Chapter 76: The Sea Freezes – All Three Admirals Arrive

One hundred kilometers away from the Sabaody Archipelago.

"Rayleigh, what's the latest movement from the Navy?" Shakky asked, not bothering to hide her impatience as she addressed the Den Den Mushi connected to Rayleigh.

After spending time on Sky Island and sailing through the vast ocean, it had been difficult to keep up with the latest information from the seas.

Nearly two months had passed since they obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, and the Radiant Eclipse was about to complete its conquest of the first half of the Grand Line. This final stretch of the journey, in Shakky's eyes, was the most dangerous.

They were too close to both Marine Headquarters and Mary Geoise. If the Navy found them, they could easily be surrounded.

That's why it was crucial to know the movements of the Navy's top officers.

"Uh… let me check..." Rayleigh's voice stammered from the other side, followed by the sound of frantic rustling as he flipped through newspapers.

Just as Shakky was about to lose her patience, Rayleigh's voice finally came through clearly:

"Ten days ago, Kizaru was sent to the North Blue to escort the Celestial Dragons."

"A day ago, Akainu was spotted in the New World, apparently overseeing the selection of one of the Shichibukai."

"And as for Aokiji, there's nothing in the papers about his whereabouts."

"Sengoku, being the Fleet Admiral, is either at Marine Headquarters or in Mary Geoise," Rayleigh summarized the latest intel.

Shakky let out a sigh of relief.

Kizaru was in the North Blue, far from their current location. He wouldn't be able to return quickly. Akainu was in the New World, also too far to pose an immediate threat. Sengoku, as the Fleet Admiral, rarely left his command post to take action personally.

That left only Aokiji.

Even if they did encounter him, Shakky was confident that the Sun and Moon Pirates could handle it without much trouble.

"Have you cleaned up the bar yet? And don't you dare touch my liquor, Rayleigh. We'll be back at Sabaody in a few hours with Kuke," Shakky warned before hanging up.

Turning to Kuke, she said, "Since there's no danger, why not stop by my bar on Sabaody? Consider it my way of sending you off. Once you enter the New World, who knows when we'll see each other again."

Kuke accepted her invitation with a nod, "Sure!"

Two hours later...

The sight of the Sabaody Archipelago came into view.

The Radiant Eclipse sailed toward the secluded area of Island 13, the location of Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.

Just as the Radiant Eclipse docked, and Shakky stepped onto the shore, she turned to call the others to the bar, but her face suddenly changed.

Her expression turned to one of shock as she stared out at the sea.

Crack!

Before their very eyes, the ocean started to freeze at an alarming rate, as if something was spreading ice across the surface from an unknown point within the archipelago.

Within moments, the once calm waves were transformed into a solid sheet of ice that stretched far beyond their line of sight.

The entire ocean was now frozen, the temperature plummeting as cold air filled the atmosphere.

The Radiant Eclipse had also been caught, now immobilized by the icy waters.

"Admiral Aokiji...!" Shakky muttered gravely as she stared at the frozen sea.

There was only one person capable of freezing tens of kilometers of the sea in an instant—Admiral Aokiji, the wielder of the Ice-Ice Fruit.

No natural weather phenomenon could achieve such an effect.

"Just as we arrive, the sea gets frozen to stop any movement. Does this mean...?" Shakky quickly pieced it together, realizing that the Navy must have come for the Sun and Moon Pirates.

But why?

She couldn't comprehend how their presence had been discovered so quickly. Even if someone had spotted them, there's no way Aokiji could have arrived this fast.

"Was Aokiji already on Sabaody? That damn Rayleigh didn't notice?!"

Shakky muttered bitterly, blaming Rayleigh for being too distracted by his drinking to realize Aokiji's presence.

Luckily, it was just Aokiji. One admiral wouldn't be too much of a problem for the Sun and Moon Pirates.

"Shakky, don't blame Rayleigh for this. This is all for me," Kuke said calmly, gazing off into the distance.

It wasn't just Aokiji they had to deal with...

The Sabaody Archipelago, composed of over seventy islands, was always in a state of chaos.

Pirates, underground brokers, nobles, travelers, merchants, news reporters, ordinary citizens, and even marines—all kinds of people lived and passed through the archipelago.

As the gateway to the New World, Sabaody was one of the most crucial islands on the Grand Line.

The island thrived on a delicate balance between order and chaos. Though pirates roamed freely, the proximity to Marine Headquarters meant they rarely dared to stir up too much trouble.

Similarly, the Marines rarely conducted full-scale sweeps of pirates on Sabaody—there were simply too many of them.

"What the hell?! Why is the sea frozen?!" one pirate yelled.

"What's going on with this freak weather? I was just about to set sail, and now the sea's turned to ice!" another complained.

"This isn't weather, you idiot! It's Admiral Aokiji's power! Damn it, what's the Navy planning? Freezing the sea like this—are they trying to trap us here and wipe us out?!"

"Who the hell could've pissed off the Navy enough to send an admiral after us?! Whoever you are, show yourself before you get us all killed!"

The pirates on Sabaody—some of them with bounties worth tens of millions, even over a hundred million—were visibly shaken.

Though powerful in their own right, they knew they were no match for an admiral. When faced with someone like Aokiji, they might as well have been rookies.

"Could it be because of me?" one pirate, a Supernova with a bounty close to two hundred million, muttered. He was both terrified and a little proud.

He was the most notorious pirate currently on the surface of Sabaody, so it was only natural to think he was the target.

"Idiot! You really think a Supernova like you is worth the effort of an admiral? Get real!" another pirate scoffed.

The others glared at the Supernova in disdain. He wasn't important enough to warrant an admiral's attention, much less the freezing of an entire sea.

"Maybe it's because one of the Four Emperors is here?" another pirate speculated, growing anxious.

"Could it be that one of the Emperors is about to fight an admiral?!"

Fear and excitement spread among the pirates.

"Who could it be? Is it Whitebeard? Kaido? Charlotte Linlin? Or maybe the Red-Haired Shanks? Or..."

Everyone began to speculate wildly.

They turned their gazes toward the sea, searching for any sign of the cause.

However, the Radiant Eclipse remained hidden in a more remote area of the archipelago, and no one had spotted it yet.

As people filled the streets, looking around for answers, a sudden blinding light flashed across their vision.

"Make way, you might get run over!" a sly voice called out as a figure zoomed past them at light speed.

"Is that... Admiral Kizaru?!" one of the pirates gasped in disbelief.

The crowd stood frozen in shock as they watched the light-speed movement of the Marine Admiral, Kizaru.

They were stunned.

"Whoa, scary! There's even a Supernova here with a two-hundred-million bounty. I'm so frightened," Kizaru said mockingly as he suddenly came to a stop, locking eyes with the Supernova pirate.

The pirate grinned arrogantly, "So you really did come for me. But an admiral won't scare me!"

"Polusalino, don't waste your time on trash. Remember our true target," a cold, menacing voice cut through the air.

It was Akainu, his words sending chills down the spines of everyone within earshot.

Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu were all present!

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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 95+ at patreon.com/Emik01.