Chapter 184: Admiral Aokiji, You're Injured?!
"Marimo-head, you're wrong. It's my turn next." Sanji lit a cigarette.
"Huh? What kind of joke is the pervert cook telling?" Zoro countered without mercy.
"You two, stop arguing!" Nami stood with one hand on her hip, the other holding her Clima-Tact. Without hesitation, she delivered a sharp knock to both their heads. "This isn't the time for sigh. Change course and go full speed unless you want to run straight into those Marine warships!"
The moment Nami spoke, Zoro and Sanji—who had just been glaring at each other—immediately died down. Rubbing their heads, they obediently ran off to adjust the sails and confirm their heading.
The ship tyrant's deterrent was as effective as ever.
Near the coast of Long Ring Long Land.
The sailors on the Marine warships immediately noticed signs of battle.
"What's going on with that island?"
"The cold here is terrifying! Freezing!"
"There's ice everywhere. Go check what happened!"
Chaos erupted on both Marine warships.
On the lead ship, Vice Admiral Momonga stood at the bow, his expression solemn. He was in charge of this escort mission.
He recognized instantly—this was definitely Admiral Aokiji's handiwork.
Aokiji was recently on vacation, so appearing here wasn't surprising. But why would he unleash such massive abilities here?
Had he encountered a powerful enemy?
Momonga knew Aokiji was resting.
At a recent meeting, Akainu had angrily denounced Aokiji—everyone else was so busy, but Aokiji was always on vacation. Momonga remembered watching Kizaru clip his nails nearby, muttering "how terrifying" under his breath.
He had reason to suspect Akainu was scolding both Aokiji and Kizaru with that comment.
But now, Admiral Aokiji had appeared here, apparently engaged in battle with an enemy.
Regardless, he, as a Marine Vice Admiral, had to assist!
Momonga made an immediate decision to temporarily abandon his escort mission and head there.
He slammed his fist on the table.
"I've contacted Headquarters. Whoever fought the Admiral to this extent can't be some nobody. Prepare for battle!"
Despite his words, Momonga had no confidence whatsoever.
This was Admiral Aokiji. And the fight had reached this level—he'd used his ultimate techniques.
He was just a lowly Vice Admiral. Joining that fight probably wouldn't accomplish much.
The two massive Marine warships slowly approached. The sailors stared at the nearly completely frozen island and the floating ice debris on the sea, plunged into shock and confusion.
But as they drew closer, they realized the battle seemed to have ended.
It was remarkably calm.
Of course. The Admiral was the Admiral. He must have already won.
Just as the sailors were nervously alert, a tall figure materialized silently on the deck of Momonga's ship, accompanied by the biting cold air.
"A... Admiral Aokiji!" The sailor on duty spotted him first, saluting in astonishment.
Momonga turned at the sound. When he saw the still-visible bruises on Aokiji's face and the dried blood at the corner of his mouth, he froze. His pupils shrank!
"Admiral Aokiji! You're injured?!" Momonga's voice trembled with disbelief.
The entire deck fell dead silent. Every sailor's eyes widened, as if witnessing the most incredible thing in the world.
Who?!
Who could injure a Marine Admiral?!
"Highest alert, everyone!" Momonga almost shouted the order, his heart pounding wildly.
"Arara, it's not that serious, Vice Admiral Momonga. Relax." Aokiji waved his hand, his face returning to that lazy expression—as if his injuries were just from an accidental fall. "Just had a fight with some pirate kid. Loosened up my joints."
"A... a pirate kid?" Momonga was dumbfounded. Not a great pirate of equal caliber, or even Yonko Commander?
A rookie pirate could fight an Admiral and actually injure him?
Impossible.
But Momonga was a seasoned Vice Admiral, sharp-minded. He immediately thought of recent rumors at Headquarters and Vice Admiral Garp's evasive attitude.
A name instantly flashed into his mind.
He tentatively, cautiously asked, "Admiral-sama, are you referring to the recently notorious Straw Hat Pirates?"
Aokiji laughed heartily at this, clapping Momonga on the shoulder. "That's right, them. Well, this is a bit embarrassing—don't spread it around. Bad for appearances."
Momonga's expression twisted into something extremely strange. Understanding dawned.
They probably did fight. And it was quite fierce.
But these injuries... are probably largely fabricated.
Who that Straw Hat kid's grandfather was—an open secret among Marine's upper echelons.
Everyone knew how close Aokiji and Vice Admiral Garp were. Aokiji had once admired Garp even more than his own instructor, Admiral Zephyr. They were close enough to share a pair of pants.
With that relationship, would Aokiji really beat Garp's precious grandson to death and throw him in Impel Down?
They probably did fight.
They probably did exchange blows.
But lethal intent? Momonga found that possibility extremely slim.
He even suspected Aokiji might have manipulated his injuries a bit for realism.
Still... that kid was a pirate.
Momonga opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
"Alright, alright, Vice Admiral Momonga, don't say anything." Aokiji cut him off, his tone perfunctory. "I was careless this time. Next time, next time I'll go all out and throw that kid in Impel Down, okay?"
Despite his words, Aokiji knew the truth. Next time they met, that kid would only be stronger and more trouble.
Today's Luffy had already given him some tricky moments. And he hadn't exactly been going easy.
He gazed in the direction the Straw Hats had disappeared, silently lamenting.
Monkey D. Luffy... It seems these seas are truly going to experience unprecedented storms because of you. Teacher Garp... just what kind of monster did you raise?
Aokiji glanced at his Log Pose.
It wasn't hard to guess where the Straw Hats were heading next.
"Troublesome. Water 7?" Aokiji scratched his head. Getting closer and closer to the World Government.
And with Robin's special status, she'd easily attract the attention of relevant departments within the World Government.
His recent contact with Luffy revealed exactly what kind of temper he had. Same as Garp—overprotective.
Especially since those CP9 guys recently requested authorization from him to activate a Buster Call, all because of the Pluton blueprints. If a conflict started... pushing that button would trigger the Buster Call.
"Vice Admiral Momonga, got time to give me a ride?" Aokiji asked.
"To where?"
"Enies Lobby."
***
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