Chapter 506: Supernovas (Part 1)

"That's Admiral Aokiji! But who's fighting him? He looks incredibly powerful," Zoro said with a spark of excitement in his eyes after spotting the battle between Daniel and Aokiji while they were escaping Enies Lobby with Franky.

Although Daniel's interference prevented Robin from joining the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy and his crew still encountered Admiral Aokiji. As Garp's grandson, Luffy was always bound to draw attention from figures like Aokiji, especially with Smoker's constant pursuit. Without Aokiji's orders, it would have been impossible for Smoker, the head officer of Loguetown, to abandon his post so freely.

Upon meeting Aokiji, Luffy's crew had their first real taste of Admiral-level strength. But despite this encounter, they couldn't fully grasp the vast difference in power between themselves and an Admiral.

"Forget about who he is; we need to get out of here!" Sniper King shivered uncontrollably, partly from the freezing surroundings but mostly out of terror from the nearby Buster Call's shelling and the destructive shockwaves from Daniel and Aokiji's battle.

"Rankyaku!" Just as Luffy, Zoro, and the others were about to speak, Daniel unleashed a Rankyaku that shattered Aokiji's form, sending a wave of force hurtling in their direction.

Clang.

Zoro raised his three swords to block the crescent-shaped slash, but despite it being a weakened attack, the force sent him flying back dozens of meters.

"Is he worried about the safety of the Straw Hat Pirates? How amusing, a Navy Admiral protecting pirates," Aokiji muttered. Seeing Daniel's Rankyaku accidentally target Luffy's crew, Aokiji shifted the battle's direction to draw Daniel away from them.

Daniel had no objection, also preferring not to endanger Luffy's group with their clash.

"Logia Devil Fruits really are a hassle." Watching Aokiji's body reform from the scattered ice fragments on the frozen ground, Daniel couldn't help but sigh.

There was no doubt that with his full strength, Daniel had a significant advantage over Aokiji. However, the Ice-Ice Fruit made it almost impossible for him to end the battle quickly. Armament Haki allowed him to strike Logia users, but Aokiji could still transform into ice to evade attacks, just like Kizaru turning into light.

Even Buggy's Chop-Chop Fruit made him nearly unkillable; not even Armament Haki could prevent Buggy from splitting into pieces, and Mihawk's sword could slice him into bits without killing him.

"You know, Admiral, there's a pirate over there who burned the World Government's flag. Are you really just going to let them walk away? Is that Navy justice—harsh on ordinary pirates but lenient on Garp's grandson, letting him run wild at sea? Is that all Navy justice amounts to?"

Daniel paused his assault, watching Aokiji reassemble. While Luffy's crew hadn't acted like typical pirates—they'd even helped people along the way—pirates were still pirates. Luffy's group was an exception, but exceptions didn't change the rule.

"Others will handle them. Right now, you're the greater threat," Aokiji replied, forming two icy spears above him and launching them at Daniel. Daniel sidestepped, using Kamui to phase through the attack.

"Alright, then. Admiral Aokiji, let's settle this." Daniel raised his right hand, summoning a massive three-meter fireball that appeared in his palm.

"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!" Seeing the blazing fireball fly toward him, Aokiji quickly launched a giant ice bird from his right hand. As the two attacks collided, a massive cloud of steam rose, blanketing the area.

"This island's not bad; we'll make it our playground for now."

As the battle raged on, fiery, lava-like pits began to dot Enies Lobby, a result of Daniel's relentless fireball attacks. While he hadn't yet mastered nuclear fusion, creating fireballs hotter than magma was well within his capabilities. Under the barrage of fire, Enies Lobby had become an early version of Punk Hazard's ice-and-fire island, with patches of ice and magma scattered randomly across its surface.

Under Daniel's deliberate direction, the Judiciary Tower, the Tower of Justice, and other landmarks of Enies Lobby lay in ruins.

Though Aokiji could freeze an erupting volcano in seconds, he couldn't keep up with Daniel's continuous fireball attacks, nor could he freeze every small magma pit that formed.

"The island's nearly destroyed." Between the fierce fighting and the Buster Call's barrage, Enies Lobby was now a barren wasteland. Only a few lucky guards had managed to escape to the shore, using Aokiji's ice floes to distance themselves from the island. All others perished in the devastation.

"Impressive, Admiral. It would take quite some time to bring you down, but if it's like this, I don't think the rest of them would fare so well."

With the island nearly in ruins, Daniel turned his attention to the Buster Call fleet. The Navy's relentless bombardment continued, and Daniel was now eager to target the arriving warships.

Aokiji's face darkened as he realized Daniel's intention. Even disregarding Daniel's superior strength, his strange spatial abilities alone would make him a nightmare for the Navy. Aokiji's earlier attempts to analyze Kamui had only confirmed that Daniel's intangibility was impenetrable unless he materialized.

"Damn it." Seeing Daniel dart toward the fleet using Moonwalk, passing effortlessly through cannon fire, Aokiji cursed under his breath and continued pursuit, dodging shells as he followed. Although the shells couldn't harm him, they slowed him down, a problem Daniel didn't face.

