The moment Aokiji sensed Maude's presence, he decisively abandoned his swift offensive against Shakky, despite having gained a significant advantage.
This gave Shakky a brief moment to catch her breath.
"As troublesome as ever…"
A hint of surprise flashed in Aokiji's eyes as he turned slightly, gazing at Maude, who was walking toward him with an unrestrained aura.
This man was no longer who he used to be. His arrival at such a critical moment was nothing short of a disaster for their operation.
The Navy had already suffered tremendous losses in the Summit War, and now was supposed to be a period of recovery—restoring order across the world. They had no reason to provoke these notorious pirates.
However, Vegapunk's request took precedence.
Thus, the Navy acted swiftly upon receiving intelligence on their target. They dispatched Aokiji and his forces to the Sabaody Archipelago to capture members of the Heart Pirates and Maude's crew alive.
This strategic approach allowed them to secure live hearts for Vegapunk at minimal cost.
After all, for Trafalgar D. Water Law, extracting a still-beating heart was nothing more than a trivial task.
Surely, in exchange for his crew's safety, Law—and by extension, Maude—would not refuse such a simple trade.
That was the Navy's calculation.
But they never expected Maude to appear at this exact moment.
For the past three days, the Navy had kept a close watch over the waters surrounding the Sabaody Archipelago, monitoring a radius equivalent to a three-day journey by sea.
Not only had they detected no signs of Maude, but not even a single civilian ship had passed through the area.
And yet—
As if descending from the heavens, Maude and his crew arrived just as the operation was about to conclude.
Aokiji sighed slightly, his gaze locking onto Maude, who approached with measured steps. His right hand rested on the hilt of Shusui, while a white ermine perched on his shoulder, lazily chewing on a chicken leg.
"You look surprised."
Maude's cold eyes bore into Aokiji as he let his presence expand unrestrainedly.
Had he arrived just a minute later, Perona and the others would have met a terrible fate.
Even Shakky, who had long since retired, might not have survived.
"Ara ara… I really didn't expect you to show up out of nowhere."
Aokiji exhaled a mist of cold air, his tone calm. "You always manage to appear when we least expect it. If you hadn't come, perhaps this whole situation would have ended in a way that wasn't too bad for either side."
"'Not too bad'? Since when did an Admiral of the Navy start making jokes?"
Maude's fingers slowly pressed down on the hilt of his sword, tightening his grip.
His blade had yet to be drawn, but the killing intent emanating from him was already as sharp as steel.
"You've hurt my people like this, Aokiji… Let me make one thing clear—this isn't over!"
As his presence surged, unconcealed fury burned on Maude's face.
In his previous life, he had developed his own mature worldview and values.
He had no interest in maintaining order or upholding so-called world peace.
At the end of the day, even if this world fell into ruin, what did it have to do with him?
His only purpose in becoming stronger—his sole reason for struggling, scheming, and risking everything—was to ensure that neither he nor his people would ever be threatened.
If he couldn't even protect those closest to him, then everything he had done so far would be meaningless.
"..."
Aokiji fell silent, staring at Maude's furious expression.
Thinking back, in all their past encounters, this was only the second time he had seen such a resolute, unwavering fury from Maude.
And whenever Maude spoke in that tone, his words could not be ignored.
"…Well, there's no point talking anymore."
Aokiji's expression sharpened. He raised a hand, and white mist-like frost gathered along his palm and forearm.
Without further discussion, he launched his attack.
"Ice Block: Partisan!"
The condensed frost instantly took the form of a massive ice bird, rocketing toward Maude with tremendous force.
Everything in its path was frozen solid by the overflowing cold.
CLANG—!
In response, Maude drew his sword. Shusui gleamed darkly as he lifted it above his head.
The black blade, streaked with ominous red patterns, was surrounded by shadowy mist.
"Shadow Flow—Veil Blade."
Before the ice bird could reach him, Maude brought his blade down in a single slash.
A massive jet-black sword energy erupted forth, expanding like a tidal wave as it surged along the ground.
SHHH!
The moment the dark slash collided with Aokiji's ice bird, the frozen construct was cleaved cleanly in two, scattering into a storm of ice shards.
But Veil Blade did not stop.
The surging slash continued toward Aokiji without losing momentum.
"You're using so many shadows in your attack… That means you've increased your own vulnerability."
Even as his attack was torn apart, Aokiji remained composed. He had already identified Maude's weakness.
Attacking Maude's shadow directly with Armament Haki would inflict real damage on him.
That was common knowledge.
And Aokiji was about to do just that.
SHHH!
The dark slash roared forward, cutting straight through Aokiji's body, splitting him in half.
But—
The attack didn't stop.
Like a colossal curtain being unfurled, Veil Blade carved a deep trench into the earth and continued forward.
It sliced through one of the enormous Yarukiman Mangroves, bisecting the colossal tree in complete silence.
RUMBLE—!
The entire 14th Grove trembled violently.
Even those on neighboring islands felt the shockwave.
"What's happening?!"
People rushed out of their homes, staring in shock at the massive, lingering slash that had torn through the mangrove.
Meanwhile—
Despite being cleaved in half, Aokiji remained unshaken.
In his right hand, an ice blade formed. Then, Armament Haki surged forth, coating the frozen weapon in obsidian black.
"You've let your guard down, Maude."
Aokiji's eyes were calm as he swung his Haki-infused ice blade, aiming to counter the very slash that had split him apart.
But—
SWOOSH!
Maude suddenly appeared right in front of him.
With his middle and index fingers pressed together, he gently placed them against the surface of Aokiji's ice blade.
In that instant—
The ice sword, which had been swinging at full force, came to an immediate, unnatural halt.
"Even now… you still don't understand?"
As he spoke, Maude's other hand thrust Shusui forward, stabbing it directly into Aokiji's chest.
"Where there is shadow… there is me."
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