socalfunplaces Chapter 301 Naval Operation, Admiral Ice and Fire's Resolve
Chapter 301 Naval Operation, Admiral Ice and Fire's Resolve
Chapter 301 Naval Operation, Admiral Ice and Fire's Resolve
Ten miles from the Zou coast, the giant elephant's silhouette finally faded into a blurry outline in the sea fog.
Pedro stood at the stern, gazing into the distance for a long time.
The morning breeze ruffled his golden hair and also dispelled the sigh that had been pressing down on his throat.
Siegfried walked to his side, his silver armor gleaming coldly in the morning light, but he didn't speak. Some farewells require silence to accompany them. "I'll be back," Hiyori Kozuki whispered, her purple eyes gazing at the gradually brightening eastern sky.
"We will come back once we find allies, once we have enough strength—once we have resolved everything."
Nobunaga sat cross-legged on the crossbar of the mainmast, his red battle feathers fluttering in the wind like a battle flag.
He took a swig of the wine he brought from Zou and grinned.
Instead of being sentimental, think about the road ahead. This new world doesn't welcome weeping travelers.
Pedro withdrew his gaze, a renewed determination returning to his single eye: "You're right. Our target is Straw Hat Boy."
"The intelligence outpost that Duke Inuarashi mentioned. We can find out Straw Hat Luffy's whereabouts once we get there."
"On the premise that we can arrive safely," Siegfried suddenly said, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon.
"Something has been following us ever since we left Zou."
"Blackbeard's submarine?" Hiyori nervously gripped the hilt of her sword.
"Uncertain. The aura is faint, appearing and disappearing intermittently." Siegfried gripped his greatsword tightly. "But the hostility is clear."
Nobunaga leaped from the mast and landed silently on the deck: "Let it follow. When it shows its face, we'll cut it down."
The ship continued its journey in the morning light, cutting through the calm sea and heading towards that unknown and dangerous territory.
In the unseen depths of the sea, a black submarine followed them closely, with dots on the screen marking the sailboat's location.
The story of Zou has come to a temporary end. But the waves of the sea have only just begun.
In Marineford's office at Naval Headquarters, Sengoku put down the report in his hand and rubbed his throbbing temples.
Outside the window, the shouts of naval soldiers during their drills could be heard; their young faces were full of passion and conviction.
But they did not understand that the rules of this sea had been completely rewritten by a force known as the Holy Grail War.
"Sakazuki has been in the Holy Land for five days now." He glanced at the strategist, Crane, on the sofa. "Still no news?"
Tsuru put down her teacup and said calmly, "Lord Shamrock contacted me yesterday via an encrypted Den Den Mushi."
"The summoning ritual has begun, but the location in the sacred ground is highly secret. According to him, Sakazuki is undergoing some kind of trial."
"Trials—" Sengoku repeated the word, his brow furrowed. "What about Kuzan? How much longer is his vacation?"
"Half a month." He paused. "But the problem isn't the length of the vacation, but where he went."
"Kuzan's reason for taking leave was to clear his head, but our people last saw him on Canaro Island in the Western Sea. After that—he disappeared."
Zhan Guo stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.
Outside the window, dozens of warships were moored in the harbor, and the flag of justice fluttered in the sea breeze.
This is the power that the navy has accumulated over hundreds of years, enough to awe the seas, but in the face of the heroic spirits, these steel behemoths seem to become vulnerable.
"After the first Holy Grail War, I knew the Navy could no longer remain uninvolved," Sengoku said in a deep voice.
"Blackbeard stole Sakazuki's Arjuna, and Kaido, Doflamingo, and Crocodile have all gained the power of Heroic Spirits—if we don't act soon, the Navy's justice will be lost."
Crane nodded: "So you tacitly approved Sakazuki's trip to the Holy Land, and you also tacitly approved Kuzan's trip to relax."
"It's not tacit consent, it's something we have to do." Sengoku turned around, his eyes filled with deep weariness.
"Ah-He, times have changed. In the past, when we hunted pirates and maintained order, although it was difficult, there were always methods to follow. But what about now?"
"Heroic spirits—these things that transcend the laws of nature are transforming the sea into something we cannot comprehend."
He pointed to the report on the table: "This is the latest intelligence sent by the CPO."
"The number of participants in the Second Holy Grail War is increasing, and at least three new waves of Heroic Spirits have appeared in the New World."
"Besides Doflamingo's side, there's another force near Zou, but their energy levels are all quite high."
"Speaking of Doflamingo, the Cross Society is also expanding," Tsuru added.
"He and Hawkeye have joined forces and have already recruited at least one Heroic Spirit Master. They have liberated Saturn Island and are establishing a base there."
Sengoku walked back to his desk and placed his hands on the surface: "Therefore, the Navy must once again possess its own Heroic Spirits, and they cannot be as disobedient as Taikoo and Quetzalcoatl."
