Aokiji's Resolve

"I beg you to hear my prayer..."

The moment the last word was uttered, Aokiji felt a sudden mental lapse, and his consciousness went dark.

When the light returned, he was shocked to find himself deep within a burning inferno.

What place is this?

Aokiji muttered incredulously to himself. He suddenly looked up, and his pupils contracted sharply upon seeing what he was looking at.

One eye.

An enormous eye, filling the entire sky, was silently looking down at him.

Aokiji trembled inexplicably, muttering blankly:

"You are... Lord?"

Chapter 229 Aokiji's Resolve

Before meeting the so-called "master," Aokiji had imagined what kind of person the other party would be.

He recognized the Lord's voice; it was gentle and slightly deep, suggesting it belonged to a relatively young man.

But he never expected that the Lord was not a human being at all!

It's a giant eye!

No, we can't be that sure yet!

Aokiji forced himself to calm down. He looked up and stared intently at the Eye in the Sky, his mind racing.

Assuming that the Lord is a true god, not a self-proclaimed god like the Celestial Dragons, then the enormous eye before us may not necessarily be the true form of the other party.

An incarnation or avatar of God?

Perhaps it exists in this category.

"To be honest, I'm quite surprised, Lord, I never imagined you had such big eyes..."

The Eye of the Sky almost filled the entire sky, blocking out the sun and making the sky appear dim. Only the area around the Eye of the Sky emitted a faint light, adding a touch of holiness.

Dimon transformed into a giant eye, lowering his gaze to examine the Aokiji.

Even in the eternal World of Song, Aokiji's condition remained similar to that of the outside world; he was already giving it his all just by standing.

The consciousness body is a projection of human consciousness into the World of Songs. In Aokiji's subconscious, he believes that he should be in this state.

Of course, even if he didn't have this subconscious, the rules of the World of Song would still help him present his true state.

Unless Aokiji and Dimon both possess some authority over this world, only then can they do as they please.

Let alone recovering from its "injuries," it could easily transform into a Big Eye that blots out the sky.

"You wanted to see me, and now that you've seen me, what do you want to say?"

The voice came from the giant eye, the same voice heard at the headquarters meeting.

Aokiji confirmed that the Big Eye belonged to the master.

He scratched his head and spoke with a hint of respect:

"That's what I should be asking. You sent people to arrest me, is there anything I can do for you?"

There must be a reason for arresting him but not killing him, right?

Aokiji knew little about the Lord, so naturally he couldn't guess the Lord's purpose.

Dimon remained noncommittal; the moment Aokiji left the Navy, the two sides were no longer in a position of direct conflict.

He sent men to capture Aokiji, not to kill him, of course.

Seeing that his master hadn't responded for a while, Aokiji was taken aback. Could it be that he really wanted to kill him?

He helplessly shrugged.

"My lord, I actually respect you quite a bit. I'm no longer in the Navy, and I have no grudges against the Seven Deadly Sins."

Dimon smiled faintly.

"You're right, having lost your rank of Admiral, you are no longer considered an 'enemy'."

Hearing this, Aokiji breathed a sigh of relief. No one wants to die if they can, and of course he didn't want to die so easily either.

However, in his current situation, he is still recovering from serious injuries and is trapped in the Seven Deadly Sins' prison, not even knowing where he is.

Survival is still a long way off!

Thinking of this, Aokiji raised the corners of his mouth and raised his hands high, as if embracing the sky.

"Some things can only be seen clearly after leaving the navy."

"Lord, what is the world like in your eyes?"

"You created the Seven Deadly Sins, suddenly appeared on the stage of this world, and collected Devil Fruits from all over the place. What is your ultimate goal?"

Aokiji didn't expect the Lord to answer; his words were merely a prelude to what he was about to say.

He raised his voice and said:

Can I join you?

The Eye of the Sky narrowed slightly, and Aokiji felt an intense gaze upon him, a strange sense of oppression washing over him.

He initially suspected it was a hallucination, but when his legs began to feel unsteady, he immediately realized it wasn't an illusion; the other person's gaze did indeed create a strong sense of oppression.

What kind of ability is this?

Aokiji didn't understand; was it Conqueror's Haki?

The intense sense of oppression only began to subside when the voice from the heavens rang out.

"You don't even understand our purpose, so why do you want to join?"

Aokiji smiled. "I told you, lord, I have the utmost respect for you. You wouldn't mind having another subordinate, would you?"

He paused, then added, "Don't be fooled by my loss to Akainu; that was just due to environmental factors. My strength should still be considered quite formidable in this world."

As a historically significant Admiral, Aokiji's strength is beyond doubt.

When Aokiji suddenly asked to join the Seven Deadly Sins, Dimon could probably guess what the other was thinking.

It's simply because he's afraid he'll kill him.

