"Ara ara, you're quite slow to arrive!"
Aokiji lazily raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Bahr's hand resting on Nico Robin's slender waist. His pupils contracted slightly, a cold glint flashing briefly in his eyes.
"The Navy's Top Military Strength... To think we'd encounter someone like this," Daz Bones muttered, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead as his blade-arm trembled uncontrollably.
Compared to his forced composure, the others were in even worse shape—such was the oppressive aura of a Navy Admiral.
"Uchiha Obito?" Aokiji stared at Bahr, his voice uncharacteristically icy. "Or should I call you... the Blasphemer—Bahr?"
As Aokiji's words fell, Daz Bones, Mr. 5, and the others looked at Bahr in shock.
Especially Nico Robin, Miss Valentine, and Paula—the three women suddenly realized that being forced to wear blindfolds earlier wasn't due to some strange fetish, but rather to conceal such a terrifying identity.
Bahr's heart sank abruptly, the corner of his mouth beneath the spiral mask twitching involuntarily.
He had thought it was some lingering connection to the "Long-Legged Uncle," but it turned out they were after him. After being so careful with his disguise, where had he slipped up?
He should have known—the World Government's control over the first half of the Grand Line was as tight as an iron net, and Cipher Pol's intelligence network was even more pervasive. No matter how cautious he was, it was nearly impossible to evade their scrutiny.
"Hahaha." He suddenly let out two hearty laughs, ripping off his mask in one swift motion. His sharply defined face met Aokiji's gaze head-on as he tilted his chin up. "I hid myself so well, yet you still found me. The World Government's dogs have quite the nose, don't they?"
Even if he lost, he wouldn't lose face—he refused to show weakness.
Aokiji scratched his messy hair absentmindedly, a lazy smile playing on his lips. "Actually, no. We just had our suspicions and decided to test them."
Bahr swallowed the curses on the tip of his tongue as he took in Aokiji's composed demeanor.
Damn it. He'd been played.
With a flick of his wrist, a crisp crack echoed through the air—Aokiji's head fell straight to the ground, shattering into countless glittering shards of ice.
"Admiral Aokiji!" The Marines cried out in unison, horrified by the sight.
"Ara ara, you're quite impatient, young man." Aokiji's head slowly began reforming, his tone as nonchalant as ever.
Bahr shrugged. "Had to test an Admiral's 'hardness,' you know?"
Though his words were light, inwardly, he was uneasy. His "Space Severance" could theoretically cut through anything, but Logia-type Devil Fruit users' bodies were composed of "flowing energy" with no physical form.
He could "sever" them, but their elementalized bodies could simply reform, rendering his attacks ineffective. Against Logia users, unless he found their weakness, the only option was Haki.
"Mr. 1, take everyone and commandeer a ship immediately."
Now that his identity was exposed, there was no point in talking. Bahr wasn't the type to sit around waiting for death—no matter what, escaping first and planning later was the priority.
So what if it was an Admiral? He'd fight. Even if he couldn't win, he could at least buy them a few minutes.
"Understood, Boss!" Daz Bones was momentarily stunned but quickly snapped to attention. "Everyone, follow me—break through!"
The other members, jolted by the tense atmosphere, quickly followed despite their confusion. Even the usually unflappable Nico Robin hurried after them.
"Ma~ letting you escape would be troublesome."
Aokiji scratched his head helplessly as a faint mist of frigid air began swirling around him. A bone-chilling cold instantly spread, freezing the very air in its path.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
In the blink of an eye, a massive ice bird erupted from Aokiji's right arm, soaring forward with a roar. Wherever it passed, the ground instantly frosted over, as if winter had descended without warning.
Daz Bones and the others paled at the terrifying sight, their faces filled with horror.
Just as the ice bird was about to collide with them—BOOM!—a deafening explosion rang out as the bird smashed into an invisible barrier, sending shards of ice flying in all directions. The air rippled violently from the impact.
Daz Bones glanced at Bahr, who stood composed and unshaken, and immediately understood. "Fight your way out!" he barked.
The others snapped out of their daze and launched their attacks against the surrounding Marines.
"Hey, starting with your ultimate move right off the bat? That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"
Bahr drew a longsword from space, surprised that Aokiji had gone all out from the start. If not for his "Space Barrier," they would have been wiped out in one strike.
"Ma~" Aokiji replied lazily. "Vice Admiral Garp told me about you. If I hold back, I might end up at a disadvantage."
Before the words had fully left his mouth, Bahr whooshed out of sight, reappearing above Aokiji in the next instant like a ghost. His blade, coated in a dark purple aura, slashed downward in a clean arc.
One strike—cleaving Aokiji's body from top to bottom.
"Preemptive elementalization!" Bahr's eyes narrowed. He should have expected this. Against powerful Logia users, even a blade imbued with Armament Haki wasn't guaranteed to land a hit.
Whitebeard was a monster, but even stabbing Aokiji had done nothing.
"Ara ara, you're quite fast, young man. Reminds me of a certain perverted guy." Aokiji teased as he raised his hand, five ice spears shooting from his palm with a burst of cold air. "Ice Ball!"
"I'm not a pervert!" Bahr's feet barely touched the ground before a spatial ripple appeared beneath him, teleporting him out of harm's way. He reappeared behind Aokiji, his blade tracing a crescent arc aimed straight for the back of the Admiral's neck.
He knew exactly who Aokiji was referring to—Admiral Kizaru, the Glint-Glint Fruit user who moved at the speed of light. But Bahr's Space Teleportation wasn't any slower.
"Ice Blade!"
Aokiji sidestepped, exhaling a frigid breath that condensed into an icy sword. Wrapped in Haki, it clashed violently with Bahr's blade, sending sparks and shards of ice flying as their weapons locked.
"Not going to keep elementalizing?" Bahr sneered.
Maintaining preemptive elementalization to dodge attacks wasn't easy—it required immense focus and stamina. He doubted Aokiji could keep it up indefinitely.
"Ma~ your Haki is impressive. I can't afford to be careless." Aokiji's tone remained lazy, but a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
Before he finished speaking, the two were already exchanging blows again, the metallic clang of sword against ice reverberating through the air...
"This Bahr has some skill, holding his own against Aokiji like this," Smoker muttered around his cigar, his expression grave.
He had initially thought the 1 billion Berries bounty on the "Blasphemer" was just hype for attacking those scum, but now he realized the figure might have underestimated the man's threat level.
"Smoker, that battlefield isn't ours to interfere with. Let's deal with Baroque Works' stragglers first," Hina said, adjusting her purple gloves as her cold gaze swept over Daz Bones, who was leading the charge against the Marines.
Smoker glanced at the crumbling Marine defenses and scowled, his body dissolving into billowing smoke as he surged forward. "Tashigi!"
"Here!" A sweet voice rang out, accompanied by the soft click of a scabbard. Tashigi gripped her "Shigure" tightly, her blue bangs fluttering sharply in the turbulent air.
Hina waved away the smoke in front of her, her brow furrowing. "Smoker, be careful. Hina is not happy."