181: Chapter 181 Taking a Lazy Break Again"So, who is this guy, and why did he attack us?" Zoro asked, stroking his chin and looking at the man in the ice sculpture with a puzzled expression.
Luffy scratched his head, frowned, and pondered for a moment before finally remembering: "Ah!I remember now, this guy's name is Caribou.If I'm not mistaken, he became a Supernova two years after the Marineford War.As for why he attacked us.well.maybe he wanted to take my head, after all, I'm one of the Four Emperors now." With that, Luffy gently tapped the ice sculpture, as if checking if the person inside was still alive.
Just then, the girls inside, hearing the commotion, rushed out, asking with concern what had happened.After learning what had happened, Uta frowned and suggested, "Why don't we just throw this guy into the sea?It'll save us the trouble." Hearing this, Caribou, trapped in the ice sculpture, turned pale with fright and struggled desperately to break free of the ice.However, the more he struggled, the thicker the ice became, until finally even his face was frozen solid.
Seeing Caribou's suffering, Luffy felt pity and added another layer to the ice sculpture, saying, "Keep going!I believe you can break free.But if you're too tired, you can rest for a bit." As he spoke, Luffy thoughtfully wrapped a Dark Binding around Caribou to ensure he could stay safely inside the ice sculpture.
Caribou stared wide-eyed in horror at everything before him, inwardly cursing himself for encountering such a demonic opponent.Luffy, on the other hand, smiled innocently, seemingly believing he had done a good deed.
"Let's leave this guy here for now.Speaking of which, has anyone seen Aokiji?Didn't he say he would join us?" Luffy looked around and asked curiously when he didn't see Aokiji.If he remembered correctly, Aokiji had said he would come to find him.He had forgotten about it because he was busy setting sail.
"Huh?Luffy, are you out of your mind?How could Aokiji possibly join us?Even if he's no longer a Marine, he wouldn't join a pirate, would he?" Usopp said in shock.The other crew members nodded in agreement, all thinking it was impossible.Luffy, feeling helpless, recounted a series of events that happened after he encountered Aokiji during his training.Everyone was quite surprised after hearing it.
"No way, Aokiji actually offered to join us?" Robin asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, I also find it incredible, but that's what he told me." Luffy shrugged.
"But why did he join us?" Chopper asked, puzzled.
"Perhaps he's disappointed with the World Government, or maybe he wants to find a new way of life," Sanji speculated, holding the blood transfusion bottle.
"Anyway, Luffy, since you've made up your mind, I won't say anything more.It's good this way.After all, he's a powerful fighter.It would be great if he could join us," Zoro nodded.
"But what if he has other motives?After all, he was once a Marine Admiral," Nami said worriedly.
"Hmm, that's possible.But we can observe him for a while and see if he's really reliable," Usopp suggested.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Luffy's mind.Aokiji had said he was coming to find him.Could this Aokiji have gone to the island where he trained?With that thought, Luffy quickly crushed the teleportation stone and instantly returned to the island.Three giant animals on the island were imitating Luffy's actions, roasting meat.Seeing Luffy suddenly appear, their faces lit up with human-like joy.After hearing Luffy's story, the three animals became extremely excited, gesturing wildly, but Luffy didn't understand them at all.Just then, the system stepped in as a translator, explaining to Luffy: "They said the man you mentioned just left today.About six months after you left, he returned to this island and waited for your return.However, he still hadn't seen you return, so he headed towards the Amazon Lily."
Luffy felt utterly helpless.He sighed, crushed the teleportation stone again, and prepared to return to Amazon Lily.Meanwhile, the situation on Amazon Lily was tense.Since Hancock had not yet returned, all the warriors were on high alert.Luffy stared intently at Aokiji, who was sunbathing in front of him.None of them dared to make a move, silently praying that the Empress would return as soon as possible while remaining vigilant.
Aokiji muttered to himself, "Honestly, didn't I promise I'd go find him?Why did he slip away so early?According to these soldiers, Straw Hat Luffy should have already set off for Mermaid Island by now, right?This is really a headache!Looks like I can only wait for Hancock to come back and see if she'll be willing to lend me a hand."
Meanwhile, Aokiji changed his posture and continued sunbathing, muttering to himself, "What are these kingdom soldiers so afraid of?I'm just sunbathing, why are they so nervous?"
Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, Luffy appeared just in time to break the deadlock.He pulled up Aokiji, who was sunbathing, and apologized to the women around them, saying, "I'm sorry everyone, our crew member accidentally startled you.We'll leave now.Please tell Hancock that I'll come back to see her often." After saying that, Luffy took Aokiji back to the training island.
Upon arriving on the island, Luffy looked at Aokiji with a helpless expression and complained, "So why didn't you leave me a Den Den Mushi or something before you left?Now look what's happened, it's inconvenient to even contact you.If I hadn't remembered this, I might have completely forgotten about you."
This time it's Aokiji's turn.Completely bewildered, Aokiji realized Luffy had forgotten about him, so why did it seem like he was the one in the wrong?Just as Aokiji was about to say something, Luffy grabbed him and teleported him back to the Globe.Luffy continued, "Alright, alright, it's not your fault anymore.Take this opportunity to get to know everyone; from now on, we'll be adventure partners."
Aokiji scratched his head and said, "Do you think I need to get to know you?But speaking of which, what's wrong with Mr.Sanji?And why is there an ice sculpture on your ship?I have to say, it's quite realistic.There's even a Caribou inside?Wait, Caribou?"
"Ah, this guy insisted on putting on a show when he came to our ship.I saw he was getting too excited and was afraid he'd hurt himself, so I froze him.See?I'm kind-hearted, aren't I?" Luffy said with a grin, putting his arm around Aokiji's shoulder.Aokiji smiled awkwardly, not quite used to Luffy's gesture.