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worm novel 200 . xyz '
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The frozen sea completely encircled Jaya. The pirates who had gathered on the island scattered in panic, driven by their sheer terror of the marine admiral.
However, the pirates fleeing in one particular direction had the misfortune of running straight into the marines led by Vice Admiral Momousagi. A battle erupted instantly.
These panicked pirates were already thoroughly paralyzed by their fear of the admiral. Running into the marine forces left them utterly devoid of any will to resist. In just a single clash, practically every pirate on Momousagi's side of the ice was rounded up and captured without a single one slipping through the net.
"Leave a hundred men behind to detain the pirates. The rest of you, follow me to provide support!"
"Yes, Ma'am!"
Momousagi led the remaining hundred or so elite marines and continued her rapid advance toward Jaya right after giving the order.
The town that had once been a bustling hub for pirates was practically deserted by now. Let alone the pirates, even the local residents had mostly fled.
The explosive shockwaves from the clash of ice and fire earlier had made one thing perfectly clear to everyone on Jaya. A battle of this magnitude covered a terrifyingly wide area. Innocent bystanders would easily get caught in the crossfire! That was a harsh reality no individual's willpower could change.
Both the locals and the pirates evacuated as far away as possible, only daring to cast a backward glance once they were at a safe distance.
The marines were greeted by what amounted to an empty city when Momousagi and her forces finally arrived at Jaya. Absolutely no combat took place contrary to what they had expected.
"The battlefield is in the waters on the other side of the island!"
Momousagi swept her gaze across the surroundings and pointed toward the rear of the town. She immediately took the lead and rushed ahead with the elite soldiers closely following her.
A holy light suddenly bloomed from the direction of the distant coast right at that moment. It slowly rose into the sky like a miniature sun.
"What is that?" Momousagi looked up in absolute bewilderment.
The color abruptly drained from her face and her pupils shrank as she stared at the radiant glow in midair. The faint silhouette of a winged humanoid creature seemed to be concealed within that gentle holy light, though the sheer distance made it impossible to confirm.
"Ah... is that an angel?"
"Are you kidding? Do creatures from legends like angels actually exist?"
"Wait, that's exactly where Admiral Aokiji is located!"
"Could this suspected angel creature that suddenly appeared be..."
"An enemy?"
The marines instantly fell completely silent at those words. Their faces quickly morphed into expressions of sheer panic as a terrifying realization dawned on them.
"It is naturally an enemy!"
Momousagi stomped the ground and took the lead, using Shave to sprint away. Regardless of what that midair creature actually was, it certainly did not belong to the marines. It had to be an enemy! That simple deduction was more than enough for them.
The elite soldiers promptly followed the vice admiral and sprinted toward the coast on the opposite end of the island.
Meanwhile, thick white fog shrouded the frozen battlefield.
Aokiji wore a profoundly solemn expression. A tall figure hovered in the air, completely surrounded by divine light. Eight massive snow-white wings spread wide from her back. She looked as flawlessly sacred as a celestial maiden descending to the mortal realm while bathing in that holy radiance.
She looked exactly like an angel from the ancient legends.
However, those were strictly myths.
Angelic creatures had never once existed in this world.
There was only one remaining possibility if she was not a real angel.
A devil fruit!
Aokiji immediately deduced that this had to be an angel-model devil fruit.
"That is right. Nami is a Mythical Zoan devil fruit user, specifically the Celestial Maiden form!" Lius halted his assault and nodded in response to the admiral's verbalized suspicion. "It belongs to the Human-Human Fruit, Archangel model."
He answered the marine admiral completely directly without any intention of hiding the truth.
This was not due to a lack of cunning on Lius's part. The Celestial Maiden form had already been fully exposed, so he figured he might as well just state it outright.
This would at least allow him to fabricate a perfectly suitable explanation.
Besides, neither the marines nor the world government would ever find a single shred of related information in their historical records afterward.
The world government could go ahead and waste their time making blind guesses and fruitless searches. It had absolutely nothing to do with him anyway!
Ace and Nami did not share his nonchalant mindset.
The fiery youth's face changed slightly upon hearing his captain's blunt admission. "Are you seriously just going to reveal our secrets to the enemy like that?"
"The opposing party is the marines!"