"Who goes there?" Daniel's rapid approach caught the attention of the Navy on board, though it was already too late for them to act.

"Rankyaku!" Hovering in the air, Daniel extended his right leg and kicked forward, releasing a massive vertical crescent slash. The attack split the sea below, creating a fissure tens of meters deep.

Clang.

At the last second, a Navy Vice Admiral with six spider-like mechanical arms appeared, blocking the attack with eight swords just in front of the warship's bow.

This was Vice Admiral Onigumo, one of the Navy's top fighters. But despite his strength, the gap between him and Daniel was evident. Onigumo barely held off the slash for a moment before its overwhelming force sent him crashing through the warship from bow to stern.

Boom.

The warship split neatly in half, both halves tilting into the sea. However, under the direction of a rear admiral, the sailors remained calm and began transferring to nearby vessels.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

As Daniel admired his handiwork from above, two slashes of Haki-infused sword energy shot toward him from different directions, colliding inside him before passing through.

"Ah, Doberman, Strawberry, and Yamakaji… what a familiar sight." Daniel glanced around, identifying the Vice Admirals responsible. These were elites of the Navy, and both Strawberry and Yamakaji had participated in the Buster Call on Ohara twenty years earlier.

Along with Rear Admiral Shu and Admirals Akainu and Aokiji, they had made up the core of that brutal operation, with the Buster Call ordered by Sengoku himself.

"Might as well settle some scores with Ohara's tormentors," Daniel muttered as he set his sights on Yamakaji's warship. He'd rarely spoken with Robin about Ohara, but he knew she deserved vengeance. As one of his own, Daniel felt obligated to get justice for Ohara.

Intent on settling this debt, Daniel surged toward Yamakaji, who responded with another sword slash.

Daniel ignored it, his Mangekyou Sharingan spinning rapidly. Yamakaji's expression suddenly went blank, and his body froze.

But that brief instant was all Daniel needed. Before Yamakaji's senses returned, Daniel appeared before him, landing a punch to his abdomen with his left hand while grabbing his throat with his right. Planting his foot firmly on the deck, Daniel's overwhelming strength caused the bow of the ship to dip, lifting the stern. With a deafening crash, the entire deck exploded.

The next moment, Daniel seized Yamakaji's sword and swung it in a powerful slash, cleaving the ship in two.

"Vice Admiral Yamakaji!" Though another warship was destroyed, the remaining Navy forces maintained their composure, knowing Daniel still held their comrade captive.

"Let him go!" At last, Aokiji arrived, freezing the surrounding ocean to prevent the warship from sinking. With the frozen surface, transferring sailors between ships became much easier.

With Daniel's intervention and Aokiji's arrival, the Buster Call attack had finally halted.

"Don't worry about me, Admiral Aokiji!" Yamakaji shouted, still dangling in Daniel's grip. As a Vice Admiral, it was a disgrace for him to be used as a hostage and shield. He would rather die than return with this shame.

"What will it take for you to release him?" Though Aokiji knew Yamakaji wanted him to stay back, he couldn't abandon him. Akainu might have ignored Yamakaji's plight and charged forward, but Aokiji wouldn't.

"Release him? That's not happening. This is Akatsuki's first public appearance, and if I can't take down an Admiral, I'll settle for a Vice Admiral."

Looking down at the Vice Admiral, Daniel smirked. With a swift motion, he decapitated Yamakaji, his eyes widening

 as he heard a message through Daniel's telepathic technique: This is for Ohara.

"Take him, if you want him." Daniel tossed Yamakaji's head, body, and sword toward Aokiji, then hurled two massive fireballs, forcing Aokiji to raise an ice wall to protect Yamakaji's remains.

Without delay, Daniel charged toward the remaining warships, tearing through them one by one.

"Aokiji, don't bother trying to freeze these ships. I want to watch them sink, and if you interfere, I'll go after every sailor here. You know as well as I do that you can't stop me if I choose to kill them."

Under Daniel's threat, Aokiji reluctantly yielded, allowing him to destroy the entire Buster Call fleet. As Daniel had warned, his Kamui powers and immense strength allowed him to eliminate even Vice Admirals in an instant.

"Not as ruthless as Akainu, are you? He would have fought to the end, no matter the cost." Daniel looked skyward just as a golden light flashed across the horizon—Admiral Kizaru had arrived.

"Kuzan, even with you here, things ended up like this… seems the opponent was quite troublesome," Kizaru observed with a grim expression as he surveyed the sinking warships and stranded Navy soldiers on the ice.

As a fellow student of Zephyr and longtime colleague, Kizaru understood Aokiji's strength and disposition well. If things had escalated to this point, it was clear the opponent had been incredibly difficult.

"Be careful. His powers are highly unusual," Aokiji warned, briefing Kizaru on Daniel's abilities and strength.

"Alright, then. Let's see what he can do," Kizaru said, hands beginning to glow with golden light.

"Go ahead, Kizaru. But if you make a move, I'll head straight to Sabaody Archipelago and kill two Celestial Dragons. Then I'll tell them this happened because of you."

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