Chapter 345: ICISEI Episode 331

Episode 331: The One Ambushed Once Again, Marine Admiral—Aokiji

?Gintama World?

Kabukicho—

Saigo stared at Ivankov on the screen, his expression turning solemn.

As a fellow queen, he could feel a powerful aura radiating from Ivankov that was impossible to ignore!

"Amazing! To think that in another world, there is a rival whose strength is on par with mine! If this master could come work for us, they would definitely become our star attraction!"

As soon as Saigo finished speaking, the other hostesses in the club nodded in agreement.

"Still, the true Okama King is our boss!"

"Compared to you, this Ivankov is still a notch below!"

"At most, his strength is only on par with ours!"

As fellow okamas in the same community, these people held immense respect for Ivankov and his Okama Pirates. In their eyes, this group possessed both masculine toughness and feminine sexiness—they were practically perfect!

—

『 That rather unsettling figure was hopping around on the floating ice on the water’s surface. Suddenly, his foot slipped, and he almost fell in.

He quickly supported his body in a bizarre pose, muttering, "If a Devil Fruit user falls into the sea, it’s over for me. Except for fish-men, basically none of us can swim!"

Using his hands and feet to brace against two separate blocks of ice, he awkwardly forced the gap between them shut.

Then, with an agile spin, he returned to solid ground.

He let out a long sigh of relief.

"Good thing I’m still flexible!"

Jinbe also surfaced from the water. Like many other pirates, they hadn’t been able to board Whitebeard’s ship in time and had to find their own way through a breach.

Walking over to the plaza wall, Jinbe looked at Ivankov helplessly and asked, "What on earth are you doing, Ivankov?"

Ivankov motioned for him to be quiet, whispering, "Keep it down! I can’t hear anything from the plaza side anymore!"

Jinbe: "..."

"You’re the one being loud!"

Ivankov pressed his ear against the wall, trying to hear what was happening inside.

"Ow, that hurts!"

"Don’t move!"

"It hurts so much!"

Hearing these strange noises, Ivankov muttered to himself, "This battle is even more brutal than expected. Given Luffy’s current condition, he might already be..."

He imagined all sorts of gruesome deaths Luffy might face in his mind.

Obviously, no matter which Admiral Luffy faced, he had almost zero chance of winning.

Pierced by lasers!

Consumed by fire!

Frozen into solid ice!

Hacked to pieces!

In an instant, Ivankov pictured hundreds of tragic scenarios, none of which allowed Luffy to escape alive!

Jinbe: "..."

Popping his head out of the water, Jinbe shouted, "Stop letting your imagination run wild! The priority right now is to save Luffy first!"

Ivankov pointed at Jinbe and raised his voice: "This is all your fault! If you had wrapped up the Marines quickly and saved Ace, we wouldn’t be in this mess!"

Jinbe: "..."

Despite their deep bond, Ivankov’s train of thought was sometimes truly hard to fathom.

On the battlefield—

Marco walked over to Oars, who had already stopped breathing.

His eyes were filled with sorrow. Usually looking somewhat dazed, his gaze was now terrifyingly sharp. He spoke: "Oars, thank you. I swear I will avenge you!"

He turned his gaze toward Ace, silently vowing to rescue him!

The naginata in Whitebeard’s hand was still wrapped in a terrifying power. With countless pirates charging forward, he was no longer just standing by; he was personally joining the fray.

He shouted to the surrounding pirates, "Stay away from my position!"

The pirates understood immediately!

After so many years, their coordination had long become second nature.

On the Marine side, many were closely watching Whitebeard’s every move.

Feeling the immense pressure radiating from Whitebeard’s naginata, fear and tension instantly spread through the ranks. "Is he going to use that move again?" the crowd murmured in panic.

"Everyone, watch out!"

"What’s the point of being alert? We can’t stop Whitebeard at all!"

"Just pray he doesn’t aim that strike at us!"

Seeing that the soldiers were thoroughly terrified, Aokiji sighed softly. "It can’t be helped. These soldiers really can’t withstand Whitebeard."

With that, he leaped into the air, his entire body radiating waves of biting cold.

The frost surrounded him like a thick fog.

Aokiji locked his eyes on Whitebeard and shouted, "Ice Ball—!"

Instantly, streams of freezing air surged rapidly toward Whitebeard. The cold turned stark white as it touched the air, spreading like a massive fog.

However, no one wanted to touch this freezing fog—they all knew that anyone caught in this extreme cold would instantly turn into an ice sculpture.

It was like liquid nitrogen was poured over Whitebeard. As the icy mist gradually cleared, Whitebeard’s entire body could be seen completely frozen.

Even his posture was frozen in a combat stance, looking like an ancient relic trapped inside a block of ice.

Seeing this, everyone finally understood why this move was called "Ice Ball"!

