The blue wind-magic blade cut across the air.
Its speed wasn't fast.
Even Robin, standing behind Yuuki, could clearly see the arc of the sword as it moved.
And yet—
Despite how slow the attack appeared—
Aokiji, who was rushing forward at incredible speed, ended up charging directly into its path, as if he had willingly collided with the blade.
Slash!
A spray of blood blossomed in the air.
At the final moment Aokiji reacted, forcefully halting his forward momentum. His upper body leaned backward while his legs kicked off the ground, retreating rapidly.
Even so—
The white suit covering his upper body was sliced open, revealing his muscular chest.
A thin red line of blood appeared across it.
Whoosh!
Aokiji slid across the ground and finally stopped after putting nearly one hundred meters between himself and Yuuki.
"This is… getting troublesome."
He looked down at the shallow wound on his chest where drops of blood slowly seeped out.
His expression turned grave.
That single strike told him something important.
Yuuki was far more dangerous than Conrad.
Even Armament Haki had failed to completely block the attack.
And—
Recalling what had just happened, Aokiji's face darkened slightly.
That attack had been slow.
Dodging it should have been easy.
But the moment he approached Yuuki and the sword swung—
The surrounding air compressed inward like a field of pressure.
It forced him straight into the blade.
"Control over wind… or perhaps the air itself…"
Aokiji quickly analyzed Yuuki's ability.
Either possibility would be extremely troublesome.
And more importantly—
After witnessing the multiple applications of Conrad's powers earlier, Aokiji couldn't even be sure whether this was Yuuki's Devil Fruit ability… or merely an extension of it.
"Dodged it, huh."
Yuuki wasn't particularly surprised.
The sword he was using—the Spirit of Zephyr—lacked the support of the wind spirit Sylph.
It was merely a weakened imitation.
The true Spirit of Zephyr could weather and erode anything it cut, reducing it to dust.
Compared to that, leaving only a shallow wound on Aokiji's chest was hardly impressive.
Whoosh!
Yuuki tightened his grip.
Invisible air currents flowed along the blade.
Then—
His figure vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind Aokiji and swung the sword toward his back.
But Aokiji's Observation Haki was already fully active.
The instant Yuuki disappeared, Aokiji had already turned around.
His fist, coated in Armament Haki, shot forward.
BOOM!
Before the sword and fist even touched—
A violent explosion erupted between them.
Black lightning crackled faintly in the air between blade and fist.
A powerful shockwave burst outward, tearing across the already ruined harbor.
Yuuki raised an eyebrow.
He could feel an invisible force constantly pouring from Aokiji's fist, colliding with his magical blade.
Externalized Armament Haki…
It was the first time Yuuki had seen such a technique.
It was clearly different from the way he had figured out how to use Armament Haki himself.
"How terrifying, Captain."
Aokiji's voice was cold as the two forces screeched against each other.
Conrad.
And now Yuuki.
The strength these two displayed—
Even in the New World they would be considered monsters.
"I don't think you're actually frightened," Yuuki replied calmly.
After a brief stalemate—
The two separated.
Then instantly collided again.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Two blurred figures flashed across the harbor, clashing repeatedly.
Robin's usual calm elegance had completely vanished.
She couldn't even see their movements.
All she could perceive were craters appearing across the ground and the constant trembling of the earth.
She swallowed nervously and glanced at Conrad.
Even with both arms broken, he remained completely calm.
Robin instinctively moved a few steps closer to him.
If Conrad hadn't been standing there, she felt she might have already fled this terrifying battlefield.
The deafening clashes continued for nearly three full minutes.
Then suddenly—
Silence.
The two figures reappeared, standing about ten meters apart.
Yuuki's white robes were still spotless.
In contrast, Aokiji's suit was torn in dozens of places, leaving him looking rather battered.
"Did Navy intelligence get something wrong?"
Aokiji pulled off the green eye mask from his forehead and muttered sarcastically.
His muscles were tense, and sweat dripped from his chin.
Yuuki loosened his grip.
The wind blade dissolved into the air.
"Well, Admiral," Yuuki said lightly.
"The warm-up should be about over, right?"
Aokiji paused.
He carefully studied Yuuki's relaxed expression.
Then he tilted his head back and placed a finger against his forehead.
His joints cracked loudly as he stretched.
"So, you noticed."
"I was hoping to catch you off guard."
Cold mist escaped his mouth.
Ice crystals quickly spread across the ground beneath his feet.
Clearly—
His Devil Fruit power, previously sealed by Key Magic, had recovered.
Yuuki's eyes flashed.
Just as he suspected.
Haki could influence magic.
The intense battle earlier had mainly served as an experiment.
After all—
A Marine Admiral was one of the strongest Haki users in the world.
Far more valuable as a test subject than ordinary fighters.
Aokiji's eyelids drooped slightly.
Cold energy spread from his palms.
He leapt into the air, crossed his arms over his chest, and swung them downward.
