Victory, Departure

"Ara ara, are you getting serious? Even I can feel the cold from this chill..." Aokiji spread out his Observation Haki, a trace of gravity appearing in his eyes.

Within the range of his Observation Haki, every falling snowflake contained a chill that even surprised him.

Ever since eating the Ice-Ice Fruit, Aokiji had never imagined that one day he would experience cold like this again. It was simply unbelievable!

This alone proved how terrifying Ice Dragon Ian's move was!

"This chill..." Owl also looked up, disbelief in his eyes. Facing this move, he felt as though he were confronting Aokiji himself.

It was the same kind of cold, a cold that could even freeze particles!

Of course, there were still differences between them. Aokiji's Awakening could assimilate all surrounding matter, forming an extremely cold domain within a certain area where all life was extinguished!

Ice Dragon Ian's move, meanwhile, condensed all the cold into a single point. It looked like ordinary snowflakes, but anyone with Observation Haki could sense an equally terrifying chill within them!

One was razor-sharp, while the other was hidden within!

Yet both were equally terrifying!

Faced with such a horrifying attack, neither of them dared to be careless!

"Awakening: Annihilation Wind!" Aokiji erupted with momentum as a strange force abruptly spread outward, assimilating all surrounding matter and transforming it into ice!

The ice suddenly shattered, turning into an intangible, formless stream of pure cold. The current swirled around Aokiji's body before he drove it upward. Everywhere it passed, the terrifying chill annihilated everything, leaving no life behind!

On the other side, Owl forced himself to his feet. His movement tugged at his injuries, making him cough up blood again, but he paid it no mind. A fierce glint appeared in his hawk-like eyes!

His body swelled once more, his hands connecting to the wings on his back as he entered his human-beast form!

"Black Dragon Twister!!" Black mist surged around his towering body and poured into his wings. The next instant, he kicked off the ground and shot forward like a hunting falcon, his wings beating out a pitch-black gale as he charged forth like a violent tornado!

The attacks of all three erupted at once and collided in the very next moment!

Crack, crack!

The falling ice flowers, Aokiji's Annihilation Wind, and Owl's black tornado crashed together. There was no imagined earth-shaking boom—only the crisp sounds of ice flowers blooming one after another!

Every ice flower that burst open sent surging cold outward, and there were a full hundred of them!

Crack, crack...

Dense cracking sounds rang out. As endless cold ravaged the area, the battlefield fell still!

The ice flowers had fully bloomed. In the center of the field, only a majestic mountain of ice stood tall, covered in blooming ice flowers!

Through the translucent ice mountain, two figures could vaguely be seen within, one above and one below. They were CP0's director, Owl, and Marine Admiral Aokiji!

Ian landed, panting heavily. The consecutive bursts of power had pushed him close to his limit as well...

Ignoring the system notifications ringing in his mind, Ian narrowed his eyes at the scene ahead. "You really are troublesome... As expected, trying to deal with Aokiji using ice-based abilities is a little difficult..."

Just as Ian finished speaking, Aokiji suddenly opened his eyes within the frozen mountain. His body turned elemental, and he broke free from the ice.

But the moment he appeared, he could not help spitting out a mouthful of blood. Before it hit the ground, it froze into ice.

"Ara ara, that was truly dangerous. I nearly got frozen directly inside. A chill that can even freeze consciousness has really opened my eyes..." Aokiji coughed up blood, his gaze solemn as he looked at Ian.

If he had not been an Ice-Ice Fruit user with resistance to cold far beyond ordinary people, and if Owl had not helped block part of the opponent's attack, he might have been completely frozen inside like Owl!

Even so, it had been extremely dangerous. The chill from Ice Dragon Ian could actually freeze a person's consciousness. He had barely managed to endure it...

Ian sneered. "If I couldn't seal you, then I couldn't seal you. I won't make excuses for myself. If I were strong enough, then even as an Ice-Ice Fruit user, you would still have been completely frozen by me!"

Hyorinmaru's power was far more than what it had displayed now. In the original story, Hyorinmaru in its fully released state could even freeze earth, fire, water, and wind—the fundamental substances that made up the world!

