Once his nakama had retreated to a safe distance, all of them watching tensely from the Going Merry's deck, Aokiji spoke with a note of admiration.
"Monkey D. Luffy. You really are just like your grandfather. So perceptive."
Luffy met his gaze directly. "You say you came for a walk. But you want to fight. Don't you?"
Aokiji scratched his head but didn't deny it. "You really are hard to read, you know."
The laziness gradually faded from his face, replaced by a deep, chilling seriousness. The very air around them seemed to freeze.
"When I came here, I genuinely only wanted to see you and Robin. Confirm a few things."
He paused.
"But I've changed my mind."
His voice turned ice-cold.
"I think it would be better if you all died here."
Luffy's lips curled into a cold smile. His fist, coated in jet-black Armament Haki, was already clenched tight.
"Then bring it on."
Robin was confused. Why had Aokiji suddenly appeared, vowing to kill them?
If that was his intent, why hadn't he simply killed her back then? Why wait until now—until she had finally found a place to belong?
The next moment, her questions were shattered by the violent clash of battle!
Aokiji's hand materialized a blade of ice, radiating biting cold.
"Ice Blade! "
"Gomu Gomu no Bullet! "
Luffy's fist, shrouded in darkness, slammed into the frozen blade with devastating force!
"Arara... terrifying," Aokiji muttered, shards of ice flying past him.
A sound like clashing metal exploded across the field!
The shockwave rippled outward like a physical force, tearing up grass and dirt.
To an outsider, it might have seemed like a simple exchange. But Robin could clearly feel the terrifying power contained within that seemingly ordinary clash.
If not for the suffocating pressure around them and the tremors beneath her feet, she might have mistaken it for a casual spar.
After the first strike, Luffy's expression grew even more serious.
The towering man before him was on an entirely different level from any enemy he had faced before.
That effortless demeanor. That unfathomable well of power.
"The World Government hasn't placed much importance on you yet," Aokiji said, sliding backward from the impact and shaking his wrist. His gaze swept over the crew on the Merry before settling back on Luffy. "But if you actually trace your movements and achievements, you're far from ordinary."
He stated his reasoning plainly. "Your crew is small, but every one of you has spine. And you have Robin—the Devil Child who can read Poneglyphs.
All you dangerous people gathered together... the chemical reaction you'll create will only get more troublesome from here."
Before he finished speaking, Luffy lunged forward, throwing another punch that clashed with Aokiji's blade. "Is that the excuse you're using?"
Luffy could accept this as a form of praise from Aokiji.
Not everyone was qualified to receive such an evaluation from one of the sea's top powers.
Aokiji suddenly pushed back with explosive force, arm muscles bulging as he tried to send Luffy flying!
"You yourself are plenty dangerous!" Aokiji growled.
Luffy twisted nimbly in midair, his rubber body bending like it had no bones as he absorbed the momentum.
Simultaneously, his skin flushed crimson. Plumes of steam erupted from his body.
Gear Second: Activate!
"Jet Pistol! "
Luffy's form vanished—a red blur—and reappeared instantly before Aokiji, his foot whistling through the air as it aimed for Aokiji's face!
Aokiji reacted instantly, reforming his ice blade to block!
BOOM!
CRACK!
The ice blade shattered on impact!
Aokiji took the lightning-fast kick square in the chest and was sent flying like a cannonball. He snapped several slender trees before carving a deep trench through the grass and finally skidding to a halt.
Their first real exchange—mutual blows, mutual damage.
But Aokiji rose almost immediately, brushing ice shards and dust from his coat as if nothing had happened.
"Just as I thought. Especially you." He continued as if uninterrupted. "From your first bounty of fifty million in the East Blue, to your current two hundred million. After defeating Crocodile, you disappeared for a while... and now you've reached this level."
This rate of growth was astonishing.
He had dealt with countless lawless, monstrously talented individuals over the years. But this was his first encounter with someone like Luffy.
Was this what it meant to be Garp's grandson?
That terrifying aptitude. That monstrous potential.
How long had he been at sea? And already he could trade blows with a Marine Admiral.
In a few more years, who on these seas could stop him?
Aokiji's expression darkened completely.
"That's why I believe your future... is terrifying."
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak! "
He spoke no more. His right arm was instantly engulfed in a terrifying chill, and he thrust it forward!
The condensed cold air coalesced into an enormous, lifelike bird radiating devastating cold. It let out a silent shriek and hurtled toward Luffy with an aura that promised to freeze everything in its path!
Where the ice bird passed, the very air crystallized into frost. The grass was instantly blanketed in a thick layer of white rime!
"A giant ice bird?!"
Luffy's eyes narrowed. In Gear Second, his speed was pushed to its limit. He dodged the bird's direct impact by a hair's breadth.
The ice bird was slammed into a forest far behind him, instantly transforming that entire area into a frozen sculpture garden.
Luffy glanced sideways. "Getting hit by that would be bad."
The cold spread to the shoreline, thick frost mist obscuring vision. Aokiji's assault didn't let up. He leaped into the air, his blade arcing down in a savage slash.
But Luffy, as if he had eyes in the back of his head—even in this impenetrable icy fog—blocked Aokiji's near-sneak attack perfectly.
"Observation Haki too. You're terrifying, you know."
"Is that a compliment?"
"You could say that." The frost mist enveloping them was a product of Aokiji's power. It covered the entire area.
Not only did it obstruct vision, it carried extreme cold.
An ordinary person would suffer frostbite from mere contact.
But Luffy was no ordinary person. His current physical conditioning rivaled Aokiji's.
This level of cold—he could stay in it for days without issue.
"I once thought Robin was the most dangerous woman. Now I see you're no exception."
"Am I that dangerous? Then raise my bounty."
Luffy forced Aokiji back with a barrage of Gomu Gomu no Jet Gatling.
Aokiji exhaled a cloud of frigid air, watching Luffy intently. "A bounty isn't just about strength. It represents the threat a criminal poses to the World Government."
"And in my eyes... your current two hundred million is far too low!"
***
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