Chapter 390: The Straw Hat Pirates Fall into a Desperate Situation

Crackle, crackle.

Cold mist spread, instantly shrouding the entire Gui Jiangjunzhong.

Even breathing felt stinging; the Frost Snowman in Nami's arms gathered its strength to release a deep blue halo, but it could only barely sustain a protective shield of less than half a meter.

Although both were frost,

the spiritual attributes were worlds apart; furthermore, the Frost Domain released by Aokiji had the multiplicative reinforcement of the Silver Armor set, and with the power of injected frost Magic, even the most extreme flames could not melt it.

"Bastard, I don't believe Robin is that kind of person, stop it!"

The Fire Demon's roar.

Sanji's feet ignited with flames, filled with violent energy, like an enraged beast; the sound of the burning was like a snarl.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

The Frost Domain scorched by the flames emitted wisps of steam.

But soon, the extreme low temperature turned the steam back into water droplets, which then froze and crashed to the ground.

Even Sanji's flames flickered incessantly, looking as if they were about to extinguish.

Boom.

Sanji took a deep breath, the magic power in his body appearing on his legs as if boiling.

The dying Demon Blaze suddenly surged.

Bang.

Sanji withstood the low temperature of the Frost Domain, abandoning the magic protection for his exposed body, which was visibly covered in ice crystals, but his legs kicked fiercely into Aokiji's chest.

A cold, solid sensation; a layer of ice Armor blocked Sanji's Demon Blaze, appearing only slightly dented without being shattered.

Demon Blaze Kick! Sanji twisted his legs, the flames rotating like a propeller, tearing through the ice Armor like a drill.

"Hoo..."

Aokiji raised his arms high, his elbows slamming onto Sanji's legs; instantly, the fiercely burning flames were covered by ice crystals, remaining in the shape of a drill even as they froze.

Ice crystals spread along Sanji's legs, continuously covering his entire body.

Hum.

A brilliant purple sword light tore through the air, cleaving spiderweb-like cracks into Aokiji's ice Armor.

On Aokiji's chest, a mark condensed from Ghost Qi resembling a skull also appeared.

Ghost Shadow Flash.

Zoro's figure appeared, maintaining the posture of a sword swing, continuously burning the Ghost Qi within his body.

Aokiji was instantly blown apart by the explosive Ghost Qi,

and broken ice fell all over the ground.

Having broken free from the freezing, Sanji hurriedly dodged backward.

Crackle, crackle...

"So, the scapegoats you found this time are quite capable."

A pile of broken ice quickly re-condensed into Aokiji's form; he looked at Nico Robin with a complex gaze and asked, "So, you should have been able to run away just now, why did you hesitate?"

The joint effort of Sanji and Zoro,

although unable to harm Aokiji, was able to create an opportunity for Robin to escape.

"Shut up!"

A low growl mixed with anger shifted Aokiji's gaze to Luffy's face.

"Nico Robin is my partner, I won't allow anyone to bully my partner!"

Luffy, who had not moved until now, was full of anger.

Having already broken free from the interference of Nika's will, he knew Aokiji was a Marine Admiral and was thinking of ways to escape.

Luffy was no hothead,

just like escaping Enies Lobby in the original story, or escaping the Navy's pursuit after saving Alabasta.

He was only willing to gamble his life on things he deemed meaningful.

Not to be wasted recklessly.

"Hand over Nico Robin, and I can let you leave."

Aokiji's voice was cold, devoid of any emotion, as he calmly said, "In the past, I received care from your grandfather, so I can spare you now!"

"I'm taking Robin with me!"

"No."

"I want Robin!"

"Only by handing over Robin can you survive."

"I want Robin!"

"What a blockhead, in a way, quite like Vice Admiral Garp."

Veins bulged on Aokiji's forehead, a flash of helplessness in his eyes as he inwardly cursed the dog-headed Vice Admiral.

"I won't let you hurt my partner!"

Luffy's expression was serious,

he reached up to take off his straw hat, then slammed it onto the ground; a circle of intent domain broke through the frost's blockade and expanded outward.

Immediately,

white light appeared, like brilliant spots of light, filling the entire circle of the intent domain.

Luffy clenched his fists, swaying his body rapidly, dragging out trails of white afterimages.

"Is this the Blue Fist Saint?"

Aokiji frowned slightly, judging Luffy's ability at a glance, and muttered to himself: "A white phantom, did he also redeem an item or Bloodline with Holy Light attributes?"

Judging from the aura being emitted, Captain Luffy is likely the strongest player in the entire Straw Hat Pirates.