In other words, Hyorinmaru's cold could freeze the world itself!

It was simply that Ian could not yet fully unleash all of Hyorinmaru's power...

"As expected, you're a dangerous fellow. You're still not satisfied with strength like this?" Aokiji took a deep breath and looked at Ian calmly.

A man who had fought two Admiral-level opponents alone and even held the upper hand was still dissatisfied with his own strength?

Although this was Aokiji's first encounter with Ian, this single encounter had raised Aokiji's assessment of Ian's threat level to its peak!

It's time to leave... Feeling the weakness in his body, Ian had no intention of continuing to fight Aokiji. Although Aokiji's combat strength was also less than a tenth of its peak, Ian was much the same. He had expended too much stamina.

It would be difficult for him to fight again...

But he had won this battle!

Moreover, through his Observation Haki, he could sense others approaching from afar. There were quite a few of them, and some were not weak!

They were most likely Marines...

In his current condition, he might not be able to defeat so many people...

"After all, I'm alone, unlike you Marines, who can disregard honor and swarm people together." Ian looked into the distance, then mocked Aokiji before continuing, "Goodbye, Admiral Aokiji. But our next meeting won't be so simple! And tell that old Yellow Monkey to remember me!"

With that, Ian gave Aokiji one final glance before vanishing from where he stood.

"Whew..." Aokiji did not make a move as Ian left; instead, he let out a sigh of relief. Once Ian's presence had completely disappeared—

Aokiji seemed unable to hold on any longer. He dropped to one knee, bracing himself against the ground with his right hand as he coughed up blood again. "Cough, cough... What a terrifying fellow... Ice Dragon Ian, does he really possess the strength to fight two Admirals alone? Cough, cough..."

Aokiji's injuries were even more severe than Ian had imagined. He had merely been forcing himself to endure until now...

Fortunately, his opponent had not noticed.

Although Ice Dragon Ian had also exhausted himself greatly, he had barely been injured after an entire battle. That was simply absurd...

That was also why Aokiji had not chosen to attack again.

The Zoan's recovery ability was too powerful. If Ian realized Aokiji had merely been holding on, he might risk injury just to kill him!

That would not be worth the loss...

"But Ice Dragon Ian wants me to pass a message to Yellow Monkey. Did Yellow Monkey do something to him last time?" Aokiji frowned, but once he thought of Yellow Monkey's personality, he understood.

With Yellow Monkey's personality, he might really have done something troublesome.

Shaking his head and not dwelling on it, Aokiji turned his gaze in another direction and murmured, "Has the battle over there ended as well? Were they other CP0 members? Did they lose too?"

With Aokiji's Observation Haki, he naturally knew that there was another battlefield elsewhere on the island. However, he had come for Ice Dragon Ian and had no time to concern himself with that side.

Now, according to his Observation Haki, the battle there had also ended...

Exhaling a breath of cold air, Aokiji fell into thought. "One is Ice Dragon Ian. The other... who is he?"

"Hiss... What happened here? These battle marks..."

"This island was clearly Summer Island. How did it become like this...?"

"Was it Admiral Aokiji's ability?"

"How tragic..."

A short while later, the Marines who had followed Aokiji arrived. Seeing the scene before them, they could not help drawing sharp breaths.

This entire region had been utterly transformed. The battle among the three had practically plowed through the area, and even the cold leaking into the surroundings was more than these Marines could bear!

"Admiral Aokiji? Are you all right?" A man who looked like a medic hurried to Aokiji. Seeing him sitting limply on the ground, seemingly drained of strength, shock flashed across his face.

The others also noticed Aokiji slumped nearby, and astonishment appeared on every face.

They had never seen Aokiji in such a miserable state...

Who could have injured Admiral Aokiji so badly?

Had Admiral Aokiji lost?

In an instant, that thought arose in the minds of the Marines, and every one of them revealed an expression of disbelief!

After all, Admiral Aokiji was an Admiral!

One of the Marines' greatest military powers!

Could someone like him actually lose?

This was enough to shake the entire world!

For a moment, an indescribable sense of defeat welled up in the hearts of every Marine present...

