Chapter 134: Edie vs Aokiji!

Hearing Aokiji's misunderstanding, Haizhu's serious expression flickered with faint amusement. She couldn't help but despise Aokiji's demeanor—the way he seemed to plead for mercy almost instinctively.

Aokiji noticed her gaze, but he remained indifferent. There was little else he could do at the moment.

"These are two Earthly Branches," he thought, his mind racing. "And then there's Edie himself. One-on-one, I could hold my own. But one against three? I might not walk away from this."

On the nearby warship, the Marines were paralyzed with fear. The tension was suffocating. The colonel swallowed hard, his entire body taut with anxiety.

"Dr. Edie, what a surprise to meet you here. Quite the coincidence," the colonel stammered, forcing a smile.

Edie, unperturbed, returned the smile with eerie calm. "Coincidence? Hardly. You're here to investigate the source of Jinkela fertilizer production. Surely, you anticipated encountering me."

Turning his attention to Aokiji, Edie asked with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "The World Government has classified Jinkela fertilizer as contraband. Do you think that's reasonable?"

Aokiji sighed, helpless. "This is a product that benefits the world. I truly respect your ingenuity, Dr. Edie. That's no lie."

"But I have my orders," Aokiji added solemnly. "I'm bound by duty. This crackdown is beyond me."

Aokiji understood perfectly why the World Government had targeted the fertilizer. The stakes were enormous. Jinkela brought Edie vast wealth, and wealth fueled his Hive Research Institute—an organization capable of producing technological marvels no one could predict or control. The World Government was afraid.

Edie's voice cut through the tense air, calm yet biting. "Don't be so nervous. I've always extended a degree of goodwill toward the Marines. Though you're merely puppets, the fault doesn't lie entirely with you."

He continued, his tone almost casual, "The Marines are nothing more than a blade wielded by the World Government. Once I deal with the Celestial Dragons, I'll reshape this force. If the Five Elders can control this sword, why can't I?"

Edie's next words hung in the air like a declaration of war. "When the time comes, I'll appoint Momousagi as Fleet Admiral."

Hearing this, Aokiji felt a flicker of relief. Perhaps there would be no fight today. "In that case," Aokiji said, exhaling, "I'll leave immediately. I'll report that the fertilizer production facility is not in Dressrosa and that I found no trace of Jinkela."

He had already planned to give this report before encountering Edie. Jinkela was a product the world desperately needed, and Aokiji couldn't bring himself to outlaw something so beneficial.

"Prepare to set sail," Aokiji ordered his subordinates.

"Yes, sir! Let's leave now!" the colonel stammered, relief washing over him like a wave. "Perhaps we should take a few detours to avoid suspicion about our investigation…"

A cold voice interrupted, freezing the moment. "Who allowed you to leave?"

Aokiji stiffened, his senses sharpening. "What do you want, Dr. Edie?" His breath misted as a chill filled the air. He was ready for combat.

Edie's smile was razor-sharp. "I came for you, Admiral. I require a piece of your soul before you depart."

The instant the words left Edie's lips, Haizhu sprang into action.

"Death... or Life!"

The power of the Soul-Soul Fruit erupted. Waves of soul energy rippled outward, enveloping Aokiji and the Marines. Though the Marines felt only the aftershock, it was enough to send them into a panic.

"This... This is Big Mom's soul spell!" the colonel gasped, his face pale. Wisps of pink soul energy began to leak from his body. Around him, the sailors trembled as their own souls were drawn out, their primal fear of death overpowering them.

"Stay calm!" Aokiji commanded, his tone resolute. "Conquer your fear, and your lives will remain intact!"

But even as he spoke, the colonel's knees buckled. Fear was an instinct no order could suppress.

"Tch... It failed." Haizhu clicked her tongue, withdrawing the soul wave. Embarrassed, she glanced at Edie. Wuma, watching from the side, chuckled at her frustration.

Without hesitation, Wuma attacked. "Air Shock!"

The devastating power of the Gura Gura no Mi tore through the atmosphere, creating a shockwave that sent massive waves surging. The sea roared in chaos, and the warship pitched violently.

Aokiji countered swiftly. Frosty air exploded outward, freezing the towering waves in an instant. The calm sea became an icy battlefield. Ice spears materialized in midair, launching toward Wuma, but they shattered against his quake-infused defenses.

The clash escalated. Aokiji's ice fractured under Wuma's punches, sending shards flying. The warship cracked and crumbled under the pressure, throwing the Marines into the sea.

"Frozen Crystal Coffin!"

Four colossal ice walls shot up, encasing Edie and his allies. Aokiji reformed from shattered ice, kneeling momentarily before standing tall. "Absolute Zero," he declared, the temperature plummeting further.

Haizhu felt the frost creep over her body, encasing her in ice. She plummeted to the ground, frozen solid. Wuma fared no better, his wings stiffening as ice overtook him.

But then cracks appeared in Haizhu's icy prison. A fiery glow erupted from within. With a shattering punch, she broke free, black wings ablaze with divine fire.

