Chapter 120: Five Echoes

Aokiji, no longer holding back, revealed the terrifying strength of an Admiral to Morley and his companions within a mere minute. Had it not been for Tatamu throwing Moda and Sabo to safety at the final moment, Aokiji’s attack would have been enough to freeze all three of them solid. Despite their narrow escape, the threat posed by Aokiji loomed constantly over the heads of Moda and Sabo.

"Tatamu..."

After landing, Moda quickly regained his footing and looked toward Tatamu, who had been turned into an ice sculpture by Aokiji. He knew that those frozen by Aokiji’s power would not be in mortal danger if thawed in time. However, if Aokiji were to shatter the ice, not even a miracle could save him. Realizing this, Moda immediately pulled out his flintlock and aimed it at Aokiji to prevent him from shattering the sculpture.

Bang!

The lead bullet sped toward Aokiji. The Admiral tilted his head, dodging the shot with ease, and turned his gaze toward Moda and Sabo. At that very moment, Morley, having broken free from the ice once more using his fruit powers, lunged at Aokiji’s back. His trident, its tip wreathed in Armament Haki, struck fiercely toward the Admiral’s spine.

Swish!

Aokiji had preemptively elementalized his body, creating a hollow space to let the trident pass through harmlessly. Morley, no longer in the mood for coy antics, exerted force with both hands and spun the long shaft. The end of the trident embedded in Aokiji’s body began to whirl like a propeller, churning the Admiral’s form into shards of ice.

"Still didn't hit him..."

Watching as Aokiji’s elementalized body retreated, a flash of disappointment crossed Morley’s eyes. He needed to make physical contact to utilize the power of the Push-Push Fruit. Aokiji, clearly aware of this, gave him no such opportunity.

Aokiji reformed his body and looked at Morley, saying calmly, "Your powers are truly a nuisance."

No sooner had he spoken than Aokiji raised a hand, and four spears of ice materialized out of thin air beside him. Under his control, the spears whistled through the air toward Morley.

"Hah!"

Morley exhaled deeply, drove his trident into the icy ground, and vaulted forward. The Push-Push Fruit’s power activated! The vast expanse of ice suddenly turned soft, surging forward like a tidal wave. It shattered the incoming spears and continued to roll toward Aokiji with unabated momentum.

"Ara ara."

Aokiji instantly grasped the weakness of the Push-Push power, leaping into the air to easily avoid the surging ground. Taking advantage of the distraction, Morley rushed toward Tatamu, intending to use his power to push the ice off him. But Aokiji would not let him have his way.

While still in mid-air, Aokiji exuded a chilling mist from his palms and fired five pillars of ice at Morley. The pillars descended from the sky, trapping Morley in the center.

"You stinky man!"

Morley grunted in annoyance, swinging his trident to shatter the ice pillars like autumn leaves swept by the wind. Aokiji seized the moment to close the distance, unleashing a wave of freezing air directly at the giant. Within a few breaths, Morley was once again encased in ice.

Aokiji could not injure Morley in such a short time, nor could he keep him frozen permanently, but he could easily restrict the giant’s movements. This was due to Morley’s massive stature. While giants possessed many advantages, their size meant a larger surface area for attacks. Thus, Aokiji only needed to strike one point to freeze the giant-sized Morley solid.

Having neutralized Morley, Aokiji turned his attention back to Sabo and Moda. His plan was to leave the strongest opponent, Morley, for last. Seeing Morley frozen time and again—though unharmed—made Moda and Sabo realize that relying solely on Morley would not be enough to hold off the Admiral. In this situation, escaping was unrealistic. The only remaining option was a frontal assault.

Moda and Sabo exchanged a look. Though they hadn't known each other long, a single glance was enough to reach a consensus. Moda holstered his flintlock, drew the *Chidori*, and held the blade horizontally. Sabo tightened his grip on his dented steel pipe, assuming an offensive stance. It wasn't that they were naïve; it was that when facing an opponent with such a vast gap in power, defense was meaningless.

