"Ara rara... Isn't that Nico Robin?"
Aokiji's voice made Robin, already pale, stumble backward instinctively until she bumped into Doflamingo's chest and stopped.
"Don't be afraid. You still have me," Doflamingo murmured, placing a large, warm hand on Robin's head encouragingly. "There's nothing to fear. People can't let fear paralyze them. We must face it head-on. What growth comes from constantly running away?"
"But..." Robin leaned against Doflamingo, her voice laced with worry. "He's strong."
"Fuffuffuffu! Strong, you say? Then I just have to become even stronger!" Doflamingo chuckled.
"Ara rara... Quite the talker, aren't you, kid? Let's see if you can back it up," Aokiji remarked lazily, effortlessly leaping onto the ship's deck.
Seeing Aokiji board, the passengers instinctively recoiled. Even Robin hid behind Doflamingo, not daring to look directly at the newcomer. The onlookers quickly guessed the man's identity, but none wanted to get caught in the crossfire. If these two started fighting, they would be the ones to suffer.
"Fuffuffuffu... Vice Admiral Kuzan. What wind blew you here?" Doflamingo said with a grin, having finished comforting Robin.
"Ara rara... Donquixote Doflamingo. Nico Robin. Two criminals designated by the World Government itself. Never thought I'd see the two of you mixed up together," Aokiji stated, his usual lazy tone carrying a hint of seriousness.
"Now, that's not very nice, Vice Admiral Kuzan. I don't consider us criminals. We've been very well-behaved. Slandering us like this isn't right, you know," Doflamingo teased. "Besides, you won't even let an eight-year-old girl go? Such fine conduct from you Marines! Truly worthy of being the World Government's lapdogs."
Seeing Aokiji remain silent, Doflamingo pressed on. "What's wrong, Vice Admiral Kuzan? Did I hit a nerve? Aren't the Marines supposed to uphold justice? From where I'm standing, you look more like the pirates."
"Shut up! How the Marines operate is none of your damn business," Aokiji snapped, shedding his lazy demeanor entirely. While he genuinely cared about Robin and had intended to let her slip away, he absolutely could not allow her to fall in with Doflamingo, a former Celestial Dragon. The two of them together would inevitably become an intolerable threat to the World Government.
"Fuffuffuffu... What's this? Thinking of making a move? You're a Marine, aren't you? With all these civilians here, are you just going to disregard them?" Doflamingo continued his mockery.
"To apprehend evils like you, sacrificing some lives is justifiable," Aokiji stated coldly.
"What a wonderfully righteous excuse. Did you learn that from Sakazuki?" Doflamingo's words remained sharp, instantly bringing an unpleasant memory to Aokiji's mind.
"Enough talk. Let's settle this with our fists," Aokiji said flatly.
"No! Vice Admiral Kuzan, we're innocent!" "Arrest them if you must! This has nothing to do with us!" "Yeah! Aren't the Marines supposed to be righteous? Are you going to leave us to die?"
Hearing Aokiji's words, the innocent passengers erupted in protest.
"Troublesome," Aokiji muttered. He wasn't Akainu, after all. He didn't possess that level of ruthless intolerance for pirates or utter disregard for civilian casualties.
"Vice Admiral Kuzan, I don't want to die!" "Vice Admiral Kuzan, please let us go!"
The pleas rose from all sides, giving Aokiji a headache.
"Is this the Navy's justice? Truly righteous indeed!" Doflamingo continued to prod.
"Big Brother..." Robin whispered from behind Doflamingo, tugging lightly at his pant leg as if urging him not to provoke Aokiji further.
Doflamingo ignored Robin's small gesture, his gaze fixed intently on Aokiji, anticipating his next move.
"Apologies."
With that, Aokiji leaped off the ship, landing back on his beloved bicycle floating on the water.
The passengers thought they had successfully dissuaded him, but Doflamingo knew better. If he wasn't mistaken, they were about to witness something truly staggering.
"Ice Age!"
Aokiji's cold voice reached their ears. Instantly, the churning seawater around the ship froze solid into a vast sheet of ice. The sight stunned everyone into silence.
"Is he a monster?" "How can anyone like that exist?"
Doflamingo watched the scene with appreciation. Robin, too, was deeply shaken; she hadn't expected the seemingly lazy, calm man to possess such overwhelming power.
"All of you, leave now! You're not far from the island. Get going!" Aokiji commanded coldly.
"Ah... Oh! Okay!" Like men granted a pardon, the passengers snapped out of their stupor and responded instinctively.
"Of course," Aokiji added, turning his gaze back to the ship. "The two of you aren't going anywhere."
