Battle Aokiji!

At this moment, Nami noticed the anomaly outside and ran out, staring at the figure in shock.

Kuzan was dressed in casual clothes at this time. Although she did not recognize him, Nami instantly sensed his immense power due to her own high level of strength.

"You... who are you?!"

"Ara-ara, don't be nervous, little girl. I'm just here for a vacation. Hmm, my name is Kuzan. Any interest in joining me for some tea?" Kuzan scratched the back of his head and laughed.

Nami looked at Kuzan with a tense expression. Unlike the original story, under Lu Zhuo's tutelage, both Robin and Nami were far stronger than their original counterparts, so they could fully perceive how terrifying Kuzan was.

"Sorry, I already have a boyfriend," Nami replied coldly.

"Ah!" Kuzan slapped his forehead, looking distressed, and sighed, "What a pity..."

At this moment, Lu Zhuo, who had been ignored the entire time, suddenly chuckled and said, "It's hardly appropriate for a Marine Admiral to come visiting pirates, is it?"

"Marine Admiral?!" Nami exclaimed, looking at the tall, middle-aged man with a trace of shock in her eyes.

Kuzan looked at Lu Zhuo and his group, rubbing his chin as he thought, "That... what was it again?"

As if he had forgotten something, Kuzan shook his head and said, "Never mind."

"Heh!" Lu Zhuo chuckled again. His personality was exactly the same as in the original story.

"Well, you have a point. I suppose I should at least have a fight so I can report back. No, forget it, I'll just take you all in. Your pirate crew has a bit too much potential; you might become a huge headache in the future!"

Kuzan's expression suddenly shifted, uttering words that made everyone tense up.

The corners of Lu Zhuo's mouth curled up slightly, thinking: I've been waiting for you to say that.

The next moment, Lu Zhuo's hand moved slightly. Because his draw was so fast, it looked as if the sword had never left its sheath.

Kuzan's expression changed abruptly; he retreated rapidly while simultaneously turning into his elemental form.

Crack!

The sound of shattering ice rang out. Kuzan's waist exploded instantly, his entire body turning into shards of ice as he fell toward the sea.

Seeing this, Lu Zhuo's expression darkened slightly.

That strike just now hadn't managed to injure Kuzan at all!

One had to know that although he couldn't yet imbue his weapons with Haki, as a master swordsman, a direct hit on a Logia user should still inflict damage.

Just like with Enel, even if he turned into his element, he would still be cut and bleed. But Kuzan had turned into ice and split his body apart before the sword aura even touched him, dodging the strike entirely.

From this single exchange, one could see the gap between a top-tier Admiral like Kuzan and someone like Enel, who barely compared to an average Admiral!

Lu Zhuo leaped into the air and shouted to those behind him, "Nami, Robin, attack with me! Robin, be careful. Conis, hide in the cabin!"

No one would be difficult at a time like this, though Robin's face was extremely tense; one could even see her body trembling slightly.

Lu Zhuo sighed inwardly. In this state, Robin couldn't even utilize her proper strength.

The next moment, Lu Zhuo leaped off the ship.

The pile of ice shards had just landed on the sea surface when it instantly condensed into an icy form.

Ice Age!

In just an instant, the entire sea surface was frozen over! As far as the eye could see, the frozen expanse was boundless, and the Holy Sword was instantly locked in place on the ice.

Lu Zhuo had anticipated this; he raised his sword high and brought it down in a fierce vertical slash.

Evil Light Slash!

Beside him, Nami let out a sharp cry, and a massive sea cloud poured down toward Kuzan's head. Her speed was actually a fraction faster than Lu Zhuo's!

"Ara-ara, shouldn't a swordsman have the dignity of a swordsman? To think you'd team up to fight me!"

Kuzan's expression remained cold. He extended his right hand, instantly making contact with Nami's sea cloud.

