Life, after all, must go on. Orochimaru kicked down a tree on the uninhabited island, directly harvesting a tree full of fruits.
However, he was still inexplicably anxious, feeling like someone had sentenced him to death, but without knowing the exact date.
A group of people secretly observed Orochimaru, wondering what was wrong with him. But it was fine, he was just a bit irritable, and the only one who suffered was Luffy.
Usopp looked at Chopper and asked, "Chopper, have you found the medicinal herbs yet?"
"~Hmm~ I've found most of them. This island might even have more rare medicinal herbs!" Chopper trotted along.
Robin, standing by, was somewhat silent, her heart heavy as she gazed at the marks on the ground.
"But what's with this strange ditch? It looks like bicycle tracks, but how is that possible? This is an uninhabited island, hahahaha!" Usopp laughed to himself, finding his own conjecture amusing.
The group walked out of the forest and arrived at an uninhabited open area.
"Wah!" Chopper happily looked at a giant mushroom in the distance and joyfully ran over.
Then he was knocked to the ground by the mushroom, which instantly stood up. Orochimaru picked up Chopper and patted him. Facing the tall person standing before him... his face darkened. This terrible perspective gave him an impulse to punch it and send everything flying.
Yet the person in front of him remained oblivious, taking off his eye mask and wiping his drool.
Hearing the commotion, everyone ran over and gathered around Chopper with concern. The mushroom also gradually came to its senses, took off its eye mask, and slowly turned around. Seeing his face, Robin fell to the ground in horror, her pupils rapidly constricting, and her breathing becoming shallow. Zoro immediately entered a state of alert, his hand tightly gripping his sword hilt, ready to respond to any potential danger.
"What's wrong, Robin...?" Nami's voice was a little anxious.
Robin tried to compose herself, "That person is a Marine... and he is known as the World Government's strongest combat force, a Marine Headquarters Admiral, Aokiji."
"Ara la la la... You've grown into quite the beauty, Nico Robin." Aokiji's voice had an indescribably sarcastic tone.
"Admiral? You said he's an Admiral? How capable is he?" Sanji stared at the person, remaining vigilant.
Robin tried to calm her breathing. Orochimaru put Chopper into someone's arms, using Chakra to help them calm their mind.
"No need, Orochimaru. There are only three Admirals in the Marine: Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru. Above them is only Fleet Admiral Sengoku. This person is one of the three highest combat forces of the World Government."
Aokiji suddenly turned his head. The moment he saw Nami, just as he was about to say something, he saw the slightly "fragile" Orochimaru kneeling beside Robin, comforting her.
"Oh my, the enchanting young man beside Nico Robin, are you free tonight? Shall we spend the night together?"
"!!!!!! Marine Scandal +3!" This thought suddenly popped into everyone's minds. They quickly shook their heads. No, no, at this moment, they should be filled with righteous indignation, then question him, and finally protect our Orochimaru.
(╯°Д°)╯ Something's not right!! Why is Orochimaru suddenly so quiet?
Aokiji put out a hand in a stopping gesture, then lay on the ground.
"Just a moment, excuse me, I'm a bit tired of standing. I'll get straight to the point. I'm not here to capture you all, you can rest assured. After the Alabasta incident, Nico Robin disappeared. I'm just here to confirm that her news is as I expected, that she's with you all."
Aokiji sprawled out like a long strip, one hand under his head, "However, I will still send a report to Headquarters. With her added, the total bounty amount has changed."
Aokiji looked up at a few of them, "One hundred million, ninety-eight million, sixty million, plus seventy-nine million. Together it's... sigh..." Aokiji fiddled with his fingers, calculating, "Well... forget it... it's a lot anyway."
Just then, the survivors who had been hiding in the woods finally confirmed that Aokiji was indeed a Marine, and only then did they gather the courage to come out and seek help.
Aokiji looked at these frightened people and scratched his head helplessly... He squatted by the sea, one hand reaching into the water. A cold aura emanated from him, instantly freezing the surrounding sea into a thick layer of ice.
Orochimaru clenched his fists. He still hadn't completely overcome the powerlessness he felt against the sea... It was still not enough.
"Alright, this way you can safely cross this sea area. But remember, this layer of ice will only last for about a week, so you must get to the island on the other side as quickly as possible." Aokiji scratched his head and said lazily.
Hearing this, the survivors all thanked Aokiji and began to step onto the ice, preparing to cross the sea. Meanwhile, Luffy, completely oblivious to the seriousness of the situation, still rolled around on the ice without a care, playing. He eventually came back shivering from the cold.
Aokiji was speechless, he scratched his head and sighed, "How should I put it... You are truly exactly like your grandfather, Monkey D. Luffy."
Luffy instantly froze... "Should I say you're uninhibited... or unfathomable?"
Luffy shivered, his eyes wide, "Grandfather..." Then he instantly turned to look at Orochimaru. He knew it!!!! No wonder Orochimaru hadn't said a word.
"Grandfather?? Luffy's grandfather?? Luffy, what's wrong with you? You're sweating all over." Usopp looked at the profusely sweating Luffy, then at Orochimaru who was pretending not to be there, and was very confused.
"No... nothing... that..." Luffy quickly waved his hands.
Aokiji sat cross-legged on the ground, "I used to be deeply taken care of by your grandfather... I came here just to see Nico Robin, and you." He glanced at Orochimaru out of the corner of his eye but said nothing.
"However... I suddenly feel that it would be better if you all died here now. Although the government doesn't attach enough importance to you yet, if you carefully trace your experiences, you'll find that all of you have a lot of backbone. Although there aren't many of you, when dangerous individuals like you gather together, it will become more and more troublesome in the future..." Aokiji was still rambling on, saying more and more.
"Fire Release! Serpent Man Flames!"
"Barrier, Four Violet Flames Battle Array!"
As the sound rang out, a Shadow Clone suddenly appeared. While everyone was stunned, it directly carried everyone away, running towards the going merry.
The first lesson of being a Ninja: do not engage in meaningless battles, especially when there is a significant disparity in strength. Be good at utilizing your own advantages, and all available resources around you. Listening to him finish speaking and then waiting to be beaten is only for hot-blooded idiots like Luffy... "Put me down!! Orochimaru!! I'm going to punch that person who wants to take Robin!" Luffy thrashed about on the Shadow Clone.
"Perhaps that's just the difference." He mocked his own timidity. No matter how much he said, it was just an excuse for his cowardice.
Aokiji touched the barrier and smiled, "Interesting, Orochimaru... Garp has been talking about you..."
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