Luffy, how can you become the Pirate King if you don't work hard!

I train while you walk, eat, and even sleep; I fight life-or-death battles in your dreams, never daring to stop for a moment!

Only you know how wronged you feel.

But the potential and gains squeezed out through grueling training and planning are something only they themselves truly understand.

Moreover, despite his young age, Luffy has already undergone rigorous training under Garp's iron fist, experiencing the most demanding naval soldier training.

If he were in the navy, he would already be a ten-year veteran.

Chapter 181 This kid is way too strong

Aokiji twitched the corner of his mouth and said helplessly, "Garp-sensei really raised a remarkable troublesome grandson."

"Then go beat up that old man," Luffy said.

"As expected, we all hate that old man to the core." Aokiji laughed as well.

Luffy threw a punch, using the recoil to adjust his posture in mid-air. His rapid breathing technique, combined with Life Return, allowed him to frantically recover his stamina and Haki, preparing to launch another fierce attack.

Just then, the air around him suddenly cooled down, and a huge ice mirror instantly solidified. Immediately afterwards, Aokiji's figure flashed out of the ice mirror as if by teleportation, with an extraordinary speed!

"Ice Time!"

Aokiji's hand, carrying absolute zero cold enough to freeze steel instantly, reached for Luffy's arm.

Luffy's Observation Haki gave a frantic warning, and he twisted to dodge at the last second, but the outside of his arm was still grazed by that terrifying freezing air and instantly covered with a thick layer of solid ice!

"Tsk!"

Luffy grunted and reacted extremely quickly. The muscles inside his frozen fist vibrated violently at a high frequency, bringing out the full potential of the rubber. At the same time, the Armament Haki flowing inside him pounded against the ice like a drill.

Click.

The ice was shattered and cracked from the inside.

"This is such a hassle. Can't I just stay frozen in peace?"

Aokiji sighed, his hands clenching in front of him. Numerous ice crystal fragments rapidly coalesced, transforming into countless sharp ice spikes and shards. "Ice Block, Pheasant Beak!"

A barrage of ice bullets, denser and faster than before, rained down on Luffy like a storm of pear blossoms!

Wherever it passed, the air froze, leaving white ice marks.

"Then let's try this!"

Luffy's pupils contracted, and he covered his body with even more of his flowing Haki. At the same time, he punched out wildly like a pile driver. The high temperature generated by the friction between his fists and the air ignited the air, forming a raging fire.

"Rubber Fist Machine Gun!"

Fire and ice, two extreme forces, collided fiercely in mid-air!

The explosions continued incessantly, flames and ice shards flew everywhere, and large amounts of white steam billowed out, instantly enveloping the entire battlefield and blurring visibility.

"They even developed this kind of elemental attack technique?"

Aokiji was surprised by Luffy's ability to quickly find a strategy to counter the attack.

"Your combat experience and adaptability don't seem like those of a rookie pirate who has just set sail."

Right.

Which pirate who has just set sail possesses Haki?

Who can master the use of Conqueror's Haki?

Who else could develop Devil Fruits to such an extent?

Aokiji is having a real headache right now.

What he said earlier was half true and half false, but his original intention was not to capture Luffy.

Because of his relationship with Garp, he's somewhat humane and considerate, unlike Akainu, who's an absolute righteous person who can't tolerate even the slightest injustice.

Moreover, Smoker wanted to take this opportunity to repay some of the favors he owed in Alabasta.

The original intention was to warn the Straw Hat crew that harboring Robin meant making an enemy of a powerful force, so that they would back down or at least become more vigilant.

As a result, he misjudged Luffy's determination and even more so Luffy's strength!

Now he's suddenly in this predicament, caught between a rock and a hard place.

If this fight doesn't end with a clear winner, it'll be hard to say how it will end.

"Oh dear, I must have forgotten to check the calendar before I left home today."

Aokiji sighed, his eyes gradually becoming sharp and cold. "Now it seems that perhaps throwing you into Impel Down would be a more responsible choice for the World Government."

If we let this monster grow up outside for a few more years, who can stop him?

As expected, his initial premonition was correct; this straw hat boy was a huge potential threat!

