novelhk Chapter 389 Obsession and Wavering
Chapter 389 Obsession and Wavering
Ice patterns spread across the scorched earth like living creatures, and Aokiji's every step made the ground groan under the weight. The lingering power of Yakumo Shiro's Conqueror Haki hadn't yet dissipated, but the look in his eyes as he looked at her had completely lost its laziness. A man who could cause such a scene in the G-1 branch and escape unscathed from that Im was definitely not an opponent to be underestimated.
"Let me see how confident you are as a user of multiple fruit abilities." Aokiji slowly raised his right hand, and the ice mist condensed into a translucent ice blade in his palm.
Before he finished speaking, he swung his sword violently, and a kilometer-long ice blade broke through the air. The ground instantly froze into an ice field wherever it passed, and even the air was cut with a sharp scream.
Seeing this, Yakumo Shiro's eyes narrowed slightly, and his right arm was wrapped in a dark armor color. At the same time, a rich darkness appeared on his palm: "Dark Water!"
The ice blade, powerful enough to rend everything, melted away as quickly as a drop of water upon contact with the darkness, leaving not even a trace of cold air behind. Aokiji's pupils shrank, but he had anticipated this strange ability—he had witnessed it before in G-1. Without hesitation, he stomped his left foot down onto the ground. "Ice the Thousand Pillars!"
Countless icicles shot out from beneath Yakumo Shirakari's feet, blocking all escape routes like the spines of a hedgehog. The icicles glowed with the color of Armament Haki, clearly a defense against the Dark-Dark Fruit's devouring.
"Interesting." Yakumo Shiro chuckled, his figure transformed into purple lightning and soared into the sky. The speed of the Thunder Fruit was maximized, leaving afterimages in the air.
But Aokiji's attacks continued. He crossed his hands into a cross, and ice cones from the sky chased him like a meteor shower, each of them carrying a chill that froze to the bone marrow.
"Void Corridor." Yakumo Shiro's fingertips slashed through the void, and a spatial portal dotted with eyeballs suddenly opened, revealing a deep darkness. The icicles pierced through the spatial portal and shot out from another door behind Aokiji, brushing past his ear and piercing into the scorched earth.
"Hmph, playing space tricks?" Aokiji snorted, his figure suddenly disappearing. The next second, he appeared behind Yakumo Shiro, his right fist covered in Armament Haki blasting out with a freezing cold aura: "Fist bone? Extreme cold!"
Before the fierce fist wind inherited from Garp arrived, the corners of Yakumo Shiro's clothes were already covered with white frost. At the critical moment, Yakumo Shiro turned abruptly, and Butsu Mikami, heavily wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, was already facing him.
“Boom—!”
The moment their fists and swords collided, a shockwave spread outward from the two of them, cracking the scorched earth and creating massive fissures on the frozen sea. Yakumo Shiro took three steps back before steadying himself, but Aokiji was shaken so hard that his blood surged, and the ice on his right arm shattered.
"You're quite capable indeed." Yakumo Shiro shook his numb arm, "As expected of Garp's disciple!"
Trying to catch his breath, Kuzan's eyes grew sharper. "Where's your Lei Ming? Are these unorthodox methods the only ones you can use?"
"As you wish." A cold arc appeared on the corner of Yakumo Bai's mouth, and the purple lightning instantly wrapped around the blade that was flashing with cold light like a living thing. The surging domineering color attached to it like a black flame, interweaving with the lightning to form a brilliant purple and black lightning.
Aokiji took a deep breath and pressed his hands hard to the ground: "Absolute Zero? Ice Prison!"
A kilometer-wide radius instantly transformed into a frozen hell. Thick layers of ice piled up one after another, forming a massive prison. The slashing blows collided with the prison, emitting a deafening roar. Spider-web-like cracks covered the ice, yet it remained unbroken.
"It's over!" Aokiji clasped his hands together, and the ice prison suddenly shrank inward, trying to completely crush the enemy in front of him.
At that moment, the lightning at the center of the prison suddenly died, replaced by a thick darkness. Yakumo Haku's figure appeared at the core of the prison, and a thick black fog spread outward. Simultaneously, the power of the Swallow-Swallow Fruit raged furiously, and the impenetrable ice began to melt at a visible rate.
"How is this possible?" Aokiji's face changed drastically - he actually felt the loss of his fruit power in the ice prison.
"A warm reminder: never go against someone whose depth is unclear," Yakumo Shiro's voice came from the darkness, with a hint of teasing, "because you never know what abilities he has developed."
Before he finished speaking, a black and red lightning shot out from the darkness. It was the lightning spear that was fused with the domineering color.
