Aokiji's Fall

"Interesting."

A flicker of interest flashed through Shamrock's eyes.

In the few seconds Hermione took to block the slash, Brook's extraction had already finished.

A pale ice-blue fruit, covered in a glistening layer of frost and roughly oval in shape, slowly "floated" out of Aokiji's chest.

The Logia-class Ice-Ice Fruit was his!

At the instant the fruit completely left Aokiji's body,

the faint life force remaining in him nearly went out entirely.

His unfocused pupils gazed up at the sky.

There were his family, his friends, and that frozen sea he could never forget.

The little girl he had sent away alone.

His lips trembled almost imperceptibly. In the end, only a mouthful of froth mixed with dark red ice crystals and tiny fragments of flesh spilled out, and then he fell silent forever.

One of Marine Headquarters' greatest fighting powers, the Admiral codenamed "Aokiji."

Kuzan,

had fallen

in this battle.

Aokiji's death made the already silent battlefield sink into an even deeper hush.

Sengoku's body swayed violently, and his back seemed to hunch even further.

The eyes that had always been filled with wisdom now held nothing but bottomless grief.

He had always thought highly of Kuzan.

He had even believed Kuzan could succeed him as Fleet Admiral of the Marines.

But just like that... he was gone.

His fists clenched with cracking sounds.

Brook Lott.

This time,

no matter what it took, he would keep him here and bury him in Marineford.

On the other side, Garp, who had been battling Redfield fiercely enough to shake the earth, abruptly stopped his punch halfway through.

He whipped his head around and stared fixedly toward where Aokiji had fallen, the flesh on his face trembling.

That brat Kuzan...

How could this be...

"Aah—!!!"

He let out a beastlike roar. The