Though the name didn’t sound particularly grand or match its massive power, seeing Whitebeard sealed inside this giant, transparent, glittering sphere of ice made the description incredibly vivid.

"Whitebeard is frozen!"

"Amazing! As expected of Admiral Aokiji!"

"Fantastic!"

The Marines cheered in excitement.

But Aokiji just stood there quietly, saying nothing.

Whitebeard stopped by an attack like this? Don’t be ridiculous!

Having clashed with Whitebeard before, he knew exactly how troublesome this old man was!

Even inside that ten-meter-wide block of ice, Whitebeard’s eyes were still terrifying!

None of the pirates near Whitebeard showed any concern for him.

Everyone knew that breaking through this attack was child’s play for Whitebeard!

Sure enough, in the next second, the ice in front of Whitebeard suddenly shattered. Whitebeard hadn’t even moved; it was as if the ice had cracked on its own!

Aokiji muttered under his breath, "As expected, vibrations can’t be frozen!"

A thin layer of frost slowly covered his body. The moment Whitebeard completely broke free from the ice, Aokiji leaped forward, flying straight toward him!

He shouted, "Ice..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a massive blade suddenly appeared at Aokiji’s chest, piercing straight through his body. 』

『 .....』

?Dimensional livestream, Chat Room?

[ Arataki Itto (Genshin Impact): "Whoa, is this another sneak attack?" ]

[ Arataki Itto (Genshin Impact): "First it was that old grandpa, and now this guy gets sneak-attacked too." ]

[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "So brutal, that looks like it hurts so much." ]

[ Oyama Mahiro (Onimai): "I’ve seen this twice today, now my own stomach is starting to hurt." ]

[ Oyama Mihari (Onimai): "Onii-chan, are you okay?" ]

[ .....]

『 The Marines who witnessed this scene were speechless with shock.

"Admiral Kuzan!"

"This can’t be!"

"He actually..."

Yet, the scene was laid bare right before their eyes.

The pirates were ecstatic, shouting wildly: "Die, Aokiji!"

"Pierced through the chest by our Pops, a Marine Admiral is nothing special after all!"

"Compared to our Pops, Marine Admirals are far outmatched!"

"Is this the so-called Marine strength? It’s almost laughable!"

Hearing the pirates’ mockery, Aokiji’s eyes filled with displeasure.

He grabbed Whitebeard’s weapon and retorted sharply, "Don’t talk nonsense!"

Freezing frost rapidly spread along the weapon, quickly reaching Whitebeard’s hand.

Whitebeard immediately realized that the power of this ice far exceeded before.

He tried to pull his naginata back, only to find himself frozen to Aokiji’s side!

"Ice Block: Pheasant Peck—!"

Sharp ice spears began to condense in the air around them.

The ice spears were all aimed directly at Whitebeard.

If this strike landed, Whitebeard would definitely end up with several bloody holes in his body and be completely frozen from the inside out. No one could withstand such an attack!

Whitebeard might actually lose his life here.

However, all of this assumed the attack would actually land!

How could the battle-hardened Whitebeard give his opponent such an opportunity?

Just as Aokiji was about to launch his attack, he noticed a flash of light from the corner of his eye—it was a highly conspicuous reflection!

In the next instant, a heavy fist slammed hard into Aokiji’s cheek, and his entire body shattered into countless flying ice crystals.

"Admiral Kuzan!"

Not far away, Aokiji’s body slowly reformed. Just like Crocodile, as long as he turned his body into his element, he could bypass physical attacks and reconstruct himself!

He looked at the newcomer with extreme caution, saying coldly, "Diamond Jozu!"

After saying this, a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

He felt a lingering sense of dread.

If it weren’t for the light reflecting off Jozu’s diamond-hard arm catching his attention, the consequences would have been far worse than just a minor injury!

Jozu stood before Aokiji and shouted, "Pops, go ahead!"

"Leave this to me!" Jozu stepped up, deciding to face Aokiji alone!

"We have the upper hand now. The Marines are completely vulnerable here. As long as we win this chaotic battle..."

The Marines refused to back down, shouting back, "Keep dreaming! This is where you all die!"

Both sides were at each other’s throats, refusing to yield an inch!

Luffy was still running.

His goal was clear: save Ace!

Watching Luffy draw closer and closer, Garp felt incredibly conflicted!

The justice of the Marines! Or his beloved grandson?

He shouldn’t have been in this place to begin with!

Sengoku stared at Garp, well aware of the struggle going on inside him. He hadn’t wanted Garp to participate in this operation, but Garp had come here of his own accord.

As his close friend, he knew Garp would make the right choice.

The screen shifted—

In a hidden corner, Coby and his friend Helmeppo were hiding.

"I thought that once the defensive wall went up, the Whitebeard Pirates would be wiped out. I didn’t expect them to all breach it!"