"My bad, it completely slipped my mind!" Lius apologized without a single ounce of actual remorse.
If Aokiji had harbored any lingering doubts about his words earlier, those doubts were now entirely erased.
"So it truly is related to angels. It feels rather ironic that a symbol of purity ended up in the hands of you pirates." Aokiji stared at them coldly.
He did not even need to analyze the situation to know that the holy light provided an incredible physical boost to the two brats who had previously been showing signs of exhaustion.
"Isn't it much more ironic that the marines represent justice yet serve as the personal guard dogs for the Celestial Dragons?" Lius retorted with a smirk while gripping his dual swords.
He would likely have been completely overwhelmed if he had to face the pinnacle of marine combat power all by himself.
Fortunately, Ace's flames perfectly countered the admiral's ice. The battle was still incredibly arduous, but Aokiji could not do much to them in the short term.
That was especially true now that they had Nami's holy light buffing them.
Of course, this did not mean Lius felt entirely secure. He had already accumulated several injuries throughout the fierce battle.
Ace was in an even worse state, his body completely covered in wounds.
After all, neither of them could match the sheer heights of an admiral's Observation and Armament Haki.
Aokiji fell silent upon hearing that remark. His already dark complexion seemed to grow even gloomier.
He carefully scrutinized the two young men standing before him.
He thoroughly confirmed his previous theory.
The two brats who had been panting heavily just moments ago were now completely rejuvenated and bursting with boundless energy.
Furthermore, the elemental attribute of one of those brats perfectly countered his own.
This was the absolute annoyance of conflicting devil fruit affinities!
The outcome would have been entirely different if Kizaru or Akainu had been sent here instead.
"Everyone has their own differing stances and underlying reasons." Aokiji tilted his head in thought.
His tone grew noticeably colder as he spoke. "But since when is it a pirate's turn to preach to me?"
He exhaled a breath of freezing air. The ice blade in his hand instantly condensed further, reflecting a bone-chilling murderous intent under the sunlight.
"So there is no room for negotiation?" Lius spread his arms while holding his longswords and let out a helpless sigh.
"Pirates have no right to negotiate with the marines. Did you honestly think mastering Conqueror's Haki coating puts you on the same level as the top powerhouses?" Aokiji's expression was incredibly grim as his killing intent radiated outward. "Haki alone cannot make up for your fundamental lack of personal strength!"
"Oh, thanks for the reminder!" Lius nodded in response.
He exhaled a deep breath of stale air immediately after speaking.
The rhythm of his breathing slowly stretched out and became incredibly tranquil. The muscle curves on his previously slender and well-proportioned body gradually condensed even further, making him look exceptionally lean.
Aokiji's pupils contracted sharply at the sight.
"Life Return?"
"Yep. The precise control over the physical changes in one's flesh and blood is not an ability completely exclusive to your marines!" Lius flashed a wide grin.
His current physical state was the absolute mastery of Life Return achieved by fully merging the Six Powers.
A person could freely manipulate their own flesh and blood cells through specialized training once their physical constitution broke past ordinary human limits and integrated the Six Powers.
This effectively meant allowing one's consciousness to assume total control over the physical body.
Lius looked much leaner now, but his internal bodily density had drastically increased, compressing his flesh until it was as thoroughly resilient as steel.
"You really are a monster..." Aokiji pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "No, you are a monster among monsters!"
The boy looked to be in his teens. Even if he had started training at the age of two, it would only amount to a little over a decade of effort. Most experts on this vast sea only reached their peak and gained a modicum of fame in their thirties.
However.
The swordsmanship Lius displayed already rivaled that of a world-class great swordsman.
His monstrous Conqueror's Haki was practically a walking disaster.
He had even mastered the Conqueror's Haki coating, an incredibly advanced ability strictly reserved for top-tier combatants.
Now, even his physical combat skills had reached the absolute pinnacle of mastery.
Such an unparalleled monster among monsters was an absolutely unique threat to the entire sea.
It completely explained why a legendary pirate like the Golden Lion had emerged from years of hiding just to train him.
If the marines or the world government had managed to recruit such a terrifying prodigy, they would undoubtedly pour all their available resources into nurturing him!
Of course, this was merely Aokiji's own wishful thinking.
