This Ice... Aokiji?!

"Is the samurai around here?" Sanji said, looking around.

"Yes, the aura I sensed is right here," Xi Yan nodded and said.

The other person's aura was a bit strange.

"This is the place where I encountered that guy before." Brook looked around and said, "Why can't I see any trace of him?"

Could it be that he's already run away?

Wait a minute, Xi Yan sensed the other party's presence right here.

"Maybe it's behind some rock."

After Sanji finished speaking, he walked forward and called out, "Hey, samurai, where are you? We've come looking for you!"

There's no need to shout.

Xi Yan glanced at the boulder in front of him and said, "I've already sensed its location."

After saying that, Xi Yan quickly ran towards the target area and soon arrived at Kin'emon's side.

By this time, the creature was completely covered in ice and snow.

You mean...?

Sanji, staring at the unidentified object on the ground, twitched his lips and said, "This is that samurai?"

"Hmm, the aura is correct." Xi Yan's lips twitched.

This guy is really in a terrible situation.

From their perspective, Kin'emon was completely covered in ice and snow, looking quite bizarre.

"Now that it's confirmed, things will be much easier."

Sanji nodded, then kicked Kin'emon in the head.

"Wake up!"

"Click~"

With a single blow, the ice and snow shattered!

"Huh?!"

Brook was dumbfounded when he saw Sanji without hesitation.

Isn't this some kind of retaliation?

"It's so cold!"

Kin'emon, now free, trembled uncontrollably, his expression contorted.

"Hmm, looks like he won't die." Sanji nodded, calmly lighting a cigarette for himself.

"It's... it's you guys..."

"Why are you lying here?" Brook asked curiously. "Were you defeated by someone?"

"No, it's not..."

Kin'emon stammered, "I was frozen solid for no reason, and almost died..."

He was frozen in place as soon as he arrived, with no idea what was happening.

"Frozen out of nowhere?"

Upon hearing Kin'emon's words, Sanji's eyes immediately became wary.

"What's wrong?" Zoro asked.

"Could it be that Aokiji?" Sanji said, scanning his surroundings. "The only one who can freeze someone instantly... is probably him."

He clearly remembered how that guy froze Robin, so he suspected that person might be here.

How did he get here?

"Why can't he be here?" Sanji retorted. "Don't forget he's already left the Navy!"

Now that Aokiji is no longer Marine Admiral, he could appear anywhere, right?

After all... no one can stop him!

Zoro fell silent upon hearing this, unsure of what to do.

Xi Yan frowned. Could it be that the guy who left the Navy is really in Punk Hazard?

But if Aokiji makes a move, Kin'emon still have a chance to wait for them to arrive?

He felt the chances of that happening were slim.

However, just to be on the safe side, Xi Yan still used his Observation Haki to sense the surrounding situation.

A moment later, Xi Yan opened his eyes and said, "I didn't sense Aokiji's presence."

"Maybe they've already left," Sanji guessed.

"It might not be him."

Xi Yan glanced around and said, "Maybe this guy was so frozen he lost his senses, which is why he didn't notice his body was covered in ice and snow."

Sanji paused for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded thoughtfully.

Upon closer examination, it's not impossible.

Then, he looked at Kin'emon with a disdainful expression and said, "You actually tried to run away... Do you know you almost froze to death?!"

"No... no, that's not true!" Kin'emon said, his body trembling. "I'm not cold at all!"

"Samurai don't feel the cold!"

After saying that, Kin'emon sneezed, and his body trembled even more violently.

Sanji:...

You're freezing like this and you're still being stubborn.

All you're good for is being stubborn, isn't it?

"What a troublesome guy," Zoro said, scratching his head. "I'm starting to regret coming along."

I was originally thinking of testing this guy's skills, but this is what happened.

This immediately killed his interest.

"Yohohohoho~"

"But it's also very interesting, isn't it?"

Zoro was speechless upon hearing this; what was so funny about it?

"Why don't you conjure up some clothes?" Sanji retorted speechlessly, "Aren't you a Devil Fruit user who can conjure up clothes?"

"That's true, but... but the current situation is a bit special."

"Special?"

Sanji paused for a moment, then asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

What does it mean that the situation is somewhat special?

Could it be that it's too cold here, making it impossible to use that ability?

That doesn't make sense. It worked when we were at the back door of the lab, so there's no reason it shouldn't work here.

"After acquiring that Demon Technique, I developed a weakness," Kin'emon said, trembling. "Now I'm incapable of swimming..."

"That's just being a landlubber," Sanji retorted. "That's common sense."

"Common sense?"

A hint of confusion appeared in Kin'emon's eyes. Was this common sense?

"It is indeed common sense." Brooke nodded, and then asked doubtfully, "But what does this have to do with your inability to use your abilities?"

Xi Yan glanced at Brook speechlessly upon hearing this. What on earth was this guy listening to?

"Is that even a question?" Xi Yan said, "It's obvious that the upper half of this guy fell into the sea."

That's probably why this thing suddenly froze solid here.

Upon hearing this, Kin'emon immediately nodded and said, "My upper body does indeed feel like it's falling into water..."

"I see."

Sanji looked Satori and said, "No wonder you were frozen here; it was because of the seawater."

That makes sense.

It is true that a person with superpowers will lose strength when their body comes into contact with seawater.

"Seawater..." Zoro stroked his chin and said, "So, this guy's body fell into that lake we passed by earlier, right?"

That vast lake located between Ice Island and Fire Island.

"Yes."

Brook nodded and said, "This guy did fall off a cliff nearby, so he must have fallen into one of those places."

"But that's not a lake, it's the sea!"