To be honest, this was the first person to actively ask to join. Dimon was surprised, but he couldn't help but sigh that Aokiji really had no principles. He would say anything and join any organization just to survive.

If it were Akainu here, he would rather be killed than come up with a survival strategy like joining the Seven Deadly Sins.

"There is no place for you in the Seven Deadly Sins."

Dimon naturally refused.

He has no shortage of fighting power; as long as they have Devil Fruits, the Seven Deadly Sins' fighting strength can be increased at any time.

Moreover, Aokiji has no loyalty whatsoever.

Seeing his request to join rejected, Aokiji's heart skipped a beat, and his anxiety rose again.

"Don't be nervous, I have no intention of killing you for the time being."

Temporary?

In other words, he could kill me at any moment?

Aokiji was in a real bind, but one thing he was serious about was that he genuinely wanted to join the Seven Deadly Sins and understand these people from a different perspective.

Neither the Navy nor the World Government could do anything about this organization. He was eager to see what secrets this organization held, and why its members were so... loyal and brave.

Gathering the turmoil in his mind, Aokiji slowly lowered his raised hand and sighed deeply:

"Then I'll be frank, Your Majesty, what exactly do you want from me?"

Hehehe...

Dimon couldn't help but chuckle, finding it rather amusing to watch an Admiral's nervous demeanor.

"I'll ask you a few questions. If your answers are satisfactory, I'll not only let you go, but I'll also heal your injuries."

"Excuse me."

Aokiji perked up and listened attentively.

"Question one: Regarding a Logia Devil Fruit, the Dark-Dark Fruit, did you hear any news about this fruit during your time as an Admiral?"

Dark-Dark Fruit?

Aokiji recalled the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia he had seen, but there seemed to be no record of this Logia Devil Fruit.

A fruit that can attract the attention of the Lord of the Seven Deadly Sins must have something unique about it.

Simply saying "I don't know" is clearly not a satisfactory answer.

Aokiji immediately suggested, "If you, sir, wish to obtain this fruit, I can help you find it. Although I am not Admiral now, I have many friends from all walks of life."

Dimon remained noncommittal and moved on to the second question.

"Question two: Have you cultivated to the level of Awakening?"

"Of course, Awakening Logia is very difficult, much more difficult than Zoan," Aokiji said, suddenly recalling Samael and a certain peculiar technology possessed by the Seven Deadly Sins.

"Sorry, it might be very simple for you."

Everyone is Awakening being Seven Deadly Sins!

This is clearly not normal; it must be the result of some unknown technology.

Dimon understood perfectly, and then asked:

"This is a supplement to question two: Can you combine Haki with the power of the Ice-Ice Fruit to create ice that never melts?"

"Combining Haki with Devil Fruit power? I've never heard of that. Akainu and Kizaru are both Awakening - Logia, and they haven't shown similar abilities either."

Aokiji recalled the past and heard for the first time that the elemental power of the Logia could be combined with Haki.

Simply wrapping Haki around the power of freezing is easy to do, but that's clearly not what the questioner is asking.

A fusion of Haki and elemental strength... Is this feasible?

The fact that the Lord would ask this question suggests that someone has succeeded in doing this, or that someone is working towards it and has achieved some results.

Aokiji seemed to be deep in thought.

Dimon was also pondering: what exactly was going on with Samael's abilities?

The devil's Haki fused with the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit, creating an inextinguishable black flame.

This flame is still entangled with Kaido, forcing him to constantly use Haki to suppress it.

Based on Aokiji's answer, it can be confirmed that even a normal Logia Fruit user, even if they developed their Aokiji, still couldn't achieve this.

Dimon thought of Imu's Demonic Aura, a kind of black flame that could be shaped.

When Imu possessed Gunko and descended to fight the angel Belial, he used Demonic Aura.

Even the Demonic Aura is different from Samael's situation; it's a power unique to Imu, and no one else has shown it yet.

"Perhaps it's the effect of the power of Animation? According to Mammon, his Haki is also different from that of ordinary humans."

One is Logia, and the other is Mythical Zoan; both have shown similar characteristics.

Dimon couldn't figure it out for the time being; this question had troubled him for a long time.

Putting that aside for now, Dimon asked his third question.

"One last question, concerning the Lord of the Empty Throne above the Five Elders..."

"Wait, the Lord of the Empty Throne?"

Aokiji was taken aback. The Empty Throne was an empty throne, a symbol of equality within the World Government. How could it have a master?

"That person's name is Narona Imu."

Aokiji's reaction clearly showed he was unaware of Imu's existence, which didn't surprise Dimon.

In this world today, not many people know about Imu. Even among the Celestial Dragons, many probably don't know that there is someone above the Five Elders.

The navy was even less likely to know.