He would have been shocked completely beyond words if he knew that Lius had reached this terrifying level of power in a mere two years.
"I have to admit that if your terrifying potential is allowed to fully mature, this sea will probably never see another day of peace!" Aokiji's completely indifferent gaze landed squarely on Lius. "Therefore, I have decided to snuff out your life right here and now!"
The ambient temperature of the entire surrounding area instantly plummeted as his words fell.
The previously chaotic air currents immediately solidified, condensing into countless floating ice crystals that looked utterly breathtaking under the shining sunlight.
Yet, these incredibly beautiful objects harbored an utterly terrifying killing intent.
"Ice Block: Partisan!"
The condensed ice crystals seemed to suddenly come alive as the marine spoke. They rapidly swirled and converged in midair, forming numerous frozen spears that shot directly toward Lius.
The densely packed projectiles rained down like a torrential downpour, completely sealing off every possible avenue of escape.
"I also have to admit that the sheer strength of a marine admiral is exactly as terrifying as the rumors say!" Lius grinned widely while tightly gripping his dual blades against the overwhelming barrage of falling ice spears. "But if you want to take my life, you had better be fully prepared to pay a very heavy price!"
He abruptly spread his arms wide as he spoke before fiercely swinging his blades in a rapid flurry of slashes.
"Lion: Thousand Cut Valley!"
Countless blazing sword waves launched into the sky, creating a terrifying defensive wall of sword energy that completely blocked the incoming frozen spears.
The violently colliding forces shattered the projectiles into pieces, sending clouds of icy dust dancing wildly through the air.
"Don't forget about me!"
Ace had finally managed to catch his breath on the other side. Intense flames aggressively spewed from his arm as he launched a massive fiery fist straight ahead.
"I almost forgot about the brat with the fire abilities!" Aokiji turned around and raised his hand, casually throwing out a blast of freezing air that turned the atmosphere itself to ice as it violently collided with the Fire Fist.
The freezing blast and the flaming fist completely canceled each other out, ultimately transforming into a massive cloud of thick white fog that swept across the surrounding area.
"Hunting: Lion's Roar!"
A thunderous shout echoed directly from behind Aokiji in the very next moment.
Lius darted directly out of the freezing dust after cutting down all the ice spears. He raised his dual blades high as a fierce aura explosively erupted from his body, taking the imposing form of a roaring lion with its jaws wide open.
"Slash!"
Yubashiri and Kitetsu swung down furiously. The incredibly mighty aura was as overwhelmingly awe-inspiring as a roaring lion swallowing rivers and mountains.
It was crucial to note that he had not even unleashed his Conqueror's Haki yet.
The seamless fusion of pure swordsmanship and the echoing hum of his blades alone was more than enough to perfectly replicate the terrifying effects of Conqueror's Haki.
It was glaringly obvious that his profound attainment in the way of the sword had completely reached the legendary tier of a world-class great swordsman.
Aokiji looked up and raised his ice blade to defend.
The lion-like sonic wave caused his weapon to tremble violently before it even made contact with the incoming longswords, eventually forming several tiny cracks along its surface.
"The vibrational effect of his sword's hum?" Aokiji's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight.
He simply exhaled a breath of cold air, instantly healing the cracks in his weapon and condensing it until it was as completely indestructible as solid steel.
The blades clashed with a deafening metallic clang.
The thick ice beneath them violently exploded at the epicenter of the impact, launching countless fragments of frosty dust high into the air.
Lius utilized the incredible sheer recoil of his diving attack to completely flip his body backward. He gracefully landed on the ice several dozen meters away from the admiral.
He did not immediately launch another attack. He instead looked up toward Nami.
The young woman continuously showering the battlefield in holy light immediately noticed his gaze.
Their eyes met, and while neither said a single word, they perfectly understood each other's intent. Nami gave a firm nod in response.
Lius crouched down slightly and assumed a diving posture upon receiving her silent confirmation.
"Oh? Are you going to use that move again?" Aokiji's lips curled into an expectant smirk.
He absolutely would not make the same careless mistake Garp did now that he fully knew the brat possessed the Conqueror's Haki coating.
He could naturally use the sheer speed of his elementalization to easily dodge any incoming threat if the raw power proved completely irresistible.
"Flame Commandment: Fire Pillar!"