The next moment, the sea cloud, which was the size of three houses, instantly turned into a block of ice, simultaneously forming a shield in mid-air to block Lu Zhuo's Evil Light Slash.

Clack-clack!

The Evil Light Slash continued its momentum, carving deep into the ice. The ice shield then condensed intensely, shrinking the house-sized block into a shield only half a meter long.

Clang-clang!

Lu Zhuo's Evil Light Slash struck it, producing the sound of clashing metal. When the slash dissipated, the shield shattered as well.

"Nami, go up and discharge electricity!"

Seeing this, Lu Zhuo shook his head. While he considered Nami's fruit to be very powerful, the Ice-Ice Fruit was definitely one of its natural counters. If not for Nami's ability to create thunderclouds and discharge electricity, she would likely only be a hindrance in this fight.

At this moment, two fists suddenly sprouted from Kuzan's body, slamming fiercely toward his head.

This ability, naturally, belonged to Robin. Robin had managed to calm herself down enough to finally strike.

Kuzan didn't dodge, letting the fists slam into his head, intending to instantly freeze Robin's arms. However, the moment they made contact, his expression changed drastically.

Although Lu Zhuo had only managed to grasp the first level of Armament Haki, he had taught it to his crew without hesitation.

Bang!

That head was instantly shattered into ice shards, and after it reformed, Aokiji let out an angry roar, blowing two sharp breaths onto his arms.

Two ice blades condensed in an instant and slashed forward. Robin hurriedly deactivated her ability, her arms dissolving into petals and vanishing.

At the same time, Lu Zhuo's attack arrived right in front of Aokiji.

Phantom Sword Dance!

Without a moment's hesitation, he unleashed his ultimate move. A sphere of sword light enveloped Aokiji, and one could only hear a series of clattering explosions, followed by a bolt of lightning as thick as an arm crashing down from the sky as Lu Zhuo delivered his final strike.

With a deafening roar that shook the heavens, the surrounding ice sheet cracked like a spiderweb.

Lu Zhuo leaped backward several times, returning to the deck, his expression vigilant as he stared at the center of the attack.

Only a pile of ice shards remained in the center, yet after a few ripples, Aokiji's body appeared before Lu Zhuo and the others as if completely unscathed.

"Is this... the strength of an Admiral? It had absolutely no effect." Robin's eyes dimmed, her arms dropping to her sides as if she had lost all hope.

Seeing this, Lu Zhuo let out a sharp shout: "Who says it had no effect? He is a man, not a god! So what if he's a Logia user!"

Following Lu Zhuo's shout, a trickle of blood suddenly spilled from the corner of Aokiji's mouth, and blood began to flow from his nose as well.

Then, the clothes on his body instantly shattered into countless fragments, revealing numerous bloody gashes across his skin.

However, those gashes were less than a millimeter deep and could hardly be considered injuries; the most significant was the massive, centimeter-deep cross-shaped wound on his chest.

Had it gone just a little deeper, it would have resulted in him being gutted!

Without a doubt, in these few moments of combat, Aokiji had been forced onto the back foot!

It was not that Lu Zhuo and the others were stronger than Aokiji when combined, but that Aokiji had been too arrogant, failing to even anticipate the use of Armament Haki.

He had intended to freeze Robin by making physical contact, only to discover that her arms were coated in Haki, resulting in his head being shattered. Although that Haki was of a low level, it had at least caused a mild concussion.

Then, taking advantage of that moment of disorientation, Lu Zhuo had closed the distance instantly and unleashed a full Phantom Sword Dance upon his body.

To be closed in on by a swordsman—had Lu Zhuo possessed the second level of Armament Haki, Aokiji would already be a dead man!

Yet even so, having been struck directly by blades infused with sword pressure and intent, how could Aokiji not be injured?!

Watching this scene, a glimmer of light returned to Robin's eyes. At the same time, looking at the man standing beside her, gripping his swords with both hands and showing not a trace of fear on his face, her eyes shimmered with a different sort of emotion.

Is this love?