Aokiji no longer held back. He leaped high into the air, spread his arms, and faced the battlefield shrouded in mist below. He slowly took a breath, as if trying to absorb all the heat around him into his body.

The next moment, he suddenly exhaled.

"Ice Age!"

Although it didn't have the terrifying scale of freezing thousands of miles when it was unleashed on the vast sea, the extreme cold, enough to change the environment of an island, spread rapidly in all directions from him like white death ripples.

Click click!

The fog was instantly frozen into ice crystals and fell, and the remaining trees on the ground, and even the air itself, were making freezing sounds as they struggled to withstand the weight.

Within a visible range, the entire Long Chain Island was covered with a layer of solid ice several meters thick at an astonishing speed, transforming it into a veritable ice and snow kingdom!

The center of the frost ripples shot directly toward Luffy's location.

"Luffy!"

Not far away, Robin, who had been watching the battle intently, let out a horrified scream.

She saw Luffy's figure freeze instantly upon contact with the white ripples. Starting from his feet, the solid ice spread rapidly upwards like a living monster, turning him into an ice sculpture in a fighting stance in the blink of an eye!

Robin gritted his teeth, a resolute glint in his eyes, and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Fifty Rounds of Flowers Bloom - Gallows!"

In an instant, Aokiji's head, neck, shoulders, arms... wherever arms could grow, were instantly bound and strangled by countless arms that burst forth from the air!

Robin tried to use the strength of her arms to knock Aokiji unconscious, just like she would with any other enemy.

However, she encountered unprecedented resistance.

The blue pheasant's neck seemed to be forged from ten thousand years of cold iron. Its arms, despite their best efforts, could not budge it an inch. Instead, they were corroded by a rebounding chill and began to be covered with frost.

“It would be unwise to attack me, Robin.”

Aokiji turned his head and exhaled a breath of icy white air. The arms that were wrapped around him were instantly frozen into ice sculptures, and then shattered inch by inch. "The difference in our levels is too great."

He looked at Luffy, who was frozen in ice, and then at Robin, whose face was pale. His tone was complicated: "Robin, why don't you go to Impel Down with him? It might be a relatively safe place for you."

The moment Aokiji finished speaking.

Click!

A soft yet incredibly clear cracking sound came from Luffy's ice sculpture.

Then came the second sound, the third sound... like a dense drumbeat.

Boom...boom...boom...

His voice was deep and powerful.

It sounded like a heartbeat emanating from inside the ice sculpture, growing louder and more rapid!

Aokiji's pupils suddenly contracted: "Ara ara... You're a bit too strong, Straw Hat Boy."

boom!

The ice encasing Luffy shattered with a deafening roar.

Countless ice crystal fragments shot out in all directions.

Amidst the swirling icy dust, a brand new figure stands proudly.

Chapter 182 The Naval Ship That Suddenly Intruded

Luffy's hair turned snow-white, billowing upwards like clouds, and his body was surrounded by thick, white flames like a veil, with steam and electric arcs leaping across his body.

His skin still had a rubbery texture, but his aura had undergone a complete transformation, filled with a primal and incredibly powerful life force!

"I was almost frozen solid."

Luffy twisted his neck, making a sound like rubber stretching. He grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth, and his fighting spirit burned like a raging fire in his eyes.

"Devil Fruit Awakening?"

Aokiji rarely showed surprise. He stared intently at the white flame cloud surrounding Luffy, his tone filled with confusion, "The Gum-Gum Fruit should be a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, right? Why does it exhibit characteristics similar to Zoan-type awakening?"

Luffy moved his hands and feet, feeling the surging power within him and his rapidly recovering injuries. The sense of crisis that had almost frozen his blood just moments before was completely dispelled by the burst of awakened power.

He can even briefly rubberize the ground he touches, thus neutralizing attacks and creating opportunities for combat.

"you guess?"

Luffy uttered those two words that gave Aokiji a headache again. He assumed a fighting stance, his fighting spirit undiminished, but instead burning even brighter. "The real battle is about to begin!"

Aokiji really didn't want to fight anymore.

What kind of monsters are these kids these days?

This growth rate and outrageous Devil Fruit ability completely defy common sense.

Luffy stopped talking and moved so fast that he left afterimages in his tracks.

"Rubber mole gun!"