No matter how fast they ran, they could never outrun Aokiji.
A wisp of icy wind overtook them and arrived in front of Maud and Sunny.
Whoosh!
Without warning, the icy wind suddenly transformed into a wall of ice, forcefully blocking Maud and Sunny's path.
The sudden appearance of the ice wall made Maud and Sunny slam on the brakes in a panic.
In front of the ice wall, a mass of cold air gathered and once again condensed into Aokiji's form.
Perhaps because he had abandoned his lazy attitude, Aokiji quickly shifted from elemental form back into a solid body this time.
His three-meter-tall frame became a vast shadow that covered Maud and Sunny's faces.
An oppressive chill mercilessly swept over them, as if freezing the surrounding air and creating an unmistakable sense of suffocation.
Maud's right hand quickly closed around Chidori's hilt, while Sunny raised her gun and aimed at Aokiji, pulling the trigger without hesitation.
Bang—!
The lead bullet that left the barrel merely passed through Aokiji's body, accomplishing nothing.
In Aokiji's eyes, Maud and Sunny's overreaction made them look like two small beasts whose fur had stood on end after encountering danger.
He looked helplessly at the two youngsters.
"Can't we just talk things out? Why draw your guns and—"
Before he could finish, Maud suddenly drew Chidori, Armament Haki swirling around it, and slashed across.
Slash—!
The clean, decisive strike directly cut open Aokiji's abdomen.
At least, that was how it looked to Sunny.
In reality, the opening in Aokiji's abdomen had not been cut by Maud. Aokiji had turned his body into an element a moment earlier and created enough space for the blade to pass through.
This was the usual method Logia-type Devil Fruit users employed to evade Armament Haki attacks.
After his