Uchiha Hiko smiled faintly at Aokiji's words. "Personality isn't the issue. What I value is your character!"
A biting chill surged around Aokiji, whipping up wind and snow as his gaze turned cold. "Character? What character could the Death Surgeon and that Mad Monk, those two Pirates on the ship over there, possibly have?"
Hiko's heart stirred. When he had first arrived on the island, he had vaguely sensed that something was off. Back then, he had guessed that perhaps Aokiji had arrived at Punk Hazard at a different time than in the original timeline. That was why he had left Luo and Urouge on the ship. Now, it seemed Aokiji had most likely arrived long ago and had already secretly observed the two of them.
"Isn't that why I'm trying to save their inner worlds?" Hiko said. "What in this world could be more worth striving for than guiding a Pirate away from the twisted, dark path of the heart and back onto the bright road, saving a person's soul?"
"Your words are as pretty as your face—so pretty they're a little overdone!"
Hiko scratched his head. "Uh... are you saying I'm handsome?"
"Azure Ice Rain!"
Aokiji answered Hiko with a violent cyclone storm. All the water Hiko's Rasengan had blasted across the ground was swept up by Aokiji, instantly freezing into ice. The raging hurricane around them sent those Ice Blades hurtling toward Hiko.
"Looks like I can only convince you with my fists!" Hiko chuckled. With a wave of his right hand, the faint light in his eyes surged. Golden radiance shot from his body into the heavens, and a pale golden glow blanketed all of Punk Hazard.
On the distant Konoha Go, Luo and Urouge watched the golden pillar of light shooting into the sky from