Aokiji's mouth twitched. He sighed helplessly. "Teacher Garp really raised one hell of a troublesome grandson."
"Then go fight the old man," Luffy replied.
"We're all equally sick of that old man, it seems." Aokiji laughed as well.
Luffy threw a punch, using the recoil to adjust his position midair. His rapid breathing technique, combined with Life Return, and Haki as he prepared to launch another fierce attack.
Suddenly, the air beside him plummeted in temperature. A massive ice mirror condensed into shape. In the next instant, Aokiji's figure flashed out of it with extraordinary speed!
"Ice Time! "
Aokiji's hand, carrying temperatures cold enough to instantly freeze steel, reached for Luffy's arm.
Luffy's Observation Haki screamed warning. At the last possible moment, he twisted away—but the terrifying chill grazed the outside of his arm, instantly encasing it in thick ice!
"Tch!"
Luffy grunted, reacting instantly. The frozen fist's internal muscles vibrated at high frequency, pushing his rubber properties to the limit. Simultaneously, the flowing Armament Haki inside struck the ice like a drill.
CRACK.
The ice shattered from within, breaking apart.
"How troublesome. Can't you just get frozen?" Aokiji sighed, his hands gathering before him. Countless ice fragments condensed rapidly, forming countless sharp icicles and ice edges.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak—Scatter Shot! "
Even denser and faster than before, this barrage of ice, like a storm of petals, blanketed Luffy!
Where it passed, the very air froze, leaving white trails of frost.
"Then try this!" Luffy's pupils contracted. He coated his body in more flowing Haki while his fists hammered out like pile drivers. Friction with the air ignited it, creating blazing flames.
"Gomu Gomu no... Fire Fist Gatling! "
Flame and ice—two extreme powers—collided violently in midair!
Explosions rang out continuously. Fire and ice shards flew everywhere. Massive clouds of white steam filled the air, instantly enveloping the entire battlefield in blurred sight.
"He's even developed elemental attack techniques?" Aokiji was surprised by Luffy's ability to quickly find counter strategies in combat. "Your combat experience and strain don't seem like some rookie who just set sail."
Then again.
What rookie pirate knows Haki?
Who can master Conqueror's Haki?
Who can develop their Devil Fruit to this extent?
Aokiji now had quite the headache.
His earlier words were half-true, half-false. His original intention wasn't actually to capture Luffy.
With the Garp connection, he did observe some sophistication. He wasn't Akainu, the absolutely righteous man who could not tolerate a grain of sand in his eyes.
Besides, Smoker owed a debt of gratitude from Alabasta. Aokiji wanted to repay some of it through this opportunity.
His intent was to warn the Straw Hats—harboring Robin meant opposing an enormous force. He wanted them to retreat, or at least be more vigilant.
Instead, he had misjudged Luffy's determination. And he had really misjudged Luffy's strength!
Now he'd painted himself into a corner. Dilemma.
This fight wouldn't end without deciding the outcome.
"Arara... I definitely didn't check the calendar before going out today." Aokiji sighed, his gaze gradually sharpening and turning icy cold. "It seems now... throwing you into Impel Down might be the more responsible choice for the World Government."
If this monster were allowed to grow for a few more years, who could stop him?
His initial hunch was right. This Straw Hat kid was a huge potential threat!
Aokiji held nothing back. He leaped high into the air, arms spread wide. Looking down at the mist-covered battlefield, he slowly inhaled, as if drawing all surrounding heat into himself.
The next moment, he exhaled forcefully.
"Ice Age! "
Though not on the scale of freezing an entire sea, this extreme cold—enough to transform an island's environment—rapidly spreads outward from him like white death ripples in all directions.
CRACKLE!
The mist instantly froze into falling ice crystals. The remaining trees, even the air itself, emitted groaning freezing sound.
Within visible range, the entire Long Ring Long Land was rapidly covered in meters-thick ice, transformed into a literal land of ice and snow!
The center of the cold ripple shot directly toward Luffy's position.
"Luffy!" Robin, watching tensely from a distance, cried out in horror.
She saw Luffy's body stiffen the moment the white ripples touched him. Ice, like a living monster, rapidly climbed from his feet upward. In an instant, he was completely encased—a frozen sculpture frozen in mid-battle stance!
Robin gritted her teeth. Flashed in her eyes. She crossed her arms before her.
"Cien Fleur: Twister! "
In an instant, countless arms bloomed from the air, tightly wrapped around Aokiji's head, neck, shoulders, arms—everywhere arms could sprout!
Robin tried to do what she had done to other enemies—use the strength of these arms to render Aokiji unconscious.
However, she met unprecedented resistance.
Aokiji's neck felt forged from ten thousand years of cold iron. The arms strained with all their might but couldn't shake him in the slightest. Instead, The recoil-induced chill eroded them, frost spreading across their surfaces.
"Attacking me is not a wise choice, Robin." Aokiji turned his head slightly, exhaling a cold white breath. The arms wrapped around him instantly froze solid, then shattered into pieces. "The gap in our levels is far too great."
He looked at the frozen Luffy, then at Robin's pale face. His tone carried complexity.
"Robin. You can accompany him to Impel Down. Perhaps that will be a relatively safe place for you both."
The moment his words ended—
CRACK!
A faint yet clear crackling sound came from Luffy's ice sculpture.
Then a second crack. A third. Like intensive drum beat.
THUMP—THUMP—THUMP—
The sound was low and powerful.
Like a heartbeat. Coming from inside the ice. Growing louder. More urgent!
Aokiji's pupils shrink suddenly.
"Arara... You're ridiculously strong, Straw Hat."
BOOM!
The ice encasing Luffy exploded violently.
Countless ice fragments Shot outward in all directions.
Through the swirling ice dust, a brand new figure stands proudly.
***
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