Ace naturally would not let the marine relax for even a second.
A massive pillar of fire shot directly into the sky, forcefully neutralizing Aokiji's freezing air while simultaneously erupting into a surging sea of flames.
Thick white fog exploded once again in the very next moment, thoroughly obscuring all vision and completely enveloping the entire surrounding area.
The slightly crouching Lius finally made his move right at that exact instant.
He stomped the ground with incredible force, instantly carving a massive crater dozens of meters wide right into the thick ice.
Using the explosive recoil, Lius crossed his longswords firmly over his chest to utterly minimize wind resistance. He pushed his movement speed to the absolute limit, tearing through the empty void like a streak of lightning as he instantly appeared directly in front of Aokiji.
Fast!
He was incredibly fast!
He was standing far away in the distance one second, and completely closing in on the admiral the next.
"Lion Threat: Sky Rending Slash!"
Lius viciously swung both hands outward. The thoroughly crossed blades unleashed a terrifying beam of light that seemed capable of cleaving heaven and earth apart.
It looked as if the very fabric of space was violently splitting open as the strike flashed right between him and Aokiji.
"No Conqueror's Haki coating?" Aokiji frowned slightly, having initially completely braced himself for a devastating impact.
He fully believed that the Conqueror's Haki coating was the only actual threat to his safety.
Yet, Lius had not coated his blades in Conqueror's Haki at all.
He had not even applied a basic layer of Armament Haki.
This sword technique possessed incredibly immense raw power, but it completely lacked the essential ability to counter a Logia user.
For a powerhouse of Aokiji's caliber, there was absolutely no need to elementalize and dodge. He could literally stand perfectly still and let the attack hit him without suffering even a single scratch.
Nevertheless, he naturally would not just allow the attack to casually fall on him.
He raised his arm slightly, fully intending to block horizontally with his ice blade.
His expression abruptly underwent a drastic change right at that moment. He suddenly realized he could not move his body in the slightest.
"What?"
His Observation Haki immediately detected a completely inexplicable layer of holy light thoroughly enveloping his entire body. It forcefully imprisoned him firmly in place.
He could not even escape through elementalization.
The blinding sword light streaked past, sending a massive spray of crimson blood flying into the air.
Aokiji was completely launched backward with his head thrown back. A terrifying half-meter-long gash appeared across his torso. Blood continuously gushed wildly from the horrendous wound, seemingly impossible to stop.
There was absolutely no Armament Haki, nor was there any Conqueror's Haki.
However, the absolute confinement of the Heavenly Purple Light could perfectly freeze even pure elemental forms.
The ice shattered with a deafening boom!
"It worked!" Nami's face flushed with incredibly immense excitement in the distance.
Robin's beautiful eyes widened completely in absolute horror from the ship.
An admiral was injured!
It was practically impossible to believe if they had not personally witnessed it with their own eyes.
It was still thoroughly shocking even if the grievous injury was not achieved through completely direct confrontation.
Simply managing to harm a marine admiral thoroughly proved that these terrifying monsters were not truly invincible in the strictest sense.
Even Lius himself was incredibly surprised.
He had originally just wanted to test the theory, yet it had actually succeeded perfectly.
It felt exactly like the cunning trick he had previously used against Garp.
Of course, this completely meant that Nami's Celestial Maiden form was thoroughly exposed to the enemy. It would be absolutely impossible to catch any powerful marine off guard with it ever again.
None of that mattered anymore.
Lius slowly landed on the ground with his dual blades in hand.
His Observation Haki suddenly detected an utterly overwhelming sense of impending crisis rapidly engulfing him in the very next moment.
The sharp sound of tearing air frantically echoed all around him.
Numerous frozen spears purely condensed from solid ice violently surged toward him with an absolutely chilling killing intent.
"Hmm?" Lius's eyes widened completely, completely unable to react in time.
His bodily instincts forcefully made him turn slightly to perfectly avoid a thoroughly fatal strike to his vital organs.
A frozen spear completely pierced right through his left shoulder in the following second. The utterly unmatched kinetic force forcefully carried him entirely backward, brutally pinning his suspended body squarely against the very front of their ship.
He violently coughed up a massive mouthful of fresh blood.
