Sabaody Archipelago, Grove 30.
Aeridar and Oliver strolled down a shopping street, both with several skewers of assorted grilled meat in their hands, their mouths slick with grease.
"Whoa, Captain! You actually used Haki to knock out the Celestial Dragons!" Oliver's eyes widened, almost popping out of his sockets.
"Couldn't be helped. I can't kill those delicate dolls, so I had no choice but to use my Haki," Aeridar said, eating the last piece of meat off his skewer.
"Seriously, Captain, aren't you worried the Marines will come after you? I heard that when Celestial Dragons are offended, an Admiral has to be dispatched," Oliver said, a bit helpless. He wasn't afraid of the Marines, but he hated trouble. If they came, his relaxed time on Sabaody Archipelago would surely come to an end.
"Relax, relax. I didn't kill anyone or beat anyone. The Marines and the World Government aren't going to start a war with us over a couple of foolish Celestial Dragons," Aeridar said with a nonchalant shrug. "We're not the same as we were back then. If they make a move on us, the course of the world will change, and, uh..."
He didn't get to finish his sentence. Aeridar seemed to sense something, and he looked up.
Tap, tap, tap, tap...
A rhythmic series of footsteps echoed clearly. A large group of Marine soldiers, armed with rifles, longswords, and other weapons, marched in a neat formation. There were at least several hundred of them. More importantly, there were also hundreds of Marines behind them, completely blocking the street. They were surrounded.
"What's going on?"
"The Marines are here in force! Is it a really bad pirate?"
"Could they be coming for those two?"
"Those two... they look familiar!"
Seeing the Marines block the street, a panicked crowd of civilians scrambled to get away, afraid of being caught in the crossfire if a fight broke out.
"Captain, didn't you say the Marines wouldn't start a war?" Oliver said, twitching his lips in disbelief.
"I didn't say they wouldn't start a fight," Aeridar retorted, his eye twitching. He refused to admit he was wrong.
"What's the point of not admitting it?" Oliver rolled his eyes at Aeridar.
"Arara~ Golden Ring Aeridar, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Suddenly, a lazy voice came from the Marine ranks. The formation of Marines parted, creating a path. A tall, lanky man in a Justice coat with gold epaulets over a white vest and dark blue shirt walked forward, scratching his hair. He wore a green eye mask on his forehead and looked completely listless, as if he had just woken up.
"Marine Headquarters Admiral, Aokiji Kuzan!!"
Seeing who had arrived, both Aeridar and Oliver's expressions turned serious.
"Admiral Aokiji, what brings a great man like you here?" Aeridar cocked his head and asked.
"Arara~ Stop playing dumb. You've got some explaining to do about the Celestial Dragons. Otherwise, we Marines will look pretty bad in front of those World Nobles," Kuzan said, looking at Aeridar with a troubled expression.
"An explanation?" Aeridar raised an eyebrow, a look of contempt on his face. "Are you going to strip me of my Warlord of the Sea title? And send me to Impel Down? I don't think you Marines can even do that!"
"Arara, wouldn't you like to know?"
Kuzan's gaze sharpened, and the lazy feeling on his body vanished.
Gulp~
As they listened to the two men's conversation and witnessed the standoff, the surrounding Marines felt the tension rise. Sweat beaded on their foreheads, and they swallowed nervously. After all, one side had the Marines' highest combat power, while the other was a top-tier pirate. If a fight broke out, the shockwaves alone would likely kill these ordinary Marines.
"It seems we can't get out of this without a fight." Aeridar twisted his wrist, a ferocious look appearing on his face, as he released a powerful, oppressive aura.
"Who knows about that?" Kuzan's body grew even colder, a biting chill rising from him as the surrounding temperature rapidly dropped.
"It's so cold!" A group of Marines behind Kuzan shivered, rubbing their arms.
"Quickly, get out of here! Retreat!" At this, the Marine officers, sensing something was wrong, came to their senses and quickly ordered their subordinates to retreat.
Boom!
Suddenly, Aeridar stomped the ground, cracking it beneath him. A small crater burst outward, scattering debris and dust as he launched forward like an arrow.
"He's here!" Kuzan's expression turned cold. He leaned forward, extending his right arm. A large amount of cold air gathered, turning his entire arm into ice. A huge ice pillar then shot out, rapidly forming a massive ice pheasant with a wingspan of nearly ten meters. It flew forward, freezing everything in its path.
Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!
"Just a mere block of ice! Break!" Against the oncoming giant ice pheasant, Aeridar's arm became wreathed in a mysterious power, and he threw a fierce punch directly at the pheasant's beak.
Clang!
Crack!
Time seemed to stand still, then a crack appeared.
Crack, crack, crack!
The crack expanded, and the entire ice pheasant became covered in a network of fissures.
Bang!
The ice pheasant exploded, and countless chunks of ice, both large and small, shot out, wreaking havoc on the surrounding area.
At that moment, Kuzan suddenly bent down, grabbed a handful of grass from the ground, and tossed it into the air. He then blew a blast of cold air, instantly forming a crystalline ice sword in his hand. The transparent ice blade had seven or eight tiny blades of grass frozen inside it.
Ice Saber!
"An Ice Saber, huh..." Aeridar sneered. His arms quickly coated themselves in a layer of glossy black, as if they were made of metal.
Armament Haki: Hardening!
Whoosh!
The two moved, closing the distance between them. Aeridar threw a punch, while Kuzan swung his blade.
Clang!
The black fist and the ice blade collided, producing a metallic clang. A powerful shockwave instantly erupted, and the very ground shook violently.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang...
Aeridar swung his fists, continuously clashing with Kuzan's ice blade, their battle fierce and extremely dangerous.
"Impact Punch!"
Suddenly, Aeridar roared. His arm muscles tensed, and he delivered a powerful punch to Kuzan's ice blade.
"Such strength!" Kuzan's eyes widened. He felt an overwhelming force from the man's fist pushing him back. But as an Admiral, Kuzan only retreated a few steps before withstanding Aeridar's attack.
Then, Kuzan swung his ice blade, forcing Aeridar back. He immediately crouched down, touching the ground with his hand.
Crack, crack, crack~
Starting from Kuzan's left hand, a layer of ice rapidly spread outward. In an instant, over half the street was frozen solid, turning into a domain of absolute ice, filled with crystalline ice pillars.
Aeridar, a dozen meters away, was also completely frozen, becoming a human-shaped block of ice.
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