji remained silent for a while, then said calmly, "I'm jealous of you?"
"Of course!"
Shano laughed freely, "And deeply jealous too, because I can do this freely, whereas you cannot!"
"Knowing full well the corruption of the World Government, yet still having the audacity to curry favor with them, cleaning up the mess of those bubble-headed scoundrels! Because of your so-called acts of justice, the innocent civilians wrongfully killed aren't fewer than those under the hands of pirates, are they?"
"In such circumstances, to still preach about the Navy upholding justice to me?"
"What justice?"
Shano's voice suddenly escalated:
"Is it justice that helps the Heavenly Celestial Dragons wipe out a nation every three years?!"
Aokiji finally couldn't maintain his calmness, suddenly raising his head, his expression changing dramatically:
"I only stumbled upon this secret recently, how did you..."
"That's irrelevant, isn't it?"
Shano interrupted him, squinting slightly, his tone increasingly assertive, "But you obviously knew as well... No wonder you seem so dejected. A Grand Admiral of the Navy, yet you carry the unmistakable scent of a confused washed-up uncle, unable to hide it anymore!"
"Though this stench has been emanating for quite a while, about sixteen years, right?"
"Kuzan, the reason you're so fixated on Robin and concerned about the events of O'Hara isn't it because your ridiculous sense of justice collapsed the instant you couldn't overcome the barrier in your heart at that very moment!!!"
"..."
Aokiji's breath visibly hitched.
His face turned sour, as he unconsciously took a step forward, his body suddenly exuding a fierce coldness, frost swiftly crawling up his eyebrows.
But eventually, it all dissipated.
He lowered his eyelids, shadows covering his expression.
Silent for a long while.
Previously, no pirate dared to ridicule his position right before his face.
But that could never shake his faith, because vile pirates deserved to be wiped off the earth.
He couldn't bother even listening to the end, choosing instead to freeze them into ice statues instantly.
Yet Shano... was an anomaly.
This so-called 'pirate' with a billion-dollar bounty was performing acts purer than the Navy.
Preventing him from betraying his conscience, nor could he refute at all.
Disheartened, Aokiji sat heavily on a bench, looking up at the stars, arms dropped weakly as he exhaled years of bottled-up frustration.
His gaze first turned to Robin.
The woman who once hid in the shadows now leaned against a streetlamp, with all prior tension and fear vanished.
The night breeze tousled her hair, the corners of her lips faintly curled in a smile Aokiji hadn't seen on her face for years, an expression of genuine comfort.
Then he looked at Smoker.
This long-time friend and comrade, with a cigar between his lips revealing a slight grin, watching him silently.
Aokiji's eyes finally settled on Shano.
"I'm starting to regret coming to find you today."