Coby recalled his last encounter with Luffy. Back then, he had boldly declared that he would become a Marine Admiral, but now, he was acting like a coward, shivering in a corner!

Tears fell uncontrollably, his heart filled with self-reproach!

He felt completely unworthy of being Luffy’s friend!

A sword-wielding Marine officer appeared before Luffy. Given his confidence in standing before Luffy alone, he clearly possessed significant strength!

And indeed, before Luffy could even react, blood splattered into the air. Luffy was struck without being able to put up any resistance, crashing face-first onto the ground!

This scene left Coby completely stunned.

"Luffy..."

Garp’s face was also filled with anxiety; this strike was clearly no joke.

The swordsman turned to look at Luffy lying on the ground and said loudly, "Luffy, it’s impressive that you’ve made it this far, but this is the end! As Momonga, I will not let you pass here, by my name as a Marine Vice Admiral."

Luffy’s face contorted in pain, his breathing ragged and heavy.

His current condition was terrible. Anyone could see that he looked ready to collapse at any moment!

Yet, surprisingly, he still forced himself to stand.

Luffy struggled to push himself up from the ground.

He stared at Momonga opposite him and muttered, "Vice Admiral?"

"The same rank as my grandpa?"

Was Luffy’s grandpa also just a Vice Admiral?

Judging by the combat power shown by these Vice Admirals, Garp’s status was clearly far beyond that of a standard Vice Admiral.

Then, everyone realized a fact: even within the same rank, there was a world of difference in strength!

Take Smoker, who had almost killed Luffy before—he was actually only a Commodore!

Luffy tried to stand, but the moment he raised his hand, the opponent closed the distance instantly and delivered a heavy blow. The speed was mind-blowing!

He spat out blood once again, rolling across the ground several times.

"Geppo—!"

What incredibly swift footwork!

To be able to adjust his direction freely in mid-air was truly astonishing!

After spinning in mid-air, Momonga pressed his attack, giving Luffy no room to breathe.

Standing about a dozen meters away from Luffy, Momonga knew very well that after taking several of his strikes, Luffy had no chance of making a comeback.

Momonga even prepared to sheathe his sword.

Even if Sengoku hadn’t given specific instructions, they knew that in such a rapidly changing battlefield, it was better to keep Luffy alive as leverage against the pirates.

Momonga was confident that Luffy could no longer resist.

But in the next moment, another Marine Vice Admiral nearby suddenly moved. Looking back, Momonga realized that Luffy hadn’t completely collapsed. Instead, he was forcing himself up, his back hunched, softly uttering two words:

"Gear Second—!"

Luffy’s muscles trembled violently, and steam began to rise from his body, yet the expected effects of Gear Second failed to manifest.

Right at that moment, another opponent’s attack arrived.

"Has his stamina reached its absolute limit?"

The opponent’s fingers curved like eagle claws.

Furthermore, this person’s face was a bizarre hybrid, half-dog and half-human.

After blasting Luffy away, Dalmatian muttered, "Not surprising. After all, he’s just a rookie."

Momonga chimed in, "But he’s far more resilient than your average youth!"

Dalmatian stared at Luffy, seeing him still trying to stand.

He frowned. Having to strike down such a young boy again really tested his conscience.

Luffy still tried to stand.

At that moment, Kizaru appeared in front of Luffy, raising his finger and condensing a brilliant point of light at his fingertip.

In an instant, the light fired.

The beam was only about the width of a finger, but it pierced right through Luffy’s shoulder, sending him flying backward once again.

After piercing Luffy, the beam continued for dozens of meters before hitting the ground and exploding with a massive boom.

The immense energy formed a sphere of light over ten meters wide, blowing away Marines and pirates alike!

This attack didn’t take Luffy’s life, but it left him pinned to the ground, unable to move.

Through the thick smoke, Luffy heard footsteps drawing closer and clearer.

He had to get up!

He had to stand!

Luffy felt an unprecedented threat of death, the sound of Kizaru’s approaching footsteps echoing in his ears.

On the execution platform—

Garp’s gaze was ferocious, his aura growing increasingly unstable.

Watching Luffy get beaten down right before his eyes, how could he possibly remain calm?

Sengoku noticed Garp’s erratic state. He knew that in front of so many Marines, if Garp made even the slightest move to help the pirates, he would walk down a path of no return.

"Garp!"

"Calm down! Remember your duty!"

Hearing Sengoku’s words, Garp turned his head away, unable to look at this brutal scene any longer.

Luffy lay groaning on the ground, his breathing turning faint.

As the smoke slowly cleared, the figure appearing before him was indeed Kizaru.

What now?

Under these circumstances, who could save Luffy?

Where was Jinbe?

He had helped Luffy several times before; logically, it should be his turn to step in now!

But Jinbe was nowhere to be seen on the screen.

Luffy lay collapsed on the ground all by himself, with the powerful Kizaru standing right before him... 』

『 .....』