Aokiji ignored the expressions of the Marine soldiers. A loss was a loss, and he would not explain himself. He said to one of the rear admirals, "Connect me to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. I have something important to report."

"Yes, Admiral Aokiji." Though still shocked, the rear admiral took out the Den Den Mushi he carried and handed it to Aokiji.

Aokiji accepted it and made the call.

The Den Den Mushi went purururu several times before being answered.

The Den Den Mushi in Aokiji's hand changed slightly, taking on Sengoku's appearance.

Den Den Mushi were truly remarkable creatures. They displayed some of the other person's physical features, serving as a kind of anti-counterfeiting mark so they could not be exploited by someone with ill intent if one was lost.

"Hello, this is Sengoku. What is it that you need to report?" Sengoku's dignified voice came from the Den Den Mushi.

Aokiji took a deep breath and spoke directly. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, regarding this mission involving Ice Dragon Ian..."

Aokiji briefly reported what had happened here.

As for whom the CP0 members on the other side had been fighting, Aokiji knew little and merely mentioned it in passing.

The voice on the other end of the Den Den Mushi seemed to pause. Then Sengoku's somewhat heavy voice came through, carrying a trace of uncertainty. "What did you say? You joined forces with CP0's director and still failed?"

"Yes!" Aokiji answered directly.

Hearing this, Sengoku fell silent again. After taking a deep breath, he asked, "What are the losses?"

"The Marines did not suffer any losses..." Aokiji paused before speaking plainly. "As for what CP0 was doing here, I don't know..."

The Marines truly had not suffered many losses. After Aokiji saw the slash, he had rushed toward Gold Coin Island ahead of the others. Other than him, no Marines had entered the battle.

Although Owl had been frozen inside the ice mountain, his presence was only extremely faint. Relying on the vitality of a Zoan user, he was holding on and had not died, though he had fallen unconscious.

Aokiji simply did not know how to rescue Owl from the ice mountain. He did not possess that ability...

Breaking it apart through brute force was definitely impossible. One careless move, and Owl inside might shatter alongside the ice mountain...

Sengoku returned to his usual tone and said solemnly, "Aokiji, return first. We have no authority to interfere in matters concerning the World Government. I will report this to the Five Elders!"

Sengoku knew more or less about some of the circumstances on Gold Coin Island.

CP0 had been secretly transporting an extremely special metal.

To a certain extent, this metal could block Observation Haki detection. It was also one of the materials needed by the World Government's scientist, Vegapunk, for his research!

It was a material required for the scientific weapon known as the Pacifista...

"Understood, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!" Aokiji nodded. Looking at Owl within the ice mountain, he could not help shaking his head.

There was nothing he could do. His ability could not break the ice mountain apart; he would be lucky if he did not make it even harder. They could only wait for someone else to rescue him.

Still, with the vitality of an awakened Zoan user, he should not die...

After leaving some people behind to guard the area and sending others to the other battlefield to treat the CP0 members, Aokiji returned to the warship to recover before heading back to Marine Headquarters!

His subordinates could handle matters here. There was no need for an Admiral like him to remain and stand guard.

At Marine Headquarters, Sengoku hung up the call and rubbed his head, seemingly suffering from a headache. Then he cursed under his breath, "Ice Dragon Ian, is this guy really that strong? Even Aokiji and Owl were no match for him..."

"And who is that other person? Since when have so many powerful people appeared in the first half of the Grand Line...?"

The first half of the Grand Line was Marine territory. Anyone threatening would be recorded by them.

Yet aside from Ice Dragon Ian, another mysterious figure had appeared, and judging by the situation, he was likely quite strong as well...

"Forget it. CP0 will definitely investigate that mysterious person's identity. I shouldn't meddle in it. I should report this situation to the Five Elders first..."

"I may need to raise Ice Dragon Ian's threat level once again... But how long has it even been since his bounty was issued?"

"Fortunately, Gold Coin Island is full of criminals, and Aokiji said few people came near. We should be able to suppress the news... Otherwise, an Admiral's defeat will become the biggest event of this period!!"

After thinking for a moment, Sengoku called the Den Den Mushi in the Five Elders' office.