"Eh—?!"
"Was Straw Hat Luffy taken out?"
"Aokiji… good, this time you didn't disappoint! It looks like you didn't end up becoming his background after all!!!"
Marine Headquarters.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office.
Kizaru sat with one leg crossed over the other, raising his brow in mild surprise.
Clearly,
when it came to this result,
he found it both only natural and, at the same time, somewhat unexpected.
On one hand,
the gap in strength was right there.
In the face of such an absolute and overwhelming difference in power,
no matter how one looked at it, unless a miracle happened, there was no way Luffy could possibly win.
This was practically the normal judgment shared by Kizaru,
all the powerful figures,
and people across the world alike!
But on the other hand,
considering that aside from being a Navy Admiral, Aokiji also had another identity—Garp's disciple, his direct senior student!
Then,
the scene before their eyes—where Luffy seemingly ended up frozen into an ice sculpture and killed on the spot—
really did make Kizaru feel rather surprised!
Because
Aokiji actually hadn't held back.
Given his relationship with Garp, that really was rare!!!
Nearby,
a few seats away, Akainu's eyes flickered as he looked toward the screen and let out a cold laugh.
Although
he did not care in the slightest whether Luffy lived or died,
because of this round of the ranking, and the exposure of the previous scenes,
as a Navy Admiral,
as a defender of justice,
Akainu naturally hoped that a small pirate like Luffy—even if he was the so-called King of Backgrounds, with numerous powerful figures backing him—
would still
be utterly crushed because of his identity as a pirate!!!
At this moment,
Akainu was extremely satisfied with Luffy's predicament,
and for the first time, he actually supported Aokiji,
believing that the man had not held back.
Not only had he preserved the dignity of the Admiral's title,
he had also displayed overwhelming strength and defended the prestige of the Navy!
However…
across from the two of them,
on the other side of the round conference table,
as Luffy's actual grandfather, Garp's expression at this moment was extremely awkward.
More than that…
it was obvious that it was also filled with worry!!!
"Kuzan, you brat…"
Garp gritted his teeth.
After lifting his head and glancing at the real Aokiji himself,
he could only sigh helplessly.
He had no intention of blaming him.
It couldn't be helped!
The position of Navy Admiral was right there!
If Aokiji had really gone easy on Luffy, the outcome would only have been even worse!
After all,
in the previous scenes,
whether it was Garp himself or Sengoku,
both of them had clearly had more than one chance when they badly wanted to keep Luffy there!
And yet,
without exception, they had all failed in the end.
Instead, the weak Luffy had managed to retreat from battle in one piece, turning things around and making the Navy's top brass look like failures!
Therefore,
no matter how biased he might be,
Aokiji
could not afford to hold back anymore!
Otherwise, from the Fleet Admiral down to the Admirals… they would all end up utterly humiliated in front of Luffy!
Such a terrifying result
would cause the Navy to lose all deterrence from this point onward.
And the impact that followed
would plunge the seas into turmoil and danger!!!
"Clack…"
"No matter what, now that things have developed to this point, this encounter between Aokiji and the Straw Hat crew should be able to draw to a close, right?"
At the seat of honor,
beneath the brim of his seagull-adorned Navy cap,
Sengoku revealed a smile and slowly spoke.
Getting rid of Luffy,
that troublesome brat,
was naturally a good thing.
It was just that
Sengoku was still worried
that another reversal might occur next!
Otherwise, Aokiji's attack this time would have all been for nothing!!!
—————————
Sure enough.
Sengoku's premonition had been correct.
As the image darkened, this battle came to an end.
The result had not changed.
Luffy had been frozen into an ice sculpture.
However, once the screen turned pitch-black, the ranking did not stop.
Almost immediately afterward,
before most of the audience had even finished discussing what had just happened,
a new scene abruptly lit up again.
Another fragment of the plot began playing seamlessly,
and the screen returned once more to the Paramount War battlefield!!!
"Straw Hat…"
"It's him again! Relying on his rubberized body, he darted nimbly through the crowd, charging straight through the attacks around him!!!"
In the real world,
Naval forces and elite fighters everywhere
watched Luffy's figure with open hostility, their brows tightly furrowed.
Damn it!
He had still survived!
Had Admiral Aokiji's freezing attack failed to turn things around after all?
Sure enough,
as the main character of this round of the ranking,
one had to admit it—Straw Hat Luffy really was ridiculously lucky!!!
Yet right afterward,
the new ranking subtitle appeared.
And what it showed made all those Navy soldiers stare in total disbelief.
And in every one of their hearts,
the moment they saw that familiar name,
the same ominous premonition rose up!!!
(End of Chapter)
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