Before Aokiji could close in, Sabo took the initiative, his steel pipe coated in Armament Haki.

"Young people these days are truly something else," Aokiji remarked, witnessing Sabo’s Haki. First Moda, now Sabo—both had mastered Armament Haki at such a young age. "It's a pity..."

A chilling mist seeped from Aokiji’s body as he resolved to turn both youths into ice sculptures in a single exchange. As the distance closed, Sabo made a move that caught Aokiji off guard: he threw his Haki-coated steel pipe directly at him.

"Hm?"

This unorthodox move surprised Aokiji, who immediately turned intangible, letting the pipe pass through him. As soon as he solidified, Sabo was already upon him. The youth leaped, his fingers curled into the shape of a dragon’s claw, and struck toward Aokiji’s throat. Aokiji abruptly reached out his right hand, precisely gripping Sabo’s wrist.

Holding Sabo suspended in mid-air, Aokiji channeled his power, intending to freeze him solid. As the cold air began to seep out, Moda, ignoring his own pain, rushed to assist, slashing his blade toward Aokiji’s hand. Aokiji glanced sideways and turned his right arm into ice just before the blade struck. Moda’s attack missed, but it forced Aokiji to release his grip on Sabo.

Once free, Sabo continued his momentum, driving his dragon claw toward Aokiji’s chest. Aokiji did not dodge; using Observation Haki to predict the point of impact, he localized his elementalization to his chest. Sabo’s claw sank into Aokiji’s body, yet it dealt no damage.

"A nice combination," Aokiji praised sincerely, then crossed his hands to reach for both Sabo and Moda. He clamped one hand around Sabo’s neck and the other around the arm Moda held his sword with.

"Ice Time!"

As the control was established, Aokiji channeled his power, and the frost spread rapidly across Moda and Sabo’s bodies. Sabo’s eyes trembled as his breathing became suddenly labored. The moment his arm was seized, Moda dispelled the Armament Haki from his *Chidori* and shifted his internal flow of Haki, attempting to use the same technique to defend against Aokiji’s cold.

At that moment, Aokiji gave Moda a meaningful look, as if to say, "So that’s how it is." Behind that look was an undisguised sense of admiration. Being praised by a Navy Admiral should have been an honor, but Moda’s heart only sank further.

In this critical moment, four gunshots rang out in succession. Aokiji’s perpetually calm expression suddenly shifted. Without hesitation, he released Moda and Sabo and retreated several paces. The two lead bullets from afar tore through the afterimages Aokiji left behind and struck the ice.

*Crack!*

The immense power caused a large portion of the ice to shatter. The other two bullets headed toward Wolf-Rat and Gion. Gion relied on her Observation Haki to narrowly dodge the shot aimed at her vitals. Wolf-Rat was not so lucky; despite the instincts granted by his Zoan ability, he was too slow to react. A lead bullet tore a bloody hole in his abdomen, and he collapsed to the ground without a sound.

*The Trick Gunner!*

The unusual power of the shots made the names of "Augur" flash through the minds of Aokiji and Gion.

"Augur..." A flicker of joy crossed Moda’s eyes.

As Aokiji’s attention was drawn away by Augur, Moda shattered the remaining ice on his arm and retreated, dragging the frostbitten Sabo with him. They had barely pulled back ten meters when another gunshot echoed from the distance. This bullet was aimed at Moda, but it missed, striking the ground in front of him with a shallow impact, lacking the lethal force of the previous shots.

Moda looked at the bullet hole in the ground, his eyes narrowing. Just then, a sharp, whistling sound tore through the air from the direction of Mad Hatter Town. Everyone instinctively looked up. A small, diminutive figure plummeted like a shooting star toward the ice surface Aokiji had created. The figure landed squarely on its back!

*BOOM!*

The ice exploded like a mortar shell. Ice shards scattered, and dust filled the air.

"Augur!"

That way of landing... he had been launched here by someone!