Aokiji Makes His Move

"Robin, hurry and go." Ye Chen grabbed Robin and pushed her toward the shore. It was obvious that Olvia had gone mad.

They said all scientists were mad, and Ye Chen had finally seen it for himself. Olvia no longer cared about anyone, not even whether her own daughter lived or died.

It was not that she was heartless. The library was about to be blown up, and Olvia simply had no time to care about anything else.

"But my mother..."

Robin hesitantly looked at Olvia, who staggered about as she continued carrying documents out of the library.

Robin could not bear to leave her mother. Seeing her still hesitate, Ye Chen grabbed her and ran in the opposite direction from the evacuation ship. As they ran, he urged her, "Robin, hurry and leave. Leave your mother to me. I'll get her out of here safely. We'll see each other again soon. It's too dangerous here."

Although Ye Chen was two years younger than Robin, for some reason, she believed he would not lie to her. If she stayed, she would not be able to help at all and would only hold him back.

Boom...

A bomb mercilessly landed beside them, and the blast wave sent them both flying. Yet after hitting the ground, Ye Chen did not pause for even a moment. He gritted his teeth and kept pulling Robin toward the beach.

"That is...!" Before they reached the shore, Ye Chen spotted Saul. What shocked him even more was the tall man standing beside Saul. He had messy, fluffy hair, wore a gray cloak, and had on black sunglasses.

There was something strange about him. White frost constantly rose from his body, and even the ground beneath his feet was covered in ice that had appeared from nowhere. Though Ye Chen was still far away, he could feel an intense pressure from the man.

"Aokiji, do you think this is something to be proud of?"

Saul showed no intention of fleeing, as though he were questioning an old friend.

Aokiji glanced at Ye Chen and Robin, and a flicker of surprise flashed across his dark lenses.

"That girl and that boy are both criminals. One can read Poneglyphs, while the other was just rescued from CP9 by you, right?"

"How did you know?"

Ye Chen froze. He had never even met this man before, yet the man knew everything he had done. How did he know Robin's identity as well?

"I didn't expect your Observation Haki to have become so powerful, Aokiji. Are you planning to lay hands on two children?"

Saul stepped forward and blocked Aokiji's path. Although he knew it would not make any difference, he still wanted to protect Ye Chen and Robin.

"Heh..."

Aokiji was clearly hesitant. It was obvious that he did not want to harm children. But in the instant he was distracted, the evacuation ship in the distance suddenly exploded with a boom. Aokiji abruptly turned around, removed his sunglasses in shock, and his expression darkened with anger. "Bastard! Who gave that order?!"

No one answered him. After the first shell fell, several more shells whistled out from the warship Sakazuki was aboard. Before long, the evacuation ship filled with innocent island civilians was mercilessly sunk. No one aboard survived. All of them sank into the sea along with the shattered ship.

"It was that bastard Sakazuki!"

Aokiji gritted his teeth in anger. At that moment, Saul lifted Robin and Ye Chen in his palm and ran toward the shore.

"Two little brats... sigh..."

Aokiji had only been hesitant before, but Akainu's actions filled him with anger and an immense sense of guilt toward Ohara.

In the end, he decided not to capture Robin and Ye Chen. Aokiji walked behind Saul and muttered, "Perhaps Ohara should leave something behind."

Ice Age!

However, he had no choice but to act against Saul. Saul was far too large a target to escape.

"Robin, go first. No matter where you go, I'll find you."

"Ye Chen, you have to save my mother. Please, take this!"

Though she did not want to leave, Robin chose to trust Ye Chen. She handed him the precious archaeologist's medal she had obtained.

"Robin, trust me. We will definitely meet again."

As he spoke, Ye Chen suddenly hugged Robin, then gently kissed her tender lips before turning and running away.

After freezing Saul, Aokiji paused. When he saw Ye Chen run back again, his face filled with surprise. He was becoming increasingly interested in this child.

Ye Chen ran back to the library. It had already been completely destroyed, and even the Tree of Knowledge was burning fiercely.

The enormous trunk had also been blasted so badly that it looked as if it would collapse at any moment. Ye Chen searched the ground for a long time before finding Olvia beside a lake. Blood still flowed from her leg, and she was barely alive. Her injuries looked severe.

The lake before him had already been filled with all kinds of documents. Ye Chen could hardly believe his eyes. Not a single archaeologist had fled. They had used their lives to keep carrying documents from the library and throwing them into the lake. These people had all gone mad, but Ye Chen still felt that they deserved respect.

Olvia was slightly surprised when she saw Ye Chen. "Where is Robin?!"

"She has already left. Let me take you with me."

As he spoke, Ye Chen reached out to pull Olvia up.

Olvia shook her head. "My injuries are too severe. I won't survive. Help me up."

"You..."

Ye Chen stared in disbelief. After pulling Olvia up, he saw that her back was covered in blood.

"What do you want to do?" Ye Chen froze for a moment before forcing down the grief in his heart and asking.

"Help me to the Tree of Knowledge. I don't want to die outside. I want to die there. That is where I belong."

"No, I won't let you die. Damn it, someone's coming."

Hearing a jumble of footsteps, Ye Chen dragged Olvia with all his strength and jumped into the lake. The lake was piled high with books, like a mountain.

Their bodies remained underwater while their heads were hidden among the books. After a while, a squad of Marines came over, apparently searching for something.

Ye Chen knew they wanted to make sure there were no survivors and kill anyone who remained alive.

After those men left, Ye Chen was about to emerge when Aokiji appeared there as well.

Aokiji was in a terrible mood and did not notice anything. Looking at the Tree of Knowledge, which had been almost completely destroyed, he stood silently beneath it for a long time.

At last, following the archaeologists' corpses, he found the lake piled full of books. A faint smile of respect appeared on Aokiji's face. He bent down and crouched on the ground, murmuring softly, "What a bunch of hopelessly foolish scholars. But I believe your efforts will not be in vain. Ice Era!"

As he spoke, Aokiji gently placed his right hand on the ground. In an instant, everything within a hundred meters was frozen beneath a thick layer of ice. Ye Chen and Olvia were no exception, but since their bodies were almost entirely hidden among the books, they were not completely frozen to death in the ice.