Chapter 107: Impossible!?

At the sight of that swift sweeping kick, Mord didn’t hesitate—he ran immediately.

Surrounded by pirates showing no intention to fight, blending in with them would provide ample cover. Standing among such tall, burly pirates, with his and Sunny’s physiques, it was unlikely they’d be singled out.

With these thoughts, Mord darted into the crowd.

No matter what, making it through the hole in the wall to the pig farm was the top priority.

Mord had only gone a short distance when the pirates behind him were cut down by the Navy officer wielding Rokushiki techniques.

The Navy officer chasing this group was Colonel Robbie.

Considering the deterrent of the Trick Gun, only Robbie and Gion had entered Mad Hatter Town to hunt the fleeing pirates.

Even when they encountered Wolf Rat, there were only three of them, including him.

With limited manpower, they split up to eliminate as many pirates trying to escape the town as possible.

Using the Rokushiki techniques, Robbie had cut down countless pirates on his path.

Yet, killing these low-level scoundrels brought him no thrill in battle.

After dispatching the group, Robbie turned his gaze toward the distant Wall Mountain.

Dozens of pirates, pouring out of the town, flowed like streams toward the cave at the foot of the mountain.

“What good does running there do?”

Robbie smiled coldly but had no intention of provoking the numerous pirates gathered beneath Wall Mountain.

He was confident in his own strength but not so foolish as to think he could handle that many pirates alone.

If only Admiral Aokiji had intervened—then dealing with the pirates beneath Wall Mountain would have taken just a single move.

Robbie could ignore those who had already escaped to the mountain’s base but continued to hunt those still some distance away.

His gaze shifted to the fleeing pirates ahead.

“Moonwalk.”

Robbie pushed off the ground, soaring after the fleeing pirates with murderous intent.

Hearing the explosive sound behind them, the pirates sensed danger and quickened their pace.

Mord was among them, glancing back at Robbie’s Moonwalk pursuit and muttering a curse under his breath.

He could only hope the surrounding shields were sturdy enough.

Thanks to Moonwalk’s speed, Robbie quickly closed the gap and unleashed two sweeping kicks.

The azure slashes instantly knocked over a dozen pirates.

Within a few breaths, the fleeing group lost over ten men, elevating Mord’s prominence.

However, as Mord had expected, Robbie targeted the tall, muscular pirates first.

But these bulky brutes were surprisingly frail; a single sweeping kick was enough to lay them low.

Soon, only about a dozen remained—Mord included.

With the number of targets drastically reduced, Robbie’s eyes naturally settled on Mord, carrying Sunny on his back.

Robbie paid him no special mind; to him, these dozen were as good as dead.

He Moonwalked several times, landing in front of Mord and the others.

Without pause, he charged at the nearest pirate.

“Finger Gun.”

Robbie thrust a finger into the pirate’s heart.

One strike, and the man was dead.

Pulling out his bloodied finger, Robbie turned his gaze to the remaining pirates.

He had no intention of provoking those gathered beneath Wall Mountain.

So, after wiping out the pirates before him, he planned to retreat into Mad Hatter Town to continue hunting those yet to reach the mountain.

Robbie’s cold eyes swept over the survivors.

As his gaze passed over Mord’s face, it suddenly paused, settling on him.

“Oh?”

Robbie voiced his surprise.

Seeing Robbie’s reaction, Mord instantly realized this Navy officer recognized him.

He pushed off the ground and suddenly dashed to the left, attempting to evade Robbie.

But Robbie, having identified Mord, would not allow this.

“Razor.”

Robbie flashed forward, appearing before Mord, then flicked his fingers toward Mord’s forehead.

Mord swiftly drew his Thousand Birds, slashing out like a spray of water to intercept the Finger Gun.

A pale blue crescent blade flickered before him.

“So quick a reaction…”

Robbie’s expression shifted; he retracted his finger just in time, narrowly dodging Mord’s blade.

Had he been a moment slower, he likely would have lost a fingertip.

With the Finger Gun blocked, Robbie retreated swiftly.

Once out of Mord’s attack range, he kicked out two intersecting sweeping kicks.

Mord’s eyes darkened; he infused his Haki into the edge of Thousand Birds, turning it pitch black, then slashed at the converging sweeping kicks.

Instantly, the two slashes shattered like glass fragments, dispersing wildly in a gale around them.

Mord quickly withdrew his Haki to avoid wasting energy.

His mastery of Armament Haki was still new, and his reserves were thin.

Fortunately, his refined control allowed him to coat just the blade’s edge, minimizing Haki consumption.

Even so, it was enough to break Robbie’s sweeping kicks.

Seeing Mord cut through his attacks, surprise flashed in Robbie’s eyes.

“In just a few months, you’ve grown from a pampered rich kid to… hmph, no wonder Gion regards you as dangerous.”

“Get out of my way.”

Mord stood firm with his blade, gazing coldly at Robbie.

Robbie’s face darkened; he drew a short line in the dust with his right foot.

“Then I’m afraid this path is closed to you.”

During Mord and Robbie’s brief clash, a few pirates who had narrowly escaped seized the chance to flee toward Wall Mountain.

Meanwhile, the pirates blocking the cave entrance at Wall Mountain noticed the standoff in the distance.

But they paid little attention, focused solely on pushing through to the pig farm to seek their next chance at escape.

Inside the fray, Robbie glanced at Sunny strapped on Mord’s back, his eyes flicking over her swollen, purple legs from frostbite, and he was momentarily taken aback.

Hmm? Frostbite?

Could it have been inflicted by Admiral Aokiji?

But if Aokiji had intervened, why would these two have ended up here?

Robbie fixed his gaze on Mord and asked coldly, “Did you encounter Admiral Aokiji?”

“Aokiji? Who’s that?”

Mord pondered the escape route while casually fabricating an answer.

Robbie’s brows knitted.

“Then how do you explain the frostbite on this woman?”

“Frostbite? Oh, you mean Aokiji—he must be a tall, ugly man, right?”

“Hm? So you did meet Admiral Aokiji, but how could that be…”

Confusion clouded Robbie’s face.

In his understanding, if Admiral Aokiji had engaged, there was no way Mord and Sunny would have escaped.

Yet the facts were before him, incomprehensible and unbelievable.

What had really happened?

Mord’s eyes narrowed; he suddenly blurted, “So that man’s name is Aokiji. He was strong—I had to put in quite a bit of effort to deal with him.”

Sunny: “…”

“Impossible!?”

Robbie was momentarily stunned, his eyes bulging.

Bang!

Mord pulled out a flintlock pistol and pulled the trigger.

...

Atop the Mad Hatter auction house,

“Achoo!”

Aokiji suddenly sneezed.

“Could he be catching a cold?”

He rubbed his nose absentmindedly, showing no awareness of his status as a user of the Ice-Ice Fruit.

Then, his attention drifted from the fierce battle between Garp and Thor.

Compelled by some unknown force, he glanced toward the distant streets.

He saw no sign of the two youths with frozen legs.

A large question mark appeared above Aokiji’s head.