"boom--"
The spear pierced the ice, and instantly appeared before Aokiji. He hastily formed an ice shield, but it was easily pierced by the lightning spear. His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into a huge reef, shattering it.
"Tsk, damn it! I'm alone, but in the end..."
In the distance, Kuzan struggled to stand up and wiped the blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.
Facing Yakumo Haku alone for the first time, he thought he could drag the battle into a stalemate no matter what, but even after just a simple collision, he could already get a glimpse of it.
Not to mention the opponent's powerful domineering aura, just the frequent fruit abilities are already extremely tricky. To some extent, the opponent can be said to be the natural enemy of those with abilities!
Yakumo Shiro slowly walked out of the crumbling ice prison. The lightning flash on the Butsuji Soul had completely faded, leaving only the blade reflecting the dull luster of scorched earth. He looked at Aokiji, who was kneeling on one knee. The bloody hole in his left shoulder was still bleeding, but he had no intention of slashing him again.
"Do you want to continue fighting?" Yakumo Haku's voice was flat, as if he was asking about something insignificant. "For the sake of that 'justice' that even you are beginning to doubt, are you going to continue shedding more blood here?"
Aokiji looked up suddenly, a flicker of anger in his eyes, but it was overshadowed by a deeper confusion. He clenched his remaining left hand, his knuckles turning white from the force.
"You ousted the tyrannical king, and I came to suppress the 'rebellion'—sounds like a natural duel, doesn't it?"
Yakumo Haku took two steps forward, and the ice beneath his feet was crushed to pieces.
"But you and I both know that this fight is meaningless. You're not protecting the people, you're protecting the already corrupted order. I'm not fighting for the revolutionaries, I just don't want to see anyone die in vain for a meaningless cause."
His eyes swept across the wound on Aokiji's shoulder, then looked at the navy soldier sleeping in the distance: "Do you really think that leaving me here, or being killed by me here, can demonstrate the empty justice behind you?
The standard of justice is very high. It can even be said that if justice is not absolute, then it is absolutely unjust!
From this perspective, I actually admire Sakaski.”
Aokiji's breathing suddenly stopped. These words were like icicles, piercing his most hidden pain point.
He did have doubts. He doubted the actions of the World Government and whether the justice he upheld was truly correct. But he could not find the answers and could only spin like a top, driven by his duties.
"You and I have both seen too many meaningless sacrifices." Yakumo Bai's voice lowered, with a kind of coldness that seemed to see through everything.
"O'Hara's scholars, Solby's refugees... Isn't their blood enough? Do you have to add these two drops of ours to make you feel at ease?"
Aokiji's shoulders slumped, and his clenched fists slowly loosened. In a way, the other party was right. This battle had been meaningless from the beginning—and he could hardly remember why he was fighting.
The fighting spirit faded away from every part of his body like the receding tide, leaving behind only fatigue and confusion deep in his bones.
Big Bear walked forward and looked at the rather embarrassed Aokiji with a complicated look in his eyes. He knew that if it weren't for Yakumo Shiro's intervention, he might have fallen down at this moment.
Aokiji took a breath, then suddenly looked up at Yakumo Shiro with a complicated expression. "Nicole Robin... She's with you, right? Is she... still translating those stones?"
The question came suddenly, but it was also understandable. The flame of O'Hara always burned in his heart, and the little girl running in the flames became an obsession that he could never let go of.
Yakumo Shiro raised an eyebrow: "Why do you care about this? Do you want to eradicate it for the World Government?"
"I'm not qualified." Aokiji shook his head, his voice low.
"I was also involved in the events of O'Hara back then. But... what exactly does that erased history hold? To be honest, although the Five Elders have explained the existence of Yimu, I'd like to know the opinion of O'Hara's last remaining scholars."
Hearing this, Yakumo Bai's eyes flickered slightly, and then he sighed.
"The historical text is so cryptic that piecing together the complete blank hundred years is far from easy. However, we did find some interesting information in the Elbaf library."
He paused, and slowly told the contents of the Halley Canon.
"That divine tome records the transition between two eras and the beginning of a third. It talks about gods, the moon, and the sun. Perhaps the symbolism is too obscure. How all of that relates to the blank hundred years remains unknown."
Kuzan listened silently, his brow furrowed. These obscure records only deepened his confusion, but he still committed every word to memory.
The big bear was shocked, not for any other reason, but because the records about the sun god in the Halley Canon seemed to coincide with the legends passed down from generation to generation by the Bakanni people.
