Chapter 101 Luffy Forces Aokiji to Serve as His Partner"Pah, typical stubborn mule, never showing his true feelings."
Luffy turned around and waved at everyone like shooing away flies.
"Disperse, disperse, stop crowding around. This guy's just a freeloader."
"This guy's been mooching off my grandpa's warships countless times before, a habitual offender. Everyone go do what you were doing."
Aokiji: "..."
He even felt like a crow had flown over his head.
"I'm supposed to be one of the Navy's top combatants, can't you at least give me some face? Can't you show a little respect for my professional ethics?"
However, Aokiji was a carefree person and didn't care about these empty formalities.
His real purpose in coming here was simply to check on Robin's current condition.
"Ah, well... do as you please, I'll find a cool spot to take a nap."
Aokiji politely waved to everyone, but when he turned around, he found that these people were incredibly efficient.
Everyone was already busy with their own things, completely ignoring him.
There was none of the fawning and fear you'd see on other pirate ships when they met an admiral; he was acting like an ordinary Marine passing by.
Only Robin remained, like a frightened rabbit, her nerves taut as she stared intently at him.
Aokiji: "..."
Damn, these people on this ship are just like their captain, practically identical!
Luffy yelled at the top of his lungs, "Sanji! Where's my braised pork? I'm starving!"
"Hey! Hey! Coming, coming! Can't you give us a break?!"
Nami quickly placed her order: "Sanji-kun, I want a special diet salad, remember to add lots of fruit!"
"Okay, Nami-san~ Coming right away~"
Zoro sat cross-legged in the corner, wiping his sword and snorting, "I want some alcohol!"
Sanji's expression instantly changed, veins bulging on his forehead: (╬￣皿￣)
"Get lost! Don't you have hands? Go pour it yourself!"
The deck instantly returned to its usual noisy state, everyone back at their posts.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Luffy's mind, as if he'd grasped something crucial.
Now that he'd taken Enel, the Thunder God, as his subordinate, Zoro and the others would definitely encounter more Logia-type opponents in the future.
Right now, this group hadn't really fought any Logia-types properly, their experience bar was severely lacking.
Luffy whirled around, yelling at Zoro and Sanji.
"Hey! Listen up, everyone! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
"Admiral Aokiji is a top-tier Logia-type Ice-Ice Fruit user! Where else can you find such a free, high-level sparring partner?"
"Hurry up, ask him to be your live target… I mean, ask him for some practical combat techniques."
Zoro's ears perked up instantly, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
"Logia-type? What's the secret? I've never actually tried cutting something like this before."
Aokiji, who had been reclining on a chair with his eyes closed, suddenly had a face full of black lines, looking at Luffy speechlessly.
Damn it, why is it so hard to hitch a ride on this kid's ship?!
And I'm going to be used as a punching bag?
Luffy, without batting an eye, shamelessly waved his hand at Aokiji.
"Anyway, you're just killing time. Besides, the stronger Robin's companions are, the better they can protect her in the future, right?"
"That's a win-win situation, father-in-law!"
Aokiji rolled his eyes, pulled down his eyepatch, and pretended to be dead, too lazy to deal with this scoundrel.
Seeing this, Luffy quickly called for Zoro and Sanji to attack.
"What are you waiting for? Attack him! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
"Huh?" Zoro looked at the defenseless Aokiji lying there, a little hesitant. "He clearly doesn't want to fight, right?"
"Idiot! He's a Logia-type Devil Fruit user; his body can transform into ice at will."
"You can't even wield Haki properly yet; he's just too lazy to bother with you."
"Why don't you take this opportunity to train your Haki and get a feel for it? When you can actually hurt him, he'll naturally make a move."
With that, Luffy pulled out a Desert Eagle and fired a shot at Aokiji.
"Bang!"
As expected, the bullet pierced Aokiji's chest, exploding into a cloud of ice shards, but causing no real damage.
Aokiji didn't even lift his eyepatch.
Zoro and Sanji, seeing this bizarre scene, immediately became interested.
Zoro was the first to draw his sword, unleashing a barrage of attacks on Aokiji.
The sword flashed, but the attacks, lacking fully developed Haki, were like tickles to Aokiji, utterly ineffective.
"Remember what I told you about, the Iron Body principle from the Six Powers of the Navy!"
Luffy, acting as an off-field advisor, launched into his talk-no-jutsu mode.
"Feel it! Feel the energy within your body! Concentrate all your spirit and energy into one point!"
Zoro, hearing this, frowned deeply.
"An intangible thing..."
He slowly drew his Wado Ichimonji, gripping the hilt tightly with both hands. An indescribable aura began to brew wildly within him.
Although Aokiji wore an eyepatch, he sensed the change in aura and, along with Luffy, looked at Zoro.
Zoro suddenly swung his sword, as if tearing the air apart.
"One-Sword Style: Thirty-Six Troubles of Wind!"
A blue, soaring slash, accompanied by a whistling sound, rushed straight towards Aokiji.
This time, the slash sliced directly through Aokiji's body.
A crisp "crack" rang out.
Aokiji was instantly shattered, turning into a pile of crystal-clear ice blocks scattered on the deck.
The slash, undiminished in its momentum, flew straight towards the sea.
"Caw!!"
Suddenly, a shrill and strange scream came from beneath the surface of the sea.
A giant toad with flowing hair was unlucky enough to be struck squarely on the forehead by Zoro's flying slash.
Usopp, who was watching the commotion through his binoculars, exclaimed in surprise.
"Huh? Zoro! You seem to have hit a super-sized toad!"
"Huh?" Sanji, busy preparing food in the kitchen, peeked out, his eyes lighting up.
"For frogs, you first wash off the slime with white wine, then coat them in egg wash and breadcrumbs, and fry them until golden brown. Even the neighbor's kids are drooling."
Aokiji, who had shattered into countless ice cubes, slowly reformed into human form.
Aokiji: "..."
What kind of gluttonous devils are on this ship?
"Ah, well… that frog is called a Yokozuna, a famous pet frog, it has an owner."
"It's not the kind you can just catch and cook." Aokiji explained lazily.
Zoro, seeing Aokiji had returned to his original, motionless state, was furious, his hand gripping his sword trembling.
"Hey! At least move a little! Even just a finger's breadth would be fine!"
"Ah, well… although your strike had the beginnings of Haki, it was still far from perfect."
"It really doesn't inspire me…"
After saying that, Aokiji sprawled out on the deck, pulled his eyepatch back up, genuinely not wanting to move.
"Damn it!!"
Zoro, seeing Aokiji's "you're too weak, I don't even bother" attitude, felt his pride severely wounded.
"Save your energy, you green-haired rascal. With your current skills, you wouldn't be able to hit him even if you worked yourself to death."
Sanji, cigarette dangling from his lips, walked by and launched into a merciless taunt.
"What?! You perverted cook, do you want to fight?!" Zoro was so angry he was about to roll up his sleeves and start a fight.
"Hey! Stop arguing! You guys better figure out how to get that toad out of there!"