Hearing this, Robin's face grew even paler, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
Doflamingo squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Don't worry. You leave first when the fighting starts."
"No! I want to stay with you!" Though terrified, Robin refused Doflamingo's suggestion.
"Are you serious?" Doflamingo looked slightly surprised. He hadn't expected Robin to choose to stand with him. "Once we start fighting, I won't be able to protect you. Besides, it's not certain he can even defeat me."
"I'm serious. No matter what, I want to be with you," Robin declared, looking Doflamingo dead in the eye.
"Alright then. Just make sure you stay far back," Doflamingo conceded, seeing her determination.
"I understand," Robin murmured, though a flicker of unwillingness crossed her face. She was too weak right now, nothing but a burden.
The moment Aokiji gave the order, the passengers had scattered across the ice. Now, only Doflamingo and Robin remained on the ship's deck.
"Now then, time to deal with you. Donquixote Doflamingo. Nico Robin," Aokiji stated coolly, landing back on deck. His voice dripped with killing intent.
"I've been looking forward to this, Vice Admiral Kuzan. One of the Navy's three 'Monsters'," Doflamingo retorted, brimming with confidence.
Intense cold radiated from beneath Aokiji's feet, rapidly spreading across the deck towards Doflamingo and Robin, threatening to freeze them solid.
"Not so easy!" Doflamingo scoffed.
He had already whisked Robin away from the immediate area, leaving only his voice hanging in the air.
Aokiji knew Doflamingo wouldn't be dealt with easily, but he hadn't anticipated such speed. His Observation Haki tracked Doflamingo as he swiftly deposited Robin in a relatively safe location before instantly returning to face him.
"Cocky, aren't we," Aokiji muttered wryly to himself.
"100 Million Volt Thunder Dragon!" Doflamingo wasted no time on banter, immediately unleashing a devastating attack. A lifelike dragon formed of pure lightning surged towards Aokiji.
"Ice Block: 'Pheasant Beak'!"
Recognizing the power of Doflamingo's attack, Aokiji didn't dare hold back, meeting it with full force.
The two techniques collided violently between them, resulting in a massive explosion. For the moment, they seemed evenly matched.
The sheer force of the impact caused Robin, watching from a distance, to tense up, her eyes fixed worriedly on the battle.
"Again!" Seeing his Thunder Dragon fail to gain an advantage, Doflamingo felt no frustration. He instantly closed the distance, appearing right before Aokiji.
"Thunderfall Fist!"
With a roar, Doflamingo thrust a powerful fist crackling with lightning straight at Aokiji's face, intending to blast him apart.
"Ice Block: 'Partisan'!"
Aokiji remained perfectly calm, unfazed by Doflamingo's abnormal speed.
"Useless," Doflamingo stated forcefully, brushing aside the ensuing ice spikes. "Bring out your real power, Vice Admiral Kuzan. This isn't nearly enough."
"Ara rara... Getting underestimated, am I?" Aokiji remarked, feigning laziness, though inwardly his assessment of Doflamingo grew more serious.
"Ice Saber!"
Doflamingo watched as Aokiji condensed a blade of ice in his hand. "Fuffuffuffu! Planning on a sword fight? Interesting," he chuckled.
"Thunder God's Halberd!" If Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit can form the Ama no Murakumo sword, then it's perfectly reasonable for me, Doflamingo, to form a Thunder God's Halberd from lightning electrons!
Doflamingo rapidly shaped lightning into a formidable halberd. Their weapons clashed. In truth, neither possessed true mastery of swords or polearms; it was just crude hacking. Aokiji couldn't manifest sword energy—it was simply a brute clash!
In terms of pure physical combat, Doflamingo didn't fall short of Aokiji either. For the time being, it was impossible to determine a clear winner.
However, this was merely the warm-up. For Aokiji, a man capable of fighting Akainu for ten days and nights, this level of exertion was nothing. After all, neither had truly unleashed their Haki yet.
"60 Million Volt Discharge: Thunderstorm!" Doflamingo roared, unleashing electricity from his entire body, once again forcing Aokiji back.
"Ara rara... The Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit. It truly is a powerful ability," the retreating Aokiji acknowledged, his expression serious now.
"Your Ice-Ice Fruit is quite formidable as well," Doflamingo responded.
They paused, exchanging compliments, but the atmosphere between them only grew heavier, thick with killing intent.
Not far away, Robin held her breath as the movements ceased, watching with wide, nervous eyes.
She knew their next clash would be even more ferocious.
_______
+40 chapters on: patreon.com/Shinobi_Scrolls