Seawater is what can render a power user powerless, so it couldn't be Freshwater.

Zoro realized this too, and his expression immediately turned serious.

"If that's the case, then there should be sharks in there," Zoro said.

"We need to hurry."

Xi Yan glanced at the direction of the sea and said, "There might be other strange things in that water."

"Something strange?"

The others were taken aback. What did that mean?

"Have you all forgotten what we encountered before?" Xi Yan glanced at his companions and said, "With such an evil scientist around, anything is possible!"

Upon hearing Xi Yan's words, the expressions of the others immediately turned ugly.

Yes, the situation on this island is very special.

Centaurs, birdmen, dragons...

If all these things have appeared, is it possible that something even more terrifying might appear in the water?

That's a problem.

With that in mind, Sanji said without hesitation, "Let's go, let's hurry."

"Please... please..." Kin'emon stammered, "I really have no way to deal with the body in the Lake Water, so I can only ask you to help... help me..."

"Alright, alright, I got it, you useless, landlubber samurai," Sanji said.

After saying that, Sanji let out a long breath, wondering whether he should hang this guy up and beat him up again later.

Kin'emon fell silent for a moment, sensing that these pirates were indeed somewhat different.

"Gentlemen..." Kin'emon raised his head and said, "Why would you go to such lengths for someone you've never met before?"

He knew very well what going to sea in this weather meant.

"I told you this is my principle," Sanji said, glancing at Kin'emon. "So I will definitely do what I said I would do."

"But in return... once your body is assembled, let's duel!"

"I'll beat you to death, you bastard!"

Kin'emon was stunned by Sanji's words.

At that moment, he fully felt Sanji's kindness.

The other person... genuinely wanted to help him!

After a moment of silence, Kin'emon lowered his head and said, "I... am extremely grateful."

"Heh, interesting." After casually lifting Kin'emon, Sanji said, "He's even learned to say thank you now."

"Seeing this, it really wasn't for nothing that you endured the cold this time."

Kin'emon looked somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this; who would have thought this group of pirates was so unusual?

If he had known beforehand that this group of pirates were like this, he wouldn't have been so forceful.

Sanji, who had noticed Kin'emon's reaction, smiled. This guy knows how to be embarrassed, huh?

With that in mind, Sanji decided to tease Kin'emon.

Before he could even speak, Brook in front of him said, "Hey, something seems off up ahead."

"Ah?"

Sanji paused for a moment upon hearing this, then asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"Suddenly, a lot of people are running towards us," Brook said, pointing to the area ahead. "They're the centaurs we defeated earlier."

"They are all Tea Beard's men."

"Centaur..."

Sanji frowned as he stared at the group. Were these guys here to pay Tea Beard's reward?

This is really troublesome...

"Hey, run!" a centaur cried out in terror.

"Damn it, where was that terrifying creature hiding before?!" the Lion Centaur said, his face grim. "Why didn't we find it before?"

"How should I know!"

"Never mind, let's escape first, and get away from the monster!"

"Profound!"

"Monster?"

Zoro, listening to their conversation, frowned and said, "What monsters? Aren't you monsters yourselves?"

To other people, these unusual centaurs are simply monsters.

"Huh?!"

"Wait a moment!"

Upon noticing Zoro and his crew, the centaur immediately stopped, then exclaimed in terror, "They're the pirates who just defeated us!"

"Damn you, you bastards!"

If it weren't for these pirates, how could they have been lying here for so long!

With that in mind, they decided to attack Zoro and his group.

"Stop!" a centaur shouted. "Now is not the time to fight them. The most important thing is to get to the research institute!"

They're being chased by an incredibly terrifying being; they have to run!

Understanding what the other party meant, the other centaurs calmed down, then bypassed Zoro and the others, fleeing into the distance without looking back.

Sanji, observing the other party's reaction, frowned and asked, "What exactly do they mean?"

"Have no idea."

Brook shook his head; he couldn't see the problem either.

"If I remember correctly..." Zoro stroked his chin and said, "They came from the direction of that lake we passed before, right?"

Xi Yan, staring at the strange shadow in the distance, said, "Yes, you're not mistaken."

"Was that mountain there when we came here?"

No.

"What the hell is this thing?" Zoro asked in surprise.

"Yeah, what's that?!"

Brook stared at the opposite bank in shock, his jaw practically dropping to the floor.

"Is this the monster those people were talking about?" Sanji asked, frowning.

Although he didn't know what it was, he instinctively felt that something was wrong with it.

Thinking of this, Sanji turned to look at Xi Yan and said, "Did you see clearly what that was?"

Xi Yan, who had activated his Sharinggan to observe, frowned and said, "Although I don't know what this thing is, I can confirm that it's alive."

His Sharinggan clearly saw the monster's condition; it was a living thing!

After all... it's wriggling!

That's right, it's wriggling!

It looks like a giant slime wriggling.

'Wait a minute... a slime?'

As if he had just realized something, several question marks popped up above Xi Yan's head.

Should this kind of creature even exist in this world?

Or is this... some kind of strange ability user?

"You're saying that mountain is a living creature?" Zoro exclaimed in surprise. "It's even bigger than the dragon we encountered before!"

Is this some kind of organism that scientists have discovered?

What on earth is this thing?

"It's definitely bigger than that dragon," Xi Yan said, frowning. "Most importantly... the color of this thing looks a bit off."

"What's the meaning?"

"Its color is far too vibrant," Xi Yan said. "I suspect this thing is poisonous."

Although he didn't know what the thing was, his intuition told him that it was poisonous.

"Poisonous?"

Brook stared in disbelief. "You mean... that thing that's as big as a mountain is poisonous?!"

No way, are you kidding me!