"Did you forget who I am, Admiral?" she sneered. "A little ice won't stop me."

Aokiji's expression darkened. Behind her, the flames of a Lunarian burned brightly. These Earthly Branches weren't ordinary foes—they carried the strength of Lunarians, adapting to any environment and wielding fire that defied nature itself.

"You're distracted, Aokiji."

A voice echoed ominously from behind.

Aokiji's pupils contracted in alarm. Instinctively, he moved to evade, but it was too late—a palm was already pressed firmly against his back.

"One Hundred Billion: Black Flash!"

A burst of black light erupted from Edie's hand.

The immense beam of energy, spanning over three meters in diameter, consumed Aokiji and shattered the ice coffin in its path. The black flash surged forward, tearing through the horizon, stretching thousands of meters away.

When the light dissipated, Aokiji's figure was nowhere to be seen.

"I regret to say, Lord Heavenly Father, I still require your personal involvement," Wuma said, kneeling on one knee before Edie.

"It's of no concern," Edie replied with calm authority.

He stepped through the gaping rupture in the ice coffin. After advancing a few hundred meters, Edie spotted Aokiji sprawled across the frozen terrain, blood streaming from his head. The admiral lay motionless, his breaths ragged and labored.

Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, Aokiji propped himself up slightly. His wary eyes fixed on the trio closing in on him, their leather shoes echoing ominously against the ice.

"..."

Aokiji forced his breathing to steady. "Your attack—'Black Flash'—it seems to have sealed my Ice-Ice Fruit powers," he admitted, his voice strained yet sharp.

From the beginning, he had been on guard against Edie. He knew that Observation Haki didn't work on him, making Edie an unpredictable threat. Yet a fleeting distraction—his focus pulled by Haizhu's feigned escape—had left him vulnerable. Now, the devastating blow had robbed him of his Devil Fruit abilities.

"It's futile to resist," Edie remarked softly, stepping closer. "Do you really think there's even a one-in-ten-thousand chance of escaping against the three of us?"

Edie's tone carried neither malice nor urgency. He spoke as though stating an inevitable truth.

"You want my soul?" Aokiji asked, raising his hands in surrender as he lay on the icy ground.

"Think of it as one year of your life," Edie said simply.

"Take it."

Without hesitation, Edie reached out. Wisps of pink essence—Aokiji's vitality—flowed from his body into Edie's grasp. Aokiji didn't flinch or resist, his expression stoic even as his life force was siphoned.

Having obtained his prize, Edie's demeanor shifted to one of cordiality.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you. You'll continue serving as an admiral," Edie said, turning to leave.

Aokiji squinted, his gaze piercing through the haze of pain. "Dr. Edie, what is your ultimate goal? After destroying the World Government, what kind of world do you intend to create?"

Edie paused momentarily, the question hanging in the air. Then he chuckled. "Your loyalties are misplaced. Would you consider joining me?"

Aokiji didn't reply immediately. He turned his gaze to the blue sky, a faint smile breaking through his grimace. "If there were more things like Jinkela in this world, perhaps it would be a better place."

"It might get a little better," Edie mused, his voice carrying a note of ambiguity. "But not by much."

With that, he ascended effortlessly into the sky, Haizhu and Wuma trailing behind him.

Aokiji lay there, staring at the heavens. Edie's words echoed in his mind: Not by much.

The admiral chuckled dryly, shaking his head. "At least it'd be better than this world under the Celestial Dragons," he murmured.

Struggling to his feet, Aokiji winced at the pain radiating from his wounds. He touched the gash on his forehead, a grimace of discomfort spreading across his face.

Soon, the marine colonel who had fled earlier returned, accompanied by a group of marines.

"Admiral, are you all right?" the colonel asked, his face etched with concern.

"What are you doing back here?" Aokiji replied gruffly, brushing off the colonel's worry. "At least give me some dignity."

The colonel laughed nervously. "Dr. Edie and his team have already left," he reported.

"Let's head back to the ship," Aokiji said, his tone weary. But then he remembered—the warship had been obliterated by Wuma's punch. Sighing, he added, "Take us to Dressrosa."

"Yes, sir!"

Without his Devil Fruit powers, Aokiji couldn't freeze a path across the sea. He resigned himself to an undignified ride on the backs of his subordinates as they swam toward Dressrosa's western port.

Upon reaching the shore, a crowd awaited them—thousands of locals wielding sticks and wearing defiant expressions.

"Marines, go home!" one man shouted.

"You're not welcome here!"

"We'll defend the Jinkela factory with our lives!"

The factory workers, along with their families, had prospered under its operations, achieving a standard of living previously unimaginable. The rumor of Aokiji's arrival to shut it down had galvanized them into action.

Aokiji raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding," he called out. "We're here for an entirely different matter. Trust me!"

Doflamingo's voice interrupted from atop a nearby rock. "Fufufufu~... If you're not here for the factory, then welcome, Admiral Aokiji."

The warlord's grin widened. "Welcome to the land of love, passion, and fertilizer—Dressrosa."