The appearance of Aokiji surprised Luffy and his crew, but it seemed like he truly had no intention of fighting. Usopp even thought Robin must have mistaken him for someone else, since this was the way a Marine Admiral behaved, which was hard for him to accept.
However, as the Straw Hats spent more time with Aokiji, they quickly learned about his laziness. He even found speaking with them tiring and eventually switched to lying down while talking.
It turned out that Aokiji had seen Robin's figure in Ryu's report. After asking around, he discovered that Robin had vanished from Alabasta, so he immediately suspected she had boarded Luffy's ship. Despite Ryu purposely omitting some details in his report, Aokiji had easily seen through it, and thus he followed their trail to find them.
"This old man probably wants to go to the next island, right? Let me help you," Aokiji said, shaking his head as he addressed the short old man from Long Ring Island.
"Old man, don't trust him, he's a Marine!" Luffy said seriously.
After a moment of silence, Luffy finally remembered, with help from the short old man, that for normal people, the Marines were the good guys, while they, the pirates, were the bad ones.
However, Usopp still had doubts. Although the ten islands of Long Ring Island were technically one island, this was only during low tide. At other times, they were definitely ten separate small islands. When Aokiji said he could help the short old man, Usopp was still skeptical.
"No, he can actually do it!" Robin, who had witnessed Aokiji's powers when she was younger, said directly.
No matter what, Aokiji still took the short old man and his injured white horse to the shore, with the Straw Hats following along. Then, they saw for themselves the true strength of the Marine Admiral, known as the strongest combat force in the Marines.
"Ice Age!" Aokiji inserted his hands into the sea and immediately activated his power, freezing the entire ocean's surface.
"Is this... is this real?" Usopp said in shock, staring at the white, frozen sea before him.
Aokiji showcased his strength as a Marine Admiral in front of the Straw Hat crew. However, he didn't show any hostile intent, and the situation seemed relatively peaceful for the moment.
"I've been thinking, and I don't think I can just let you go, so you'll die here," Aokiji said, not revealing what exactly was on his mind. He had originally planned to leave but then decided to make a move and froze Robin in place.
"Usopp, take Robin and leave!" Luffy quickly ordered the three cowardly members after learning from Chopper that even if frozen, Robin could still be treated if she was tended to in time. He knew they had to act fast.
In just one round, the Straw Hat crew's three main combatants were all injured. As a result, Luffy had no choice but to order Usopp and the others to leave, as they wouldn't be of much help.
However, Nami didn't flee immediately. She stopped Aokiji, interrupting his technique, and as a result, she was left behind.
"It seems things won't end peacefully," Zoro said, gripping his weapon as he glared at Aokiji.
"Wait! I'll handle this fight alone with him. Don't interfere!" Luffy said loudly, his gaze fixed on Aokiji.
"Heh, I don't mind, but I don't have a ship, so if you lose, I'll just have to kill you all," Aokiji replied indifferently.
Zoro and Sanji exchanged a glance before quickly evacuating with Nami, leaving the battlefield to Luffy.
"Chopper~ Hurry, come out and treat our injured hands and feet! Quickly!" Zoro said with a serious expression.
"Why are only you guys back? What happened to Luffy?" Usopp, who was helping Chopper unfreeze Robin, rushed out to ask.
"Use warm water to melt the frostbite, then gently massage to help the muscles recover! Nami, go help Robin while I treat Sanji and Zoro's wounds!" Chopper demonstrated his skills as a doctor.
"Luffy is staying behind to have a one-on-one fight with the guy!" Sanji and Zoro, who had been assisting in Robin's treatment in the washroom, jumped into the sea. After melting the ice on their hands and feet, they boarded the ship.
"So you're just abandoning Luffy and running away? Isn't that too cold-hearted?" Usopp yelled in anger.
"Now's not the time for this!" Zoro, noticing the argument between Sanji and Usopp, calmly said, "Chopper, how much longer until we can fully recover?"
"No, your frostbite is too severe. Even if we treat it, you won't be able to fight at full strength!" Chopper, who understood what Zoro was implying, refused directly.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Luffy's battle with Aokiji had reached a conclusion. Luffy had been completely frozen by Aokiji.
"Damn, I fell for it! So your idea of a one-on-one fight means you can defeat me and then leave my crew alone, right? Nico Robin is a real devil. You won't be able to handle her. As long as she's on your ship, it's like bringing trouble onto yourselves, Monkey D. Luffy!" Aokiji said, kicking the ice block next to Luffy, but ultimately sparing his life.
"Although it's easy to kill you right now, your grandfather's favor prevents me from doing it. But as for Alabasta, it's settled between you and the Marines! This is a good chance to deal with that annoying guy. If I were to harm you, Little Leaf might never forgive me!" Aokiji shook his head, grabbed his coat, and rode off on his bicycle.
By the time Zoro and Sanji arrived, they only saw Luffy frozen in ice. They brought him back to the ship, and Chopper immediately began treating him.
"They've both regained their heartbeats!" Not long after, Chopper came up on deck and delivered the good news.
"Next time, are we going to encounter enemies who can wipe us all out with just a few moves?" Usopp, lying weakly on the deck, muttered.
"Stop saying foolish things. You're tired too, so rest up," Zoro said quietly, trying to comfort him.
Although their log pointers had been fully set, Luffy was still unconscious, and Robin was seriously injured. Nami decided to stay the night before setting off again.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford
"Little one, you've been making some big strides lately!" Vice Admiral Dalmatian said with a grin.
Dalmatian, a user of the Inu Inu no Mi (Dog Dog Fruit), was skilled in using the "Six Powers."
"Haha, Rear Admiral, don't get too cocky. Just yesterday, Lord Mole almost capsized!" Ryu said, panting slightly.
Indeed, after returning to the headquarters, Ryu had finally started challenging the Marine Rear Admirals. Whether he won or lost, he faced one Rear Admiral per day. Though he lost more than he won, it greatly accelerated his growth in strength.
"Hmph, I'm not like him! Shave—Finger Gun!" Dalmatian snorted. His figure vanished, and in the next instant, he appeared beside Ryu.
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