Aokiji slowly exhaled a puff of white mist. He looked up at Allen, who had spread his wings and was hovering in the air like a falcon, and spoke in a deep, lazy voice,
"Is this some model of the Bird-Bird Fruit? The files didn't mention you being a Devil Fruit user. Has my intel become outdated?"
"Still, it's going to be troublesome if you can fly."
Aokiji tapped his head with a troubled expression, seemingly a bit regretful of the action he had just taken.
"Why attack over a simple disagreement? Did my words strike a nerve? I'm quite curious—how did it feel to watch Water 7 get destroyed by artillery fire with your own eyes? How does it compare to Ohara back then?"
Allen mocked coldly. His gloomy gaze looked down at Aokiji from above as he continued,
"Even though you've become an Admiral, the word 'Justice' on your back remains so weak and powerless in the face of absolute authority."
"..."
Aokiji fell silent. After a moment, he finally spoke in a deep voice,
"You seem to know far more than I thought. That remark about overthrowing the World Government didn't sound like a casual joke. Francis Allen, what is your true goal?"
"No matter how grand the goal, it ultimately relies on overwhelming strength to be realized. It's too early to say anything right now."
Facing Aokiji's questioning, Allen's expression remained completely unfazed, but his tone revealed his unwavering resolve.
"One day, you will find out."
"Is that so? Now I'm even more curious. With your level of strength, just how massive is this goal for a Warlord of the Sea to think it's still too early?"
Aokiji said in a low voice. He loosely clenched his fingers, and freezing air rapidly gathered in his palm, gradually condensing into a long, sharp ice blade.
"Even though you can fly, they can't run away. Tell me, who should I start with?"
Aokiji muttered to himself as his gaze swept over the people frozen into ice sculptures. Finally, his eyes landed on Robin, and he walked toward her with the ice blade in hand.
Seeing this, Allen's face instantly darkened. Even though he knew Aokiji was most likely bluffing, he couldn't help but feel infuriated. He said coldly,
"If you can lay a hand on them, I can retaliate against the Marines. Touch one of my subordinates today, and I'll slaughter a thousand Marines tomorrow to pay for their life."
Hearing this, Aokiji stopped in front of the frozen Robin. He looked up at Allen and said dismissively,
"Unfortunately, I didn't bring anyone with me today. As for tomorrow, I'm afraid you won't have the chance."
"By keeping this woman around, the enemies you'll face won't just be me. And not everyone values the lives of Marine soldiers. What will you do then?"
With that, Aokiji's eyes darkened. He raised the ice blade and suddenly thrust it toward Robin's abdomen!
"Bastard...!"
Seeing this, Allen gritted his teeth and let out a low shout.
He hadn't expected Aokiji to actually be ruthless enough to attack Robin. Filled with disbelief and boundless rage, he flapped the wings on his back and dove down fiercely.
*Pierce!*
The long ice blade pierced into the ice sculpture without any resistance, protruding from Robin's back. Blood trickled down from the sharp tip of the blade!
Aokiji expressionlessly pulled the ice blade out, shifting his gaze to Allen, who was diving down from the sky at high speed while his body continuously expanded.
"He grew larger? Is he not a Bird-Bird Fruit user?"
Aokiji muttered, his gaze narrowing.
In the blink of an eye, Allen had already dove right in front of him. Moving as fast as lightning, he unleashed a heavy, powerful kick!
Aokiji raised his ice blade horizontally with both hands to block, but he hadn't expected Allen's strength to far exceed his imagination. Under his astonished gaze, the hard ice blade snapped upon impact!
*Bang!!*
The ice blade shattered in the middle, sending a shower of broken ice flying. With a ferocious expression, Allen's kick lost none of its momentum as it slammed viciously into Aokiji's chest!
*Crash!!*
Aokiji's body flew backward like a kite with a snapped string. His back slammed heavily into a towering giant tree, causing countless wood splinters to explode into the air before raining down.
"Hey, hey, hey, what's with this exaggerated strength? Even a giant would only be at this level..."
Aokiji patted his chest to shake off the dust, acting as if it were nothing. However, a hint of seriousness subtly crept into his eyes.
Allen didn't pursue him. Instead, he stopped and glanced at Robin.
The pierced area was on the side of her lower abdomen, far from fatal. The wound had also been promptly frozen to stop the bleeding. Clearly, Aokiji hadn't intended to actually take her life.