"Ice Ball!"
Five massive ice spears formed instantly and shot forward.
The air froze in their wake.
They reached Yuuki in the blink of an eye.
"Ice is best countered with fire."
Yuuki lightly tapped the ground.
A spiraling tornado of flames erupted beneath his feet.
Sizzle!
The blazing heat collided with the incoming ice pillars, producing thick clouds of steam.
Fire?
Aokiji's eyes widened.
Yuuki had suddenly displayed an entirely different power.
At that moment—
Aokiji's Observation Haki sensed danger.
He instantly dodged to the side.
Clang!
A golden light sword stabbed into the ground where he had just stood.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Sharp sounds filled the air.
More streaks of golden light burst through the steam and shot toward him.
Feeling the speed of those attacks—
Aokiji's expression changed.
He froze moisture in the air, forming an ice sword, and swung it rapidly to block.
Clang! Clang!
A barrage of impacts echoed.
"Light Magic: Sword of Divine Judgment."
Yuuki spoke softly.
The steam dispersed under the storm of light blades, revealing Aokiji constantly dodging and deflecting.
CLANG!
The final sword aimed at his forehead was blocked.
Aokiji slid backward nearly five meters before finally regaining his footing.
"Light…?"
Aokiji stared in disbelief.
"That's Kizaru's power…"
Yuuki smiled.
"You dodged all of them. Impressive."
"Observation Haki really is extraordinary."
"But what about attacks without patterns?"
Golden light gathered in his palm.
A whip made of light formed.
"Light Creation Magic: Whip of Judgment."
Yuuki rose into the air and swung it downward.
The glowing whip lashed across the sky like a streak of lightning.
Its movement was completely irregular.
Aokiji cursed inwardly.
"What kind of Devil Fruit is this?!"
He slammed his palm downward.
An enormous ice wall rose instantly in front of him.
But—
The moment the whip struck—
The wall shattered.
BOOM!
Aokiji turned into ice and scattered, narrowly avoiding the strike.
The whip smashed into the ground, carving a massive trench.
Everything it touched was obliterated.
Yuuki floated in the air, watching Aokiji continuously evade through elemental transformation.
Then he calmly dispersed the whip.
Snap.
Yuuki snapped his fingers.
Dark magic surged from his hand.
"Dark Magic… Black Moon."
A black moon appeared in the sky.
A powerful gravitational wave spread across the area.
The ground sank several centimeters.
Aokiji was forced out of elemental form, dropping to one knee.
"A new ability again…?"
His pupils shrank.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
More troubling than the gravity—
He looked down at his arm.
He could only partially transform into ice.
Full elementalization was impossible.
"Chain Magic: Demon Binding Iron Lock Formation."
Yuuki's voice echoed.
Black chains erupted from the ground.
Aokiji slammed his palm down.
"Ice Time!"
Ice spread across the ground, blocking the chains.
But then—
Ripples appeared in the air.
More chains burst out from those distortions.
CLANG!
They wrapped tightly around Aokiji.
Without full elementalization, he couldn't break free immediately.
"Earth Creation Magic: Execution Platform of the Slothful."
The ground rose.
An ancient execution platform formed beneath Aokiji.
Bound by chains, he looked like a prisoner awaiting execution.
"A pirate executing a Marine…"
Aokiji sneered.
"How tasteless."
He released bursts of Armament Haki, trying to break the chains.
But it would take time.
Time Yuuki clearly had no intention of giving.
"Game Creation Magic: Executioner."
A magical armored executioner appeared behind Aokiji.
At that moment—
Aokiji suddenly understood something.
Yuuki calling himself a Magician finally made sense.
These completely different powers—
They weren't Devil Fruits at all.
Such a man would become a massive threat to the Navy.
"Execute."
Yuuki lowered his hand.
The executioner raised its blade.
Is this how I die?
Aokiji shattered half the chains—
But it was too late.
The blade descended toward his neck.
Below—
Robin unconsciously stepped forward.
But before she could speak—
A furious roar exploded through the air.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
"A pirate executing a Marine?!"
"You bastards!"
A figure charged into the Black Moon's gravity field.
Veins bulged in his arms as he hurled a sword.
The blade flew through the air, weakened by gravity but still striking the executioner.
The impact knocked the blade off course.
CLANG!
It struck the execution platform instead.
The chains binding Aokiji shattered.
In the next instant—
Aokiji stood and punched the executioner, freezing it solid before shattering it.
The platform beneath him exploded.
He dashed forward like lightning and grabbed the newcomer by the collar.
Then he burst out of the Black Moon's range and ran toward the shoreline.
The man who had appeared—
Was none other than Marine Headquarters Colonel Adett.
Earlier, after Aokiji easily defeated Buggy and the others, he had ordered Adett to evacuate the injured Marines to avoid them being caught in the battle.
Unexpectedly—
Adett had returned at the worst possible moment.
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