Hearing Aokiji's words, Law's expression darkened. No wonder Bepo hadn't been answering the calls as they neared the Sabaody Archipelago.
Meanwhile, Maude furrowed his brow.
The lawless zones of the Sabaody Archipelago were teeming with pirates. Compared to those infamous figures, the Heart Pirates didn't stand out much.
Yet the Marines had specifically targeted Law's crew. Considering Aokiji's prior actions against Perona and Urouge…
Their intent became glaringly obvious.
"What have you done to Bepo and the others?"
In that brief instant, Law wasn't thinking as far ahead as Maude. Taking a sudden step forward, his gaze toward Aokiji turned razor-sharp.
"Well… you'll find out soon enough."
"Room!"
Before Aokiji could finish speaking, Law expanded his spatial domain, enveloping the ice-bound admiral.
Clang!
The moment the domain was set, Law swiftly drew his blade and slashed at Aokiji from a distance.
Shhk—
A faint slicing sound echoed as a cut appeared across Aokiji's chest, his body splitting clean in two.
Yet in the next instant, the bisected Aokiji transformed into ice and shattered onto the frozen ground.
"Hm?"
Law's eyes narrowed. Even with his ability, he had no idea where Aokiji had re-materialized.
"Follow me."
A fleeting red gleam flashed through Maude's eyes as he left behind those words and bolted toward the battle between the Marines and Lafitte's group.
Through his Observation Haki, Maude detected Aokiji rapidly moving toward Onigumo and the others.
By briefly manifesting himself before Law and unsettling their minds with cryptic words, Aokiji had deliberately created an opening to assist Onigumo's squad.
Hearing Maude's command, Law's expression turned cold. Instead of dismissing his spatial domain, he pushed his stamina further, using teleportation to keep up with Maude's pace.
Within the battlefield…
Onigumo's face was grim.
Against Lafitte, his eight swords were proving insufficient.
During their near-lightning-speed clash, Onigumo had sustained three wounds, while Lafitte remained completely unscathed.
The difference in their strength was evident.
"This isn't looking good…"
Onigumo clenched his teeth, ignoring his injuries as he unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks with his eight blades against Lafitte.
Though his attacks couldn't bypass Lafitte's Observation Haki, they at least restricted his counterattacks, forcing the battle into a prolonged contest.
His vast combat experience had allowed Onigumo to find the only possible path to turning the tide.
And endurance battles were his specialty.
"Hohoho…"
Lafitte, however, saw through Onigumo's intentions with ease.
But it didn't matter.
The advantage was on his side.
From the moment the battle began, it was the Marines who had been continuously losing men.
So even if Onigumo dragged this fight out, as long as Lafitte remained undefeated, the outcome wouldn't change.
Onigumo was surely aware of this as well, which explained the uncharacteristic impatience creeping into his otherwise fierce offensive.
Elsewhere on the battlefield…
The mask on Bastille's face had been shattered in half, blood streaming down his exposed cheek and neck.
His once-mighty Shark Cutter blade had been broken into two pieces.
A battle-hardened Vice Admiral—reduced to this state by a virtually unknown pirate with a bounty of only 30 million berries.
If word got out, few would believe it.
Yet it was reality.
Beaten into near-collapse by Gaya, Bastille's chest burned with humiliation.
Not because he was defeated by an obscure female pirate, but because—
"You had the chance… to end my life with that last axe strike. Why did you hold back?"
Bastille panted heavily, bloodshot eyes glaring at Gaya.
Gaya remained calm, replying indifferently, "I'm just used to killing pirates."
"What do you mean?"
Bastille's eyes widened.
Gaya didn't elaborate. Instead, she lunged forward, swinging her axe and unleashing a powerful Hakoku shockwave at Bastille.
The overwhelming energy, gleaming with blinding white light, surged toward him in an instant.
It was this very attack that had left him in his current battered state.
And now, utterly spent, Bastille had no means of resisting the incoming shockwave.
"Damn it…"
Cursing internally, Bastille was struck head-on by the Hakoku shockwave.
Amidst the dazzling radiance, his massive frame convulsed. The remaining half of his mask shattered, blood spraying from his nose, mouth, and ears.
Moments later, his enormous body was sent flying before crashing heavily to the ground, unconscious.
"He's down? I thought I'd need another axe strike to finish him off."
Gaya halted, gazing at the defeated and motionless Bastille.
During her time on Thriller Bark, she hadn't just been training Brook and preparing meals.
She had spent a great deal of effort learning the Hakoku technique from Maude.
This was her first time using it in real combat—and it felt effortless.
Though she wasn't particularly fond of fighting, today's battle had been… exhilarating.
"Lafitte should be fine over there."
Casually holding her axe, Gaya glanced at Lafitte's battle with Onigumo before turning her gaze toward Brook and Jimbei's side.
"So I should go help them—huh?"
Suddenly, her eyes sharpened as she twisted her waist and instinctively swung her axe at the approaching cold air.
In an instant, the frost materialized into a thick ice wall.
Crack!
Her axe shattered the ice wall upon impact.
But immediately after, more ice walls emerged out of nowhere, enclosing Gaya within them.
Beyond the frozen barrier—
"You've got quick reflexes."
Aokiji, revealing himself, scratched his cheek with mild exasperation.
As the ice walls sealed Gaya in, Aokiji ignored Maude, who was breaking through the walls behind him, and swiftly intervened in the battle.
The sudden arrival of Aokiji left Brook, Jim, and the surrounding Marines momentarily stunned.
"Ice Age!"
Without hesitation, Aokiji unleashed his most powerful Ice Age attack.
Frigid air erupted, expanding rapidly. Within moments, towering ice walls materialized, dividing the battlefield and cutting off all combatants from one another.
The sheer scale and speed of the technique, combined with its precision, highlighted Aokiji's terrifying mastery over the Ice-Ice Fruit.
In mere seconds, the entire battleground had been transformed into a labyrinth of towering ice walls.
With enough barriers in place, Aokiji ignored Brook and Jim, who had narrowly avoided the freezing wave.
Instead, he quickly gathered the wounded and unconscious Marines and began his retreat.
Meanwhile—
Loud crashing sounds echoed outside the ice walls.
It was Maude, tearing them down.
"Wait for the call."
Aokiji's voice drifted through the icy barriers to Maude.
Along with his words, a standard Marine-issued Den Den Mushi was tossed high into the air.
Then—
With his mission accomplished, Aokiji led the remaining Marines in a full retreat.
From the Marine perspective, it was a battlefield retreat.
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