However, it is still not enough...

Four Ice Walls rose from the ground, surrounding the agile Luffy.

A fist smashed into the Ice Wall,

Splattering fine ice shards.

Aokiji strolled to the center of the battlefield, squatted down, stretched out his arms, and pressed his palms firmly against the moist soil of the ground.

Ice Dragon Whirlwind.

Four crazily twisting ice pillars rose into the air, with wisps of ice crystals hanging on them, looking like exploded, sharp scales.

The ferocious dragon heads held their heads high.

Not only were they emitting an icy aura, but there was also a wisp of dragon might that carried immense pressure.

It was not just for show;

To enhance the power of the 【Ice Dragon Whirlwind】 Skill Entry,

Aokiji traveled to the Ten Thousand Year Snow Mountain, personally killed a young dragon with the Dark Gold-level Lv. 49 【Bing Long Si Ka Sa】 Bloodline, and even slew a Golden-level boss with an Ice Dragon Bloodline,

Gathering enough materials and combining them with an Insight Pill.

He redeemed the Skill Entry 【Ice Dragon Majesty】, which could imbue the 【Ice Dragon Whirlwind】 Skill Entry with powerful dragon might.

"Roar..."

The roar shook the heavens, vibrating the frost.

Whether it was Sanji, who was boiling with Demon Blaze, or Zoro, who was dancing his Three-Sword Style so that not even a drop of water could pass through, or Nami, who was spraying lava blocks from her flame-heating furnace, or Luffy, who was trapped inside the Ice Wall...

Their bodies all began to be gradually frozen.

"Can't break it?"

Sanji shook his arms, his face full of astonishment; Demon Blaze was no ordinary flame, yet it could not burn through his frozen arms.

On the surface of the ice crystals covering his arms, a layer of fine, dragon-scale-like patterns directly increased the hardness of the ice crystals several times over.

"We're done for..."

Nami held her head in a panic,

Madly consuming the magic power in her body, and four Magic Creations were frantically activated.

Magic Acid Rain cloud, Lava Potion, anti-gravity device, electric eel collider!

The fusion product of technology and Magic from Mo Jie finally tore open a gap, burning Aokiji's hands and forcing his palms to leave the ground.

The ice dragon, no longer controlled by Aokiji,

Was torn to pieces by the members of the Straw Hat Pirates.

"Shall we run?"

Although the Gui Jiang Jun Mu Zhong was very rare, the strength of the Straw Hat Pirates was clearly no match for Aokiji.

The straw hat was picked up by Luffy and placed on his head,

And without hesitation, he nodded and said: "Let's go, his name is Aokiji, once I get stronger, I will definitely beat him up!"

Suddenly,

Vines growing crazily broke through the soil and bound the members of the Straw Hat Pirates.

"Who is it?"

"Text Magic, I didn't expect the Navy to have the same ability as Robin!?"

Usopp pulled out a Sharp Short Blade, cutting at the vines wrapped around his right leg, and mocked: "However, Robin's book Magic is the 【Sleeping Demon Vine】 inscribed with a demon prophecy; the vines released by these Navy soldiers simply cannot compare to hers..."

Before he could finish speaking, Usopp felt drowsy and immediately sensed something was wrong; he turned his head and found a thick magic book floating beside Robin, her hands still maintaining the casting posture.

"Betrayal again?"

Aokiji's gaze was cold.

If the Straw Hat Pirates wanted to escape, with thousands of Elite Navy soldiers plus himself, they absolutely could not retreat unscathed.

Some members would definitely be captured or even killed.

To ensure that she could absolutely survive, she chose to betray her companions again to delay time for her own escape?

What a pity, Aokiji sighed, the disappointment in his eyes reaching its limit.

The Straw Hat Pirates were willing to fight a Marine Admiral to protect Nico Robin, but they still couldn't move the Demon Child who had fallen into darkness?

Jaguar D. Saul, my dear friend.

You made the wrong choice back then.

And what I must do now is to rectify that mistake and no longer waver in my inner justice! "You all hold the Straw Hat Pirates, don't let them escape, I will go pursue the Demon Child!"

Aokiji did not hesitate,

Consuming nearly 70% of the ice magic power in his body to seal the Straw Hat Pirates inside the 【Dragon Pattern Ice Prison】 he had created.

Then he pulled out a motorcycle, 【Ski Safari · Silver Wing】,

And followed the frozen path, chasing in the direction where Nico Robin had fled at an extremely fast speed.

(End of this chapter)