After a while, Xia Chen landed back on the ground. Ace walked over and looked at him in surprise, saying:
"I didn't expect you to be so strong!"
When he first saw Xia Chen's 300 million bounty, he did think that this person had some strength, but not much strength. But now it seems that this is not the case.
Xia Chen didn't answer the question, but instead asked him a question in return:
Would Marine Admiral?
"Are you kidding me? I'm a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, the World's Strongest. Let alone a mere Marine Admiral, I wouldn't be scared at all even if it were the Fleet Admiral, okay?"
"Oh? Really? That's good, otherwise I was really worried you'd run away during the fight~"
"You bastard, are you looking for a beating?" Ace glared at him indignantly.
"If we can escape this time, then we can have a fight!" Xia Chen replied calmly.
"Hahaha... Alright, it's settled then!" Ace laughed loudly.
"You two little ones are full of energy!"
Aokiji slowly emerged from the smoke and dust, his previous laziness replaced by a serious expression.
Aokiji glanced at the two of them first, then focused his gaze on Xia Chen, saying with a hint of seriousness in his eyes:
"Kid, you have a pretty good understanding of Armament Haki; you've even managed to achieve Internal Destruction!"
" Internal Destruction?"
Ace glanced at Xia Chen in surprise. If Aokiji hadn't told him, he wouldn't have known! Even he hadn't mastered this technique yet.
"Furthermore, your Haki is stronger than most of the Vice Admiral in our navy. I'm quite curious how you managed to cultivate your Haki to this level at such a young age!"
"Perhaps it's talent?" Xia Chen replied casually.
But to everyone's surprise, Aokiji actually nodded in agreement and said, "There's probably no other explanation besides talent!"
"Since that's the case, it seems I must take you down no matter what. Otherwise, with your exceptional talent as a pirate, our navy will be living in constant fear!"
"If you can do it, then give it a try!" Xia Chen said, and then the iron rod instantly appeared in his hand.
Aokiji raised his arm upwards, and as he did so, it gradually turned into ice blocks and faced them.
"Ice Cube • Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
In an instant, a giant ice bird emerged from Aokiji's hand and charged toward them at breakneck speed.
Xia Chen picked up the iron bar, about to smash the ice bird to pieces, when Ace blocked his way.
"Let me!"
" Mirror Flame!"
A burst of flames erupted from Ace's arm, clashing head-on with Aokiji's Ice Block: Pheasant Beak.
After exchanging energy for a while, both of their moves dissipated into nothingness.
Aokiji looked at Ace and muttered, "The captain of the second division of Whitebeard? He's a tough one to deal with!"
Xia Chen gripped the stick tightly in his hand, and Armament Haki instantly enveloped it.
" Ace, go!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Chen rushed out, and at the same time, Ace was not to be outdone, also charging towards Aokiji.
Aokiji's expression remained unchanged as he watched the two figures charging towards him.
One hand is placed across his chest, and his lips are slightly parted.
"Ice skates!"
Aokiji raised his ice blade and met Xia Chen's incoming staff head-on.
The moment the two made contact, a powerful shockwave emanated from the point of their clash and spread outwards.
Several large cracks appeared in the surrounding houses due to the aftershocks.
At that moment, Ace rushed in front of the two and shouted, " Xia Chen, get out of the way!"
Upon hearing Ace's voice, Xia Chen didn't hesitate at all and quickly dodged to the side.
As soon as Xia Chen dodged, he heard Ace's voice.
"Sacred Fire Shiranui!"
Two enormous flaming spears slammed directly into Aokiji's body, the powerful impact propelling him backward, crashing through countless houses in the process.
"Well, how should I put it? My move was pretty powerful, wasn't it?" Ace said happily as he came over.
"It is indeed quite large, but there's a high chance it'll be useless!" Xia Chen replied calmly.
Sure enough, in less than a second, Aokiji reappeared before them, transformed back into ice. There wasn't a single mark of injury on his body.
Seeing this, Xia Chen shook his head. Fighting Logia opponent with top-tier Observation Haki was troublesome.
Before the attack even arrived, that part of the body had already been elementalized, so even if they possessed Haki, they couldn't hit it.
It seems that surprise is still the best approach!
Just as Xia Chen was pondering how to break the deadlock, Aokiji's calm voice came.
"Don't get distracted, Ice Time Capsule!"
Two cold air bullets shot out from Aokiji's hand, flying rapidly towards them.
Without the slightest hesitation, Xia Chen and Ace flew into the sky together.
"Bang!"
The moment the cold air projectile struck the ground, an extremely strong chill emanated from it, freezing everything around it.
" Meteor!"
"Fire Ring·Fire Pillar!"
The three clashed again.
After a period of time~
"Phew~"
Ace and Xia Chen were both panting heavily. They hadn't held back at all during that period, unleashing a variety of powerful moves in turn.
So even with their monstrous stamina, they couldn't help but feel somewhat tired.
Moreover, they were already bearing some bruises, putting them at a disadvantage compared to Aokiji was only slightly out of breath but unharmed.
Aokiji steadied himself slightly, his aura continuously gathering. Seeing this, Xia Chen knew he was about to unleash a powerful attack, so he quickly assumed a defensive stance and stared intently at Aokiji.
As expected, when the momentum had gathered to a certain point, Aokiji uttered a few words calmly.
Ice Age!
In an instant, Xia Chen felt an extreme sense of danger and immediately wanted to flee the place.
However, Aokiji's attack was not only extremely powerful but also incredibly fast. By the time he realized what was happening and tried to escape, it was too late.
His lower body had already turned into an ice sculpture, and Ace was in the same condition.
Despite his efforts to unleash his flames, he was gradually consumed by the ice.
Before long, two lifelike ice sculptures appeared in front of Aokiji.
Meanwhile, Xia Chen, inside the ice sculpture, discovered that although he couldn't move, his consciousness still existed due to his own strength.
After a brief struggle, Xia Chen realized it was futile.
This ice seal isn't the kind Aokiji used to freeze Doflamingo; this ice was created using Aokiji's ultimate technique, Ice Age.
The intensity was far greater than before, and at this moment, an extremely strong chill was constantly invading his body, making his body increasingly stiff and thus rendering him unable to move.
Aokiji slowly walked up to the ice sculptures of the two and said softly, "It'll really take some effort to deal with you two!"
"But now, it's all over!"
Aokiji took out Den Den Mushi from his pocket, and for some reason, it hadn't been damaged during the intense battle.
Just as he was about to call Smoker to come and clean up the mess, a faint voice sounded in his ear.
" Conqueror of Three Worlds - Ragnarok!"