"Hmm? Are you trying to ambush me?"
Uchiha Madara merely tilted his head slightly, giving him a disdainful look, as if completely indifferent to Aokiji's attack. Yet, Aokiji's body instantly froze and stopped in place!
"What's going on? I can't move..."
Aokiji's eyes suddenly widened. He felt an invisible, eerie power controlling his body, rendering him completely immobile!
However, he couldn't perceive this power at all!
Not even...
his Observation Haki could detect it!
This feeling was exactly like when he wanted to board that big sea ship, only to be suddenly and inexplicably struck away!
What on earth is this damned ability!
This was an attack that couldn't be seen or sensed, which also meant it was an attack he couldn't defend against or counter. He could only passively endure this attack!
Uchiha Madara slowly turned around, and in his hand appeared a Black Rod of Yin-Yang Release, which abruptly pierced through Aokiji's shoulder!
Aokiji instantly felt that one of his arms was unable to use Haki, and even his freezing abilities seemed to stall. What on earth is this Black Rod!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three consecutive Black Rods pierced through Aokiji's body directly!
In an instant, blood completely stained his white shirt, making this Navy Admiral appear somewhat disheveled and miserable. The four Black Rods were even more troublesome than the power of Seastone, making his Devil Fruit powers and Haki seem as if they were locked down by the four Black Rods!
Aokiji's body lay directly on the ice surface, and blood slowly began to flow along the ice, making him feel as though he was nailed to the ground like those people...
Perhaps...
Am I going to die here?
"Don't kill him..."
A voice stopped Uchiha Madara's rampage.
From behind Red Sand Sasori, a pair of black mechanical wings sprouted. The mechanical turbines on the wings spun continuously, lifting his body into the air, slowly landing in front of Aokiji.
The red-haired boy's eye sockets seemed mechanical and emotionless, and he calmly spoke: "A captured Navy Admiral has quite a lot of uses..."
"At the very least..."
"He can be exchanged for Mr. Buggy."
"!!!"
Aokiji's head lifted up directly, and as he looked at the red-haired boy standing in front of him, he pondered what secret might be hidden with Buggy.
Something feels off...
Why didn't these guys take Buggy at Log Town's port?
Was it because they didn't want to see Buggy, or was there some other secret?
"It seems..."
Aokiji, seemingly indifferent to his pain, sighed as if he didn't mind: "It seems Clown Buggy indeed holds a great secret, making you pirates go to such lengths to rescue him..."
"Actually, it didn't have to be so troublesome."
The red-haired boy slowly shook his head, his voice mechanical and devoid of emotion: "But because a certain Admiral intervened so casually, it became troublesome..."
"Admiral."
The red-haired boy looked down at Aokiji lying on the ground, gazing at this Navy Admiral before him: "You harbor the power of a Logia-type Devil Fruit within you, and you've had a good teacher guide you, with many Navy seniors looking out for you..."
"But do you know..."
"How much effort does an average Navy soldier, with no background and no ability, need to put in to get promoted with just luck and wisdom?"
"..."
Aokiji's eyelid twitched.
Why bring up this topic again?
"The blood of a Heavenly Celestial Dragon..."
"A crew member from a Pirate King's ship..."
There was a touch of emotion in the voice of Asura Path: Sasori: "This was the best promotion opportunity for an average Navy soldier, and you destroyed it with your own hands."
"..."
Aokiji's brain suddenly felt electrified.
Within the Navy...
There was a mole from this pirate group!
This so-called operation to capture Buggy was entirely for the undercover Navy!
Such a dangerous pirate group has managed to stay hidden because, indeed, they have special channels with the Navy constantly tipping them off!
"Whether it's Buggy..."
"Or Buggy's assassination of the Heavenly Celestial Dragon..."
Aokiji frowns, as if he figured something out: "It's all to ensure your spy within the Navy can promote to an officer at the Headquarters..."
An average Navy soldier with neither capability nor background would find it almost impossible to enter the Navy Headquarters without a notable military achievement.
Conveniently...
The matter of assassinating the Heavenly Celestial Dragon greatly angered the World Government!
If an ordinary Navy soldier managed to capture Clown Buggy, they would certainly be promoted swiftly and thereby hold a high position in the Navy, providing internal intelligence to this pirate group and ensuring this group remains out of the world's spotlight!
"Sure enough..."
"Have you captured him already?"
"Wasn't the purpose of this incident to capture a Navy Admiral? Turns out it was for the mole hidden within the Navy..."
A familiar voice appeared in this icy sea, walking step by step along the ice towards them.
A man with sharp hawk-like eyes and a Black Blade approached; he seemed unsurprised by Admiral Aokiji's capture. Perhaps what surprised him was how quickly this Navy Admiral fell...
"..."
Aokiji's gaze slightly shifted.
The World's Number One Sword Master, Seven Warlords of the Sea, Dracule Mihawk.
This guy, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, surprisingly has connections to this pirate group. Could he be their mole within the Seven Warlords of the Sea?
"Mihawk, are you also one of them?"
Aokiji's voice seemed to regain its lazy tone.
This Navy Admiral, as if having discerned the truth, seemed unconcerned about everything, perhaps also having guessed how this pirate group would handle him.
Most likely...
This pirate group would let him go, expecting him to act as their mole within the Navy...
After all, his identity as a Navy Admiral would be quite useful to this pirate group. Simultaneously, he could also seize the opportunity to understand this pirate group, explore their internal situation, and probe the reason these terrifying individuals gathered here...
This world is truly awful...
Both Navy and pirates are wantonly killing with either authority or force, and he doesn't even know which side to stand on. Attempting to uncover this pirate group's purpose seemed reasonable, considering his own endless confusion in finding where his future strengths should be applied...
Aokiji's mind relaxed again, and as his thoughts began to drift, the red-haired boy's voice echoed beside him: "Let's go, we'll board Inverted Mountain and head to the Grand Line. Dunk him in the sea, hang him at the back of the ship for two days..."
"Hmm?"
Aokiji's eyes lifted in surprise, seemingly not understanding his intention: "Wait... hold on a moment, aren't you supposed to send me back as your mole within the Navy?"
"We indeed thought so..."
The red-haired boy shook his head, giving a resigned expression.
"But..."
"Your actions have offended quite a few people..."
"Mr. Mihawk put in a lot of effort regarding Clown Buggy's assassination of the Heavenly Celestial Dragon..."
"..."
Mihawk, listening on the side, couldn't help but twitch his eyes.
Isn't this...
This guy just revealed my involvement in the assassination of a Heavenly Celestial Dragon to the Navy Admiral?
"So it was you who killed Saint Mjosgard..."
Aokiji, mindless of Mihawk's involvement in the Heavenly Celestial Dragon's assassination, murmured: "Well, fine, if that's the case, then dunk me in the sea for two days, just as a thank you for dealing with a nuisance for me..."
After all...
The death of a Celestial Dragon scum who enjoyed surveying the world...
means many people will no longer suffer that scum's harm.