However, suffering a bit was inevitable. After all, frostbite was not a pleasant experience.
"I don't care what you're trying to test. If you want a fight, just say the word. I'll humor you to the bitter end."
Allen's eyes darkened. He bent his knees and leaned his body forward. Barbs sprouted from his legs, piercing through his pants. Tensing his muscles, he explosively launched himself forward!
*Boom!!*
The ground fractured into countless cracks under the immense force. Allen's figure instantly vanished from his spot, shooting out like a cannonball fired from a barrel!
Aokiji locked his gaze onto him. He raised his arms, supporting his right wrist with his left palm. Pinching his thumb and middle finger together, freezing air rapidly gathered, ultimately condensing into several energy marbles containing endless, sub-zero temperatures.
"Ice Time Capsule!!"
Aokiji shouted, forcefully flicking his fingertips to fire the energy marbles in rapid succession!
The freezing marbles flew low to the ground, leaving behind smooth, icy trails wherever they passed. There was no doubt that anyone hit by them would be frozen solid on the spot.
"Shave・Consecutive Stars!!"
Allen's gaze narrowed as a movement route surfaced in his mind. Tapping his toes against the ground, his figure flickered consecutively along a specific trajectory at blinding speed, instantly weaving through the concentrated freezing attacks.
The energy marbles landed on the ground, instantly erupting with terrifying freezing air that froze everything in the vicinity, not even sparing the massive Tyrannosaurus Rex lying on the ground.
"The Six Powers? Using 'Shave' continuously for high-speed movement without pausing... Such a technique is rare to see even among Headquarters Vice Admirals."
Aokiji casually remarked. Watching the rapidly approaching Allen, he took a step forward and swiftly thrust out his palm, which was coated in a mass of freezing air.
"Ice・Pheasant Beak!!"
With a loud shout, a pillar of ice was released from Aokiji's palm. The freezing air at the end of the pillar rapidly condensed, transforming into a giant ice bird that spread its wings and charged forward!
Facing this powerful attack, Allen had no intention of dodging. He tensed the strong muscles in his arms, and Armament Haki swiftly coated his fists.
"Sonic Soul Blast!!"
Allen roared, a fierce glint completely exposed in his eyes. He threw a punch head-on at the charging ice bird!
*Crash!!*
The fist and the sharp beak formed of solid ice collided heavily, erupting with a powerful shockwave. Dense cracks started from the beak and rapidly spread backward across the bird's entire body.
Then, the giant ice bird explosively shattered, blasting countless ice shards in all directions.
Aokiji's gaze narrowed as he saw Allen's figure suddenly burst out from amidst the sky full of flying ice shards!
"Ice Time!!"
The surrounding air suddenly turned violent. Aokiji raised his palm and aimed it at Allen. Freezing air gathered in his palm like a raging storm before surging outward!
The bone-chilling wind scraped across his skin like a carving knife. Frost began to condense on Allen's chest, face, and the tips of his hair.
Facing this incoming storm of freezing air, there was no doubt that if he dared to step into it, he would be instantly frozen into an ice sculpture.
Just when Aokiji thought he would be forced back, Allen stubbornly refused to dodge, charging forward at the risk of being completely frozen!
"Mach Heavy Cannon・Barrett Spear!!"
With a ferocious expression, Allen concentrated all his strength and Haki into his fist. Under Aokiji's astonished gaze, he unleashed a vicious, life-risking punch!
*Bam!!!*
This ferocious punch landed solidly on his face, contorting Aokiji's facial features. His entire body flipped backward, flying over a hundred meters before slamming heavily into a towering giant tree!
*Crash!!*
A massive amount of shattered wood splinters flew into the air. Cracks spread in a full circle around the trunk, and then the giant tree came crashing down, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and smoke as it hit the ground.
"Cough... Cough, cough!"
*Whoosh!*
A ring of freezing air blasted outward, dispersing the permeating dust and smoke. It condensed into countless sparkling snowflakes in the air, which slowly drifted down with the wind.
Blood trickled from the corner of Aokiji's mouth as he walked out, covered in dirt. His originally neat blue suit was now stained with dust, making him look somewhat disheveled.
He raised his head and gazed into the distance.
Having forcefully charged into the freezing storm, Allen was, unsurprisingly, completely frozen into a statue. He stood motionless in place, maintaining his punching posture.
...