Aokiji!

Although Lu Zhuo and Robin had grown closer these days, and Robin had tacitly accepted some of Lu Zhuo's small advances, being held like this alongside Nami was still a very embarrassing affair, especially with Conis playing the harp nearby and watching them.

After some playful banter, peace finally returned to the Holy Sword. Yet, Lu Zhuo ultimately failed to hold both beauties in his arms; after all, the knot in Robin's heart had yet to be untied.

Lu Zhuo had already set his course; this descent from Skypiea was the time to settle accounts with the Buster Call.

Over the past three months, although he had not reached the level of a High-Level Swordsman, he had honed his sword intent to an extremely powerful state, reaching the peak of a Mid-Level Swordsman. Combined with his first-tier Armament Haki and fully mastered Observation Haki, his strength had increased by a significant margin.

If he were to encounter Kuma again, it would at least be an evenly matched battle. If he fought with his life on the line, Lu Zhuo was certain that Kuma would be the one to die first!

In the seventeenth year of the Great Pirate Era, with more than two years left until Luffy set sail, the Holy Sword drifted down from Skypiea, beginning a new journey that would shock the world!

A giant octopus floated slowly through the air; if one looked closely, they could see a ship wrapped within its tentacles.

There were four people on the ship—one man and three women—standing on the deck and gazing at the scenery in the distance.

Conis's eyes were dazed as she whispered, "So this is the Blue Sea. It's completely different from the White-White Sea."

"Of course," Lu Zhuo chuckled and said, "The Vearth that is so precious to you there is nothing more than the dirt beneath our feet on the Blue Sea."

Just then, the Holy Sword suddenly jolted. Conis stumbled and nearly fell, but Lu Zhuo was quick-witted and caught her in his arms.

Robin and Nami, however, stood as if their feet were rooted to the deck, unaffected. Their strength was already far greater than in the original story, especially Nami, whose current strength could rival a Vice Admiral and even surpass Robin.

This forced Robin to marvel at the power of Logia Devil Fruits and Lu Zhuo's unique vision and essence of guidance.

With Conis held in his arms, her pretty face flushed slightly. Although her wings were a bit of a hindrance, they couldn't stop Lu Zhuo's desire to take advantage... Ahem, that sounded a bit shameless.

Lu Zhuo quickly released Conis and asked, "What happened?"

Robin closed her eyes, then suddenly opened them, saying in surprise, "The Octopus Balloon is shrinking. We are drifting off course."

Hearing Robin's words, a flash of surprise appeared in Lu Zhuo's eyes.

Is it actually the same as in the original story? But... Lu Zhuo's face showed no signs of worry as he commanded, "Nami, drag us down!"

"Got it!"

Nami responded instantly, then transformed into a mass of white clouds. She drifted slowly to the bottom of the ship, barely managing to shape herself into a giant cloud that enveloped the entire Holy Sword, slowing its descent.

Observing the situation, Lu Zhuo sighed slightly, thinking: Although Nami's strength is progressing rapidly, dragging the entire ship is still a bit too strenuous for her.

Fortunately, the Octopus Balloon wasn't disappearing instantly, but fading away slowly.

With Nami's support, they were barely holding on. Besides, even if she couldn't hold it, there was still Robin.

If Robin used her hands to sprout wings now, she could probably carry half the ship. In other words, if Nami and Robin worked together, they could easily keep the entire Holy Sword flying in the air!

They landed without incident; although they were slightly off course, it wasn't by much. However, they were still very close to the Marine base where Luffy and his crew had fallen in the original story.

Lu Zhuo had no intention of causing a scene at the Marine base just to increase his bounty.

His strength wasn't at its peak yet; restraint was the path to victory!

If he were to reveal his full strength now, he would receive a bounty of at least 400 million. For a pirate who hadn't entered the New World, or even finished half of the first half of the Grand Line, this was undoubtedly a myth!

"Let's leave quickly!"

Giving a calm command, Lu Zhuo took out a piece of parchment and handed it to Nami.

"Find the coordinates of this island while you're at it; that's our next target. Since we have a map, we don't need to follow the Log Pose for now. Besides, with your cloud-control ability, we don't have to fear any strange weather."

"Understood!"

Nami had just returned to her original form beside Lu Zhuo when she received the task. However, navigation was her joy, so it didn't really count as a task—it was more like finding entertainment.

Yet, at that moment, Lu Zhuo's eyes narrowed, and his expression shifted.

Damn it! How could this guy be here!

Robin was the first to notice Lu Zhuo's expression. After scanning the surroundings, her face also changed, her legs went weak, and she collapsed onto the deck.

Looking gloomily at the man riding a bicycle, Lu Zhuo placed his hand on his sword.

There was only one man who could make Lu Zhuo this nervous, and who rode a bicycle on the sea... Marine Headquarters Admiral Aokiji!

"Ara ara, what do I see? What a coincidence!"

Aokiji, wearing sunglasses, suddenly laughed and pedaled his bicycle toward the Holy Sword.

"Marine Admiral Aokiji, greeting a pirate like me—that's hardly the style of the Marines!" Lu Zhuo gripped his sword hilt tightly, sneering as he spoke.

If one were to categorize the strength of an Admiral, it could be roughly divided into Ordinary Admiral, Elite Admiral, and Top-Tier Admiral.

Fujitora, who had not yet become an Admiral, and the top commanders on Whitebeard's ship were all at the level of an Ordinary Admiral, a tier where Lu Zhuo also resided.

As for Elite Admirals, they would include Doflamingo and the Fujitora who became an Admiral later in the story.

As for the Top-Tier Admirals, they were Akainu, Aokiji, Kizaru, as well as Hawk-Eye, whose strength was still a matter of speculation based on his few appearances, and Shanks, whose strength had regressed after losing his arm and had yet to recover.

Within each level of Ordinary, Elite, and Top-Tier Admiral, there were still subtle differences.

For instance, Kizaru was slightly weaker than Aokiji, and Aokiji was slightly weaker than Akainu, as he eventually lost to Akainu later on.

In the original story during the Summit War, the First Division Commander Marco could hold off Kizaru, but it took a group of commanders to hold off Akainu.

In other words, encountering Aokiji right now was extremely dangerous, especially while out at sea!

Lu Zhuo's expression turned grim as he watched Aokiji, who seemed to be ignoring him entirely, chuckling as he greeted Robin, who was slumped on the ground.

"Yo, yo, isn't this Nico Robin? Long time no see."

Robin's body trembled, her eyes filled with a look of terror.

In truth, under Lu Zhuo's guidance, Robin was now barely comparable to a Vice Admiral; she shouldn't have been so pathetic in front of Aokiji. The reason she was like this was still the trauma from her childhood.

Come to think of it, Lu Zhuo actually admired Aokiji quite a bit.

Although he had killed his own friend back in Ohara, a single request from that friend had caused him to let Robin go countless times, and he might have even been protecting her from the shadows.

However, while Aokiji might not have had any murderous intent toward Robin, the same could not be said for him.

Lu Zhuo knew about the mystery surrounding himself; although he had hidden much, the bits of information he occasionally leaked to the Navy only served to increase their focus on him.

As for the current Lu Zhuo, he was undoubtedly one of the targets the Navy highly valued and wished to erase.

As for the others, rising stars like Ace and Blackbeard were likely already at the Sabaody Archipelago by now, or perhaps had even reached the New World.