Chapter 111
'What is he doing here?' Tanya set aside her curiosity. There was a Navy Admiral standing right there in front of them. There are more important matters to attend to…
"Kotatsu!"
Tanya and Kotatsu went into action immediately. Tanya jumped up and Kotatsu caught her on his back before running away. While riding on Kotatsu's back, Tanya launched blast after blast of wind at Aokiji.
With Aokiji there, Tanya and Kotatsu spared no further thought at giving up Blackbeard immediately. Escaping is now their priority.
Meanwhile, after seeing the decisive attacks of Tanya, Aokiji just stood there looking at them. Tanya's attacks hit Aokiji and he shattered into a pile of ice on the ground. Soon after, he reformed good as new.
"What a neat Devil Fruit," Aokiji said in appreciation of Tanya's powers. "To think it's in the hands of a pirate… what a shame."
Aokiji then looked down at the terribly wounded Blackbeard. He said nothing and just put his hand on the unconscious pirate.
"Ice Time: Capsule…"
Blackbeard was shrouded by a layer of ice. Aokiji then redirected his attention to the escaping Tanya and Kotatsu.
Aokiji's feet then froze. The ground he stood on also froze before Aokiji skated forward at great speed. Aokiji's sheer leg strength and Devil Fruit mastery allowed him to catch up with Tanya and Kotatsu in seemingly no time at all.
"Shit!"
Tanya then proceeded to bombard Aokiji with wind blasts and wind slashes to at least push him back. Unfortunately, none of them achieved her desirable effect. Aokiji avoided all of them by skating past the wind attacks or literally stepping on the air to make unpredictable maneuvers.
"Faster, Kotatsu! He's gaining on us quickly!" Tanya said, the panic palpable in her voice.
"I know!" Kotatsu answered in huffs. "I'm… going… as fast… I can!"
"You better give up now!" Aokiji shouted for Tanya and Kotatsu to hear him. "I won't hurt you if you do!"
"Shut up!" Tanya shouted back before addressing Kotatsu. "Kotatsu, go to the carnival! Let's see if he prioritizes catching us or saving people!"
"Got it!"
"Ahh, now you're pissing me off," Aokiji said after overhearing what Tanya said. "I didn't want to hurt a child, but… you're a true devil child."
Aokiji then raised his hand for an attack. In preparation of his next move, Aokiji's arm froze.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
A wave of ice charged forward towards Tanya and Kotatsu. It launched at a great speed and soon turned into an ice sculpture of a pheasant.
"Hawk Sylph!"
Tanya released a similar attack. A bird-shaped mass of rotating winds clashed against the bird of ice. It was clear to Tanya that her attack was weaker and Aokiji was pushing forward with his.
"K-Kotatsu!"
Aokiji's Pheasant Beak destroyed Tanya's Hawk Sylph and was closing in on Tanya and Kotatsu. Tanya could only hold on and trust Kotatsu to get them out of there.
The ice bird was about to tear into Tanya and Kotatsu… but that didn't happen. Suddenly, Tanya felt as if they were being lifted up. As if Kotatsu was… flying?
"Kotatsu? Are you flying?"
"I… I think so!"
"How?" Tanya asked. "You have no wings!"
"I don't know!"
Tanya and Kotatsu couldn't afford to find out why Kotatsu was able to fly. They didn't see it, but Aokiji who was still on the ground did.
"That tiger…"
Aokiji saw how Kotatsu was able to 'fly'. Kotatsu was stepping on what looked like solid white light that took him up to the sky, giving the illusion of flight.
"Where the heck do they find such Devil Fruits?" Aokiji felt a headache at seeing strong Devil Fruits on a pirate crew. "Ahh, whatever. I'll just make sure you don't get to use it."
Aokiji then stopped chasing Tanya and Kotatsu. But, that didn't mean he gave up. Aokiji stopped in preparation for his next attack. If it succeeds, he will catch Tanya and Kotatsu. If it doesn't… he can go back to chasing them, no problem.