"Sakazuki's absolute justice requires flames to burn away evil, while Kuzan—perhaps needs something else."
"You mean, wisdom?" Crane keenly sensed something.
"Kuzan is different from Sakazuki," Sengoku said slowly.
"Sakazuki's convictions were as fiery and unwavering as lava, but Kuzan's sense of justice always flowed, pondered, and questioned beneath the ice."
"During the war in Alabasta, he saw not only the power of the Heroic Spirits, but also the choices behind that power."
"I know he's confused, confused about how to uphold the justice in his heart."
He paused for a moment, then said, "So you think that this time, he was actually searching for answers?"
"I know him." Sengoku sat down and picked up a document.
"Kuzan doesn't just disappear for no reason. He must have gone to some place that's meaningful to him—perhaps when he returns, there will be an unexpected surprise."
A brief silence fell over the office.
Only the clock on the wall ticks away, recording the passage of each second in this rapidly changing world.
West Sea, off the coast of Canaro Island.
Aokiji Kuzan stood on an ice floe, looking at the burning shipwrecks on the distant sea.
The battle is over, if it can even be called a battle.
With three pirate ships and a combined bounty of 120 million Berries, the Blood Axe Pirates are quite famous in the West Blue.
They had just looted the fishing village on Canaro Island and were preparing to leave when they encountered a naval admiral who was passing by on a day of relaxation.
The result is no suspense.
Aokiji didn't even use his Devil Fruit powers.
He simply stepped onto the main ship using Moonwalk, and to Captain Bloodaxe Buck's astonished gaze, he smashed the other's axe with one punch and knocked him unconscious with another.
The entire process takes no more than ten seconds.
The other two ships attempted to fire, but Aokiji raised his hand and released two ice balls, freezing the ships from the keel down and causing them to sink rapidly.
"Is it... over?" The old man from the fishing village shakily rowed his small boat closer.
Aokiji nodded and leaped from the ice floe onto the small boat: "Are there many injured people?"
"Not much, thanks to your timely arrival—" The old man was moved to tears. "It's truly remarkable that a naval admiral personally came to such a small place as the West Blue." "Just passing by," Aokiji interrupted him, his gaze sweeping over the floating corpses and wreckage on the sea.
Some of the Blood Axe Pirates were frozen in the ice, some were floating on the surface of the sea, and most had lost consciousness.
He didn't kill them, but he didn't show any mercy either. When these people were looting the fishing village, they didn't hesitate to swing their knives at the elderly and children.
What is justice?
Our mission is to capture pirates and protect civilians. This is the Navy's most fundamental creed.
But as Aokiji looked at the frozen pirates, he felt no sense of satisfaction at justice being served.
There was only a deep, familiar sense of bewilderment.
Twenty years ago, he also carried out justice in Ohara.
Then that island, brimming with knowledge and scholars, was reduced to ashes in the fires of the Buster Call.
The scholars died, the books were burned, and only one little girl was secretly released.
That was the first time in his career that he had violated absolute justice.
"General?" The old man's voice brought him back to reality.
Aokiji snapped out of his daze and found the old man handing him something.
It was an ice-blue crystal with an antique design and spiral patterns engraved on its surface.
"This—it fell out of your pocket," the old man said, "when you boarded the boat."
Aokiji took the badge. It felt cool to the touch, but there seemed to be some kind of pulse inside, like a heartbeat.
This is not his.
He recalled that the crystal was placed beside his pillow when he woke up three days earlier in a hotel in another small town.
There were no instructions, no markings, but its aura was unmistakable.
The aura emanating from the Command Seals on the backs of the hands of those contestants from Alabasta was remarkably similar.
"Thank you." Aokiji put the badge into his pocket.
The old man rowed his boat to shore, where villagers had already gathered at the dock.
They cheered and thanked him, offering food and wine to their savior. Aokiji politely declined.
He treated the wounded villagers, resettled families whose houses had been destroyed, and then left the fishing village alone at dusk.
He needs to think.
He had been away from Marineford for half a month. In those two weeks, he had traveled to many places.
The branches that were once stationed there, the sea areas where major battles took place, and the locations marked as special events in the naval archives.
What was he looking for? He himself wasn't entirely sure.
Perhaps this is a confirmation.
This will test whether the Navy's justice is truly as unbreakable and beyond question as he firmly believed in his youth.
And the answer—seems to be getting increasingly vague.
At night, the blue pheasant camped on the coast.
The campfire crackled as he took out the ice-blue crystal and examined it in the firelight.
The inside of the crystal seemed to have liquid flowing inside, shimmering with star-like points of light.
You are confused.
The sound rang out. Not from the outside world, but directly in my mind.
Aokiji wasn't surprised. This wasn't the first time; ever since he obtained the crystal three days ago, this voice had appeared occasionally, like a whisper.
"Who are you?" he asked in his mind.