Kuzan's gaze shifted from Yakumo Bai to Big Bear. After hesitating for a moment, he asked:
"Bartholomew Kuma, the commander of the revolutionary army, a man entrusted with his trust by Drago. From what I know about that man, he would never abandon justice...
It might seem a bit presumptuous to ask this from a navy perspective, but I still want to know, Azur Lane... Is it really like the rumors say? A place where the people decide their fate together, where there's no oppression, no tyranny..."
There was a subtle hint of confusion in his voice. "Can the people there truly experience peace and justice? Or is it just a utopia, blindly followed by revolutionary slogans, destined to collapse?"
This is the question Aokiji has been trying to answer since leaving Mary Geoise. He wants to know if there is another possibility besides the "justice" represented by the World Government.
Hearing this, Nobita looked at Aokiji. Although he was a little surprised, he still answered seriously: "Of course, Azur Lane is not perfect. The system there is still exploratory. People will quarrel over the tax system and argue about port construction, but no one will be executed for saying the wrong thing."
He paused and added,
"There are also troubles. For example, smugglers are always sneaking around doing things, and sometimes there are heated arguments over whether or not to accept pirates. There are even ambitious people who try to exploit loopholes in the system and create chaos.
But the people there no longer have to worry about being enslaved by the Celestial Dragons, nor do they fear being silenced for speaking the truth. They can earn a living with their own hands and speak for their own future. Although their lives are simple, they have smiles on their faces and hope in their eyes.
Daxiong's answer was very honest, without exaggeration or deliberate avoidance of the question.
Aokiji listened, his tense expression gradually relaxing. He wasn't sure if it was true or not, but if Kuma was telling the truth, then perhaps Azur Lane truly represented a new possibility.
"Mariejoa... is already preparing an operation against Azur Lane." Kuzan suddenly spoke, seemingly after a difficult decision. He paused, as if to confirm the weight of the news. "It's being carried out by the Knights of God, and they're two Devil Fruit users."
After saying this, he subconsciously avoided Yakumo Shiro's gaze and looked out at the rolling waves in the distance. Even he himself found it absurd—as an admiral of the navy, he actually leaked the World Government's information to "pirates."
But the sight of Big Bear sending the last group of people away, and Yakumo Shiro's words about "meaningless sacrifice," pierced his heart like two thorns. He thought of the flames of the O'Hara Library, and of Sauro, the marine who risked his life to protect Nico Robin. He suddenly felt that so-called "duty" was sometimes just an excuse for cowardice.
Hearing Kuzan's words, Big Bear's pupils suddenly contracted, and the hand holding the meatball clenched violently. He was naturally familiar with the name of the Knights of God. They were the top fighting force among the Celestial Dragons and the hidden fangs of the World Government.
Although Azur Lane has gathered most of the forces of the Revolutionary Army, facing an existence of that level, I'm afraid... He didn't dare to think about it anymore, and the ball of flesh in his palm emitted a rapid white light.
"What's the hurry?" Yakumo's voice was low, but it was like a bucket of cold water poured over Big Bear's heart. He looked at Aokiji, a faint smile on his lips, but his eyes were sharp as a knife. "It seems that General Kuzan still has something more substantial in his heart than 'justice' after all."
Aokiji looked up suddenly and met Yakumo Haku's eyes that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts. He subconsciously wanted to refute, but found that his throat was tight.
He was indeed shaken. After seeing the fear on the faces of the people of Solbe and hearing Big Bear describe the daily life of Azur Lane, the order that the Five Elders called "necessary evil" began to crack in his heart.
"Instead of worrying about whether I've been deceived, you should think about how to deal with the Knights of God." Aokiji turned his face away, his tone stiffly concealing his inner turmoil, "The abilities of those two Knights of God are not that simple."
Yakumo Shiro chuckled softly, the arcs of electricity dancing lightly at his fingertips. "Thanks for the reminder. However, since you're willing to say all this, why don't you tell me one more thing? Do you think that those pampered Celestial Dragons were forced to take action personally because Azur Lane threatens their rule, or... because they are afraid of the history that is being pieced together?"
This question was like a stone dropped into Aokiji's heart, instantly reminding him of the records in the Halley Divine Codex and the secretive expressions on the Five Elders' faces when they mentioned the "blank hundred years." He opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't answer.
The sea breeze swept across the scorched earth, and the ice covering the ground and the sea quickly retreated, as if nothing had happened.
Aokiji looked at Yakumo Shiro's calm profile and suddenly realized that he didn't take the Knights of God seriously at all. From the very beginning, this man had been planning a larger game. And he, perhaps unknowingly, had become a piece in this game that had deviated from its original trajectory.