"Ice Age!"
Aokiji shouted, and boundless cold air was released from his palm, rushing upward.
The very air seemed to freeze. In an instant, a thick layer of ice formed on the thousand descending fists.
But the next second, the ice layer shattered, and ice crystals scattered like snowflakes.
Aokiji used this one-second breather, and his bleeding right fist elementalized once more, executing "Ice Glove."
He punched out. The frigid cold air merged with Armament Haki, transforming into a fan-shaped wave of immense energy that collided with the thousand arms.
Above was pure Armament Haki, like a pitch-black dome pressing down.
Below was blue ice, like a vast azure ice field.
The moment the two attacks made contact, the resulting force was even grander and more terrifying than before.
Boundless white light exploded, resembling the chaotic scene of the world's creation.
Chaotic, violent energy and shockwaves swept out in all directions. The nearby building debris was blown far away.
Within a three-hundred-meter radius, the area was completely bare; the ground of Water 7 had been thoroughly razed.
Only the two towering martial gods and a patch of forest remained.
Seawater flowed over the ice surface.
On the wooden man's shoulder, Luffy, Nami, and the others were all looking toward Aokiji's location.
The white light just now had been too dazzling and blinding, forcing everyone to close their eyes. Even after opening them, a blurry halo remained.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
A large hole appeared where Aokiji had been.
The island had been pierced through again. Seawater continuously bubbled up from the depths of the hole, like a geyser with insufficient thrust.
"Where's Aokiji? Did he fall into the sea?!" Usopp asked, pleasantly surprised.
Luffy, Nami, and the others stared intently at the large hole.
Aokiji had disappeared.
Did he really fall into the sea?
Even if he's a Marine Admiral, if he falls into the sea, he shouldn't be able to survive, right?
At this moment, countless golden lights shot out from within that forest.
A sudden, violent explosion rang out.
In an instant, the entire forest was obliterated.
Kizaru, transformed into a figure of golden light, stood in the center of countless splintered trees.
Opposite him stood another Luo Chen, holding a wooden sword.
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood it must be another one of Luo Chen's clones.
Right now, a martial god and a thousand-armed Guanyin statue stood in Water 7.
There was a Luo Chen on top of each of them.
There was also a Luo Chen in front of Kizaru.
That meant three Luo Chens.
The golden glow around Kizaru's body dissipated.
Only then did Luffy and the others realize that this Admiral was not entirely unharmed.
His clean suit and overcoat were stained with dirt and wood chips.
Clearly, the fight within the forest had not been easy.
Just then, the "kaka-kaka" sound of something freezing faintly came from underground in Water 7.
Everyone couldn't help but think of Aokiji's freezing ability.
The next moment, they saw the seawater flowing on the ground of Water 7 rapidly freeze.
The seawater spring where Aokiji had fallen was also completely frozen.
An elementalized ice hand grabbed the edge of the large hole.
Immediately after, Aokiji's entire body slowly climbed out of the frozen hole.
He reverted from his elemental form to his physical body. His suit was in tatters, hanging from his body like strips of cloth.
The "Justice" overcoat on his back was gone.
His face, body, and arms were covered in blood.
Aokiji's gaze swept around, passed over Kizaru, and finally stopped at the foot of the martial god.
Near the massive sword scar he had frozen, there were crimson blood and severed limbs. Tattered pieces of Marine "Justice" coats were scattered about, but not a single body could be seen.
Aokiji's entire body emanated a deathly white chill; the blood on his face and body was frozen solid.
He looked up at Luo Chen, his voice cold, yet his anger was audible: "Gmil and the others... you killed them?!"
Those fifteen Marine Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals were all rare elites.
Despite him and Kizaru being present, they were still slain by Luo Chen. This filled Aokiji's heart with rage and self-blame.
Luo Chen's ethereal voice came from the top of the Guanyin statue:
"I have tried to be lenient with you Marines as much as possible. But life and death are unavoidable in battle. If you come to take my life, you must be prepared to be killed."
Since East Blue, he had tried to avoid killing Marines.
Most Marines still punished evil, promoted good, and protected civilians.
However, sometimes, he had no choice but to kill; he couldn't hold back.
"Bastard!" Aokiji cursed, shattering the ice beneath his feet, and rushed toward the top of the thousand-armed Guanyin statue.