"I am possibility, doubt, and the path yet to be chosen." The voice was gentle, with a certain ancient and wise quality.
"You summoned me not because you craved power, but because you craved understanding—understanding the contradictions of this world, understanding the boundaries of justice, and understanding your own heart."
"I summoned you? Are you a Heroic Spirit? No, I don't have that red mark." Aokiji said.
"No, you have already summoned it. Your subconscious is craving it, but you have been suppressing this emotion."
"Therefore, in this paradox, before the Command Spell manifests, I come to your side by virtue of my special nature."
"When you don't discard the crystal, when you carry it across this ocean, you are unconsciously extending an invitation to me."
Aokiji remained silent. He looked at the badge, at the starlight flowing within it.
Can you give me an answer?
"I can't. You'll have to find the answer yourself. But I can give you a method."
"Methods for seeing the essence of things, methods for thinking about the root causes of problems, and methods for finding balance in contradictions."
The campfire flickered in the night wind.
Aokiji thought of the fires of Ohara, the deserts of Alabasta, and the Heroic Spirits and Masters who fought for their respective beliefs in the Alabasta Holy Grail War.
The fateful showdown between Karna and Arjuna.
A spectacular clash between Roger and the Count of Monte Cristo.
Merlin smiled and created an illusion, and Ramses II unveiled the magnificent Great Complex Temple.
And then there was that fleeting moment of hesitation in Sakazuki's eyes when Blackbeard took Aju, a hesitation that even he himself might not have noticed.
"The Navy needs the power of Heroic Spirits," Aokiji whispered.
"That's what Fleet Admiral Sengoku thought, and that's what Sakazuki thought too. But what happens after they gain power?"
"Using greater force to uphold justice? Won't justice—become just another form of violence?"
"A very good question." The voice seemed to carry an air of approval.
"So, have you made up your mind? Do you want to sign a contract with me and gain the eyes to see these problems clearly?"
Aokiji gripped the badge tightly.
He recalled the grateful eyes of the old fisherman, the pirates frozen in ice, the ashes of Ohara, and Sengoku's weary face.
Then, he made a decision.
"Let's go to Ohara." Aokiji stood up and extinguished the campfire. "If we really need to summon someone—it'll be there."
The Holy Land of Mary Geoise, deep within the city of Pangaea.
Akainu Sakazuki stood in the center of that ancient summoning arena, his bare upper body covered in wounds.
But what he cared about at that moment was not the physical wounds, but the shame that had been burning in his heart ever since the Battle of Alabasta.
In that battle, Akainu experienced for the first time what it meant to be powerless.
It wasn't just about power; it was also about the monstrous form he had taken after losing his mind—
Even Akainu wavered —
"Still thinking about Alabasta?"
A gentle voice came from the sidelines.
Shamrock approached slowly, followed by two men.
On the left is Jiang Ziya (Taigong Wang). On the right is Yang Jian.
"It's none of your business," Akainu said hoarsely.
"It's related." Shamrock stopped three steps in front of Akainu. The two were about the same height and looked at each other.
"I recommended you to the Five Elders. I believe the Navy needs to regain the power of Heroic Spirits, not for personal honor or disgrace, but for balance."
Akainu remained silent for a long time before finally kneeling on one knee and placing his hands on the ancient runes on the ground.
"I need power. I need power strong enough to burn away all evil and uphold absolute justice."
Shamrock continued, "That lord will grant you power, and you will summon Heroic Spirits that resonate with your essence. But the price—any price is acceptable." Akainu interrupted him, gripping the crest.
In an instant, flames erupted.
It wasn't light, but real flames—dark red, high-temperature flames that seemed capable of burning everything—erupted from Akainu's body.
The runes on the ground of the summoning arena lit up one by one, not in gold, but in a fiery red like lava.
Shamrock took two steps back, Taigong Wang waved his whisk to set up a barrier, and Yang Jian held his sword in front of him.
Akainu growled amidst the flames.
It wasn't pain, but a deeper, soul-level resonance.
The almost faded Command Seal scars on his wrist reappeared, but this time they weren't red; instead, they were burning flame patterns.
The flames are burning.
It was not an ordinary flame, but a crimson, flowing flame that seemed to have a life of its own.
They surged from the ancient rune array and wrapped around Akainu Sakazuki, but did not burn him in the slightest.
Instead, the flames seemed to resonate with the power of the Magma Fruit within him, emitting a low, rumbling sound like molten lava.
Shamlock stood outside the barrier, his dark red hair flying in the heat.
Behind him, Taigong Wang and Yang Jian stood silently, their gazes fixed on the center of the flames.
"A very strong concept of fire." Taiko nods.
Yang Jian slightly opened his third eye on his forehead, and golden light swept across the flames: "The true name of the heroic spirit has emerged—it is a Chinese heroic spirit. Moreover, it is a rather fierce person."
The flames suddenly contracted and condensed inward.
The flames coalesced into a human shape.