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

The battle lasted less than twenty minutes before it ended.

Or rather, it ended unilaterally.

Hundreds of naval soldiers lay sprawled on the deck, all unconscious.

The only two remaining Marines standing were Smoker and Tashigi.

"Is it already that difficult to deal with?"

Smoker, panting heavily, glanced at his men, who were all incapacitated.

Meanwhile, several members of the Straw Hat crew on the other side hadn't even made a move.

Opposite him, Zoro slowly sheathed his three swords, a hint of disappointment flashing in his single eye:

"Is that all? I thought you would have made great progress in the last two years."

"Stop making sarcastic remarks, you green algae-head."

Sanji lit a cigarette. "This guy's Logia-type ability is quite troublesome. If you didn't know Haki, you wouldn't be able to hit him at all."

"Huh? You dead cook, didn't you get kicked a few times too?"

"That's because my Demonic Wind Kick has built-in Armament Haki, what do you know, you idiot swordsman!"

The two started their usual bickering again, completely ignoring Smoker.

Smoker gritted his teeth; the feeling of being ignored was truly frustrating.

The Straw Hat crew's growth rate in the past two years is simply astonishing.

Is this really a pirate crew that has just entered the New World?

With this lineup, you could easily believe they're the core force of a veteran Yonko crew!

"Who...who are you?"

On the other side, Tashigi had a long sword pressed against her throat.

The one wielding the knife is Tengetsu Toki.

The girl dressed in Wano Country attire was incredibly calm. She had already absorbed most of her battle experience from Gion, but she hadn't yet reached the level of a candidate admiral. Dealing with Tashigi was still a piece of cake for her.

Tashigi asked that question because she recognized the knife.

The famous sword Kinpira, the sword of former Navy Admiral Candidate Momousagi Gion!

Why did it end up in the hands of a pirate?!

Tianyue remained silent.

It's not time to make things public about Gion yet; the fewer people who know, the better.

"Oh my, I'm really interested in that too."

A lazy voice suddenly rang out.

The temperature on the deck plummeted.

The Straw Hat crew looked up almost simultaneously in the direction from which the sound came.

Robin's expression turned serious: "Why are you here, Aokiji?!"

A piece of floating ice had appeared on the starboard side of the Sunny.

A tall man stood on the ice.

Dark blue suit, white overcoat, afro, and an eye patch pulled up to his forehead.

Former Marine Headquarters Admiral, Aokiji Kuzan!

"After all, my friend, who is single-minded, is prone to doing some stubborn things."

Aokiji yawned, his gaze sweeping over the horrific scene on the deck. "As an old friend, I'm very worried about him."

His gaze finally landed on Tengetsu, or rather, on the golden garland in her hand.

"So, little girl."

Aokiji's voice remained languid, but his eyes sharpened. "Could you answer the question I asked earlier? Why is the sword from Gion in your hands?"

The air freezes.

Aokiji took a step forward.

In that instant, Zoro and Sanji moved almost simultaneously.

Three-Sword Style: Demon Slash!

Demon Wind Kick: Crushing Blow!

Blade flashes and flames intertwined, blocking Aokiji's path forward. The two worked together seamlessly, one on the left and one on the right, sealing off all escape routes.

Aokiji looked at them; these people had really changed a lot compared to two years ago. No wonder even Smoker was no match for them now.

"Ice Wall!"

An ice wall several meters thick rose out of thin air and blocked the way. Zoro's slash and Sanji's kick left three deep grooves on the ice wall.

"You guys have gotten stronger in the two years I haven't seen you," Aokiji commented.

He raised his hand and waved.

"puck."

Dozens of ice balls rose from the sea and shot at high speed toward Zoro and Sanji.

Zoro unleashed three sword strikes simultaneously, shattering the ice puck.

Sanji kicked the ice pucks one by one in mid-air.

However, both of them were forced back by this wave of attacks.

Aokiji continued forward.

His target was clear: Amatsuki Toki and the knife in her hand.

Just as he was about to step onto the deck of the Sunny, a flying slash came from the side, its angle tricky, aimed straight at Aokiji's neck.

Aokiji dodged to the side, his gaze fixed on the direction from which the slash had come.

The spot where Tengetsu was standing just now, Gion is standing there.

"Alala, this is getting more and more interesting."

Aokiji narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Gion. "Gion, don't you want to explain what happened? Have you been following the Straw Hat crew the whole time?"

In his eyes, Tenzuki Toki had somehow transformed into Gion!?

Is this the power of some kind of Devil Fruit?

"This is complicated to explain."

Gion calmly said, "In short, I am no longer a member of the Navy, but I still follow the justice in my heart."

Is that so?

It seems that the two have chosen similar paths, but Aokiji is still in a period of confusion, while Gion seems to have found his own path.

"call....."

Aokiji exhaled a cold breath, "Then we..."

Before he could finish speaking, a figure flew in from not far away. It was very fast and snapped in half at the waist, sending Aokiji flying.

“Sashibuli,”

Luffy stood where Aokiji had just been, grinning and asking, "What are you going to do to my crewmates?"

Chapter 440 Kuzan, want to come aboard my ship?

A shockwave erupted from where Kuzan had just been, turning the ice surface into ice fragments.

Kuzan's waist was kicked away, and his body flew out and quickly shattered into pieces, falling onto the icy water not far away. The icy water then quickly turned into an ice sculpture, which gradually transformed into a human shape.

Kuzan sighed, "Seriously, don't greet me like that. It's not like we've met for the first time. Isn't it a bit much to start with an attack like Conqueror's Haki Entanglement?"

Luffy laughed and said, "Who told you to try to attack my crewmate just now?"

He has never shown any mercy to this kind of person.

"Oh dear, I just wanted to freeze something, what kind of action is that?"

"I don't care."

Kuzan: "......"

This guy is still so willful and reckless.

Looking at Luffy in this posture, Kuzan scratched his head and said, "Can you not make it so scary? I feel really uncomfortable every time I see you like this."

Luffy bared his teeth, but in Gear Fifth Darkness form, he looked incredibly imposing. "We've fought so many times already, is there anything you're not used to?"

"Oh, you're right. But after you got the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power, it's really troublesome. That ordinary punch just now felt like my body was going to shatter."

Kuzan said with a troubled expression, "Having two Devil Fruit users at the same time is too unfair. If I could, I would want to have one too."

"Don't joke around. The upper limit of Devil Fruit abilities is limited. Reaching awakening is already the limit, but the upper limit of Haki is limitless."

Luffy scoffed, "Aren't you just like Grandpa, constantly honing your physique and Haki even with top-tier abilities?"

Kuzan and his grandfather were the same kind of people.

Or he guessed that the idiot in the navy that his grandfather mentioned, the one who followed him and smashed warships with his fists, was probably Kuzan.

No matter what, he was facing a veteran admiral, unlike the two admirals he had encountered in the Sabaody Archipelago not long ago. Clearly, Kuzan posed a greater threat to him.

Luffy had two years of training, and his strength became even greater.

Others are not standing still either.

The generals are all incredibly talented, even Smoker over there is much stronger than he was two years ago.