The Fierce Battle Begins; Ice Age Changes the Weather

"Then why have you kept protecting her?"

Robin froze at Dongze's words. Confusion filled her eyes as she turned to look at him.

Dongze did not turn around, but he had expected her reaction. He let out a soft sigh.

"Don't be naive, Robin. Without his protection, how could you have survived on these brutal seas when you were barely eight? The Pirate Hunters alone would have killed you! Did you really think your little tricks could fool everyone? You didn't even know how to disguise yourself. How could you have escaped all those people hunting you? He's the reason you made it through your childhood!"

"Bacchan!"

Robin's pupils contracted. She could hardly accept what Dongze had said. Aokiji was someone she feared to her bones, and she still remembered what he had told her when he let her go.

His words had circled through her mind for years like a demon's whisper. She had never forgotten them.

"Be glad you're alive! Keep your head down from now on!"

"I'm not your ally. I'm your enemy. If I ever decide letting you go was a mistake, I'll be the first to arrest you!"

Robin bit her lower lip. Her gaze slowly settled on Aokiji, and she stared at him. She desperately wanted an answer—one that would prove Dongze's guess wrong. This was the man she had feared for nearly ten years.

"How did you figure it out?"

Aokiji did not deny it. Instead, he asked the question with a hint of interest. Before coming here, he had investigated Dongze's background and age.

Dongze was fifteen, born in Shimotsuki Village in the East Blue. He had studied under Shimotsuki Koshiro at Isshin Dojo and gone to sea this year. As a Pirate Hunter in the East Blue, his ruthless methods had earned him the name "No Grass Left Standing" among pirates.

But some time ago, he had seemingly vanished. No one had seen him since.

Aokiji's failure to deny it confirmed Dongze's suspicion. So he really was the reason Robin had lived safely all these years.

"I guessed."

"Oh? Care to tell me how, kid?"

Aokiji settled in to listen.

Dongze considered his answer. He had a fairly good opinion of Aokiji. The man was an oddity among the Marines, but he was also someone who rarely lost his composure. Dongze sometimes wondered whether the Ice-Ice Fruit helped him stay calm enough to see things clearly.

Aokiji had an unusual view of justice: people on different sides saw it differently, and their views could change with their circumstances.

He did not question other people's justice. But if theirs stood in the way of his own, he acted without hesitation.

He was generally courteous, too, and loyal to the people he cared about.

When he first encountered the Straw Hat Pirates, he had not intended to fight them, even though they were already pirates. In the end, he had let them go because their captain was Garp's grandson.

That was why they could stand here and talk. If it had been Sakazuki or Kizaru instead, they would probably have been fighting already.

"She's the only survivor of Ohara. I couldn't think of anyone else who would have a connection to her—except you. You were the Marine Vice Admiral who spared her back then, and now you're an Admiral. A clever eight-year-old might manage to survive on her own, but an eight-year-old wanted criminal?"

"Even ordinary civilians would have tried to claim the bounty on her head. Then there were the greedy pirates and the Pirate Hunters who despised them. Without someone protecting her when it mattered, she'd have been finished the moment she showed herself. Her half-learned Devil Fruit powers wouldn't have saved her."

Aokiji fell silent. From his position, all he had to do was hint at what he wanted, and people below him would oblige.

Red-Hair was not the only man whose wishes carried weight. There were people who could not afford to ignore an Admiral.

That was also why no Marine officer of rank had openly gone after Robin. Aokiji had let her go. Dragging her back would have been a slap in his face.

"That's right."

Seeing how far Dongze had worked it out, Aokiji saw no reason to hide it. He admitted it freely.

Robin went still. Her eyes turned vacant. She could hardly believe the truth: all this time, the man she had thought of as her enemy had been protecting her.

"Why?"

Her question came out as a shout.

Aokiji paused, then answered calmly. "I wanted to see what would become of the child my dear friend Jaguar D. Saul gave his life to protect. I wanted to see what changes Ohara's only survivor might bring to the world."

"You..."

"..."

After looking at Aokiji for a moment, Dongze asked, "There's something I'm curious about too. Normally, once you knew she was safe, you'd leave her alone. Why come all this way now?"

Aokiji scratched his curly hair and shrugged. "I wasn't going to get involved. But Vice Admiral Garp told me she'd joined up with a talented kid. I wanted to see what kind of person had earned his praise, so I came."

"Then why have you changed your mind?"

Aokiji thought for a moment. "How should I put it? You're stronger than I expected. If you were an ordinary rookie, I'd look the other way. But someone as strong as you could probably make it through the New World. And this girl is determined to uncover the truth of history. One wrong move, and the two of you could turn the world upside down. I don't want that. I'm still a Marine, after all."

"So we're going to fight after all?"

"Looks that way."

"..."

"When I met Garp, I had a feeling we'd run into each other someday."

"I didn't expect that old troublemaker to sell me out so quickly, though. We got along so well!"

"You've got him right, kid. That really does sound like Vice Admiral Garp."

"You're one of the few Marines who can see the world clearly. I'd like to talk more once this is over."