With his hands frozen and raised towards Tanya and Kotatsu, the air around Aokiji cooled down and froze. Blocks of ice solidified in the air and their shapes morphed into long and sharp spears that looked like it could skewer the toughest of hides.
"Ice Block: Partisan!"
Aokiji launched his attack. The spears made of ice flew towards Kotatsu in a systematic manner, each spear aimed precisely at certain spots or angles that would be difficult to avoid.
Of course, Kotatsu wasn't alone. He had Tanya with him. Luckily, she was smart and composed enough to know that she shouldn't just sit on Kotatsu's back and urge him to do his best to dodge.
"Wind Block!"
Tanya summoned her Devil Fruit power and created a wall of wind behind them to block Aokiji's ice spears.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.
More than just his Devil Fruit, Aokiji's attacks had Haki in it. His ice spears tore through Tanya's wind wall easily like bullets through an inflated balloon.
"No!" Tanya felt her heart drop.
Aokiji's attacks landed on their intended target. Kotatsu was so busy doing his best to keep running and stop himself from questioning how he could fly that he was unable to realize that there were ice spears coming from behind him.
"Grah!" Kotatsu grunted in pain.
"Kotatsu!" Tanya cried out, tears forming at the edge of her eyes.
Three spears of ice impaled Kotatsu from below and behind. However, no blood dropped from where he was stabbed. Instead, the wound froze along with the area around it.
"C-Cold! It hurts!"
Tanya's heart broke at hearing the quiver in Kotatsu's voice. She was disappointed in herself. Kotatsu was wounded and she felt like it was her fault. If only she was stronger…
"Kotatsu, I'm-!"
Tanya was stabbed through her gut with another ice spear. Her momentary loss of focus cost her greatly.
"Wh-What?" Tanya's initial reaction was confusion. She looked down to see the ice spear that impaled her. Then, her mind caught up with the fact that she was harmed. Greatly.
Tanya lost her strength after feeling the pain and deathly chill of having a spear made of ice stab through her. She slipped off Kotatsu's back and started falling down to the ground from a great height.
"T-Tanya!" Kotatsu felt Tanya slip off his back and panicked. Unfortunately, that also meant he suddenly found himself incapable of the pseudo-flight ability he was just using.
Kotatsu started falling through the air with Tanya, but he didn't care. He reached out and was able to grab Tanya with his claws. He then hugged her as he adjusted his position so that he would fall on his back, keeping Tanya safe.
Since Tanya and Kotatsu weren't too high up, they fell shortly to the ground. Kotatsu crashed on his back, but he didn't mind as long as Tanya was safely nestled in his embrace.
…
Aokiji went to where Tanya and Kotatsu crashed. When he got there, he saw Kotatsu breathing out a painful sigh of relief.
"Y-You're safe!" Kotatsu said, his gaze focused on Tanya. "I'm… glad!"
"What a loyal pet you are!" Aokiji said, catching Kotatsu's attention.
Kotatsu's ears perked at hearing Aokiji. His face then twisted into a menacing glare before turning around to growl at Aokiji.
"You! You hurt Tanya!" Kotatsu said.
"Oi, it's not like I wanted to." Aokiji sighed. "You two forced my hand."
Kotatsu growled deeper and bared his fangs at Aokiji. His claws were fully extended, ready to tear at Aokiji.
"...I should make this quick," Aokiji said before his hands froze. Kotatsu lunged at him and initiated the attack.
…
While Aokiji and Kotatsu fought, Blackbeard gained consciousness. He woke up to a cold that chilled him to the bone. He only knew one man capable of such freezing ability.
'Aokiji? What the hell is he doing here?'
Blackbeard's unconsciousness also served as his rest time. He was blessed with a body with ridiculous vitality, so Blackbeard was an exceptionally resilient man compared to most capable of withstanding ridiculous damage.
'Are they gunning for Ace?'
Blackbeard willed his Haki to come out. With his pure will, Blackbeard unfroze himself and shattered the layer of ice covering his skin.
'Damn it, Teach! That shouldn't be your priority right now! She is waiting for you!'
Ignoring his fatigue and cold, Blackbeard walked away.
'Study… please be safe!'