On the other side, Kizaru's expression was not looking good either.
The deaths of five Vice Admirals and ten Rear Admirals was a devastating loss.
When the martial god's sword slashed over, he could only turn into golden light to evade.
But as soon as he got free, Luo Chen's clone on the ground was already waiting for him in the "future."
A kick came straight at his face.
Kizaru raised his arm to block, and his figure was sent flying.
In the sky, the martial god's large sword slashed down again.
Kizaru's body immediately elementalized, proactively splitting in two.
The Susanoo's greatsword passed through the middle of his body and smashed onto the frozen ground.
Water 7 shook violently once more.
Meanwhile, the wooden man, carrying the Going Merry, quickly fled toward the sea.
Luffy and the others looked back at the battlefield, seeing Aokiji and Kizaru completely tied down by Luo Chen. They all found it hard to conceal the shock in their hearts.
These were two Marine Admirals.
They had already witnessed just how strong a Marine Admiral was.
It could be said that one Admiral could annihilate the entire Straw Hat Pirates with ease.
Yet Luo Chen was able to suppress two Marine Admirals by himself.
"I really don't know how he trains..." A hint of longing was in Zoro's voice.
Luffy and Sanji didn't speak, but they also clenched their fists.
They were all of the same age, yet Luo Chen was already so much stronger than them.
Time and time again, when they encountered a Marine Admiral, they could only flee.
But Luo Chen could fight them head-on.
This ignited a strong desire to become stronger in the hearts of Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.
Vivi watched the two giants in the distance, a slight flush appearing on her pretty face, her heart pounding with excitement.
If she could get Luo Chen to agree to go to Alabasta.
Even if Crocodile returned, he would definitely be defeated.
However, she hadn't spoken more than a few words to Luo Chen and didn't know how to ask.
Vivi looked at Nami and pursed her lips.
Perhaps she could build a good relationship with Nami.
Luo Chen still cared a lot about Nami.
At this time, Carina asked, "Nami, where are we going to wait for Luo Chen?"
Nami shook her head. "We don't need to wait."
Seeing the confusion on Carina, Luffy, and the others, she explained:
"Luo Chen is planning to get caught and taken to Impel Down. He's staying behind on purpose."
Luffy and the others were even more stunned.
Getting caught on purpose?
Can he still get out after that?
The Marines will definitely put Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs on Luo Chen.
And Impel Down is the most heavily guarded prison in the world.
According to Ace, in history, only one great pirate named Golden Lion had successfully broken out and escaped.
Nami's brow furrowed slightly, but she finally managed a smile. "Let's just trust Luo Chen. I believe in him."
Hearing this, everyone felt they couldn't say any more and fell silent.
They didn't know what plan Luo Chen had.
But with their strength, they probably couldn't help at all.
If Luo Chen was captured, it was impossible for them to break into the prison to save him.
Soon, the wooden man ran to the seaside and tossed the Going Merry into the sea.
Nami gave everyone a direction.
This was the location Luo Chen had told her about earlier.
"Let's set sail first!" Carina shouted.
But just then, the sea surface began to fluctuate violently.
At first, they thought it was the aftershock from the battle in Water 7 reaching them.
But they soon realized something was wrong.
Because in the distance, on the horizon, a massive, dark blue curtain seemed to have risen, connecting the sea and sky.
Carina and Nami turned their heads to look, and their faces instantly turned deathly pale.
"It's the Aqua Laguna!"
"The tsunami is coming!"
On the Going Merry, chaos erupted instantly.
The tsunami was incredibly fast. It was clearly too late to run now.
Even returning to shore wouldn't save them.
The Going Merry and all of them would definitely be smashed to pieces by the Aqua Laguna!
On the Going Merry's deck, Kaku and Kalifa were still bound by the tree.
Despair also appeared on their faces.
"What do we do! What do we do!" Usopp and Chopper ran around in circles in a panic.
Sweat broke out on Zoro's and Sanji's foreheads.
If it were a small wave, they were confident they could destroy it.
But the Aqua Laguna was a giant tsunami; the entire lower part of Water 7 would be submerged.
They couldn't stop it at all.
From within the dark clouds in the sky, a dragon's shadow loomed. It burst out of the clouds and descended toward the Going Merry.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]