Admiral's Awakening

'This is really a big trouble.' Aokiji thought unhappily.

This brat not only used a clone to toy with him here, but also attacked him with such terrifying lightning.

He wasn't afraid, but the Marines below were not.

Aokiji thought for a moment. Even if he blocked the attack, he couldn't let the current touch the sea surface, otherwise, the people below would surely die!

While his mind raced, Aokiji raised his hand and released his cold energy in the blink of an eye.

"Crack~"

In an instant, the water vapor generated by their battle was immediately frozen, creating a gigantic ice platform!!

Perhaps it was due to luck, but the warships here were all in a damaged state with all their pillars collapsed. Furthermore, the other warships were quite far away, so there wasn't much debris in this ice block.

"Rise!"

Supporting the massive ice block with both hands, Aokiji exerted force with his legs, lifting himself and the ice block into the air, flying upwards!

It seemed he intended to take the brunt of the attack himself.

"Admiral Aokiji!!"

The Marines exclaimed, "Is this the power of an Admiral?"

Not only could he create such a massive ice block in an instant, but he could also lift it and fly with it... What immense power!

"Roar!!"

Finally, the terrifying thunder beast fiercely struck Aokiji's giant ice block, instantly causing an incredibly terrifying roar.

"Boom!!"

In a flash, the sky brightened.

The light produced by the lightning power illuminated the area in an instant, as if the light of a city that never sleeps had returned.

But all the Marines knew that it was the enemy's attack, an attack capable of destroying them all!!

"Admiral!!"

"Boom!!"

A terrifying roar sounded, shaking the Marines who screamed and covered their ears, their faces contorted in pain.

The three Vice Admirals protected themselves with Armament Haki, sitting on the ground and staring intently at the sky.

If even an Admiral couldn't block such a wide-ranging attack, they certainly couldn't either, because the lightning covered too vast an area!

"Boom!!"

Finally, after an incredibly terrifying explosion, the giant ice in the sky shattered into pieces, with most of the ice vaporizing directly!

"Buzz~"

The shockwaves from the collision and explosion frantically surged outwards, and the high towers in the distance immediately suffered.

However, thanks to Admiral Aokiji of the Marines, this power did not affect the sea directly below, which could be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

But for those Marines, it still felt like they had experienced the end of the world!

Aokiji, who had blocked the attack, descended from the sky and stood silently on a damaged warship.

Judging from his smoking hair and darkened clothes, Aokiji had not blocked the blow without injury.

Of course, compared to his hair and clothes, Aokiji's expression looked even darker.

"I've been outplayed..." Aokiji muttered, "A farewell gift?"

This sea was truly exceeding his expectations more and more.

"An Admiral..." a Captain said in disbelief, "Is he injured?"

"Aren't Admirals Logia-type users!"

Why was a Logia user hit by an attack that didn't use Haki?

"Of course, it was to save us," Momonga said with a grim face. "If the Admiral had elementalized himself, how could he have blocked this attack?"

A Logia body wasn't as sturdy as imagined, let alone supporting such a large block of ice.

Only a body infused with Haki could withstand such a massive ice block and block the colossal thunder beast that seemed capable of destroying the world.

"This..."

The Marines exchanged glances, realizing they had been a burden to the Admiral?

"As expected of an Admiral, he actually blocked this attack," T-Bone murmured.

If Admiral Aokiji hadn't arrived, their losses today would have been terrifying, and it was even possible that the Marines here would have been killed.

"Strange, why don't I see that ninja?" a Marine Captain wondered.

As soon as he said that, T-Bone's expression immediately turned grim. Did he even need to ask?

"I didn't expect that the one fighting us the whole time was a clone," Strawberry gritted his teeth and stood up, saying, "What a despicable guy!"

Strawberry couldn't understand why, if it was a clone, the opponent still didn't dare to engage in close combat with them?

Does a clone fear death?

Or... does the other party just like playing with them like this?

"What, it wasn't the enemy's main body?"

"This..."

"Vice Admiral, should we pursue?" a Marine asked tentatively.

Although they had no ships left, as long as they requested reinforcements from Marine Headquarters, warships could arrive within half an hour at the fastest.

Relying on the speed of the warships, it wasn't impossible to catch up.

"Of course, we're pursuing!" Momonga said with a cold face. "The Navy has suffered such great losses, all because of that damned ninja."

"I won't rest easy until I kill him."

Since becoming a Vice Admiral, Momonga had never felt so stifled. Even when facing powerful pirates in the New World, he had never been so humiliated.

Thinking of this, Momonga immediately looked at Aokiji and said, "Admiral Aokiji, please approve our pursuit of that group of pirates!"

"As long as we request reinforcements from Headquarters, warships will soon..."

Before Momonga could finish speaking, Aokiji interrupted him, "Alright, stop talking."

Aokiji, his expression returning to normal, turned to look at Momonga and said, "Even a national-level force like a Buster Call couldn't take down the Straw Hat Pirates, so we've already lost."

Continuing the pursuit was meaningless. The Navy's face had been lost and could not be recovered.

"But our Navy's face and the World Government's..."

"Say that to Fleet Admiral Sengoku," Aokiji said, glancing at the Vice Admirals. "See if he agrees to your continued pursuit."

After speaking, Aokiji no longer paid attention to this guy.

Momonga opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he could only sigh and didn't continue to speak.

Report directly to the Fleet Admiral?

Without Admiral Aokiji's order, Fleet Admiral Sengoku would likely not agree to their request. More likely, he would tell them to go back and recuperate.

The losses this time... were too great!

Two Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals were on the verge of death, and only five of the ten Navy warships were not destroyed.

The losses among the Marines were also not small; the exact number of casualties would need to be tallied later.

"When was the last time our Headquarters suffered such heavy losses..." T-Bone said. "The last time was when Golden Lion Shiki alone stormed Marine Headquarters, wasn't it?"

"You mean..."

"This person will definitely be a formidable enemy in the future!"

However, T-Bone did not insist on pursuing the Straw Hat Pirates immediately, and besides, they might not even be able to catch up.

Facing a ninja with Water Release abilities, trying to catch up with them at sea was a bit ridiculous.

"What are you all standing around for?!" Aokiji shouted. "Hurry up and clear out five warships and take them back to Headquarters for treatment as quickly as possible!"

"Yes!"