Yubashiri slipped from his left hand and fell onto the ice with a sharp metallic clatter, its entire surface thoroughly dyed crimson.
"Lius!" Nami and Robin screamed in absolute terror upon witnessing the brutal scene.
Even Ace's face drastically changed in sheer horror.
None of them completely expected the marine admiral to actually launch an utterly unavoidable counterattack in the split second he was severely slashed.
It completely made sense why Akainu could effortlessly blow off half of Whitebeard's head with a mere backhand strike even after being brutally ambushed in the anime.
Whitebeard might have been completely running on fumes at that particular time.
However, one had to fully acknowledge that admirals truly stood at the absolute very pinnacle of this vast sea alongside the Four Emperors.
The actual gap between the two terrifying factions was practically negligible.
"Dos Fleur!"
Robin was the quickest to react, thoroughly crossing her arms to fully unleash her devil fruit ability.
Two ethereal arms sprouted directly from the cabin, gently supporting Lius's feet to completely alleviate the agonizing pain radiating from the brutal spear wound.
"Captain Lius, how are you holding up?" Robin's face was thoroughly pale as she rushed over to look down at him from the bow.
"I'm fine, I'm not dead yet!" Lius glanced up at her and flashed a wide grin despite his frighteningly pale complexion.
He seamlessly sheathed Kitetsu and firmly gripped the frozen spear in his shoulder with his free right hand before viciously ripping it completely out.
Blood rapidly cascaded outward the very moment the icy projectile was entirely removed.
Having completed the agonizing extraction, Lius raised his right arm and was finally hoisted safely back onto the ship with Nami and Robin's combined pulling efforts.
"He really deserves his title as a marine admiral. I can't afford to be completely careless next time!" He grimaced fiercely from the thoroughly agonizing pain.
Nami immediately deactivated her Celestial Maiden form and rapidly retrieved a medical kit from the cabin, frantically bandaging his severe injury.
However, they were granted absolutely no time to catch their breath.
Aokiji violently crashed onto the thick ice near the coast with a thunderous boom, launching a massive cloud of icy dust entirely into the sky.
Yet, the admiral was fully back on his feet in less than three seconds.
The bleeding from the terrifying half-meter-long gash on his torso had been completely frozen shut by his freezing air. His severe wound was at least entirely stabilized compared to Lius's.
"You have genuinely angered me!"
The utterly cold voice was completely overflowing with boundless killing intent.
The ambient temperature of the entire world plummeted even further. An absolutely endless tide of freezing air violently surged directly from Aokiji's body, instantly transforming into a majestic sea of freezing fog that viciously swept in all directions.
Absolutely everything in its destructive path was thoroughly frozen solid. The terrifyingly cold air seemed completely capable of freezing space itself.
It was fully poised to violently engulf their entire sailboat in the very next instant.
"Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor!"
Ace spread his arms wide and firmly stood squarely in front of the sailboat. Raging flames completely enveloped his entire body, using their utterly blistering heat to flawlessly resist the rapidly encroaching cold air and aggressively evaporate the thick freezing fog.
Endless streams of raging fire completely transformed into expanding fiery ripples that rapidly spread outward directly from his feet.
The scorching inferno rapidly expanded until it thoroughly covered a massive area dozens of meters wide.
The sprawling flames abruptly behaved like flowing water in the next moment, instantaneously converging violently toward the palm of Ace's raised right hand.
A terrifyingly massive fireball completely resembling a miniature sun fully formed in mere moments.
"Everyone, the rest is entirely up to fate!" The incredibly battered and bruised Ace turned his head and grinned brightly at his companions.
"Don't worry. You guys leave first. I still have some fight left in me!"
Lius flashed a wicked smirk. His right hand firmly gripped the hilt resting on his waist, remaining completely ready to fully take over the brutal fight at a moment's notice.
"Not a single one of you is leaving!"
Aokiji roared furiously from the distant coast. The extremely freezing air thoroughly transformed into a majestically terrifying cold current that violently surged forward like a crashing ocean wave.
"Ice Age!"
"Flame Emperor!" Ace roared just as fiercely, viciously hurling the massive sun-like fireball hovering directly above him completely forward.
The ultimate collision of extreme ice and blistering fire violently unleashed an absolutely unparalleled surge of pure destructive energy in the very next moment.