"Is this your true strength?"
"Ahem…"
Kai spat out another mouthful of blood, feeling a searing pain from his injuries.
Aokiji was as ruthless as ever, just like when he clashed with Luffy back in the day. Could it be that his old mentor, Huang, gave him a little extra push?
At this moment, Kai truly felt the weight of facing a Marine Admiral.
He realized now that Aokiji had merely been toying with them earlier, and his current strength was on a whole different level. It made Kai think he had been close to the level of an Admiral before, but now...
Let's just say, the inflated confidence had completely deflated!
Yet, Kai accepted this reality. If an Admiral had only this level of strength, it would be unreasonable.
Kai slowly stood up, pulling out the ice spear lodged in his body. His wounds began to heal rapidly, with new flesh growing over the injuries. In no time, the wounds were gone, leaving only blood stains as evidence of his recent injuries.
Though his current invincible body wasn't enough to fully withstand Aokiji's attack, his recovery ability remained strong.
Recovering from these injuries, however, drained Kai's stamina, making him look pale and ghostly.
Aokiji looked on, shocked once more.
"Zoan-type abilities?"
It was a question but sounded like a confirmation. In Aokiji's experience, only a Zoan type could have such regenerative properties, and it must be a Mythical Zoan.
Kai didn't answer but simply smiled at Aokiji.
"A new round begins!"
...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Ace stared in disbelief as Kai, munching on a golden apple, looked almost serene.
"Aren't you a clone?"
Kai's clone raised an eyebrow and replied calmly, "What? Clones don't have rights to eat apples?"
Ace: ….
"That's not what I meant. I'm asking why you're not helping your real body?"
"There's no real body. Each clone is directly controlled by my consciousness, so you can think of all my clones as me."
"I must have a reason for leisurely eating apples here. Otherwise, why would I be here?"
"But if your real body is captured and put in Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs, won't you disappear?"
"No need to worry about that. I have my ways of escaping. Aokiji will never catch me!"
"Alright, we'll go our separate ways. I'm off to find Luffy and the others!" Ace said.
"Together? I'm heading to Yuba as well!" Ace added.
"Blackbeard isn't there. No need to search for him," Kai said calmly.
"By the way, remember what I told you before: you stand no chance against Blackbeard. It's better if you avoid him."
"Also, let me tell you something else. Blackbeard knows everything about you. If you lose, the consequences will be severe!"
"He was on our ship before and knows me well. Many on the ship do!" Ace said, confused.
"I'm not talking about that, but…"
Kai's eyes narrowed as he spoke each word carefully, "Your true background!"
Ace's eyes widened in shock, as if he had heard something unbelievable.
Kai ignored Ace's reaction and continued, "Do you know the impact it will have if the truth about you being the son of Pirate King is revealed?"
"You will be…"
"I will always have only one father, and that is Whitebeard!"
Before Kai could finish, Ace shouted abruptly.
Seeing Ace's reaction, Kai didn't say anything more, simply watching him before turning to leave.
As Kai walked away, he called back, "I've warned you about the consequences. What you do next is up to you!"
"Oh, and have a taste of this too!"
Kai tossed a golden apple to Ace.
"Eat it. It's delicious. Most importantly… if you eat it, you can live for a thousand years~"
With that, Kai continued walking while whistling.
Ace looked at the apple in his hand, then at Kai's retreating figure, and a smile spread across his face.
"This guy!"
...
Switching perspectives back to the field.
"Bang!"
A figure shot out like a meteor and landed heavily among the rubble.
After a while, the figure struggled to sit up but remained on the ground, completely exhausted.
Yes, it was Kai.
Kai coughed a few times, then laughed weakly at Aokiji, who stood across from him with slightly damaged clothes.
"It seems I can still be a thorn in the Admiral's side!"
Kai lay back down, feeling his strength draining even though his injuries were not severe.
Aokiji approached slowly, looking at Kai with a hint of admiration in his eyes. "You're incredibly strong, but at your age, I was far weaker."
"Really? Hahaha… It's an honor to be praised by a Marine Admiral!"
"Well, I'd like to ask, if you end up in Impel Down, could you get me a better cell?" Kai asked with a faint smile, showing no fear of being captured.
"You'll have to discuss that with Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"Fair enough!" Kai said cheerfully.
"Then, after capturing me, are you going after anyone else?" Kai asked.
"No!" Aokiji shook his head. "Just leave the remaining pirates to Smoker. I'm here to catch you because Smoker asked me to."
"With you as a big fish, the other pirates aren't as important. Otherwise, I'd be in trouble!" Aokiji said, showing his lazy justice and reluctance to deal with too many problems.
"So it's Smoker who sent you! You're really brave. If you manage to escape in the future, you'll need to look after him well!"
"Don't worry, you won't get that chance!" Aokiji said, pulling out a pair of Sea-Stone handcuffs and fastening them on Kai.
Kai immediately pretended to be weakened. Acting was easy enough.
Some time later, Smoker arrived with a group, only to see a scene that was hard to believe.
Kai, the pirate, and Aokiji, the Marine Admiral, were sitting on a large rock, chatting amicably.
If it weren't for Kai's Sea-Stone handcuffs, they might have thought Kai had joined the Marines or Aokiji had gone pirate.
Smoker approached Aokiji and asked, "General Aokiji, what's going on here?"
"Oh, brother Kai is quite a conversationalist. It's a pleasure to chat with him!"
"Yes, Uncle Aokiji is interesting. The ice water he makes is delicious. It's so refreshing in this desert climate~" Kai said, shaking his ice cup.
Everyone: …
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Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.