Chapter 119: Ice
But...
Even now, Aokiji still couldn't figure out how Maude had managed to break free.
Though surprised, such things were irrelevant at this moment.
Now that the Revolutionary Army had joined the fray, the situation had undoubtedly escalated.
"Even though I'm on leave... since I've stumbled upon this..."
With his hands buried in his pockets, Aokiji's body emitted a faint, misty chill that made the surrounding air feel as though it might freeze at any moment.
He strode purposefully toward the distant group.
Wherever he walked, the ground froze instantly, with the frost spreading outward accompanied by a thin veil of cold mist.
The aura of an Admiral was unmistakably palpable.
Aokiji's arrival was like the bitter cold wind of winter blowing directly into their faces. His mere presence sent the battlefield dynamics into utter upheaval.
The previously disadvantaged Gion and Wolfrat instantly found the tables turned.
On the other hand, Maude's group couldn't help but feel a jolt of unease.
As Aokiji approached, Tatamu, who had been relentlessly pressuring Wolfrat, decisively withdrew and retreated to regroup with Maude and Sabo.
Similarly, Morley, who had been dominating Gion, quickly reassessed the situation and prepared her next move.
"Get lost!"
With a sharp cry, Morley drove her massive trident against the blade of Gion's longsword.
A tremendous force erupted, sending Gion hurtling backward like a cannonball.
Coincidentally—or perhaps intentionally—Gion was sent flying directly toward Aokiji's location.
After flinging Gion away, Morley took dainty, almost bashful steps to rejoin Maude and Sabo.
"Run!"
The four men exchanged glances, all shouting in unison.
Without hesitation, Morley led the charge, not retreating through the tunnel they had dug earlier but heading straight for the mountain wall instead.
Wolfrat watched Maude's group retreat but refrained from pursuing recklessly.
He wasn't stupid. With Gion sent flying and given his relatively small frame, chasing after them would be tantamount to suicide.
Besides, with an Admiral like Aokiji on the scene, there was no need for him to exert himself.
Aokiji caught the incoming Gion effortlessly, steadying her as she landed.
With Aokiji's assistance, Gion absorbed the impact without sustaining injuries.
"Aokiji," she said, looking at him.
"Seems I arrived at just the right time," Aokiji replied, scratching his cheek, his fingers still exuding cold mist.
Before he finished speaking, he leapt into the air, giving chase to Maude's fleeing group.
The distance closed rapidly as Aokiji pursued them mid-air.
Frost crept over parts of his body, the lazy demeanor he had displayed earlier now replaced by a deadly seriousness.
"Ice Age!"
Aokiji unleashed his signature technique without hesitation, focusing on the targets below.
The frost emanating from him condensed into visible waves of cold air, which surged toward Maude's group.
The frost waves came with such force that Maude immediately leapt out of their path.
Sabo and the others followed suit, mirroring Maude's quick reaction.
Only Morley, being a giant, continued her forward charge toward the mountain wall without leaping away.
The frost waves missed their initial targets, striking the ground instead.
However, the frost didn't dissipate upon impact. Instead, it surged across the ground like a tidal wave, advancing rapidly toward the mountain wall.
Everything in its path froze instantly.
Although Maude and the others were still airborne and out of harm's reach, Morley, still running on the ground, wasn't as fortunate.
The frost engulfed her legs, and within seconds, her massive body was encased in ice, transformed into an enormous ice sculpture.
"Morley!"
Sabo's expression shifted dramatically as he watched from the air.
The frost waves didn't stop with Morley; they continued onward, freezing the ground, the walls, and even the corpses of pirates that Gion had slain earlier.
Finally, the frost reached the towering wall that split Mad Hat Island in two, freezing it solid and turning it into an enormous ice mountain.
The escape tunnel they had dug was sealed shut, the frost permeating it and filling the passage with solid ice.
The terror of a Logia Devil Fruit user was displayed in full force.
Maude and the others landed on the frozen ground, shaken. They regrouped near the frozen Morley.
Icy tendrils emanated from the giant ice sculpture, the chill in the air palpable even from a distance.
"Morley!"
Sabo called out anxiously as he looked up at the frozen giant.
Maude, however, turned his gaze toward the wall that was now completely sealed off, his heart sinking.
So this is Aokiji at full power...
With their escape route blocked, it meant they would have to face an uncompromising Aokiji head-on.
To make matters worse, their strongest fighter, Morley, had been taken out in an instant.
Just as Maude was processing this grim reality, faint cracking sounds came from Morley's ice prison.
Maude, Sabo, and Tatamu instinctively stepped back a few paces.
As the cracking grew louder, the frost encasing Morley began to peel away, as if an invisible force was scraping it off from top to bottom like syrup.
In moments, Morley broke free of the ice.
Relief washed over Sabo and the others.
"Annoying Aokiji!"
Now free, Morley puffed up her cheeks in frustration, glaring angrily at the Admiral descending onto the icy battlefield.
"Ara ara, so you just pushed the ice off," Aokiji remarked calmly, ignoring Morley's fiery gaze.
Giants were rare, but a giant who had eaten a Devil Fruit was even more extraordinary.
As one of the four Revolutionary Army Commanders, Morley was not an opponent Aokiji could take lightly.
To prevent Morley from using her abilities to create an escape route for Maude and the others, Aokiji made his move.
"You go ahead!"
As Aokiji charged forward, Morley gripped her massive trident tightly, standing ready.
Among those present, she was the only one capable of holding Aokiji at bay.
Understanding this, Maude and the others exchanged a glance before turning to flee.
Though their tunnel and the underground escape route were frozen, they could still bypass the wall by skirting its side—or, failing that, jumping into the sea.
Aokiji quickly deduced their plan from their direction.
He prepared to freeze Maude's group in place, but Morley swung her trident down at his head.
Whoosh—!
Aokiji's upper body shattered into icy fragments under the trident's force.
But the scattered shards quickly reassembled, adhering to the trident as if time itself had reversed.
"Ice Time."
The cold rapidly spread up the trident toward Morley, freezing her once more into an ice sculpture.
With Morley incapacitated again, Aokiji resumed his pursuit of Maude's group.
He sent another frost wave surging forward with a flick of his hand.
"Watch out!"
Tatamu, relying on his beastly reflexes, grabbed both Maude and Sabo by their collars and hurled them forward with all his strength.
The frost wave engulfed him moments later.
In an instant, everything within a 60-meter radius, including Tatamu, was frozen solid.
"Tatamu!"
A sense of despair filled the air.
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