"Confident, aren't you? I won't hold back. And if you lose, I won't spare the kid with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit either."

"I don't know if I can beat you. But I believe I won't lose."

"Heh. That is confidence. I haven't lost since becoming an Admiral."

The Battle Begins: Ice Age Changes the Sky

The conversation ended, and the air between the two sides instantly grew tense.

Enel silently pushed the electricity coursing through his body to its limit. He watched Aokiji with a grim expression.

He had heard what the man said: Aokiji would not spare him. And if Dongze fell, Enel would fall with him. He had no choice but to ready himself for battle.

Dongze raised a hand to stop him.

"Find cover, both of you. This fight is beyond you. I'm certain his Devil Fruit power has Awakened. Without Armament Haki, you can barely hurt him, and you'd only get in the way of my attacks."

Dongze's warning set both Enel and Robin on edge. Enel felt close to despair. He had only just come down here, and already this was happening—with Dongze's Sword Intent still lodged in his head!

It was obvious Dongze would not remove it now. If Dongze died, Enel was finished too.

"Damn it..."

Robin's heart tightened. She knew how terrifying Aokiji was. Biting her lower lip, she said, "Dongze, I'll go with Aokiji. Don't fight him!"

"If I leave, you won't have a reason to fight!"

Dongze turned and looked at her for a long moment. Then he sighed. "Do you want to go back to a life of betrayal and wandering? Living in fear every day can't be much better than dying."

Robin's eyes reddened again. He was right. Every day of that life had been an ordeal. She had never dared sleep soundly, afraid she would wake to find someone's blade at her throat.

"But I don't want you to..."

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes..."

"I won't lose. Not even to an Admiral. I'll take you to see the rest of the Poneglyphs."

"Okay..."

Tears spilled from Robin's eyes, and her answer caught in her throat.

Aokiji watched Dongze descend alone, curiosity in his eyes.

"I thought you'd have the lightning kid help you."

"No. I've been waiting for a day like this for a long time. This is my first real step into the world."

Before the fight began, Dongze checked his status panel.

Iron Head Skill: max;

Iron Crotch Skill: max;

Abdominal Breathing: max;

Basic Meditation: 700/1000;

Water-Walking: max;

Sleeping: 1000/100000;

Basic Swordsmanship: max;

Sword Forging: max;

Hundred-Pace Flying Sword: max (Sword Intent not activated);

Crossing the Eight Directions: max (Sword Intent not activated);

Sword-Draw Technique: max;

Heavenly Flying Immortal: max (Sword Intent not activated);

Hidden Light, Sitting in Forgetfulness: max. Non-Contention Sword Intent (activated): 350000/1000000;

One Sword Across the Ages: max (Sword Intent not activated);

Taiji Swordsmanship: max (Sword Intent not activated);

Spear Technique: 1200/1000000;

Six Powers—Shave: max;

Six Powers—Geppo: max;

Armament Haki (activated): 560000/1000000 (Ryuo);

Observation Haki (activated): 550000/1000000 (Voice of All Things);

Conqueror's Haki (activated): 25000/1000000;

Sword Intent (unlocked): 2/100;

Erosion Sword Intent (activated): 420000/1000000;

Thunderclap Sword Intent (activated): 200000/1000000;

World Will (unlocked): 2/10;

Swordsmanship (Minor World locked): 1/10 Peerless Sword Case (unlocked) Divine Weapon Storage 2/13 (Long River, Thunderclap);

Swordsmanship (Minor World locking);

Two skills had disappeared from the panel. Iron-Sand Palm had become Ryuo, and Mantra had become the Voice of All Things. But two swords had been added: Long River and Thunderclap.

A sea breeze blew past. Both men vanished at once.

Enel's heart clenched as he watched from afar. Aokiji had not used his full strength earlier. Now both fighters had moved beyond the limits of Enel's Observation Haki again.

Those two monsters! he cursed inwardly. He also made up his mind: when this battle was over, he would ask his boss how to grow stronger.

Boom!

After a long moment, a violent collision rang out overhead, and the two men flashed into view in midair.

Dongze was driving forward with his fist, while Aokiji had raised an arm to block it.

Flowing light shimmered where their blows met.

"Advanced Armament Haki!"

Aokiji's expression changed. When he had spoken to Garp a few days ago, Garp had said Dongze possessed only ordinary Armament Haki.

Aokiji trusted that Dongze could not have held back against Garp. Garp's fists were not so easy to withstand.

That meant Dongze had reached this level of Armament Haki in the past two days.

The sight gave Aokiji a startling idea, and his expression shifted again.

He was considered a monster even among the Marines, yet Dongze's rate of progress shook him.

Dongze's Observation Haki was frightening, too. The two of them had changed position dozens of times before their blows finally met. That alone said plenty.

Looking at the resolve in Dongze's eyes, Aokiji could not help thinking, No wonder Mr. Garp praised him as a genius!

"But that isn't enough to take her away!"

After one rapid exchange, Aokiji forced Dongze back dozens of meters, sending him plunging into the sea. The next instant, a terrifying cold burst from Aokiji's palms. The sky visibly darkened, and ice crystals filled the air.