Chapter 274: The Reason
As the symbol of the Marines' highest combat power, an Admiral was something every pirate sailing these seas had to know.
It was as natural as knowing how to eat.
Because he was using a telescope, the pirate captain was the first to clearly see the man's appearance.
His crew, hindered by the gloomy weather, had yet to recognize him.
The pirate captain did not know why Aokiji had come to a place like this.
He had specifically chosen a remote island ignored by the Marines for this raid, precisely so he could avoid pursuit if they were discovered.
Yet now, the worst possible situation had arrived.
It was like a thief trying to evade the police by running straight into police headquarters.
He had no time to think about the reason.
Before his crew realized the truth, he gave an order first.
"It's only one man. All of you, attack!"
The pirate captain's voice was fierce.
"Whoever takes his life gets a share of the treasure from this island!"
Then he added, "But no guns. If you use guns, we won't be able to tell who killed him."
The reason he forbade firearms was to prevent the other pirates from discovering the truth too early.
He needed to buy more time.
To the other pirates, this command sounded like a benefit.
The pirate captain had not promised all the treasure, only a share.
It seemed reasonable.
Furthermore, the captain had made similar promises before and had always kept his word.
The moment they heard his order, almost every pirate's eyes flashed with greedy light.
Simple and direct words were enough to ignite the fire in their hearts.
If there was anything most pirates valued, treasure was definitely one of them.
With crazed roars, they charged forward.
As the greedy pirates surged ahead, the pirate captain slowly backed away.
His movements were careful enough not to draw attention.
At this moment, most of the pirates were blinded by greed and failed to notice what their captain was doing.
However, not everyone was fooled.
Some shrewd old pirates noticed his movements and quietly began retreating as well.
The young pirate who had been on lookout duty did not notice any of this.
He simply rushed forward with the others.
On the path of retreat, one pirate could not help asking, "Captain, did you notice something?"
"Of course."
The pirate captain's face was grim.
"That guy is Aokiji."
"Aokiji?"
The pirate froze.
"Which Aokiji...?"
"Who else?"
The pirate captain snapped irritably.
"The Marine Admiral!"
Hiss.
The pirates around him drew in a collective breath.
They had just walked through the gates of hell.
"As expected of the captain. So sharp."
After the initial shock, a chorus of praise immediately followed.
Because the captain's decision had saved them from disaster, there was only joy and admiration in their voices.
No one sighed with regret.
None of these pirates mourned the men charging at the Marine Admiral, even though some of them might have been drinking together moments ago.
In the face of life and death, such bonds were as thin as paper.
They tore with the slightest pull.
This was the law of the jungle.
Eat, or be eaten.
Even if their positions had been reversed, they would not feel grief.
They would only be grateful that they had not been blinded by greed.
Soon, they reached the direction of the harbor where their pirate ship was moored.
But the pirate captain, who had been running at the front, suddenly stopped.
The crew members behind him were puzzled and also came to a halt.
"Captain, what's wrong?"
The pirate captain's face was filled with uncontrollable shock.
He did not even notice the cold wind he inhaled on this freezing day.
The other pirates followed his gaze.
Then they saw it.
Their entire pirate ship had been frozen inside a block of ice.
The pirates on board were frozen with it.
Through the ice, they could even see the shock and panic still fixed on their faces from the moment it had happened.
The pirate captain immediately turned and chose another direction to flee.
Only...
He stopped again.
Because standing in front of him was a man whose face was full of weariness and resignation.
Aokiji.
With no way to escape, and driven by fear, the pirate captain chose to fight back.
He drew the pistol at his waist.
At the same time, the other pirates understood what they had to do.
Their escape route had been blocked.
Their only way out was to seize it from this Admiral.
To hell with the Admiral.
To hell with the highest combat power.
At this moment, they had only one thought.
Survive.
Bullets poured out like hail.
Yet every solid iron bullet shattered like ice crystals before touching him.
It was an effect caused by absolute cold.
"Monster... monster... monster..."
A pirate repeated the word again and again, firing desperately until someone finally broke and fled toward the sea.
That escape was like a fuse.
It ignited the same impulse in everyone, even the pirate captain.
This was not an opponent on their level.
Continuing to fight meant certain death.
However, unlike his crew, the captain chose to flee toward the village.
The complex environment there might give him a chance to survive.
But before they could act, everything had already frozen still.
Pure, translucent ice spread from Aokiji's feet in every direction, covering hundreds of feet in an instant.
Objects and people alike were frozen solid.
The entire world seemed to be left with only the gloomy sky above and the pristine white below.
Aokiji slung his backpack over one shoulder and walked toward the village.
A small figure appeared behind him.
The child was only about a third of Aokiji's height, reaching roughly between his knee and thigh.
"What will you do next?" Axel asked calmly.
He looked like an inquisitive student, naively asking his teacher for the answer.
Aokiji did not answer.
Perhaps he was too lazy.
Or perhaps he simply preferred to express himself through actions rather than words.
A storm descended.
Rain driven by fierce wind lashed at the two of them.
When the rain approached Aokiji, the droplets froze into ice crystals and scattered to the ground.
The rain near Axel seemed to avoid him on its own, like two magnets with the same pole repelling each other.
"Why do this?"
Axel watched the scene before him.
"Theoretically, even if human bodies are buried in the earth, they will still be consumed by other organisms."
In this weather, Aokiji had spent nearly half a day moving the village corpses into the ground.
Axel did not understand the point.
Even if this act was recorded in his mind as a form of mourning, there was no one left here to mourn them.
This island was already empty.
There were no survivors.
So why go through all this trouble?
"Why, huh?"
Aokiji murmured.
He looked up at the storm-darkened sky. In the heavy rain, visibility had shrunk to only a few meters.
Then he said softly, "Because it looks cool."
He turned away.
"Let's go. We need to get back to Marineford."
He sighed.
"What a pain."
Aokiji picked up his bicycle and mounted it.
Axel sat on the back.
Under the storm, the two began their journey across the sea.
.....
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