Chapter 23: Congratulations, You Pranked Yourself
"Ice Block: Two Thorn Pikes!"
Even though Aokiji can elementalize himself, he isn't rushing to fight Luo Ning head on. He doesn't know what Luo Ning can do, so Aokiji needs to be careful.
"Think it's pretty low to fight dirty like that, don't you?"
Luo Ning avoided Aokiji's attack. It wasn't a strong move, nothing special. Even if it landed, it wouldn't do much damage.
"Pheasant Beak!"
Aokiji ignored Luo Ning and sent a giant ice bird crashing towards him.
If the attack hadn't come, Luo Ning wouldn't have tried to act brave by dodging. He would have easily jumped out of the way.
"Ice Time Capsule!"
Aokiji saw his direct attacks wouldn't work. He switched tactics, aiming a blast of cold air at Luo Ning to freeze him in place. This attack wasn't meant to hurt, but to control Luo Ning's movements.
Aokiji's attacks probably cause the least damage out of the three Admirals, if not the same as the others.
A strong gust of wind blew at Luo Ning, but he stopped in mid-air, then leaped even higher. The wind whipped past him, and instead of falling, Luo Ning remained suspended in the air.
This isn't Luo Ning using The Visionary to gain another power. He's using his Reiatsu to create a foothold under his feet, something anyone with enough Reiatsu can do.
"Can I still fly? It's getting trickier"
Seeing Luo Ning hovering, Aokiji's face darkened. The battlefield grew significantly in an instant, stretching from the ground to the sky. Even if he knew Moonwalk and could fly for a short time, Luo Ning dodging his attacks would be much easier.
Things are looking bad for Aokiji. Just then, Luo Ning imagined himself a super speed, them charge at Aokiji. He's as fast as a Rokushiki master using Shave.
Aokiji reacts fast, turning his body to ice at the last second. Luo Ning throws a punch, shattering the ice.
Luo Ning's fast, but Aokiji can sense him with Observation Haki. It's like having a sixth sense, and even though Luo Ning's super speed, it's still hard to completely hide his moves.
Aokiji sensed him coming and turned into ice just in time. That punch landed on ice instead of Aokiji himself.
"That was close. Taking that hit head-on wouldn't have been fun."
Aokiji reformed from the ice in the distance, his eyes wary. Luo Ning's speed was incredible.
Just as Luo Ning charged again, several massive wooden barrels came flying at him. He instinctively blasted them apart, a wave of water erupting from the explosions.
"Seawater? Thinking I'm a Devil Fruit user? Clever trick, but it might just work"
Luo Ning froze for a moment, recognizing the seawater. The other Marines weren't sitting around. While he and Aokiji were fighting, Gion had filled wooden barrels with seawater.
As soon as they separated, a barrel of seawater arced through the air.
It was a clever tactic against regular Devil Fruit users. No matter how powerful the fruit, seawater negated their abilities and weakened them. Getting soaked basically meant losing all fight. This seawater could be trouble for some.
Lots of ways to fight Devil Fruit users with seastone, like Zephyr's bullets or Smoker's weapons. Or you could grind it to dust and spread it in the air. Devil Fruit users gotta breathe too, right? Inhaling that dust would be deadly. The Original gotta have some holes for the story to work, you can't think of everything. But this is the real world now. So Gion's plan makes sense to Luo Ning.
"Ice Time Capsule!"
Aokiji, untouched by the seawater, unleashed his power as it rained down. He aimed to freeze Luo Ning while he was weak.
Seawater might weaken Devil Fruit users, but it can't stop their attacks already in motion.
"Nice teamwork, but you miscalculated a bit"
Luo Ning dodged back into the air
"I've never said that I am a Devil Fruit user"
Luo Ning glanced at the surprised Aokiji and his crew. If he'd eaten a Devil Fruit, he might have been knocked out by that. But he wasn't one of them, so that weakness didn't apply to him.