đ If you enjoy my work, consider supporting me on Patreon! I'm offering advanced chapters there as a thank-you to readers.
--------------------
Check out advanced chapters on : patreon.com/Veni_V
---------------
New Soul Land Book has been released go check it out.....
Book Name :- Douluo Dalu : Blue Silver Emperor Douluo
-----------------------------
After a few days of sailing, the Straw Hats saw land again. They decided to stop and gather supplies before moving on. As the Going Merry approached the island, Ikki saw a group of ragged people pulling a massive raft toward the shore. To his surprise, two familiar figures were among them: Marine Admiral Aokiji and Gildarts.
Aokiji and Gildarts also noticed the Straw Hats' arrival, but they didn't come over. After the refugees had successfully gotten their raft to the water, Aokiji addressed them. "Just wait at the edge of the island. We'll be done with this soon," he said.
The leader of the refugees hesitantly spoke up. "Um... I don't know what's going on between you two, but could you please not fight?" In reality, what he wanted to say was, "You two will both be worn out. Who will protect us then?"
Aokiji scratched his head. "It's nothing special. Isn't it normal for a Marine to fight a pirate when they cross paths?"
The refugee leader was exasperated. But I just saw you two eating and chatting together! You seemed perfectly friendly! Why are you suddenly fighting? he thought to himself. With no other choice, he led the refugees back to the island to wait.
The reason for the fight was a misunderstanding caused by Gildarts' resemblance to Red-Haired Shanks. When Aokiji saw him, he immediately knew Gildarts wasn't Shanks, but he suspected there was a connection.
However, Aokiji didn't attack right away because Gildarts was helping the refugees build a raft. Aokiji figured anyone willing to help people for no reason couldn't be a bad person, so he started a conversation with him.
During their chat, he learned that Gildarts was Shanks' cousin. After learning this, Aokiji decided to test his strength. Though he seemed lazy, Aokiji never took his job lightly.
He had to know the details and strength of a Four Emperors' cousin to report the information to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. So, during their barbecue, Aokiji suggested a friendly match, and Gildarts readily agreed.
Luffy, who had just gotten off the ship, pointed toward Gildarts and Aokiji, who were walking into the woods. "Ikki, are those Uncle Gildarts and Uncle Aokiji?"
"Yeah, that's them," Ikki confirmed.
Luffy immediately took off, sprinting deep into the forest. He found them quickly, but before he could say hello, a powerful gust of wind sent him flying.
Looks like they're really fighting, Ikki thought to himself. "Boom!" Another loud noise shook the entire island. That must be Gildarts' doing, Ikki mused. Even with Aokiji's power, his Ice-Ice Fruit isn't that explosive.
As soon as he had the thought, a wave of cold air washed over him. The ground, the trees, and even his own body began to freeze. Snowflakes started to fall, and half of the island, which had been in summer, was suddenly transformed into a winter wonderland.
"Shit!" Ikki cursed under his breath. He turned to the Straw Hats. "Move now, or you'll get frozen!"
Meanwhile, the battle between Aokiji and Gildarts was heating up. Aokiji's body had been in its elemental state since he learned about Gildarts' crushing ability. He looked like a flawless ice sculpture. Gildarts' body, on the other hand, was surging with magic, shattering all the ice around him into tiny shards.
"Your ice is strong," Gildarts said. "Dozens of times stronger than our guild's Little Gray... But I know he'll only get stronger."
"Little Gray? Guild? So you have an organization behind you?" Aokiji asked. He never stopped trying to gather information, even during a fight. "If you're Shanks' cousin, why don't you join his crew?"
Gildarts just laughed. "If I could, I'd love to have my friends from the guild come over to have some fun, but it's a shame..." He stopped talking and charged straight toward Aokiji, unleashing his crushing magic. Aokiji's body turned into a pile of ice shards, but they quickly reformed on the other side of the battlefield.
"It's useless," Aokiji said. "You can't hurt me in this form with that level of Haki."
"But I can obviously hit you with my fist!" Gildarts protested, confused.
Aokiji was happy to explain. "The Haki you use is too basic. You just wrap it around your fist. While this allows your fist to hit a Logia user, your techniques and moves are separate from your body when they're used. You can't infuse your skills with Haki. To do that, you need a stronger mastery and control over it."
Gildarts fell silent, deep in thought. To him, mastering Haki seemed much more difficult than learning magic. Maybe I should go find Kaido and give it a try, he thought.
"Huh? They've stopped fighting! Let's go check it out!" Luffy said, and once again, he was the first to run toward them. Ikki followed close behind.
When he arrived, he found Gildarts and Aokiji sitting cross-legged on the ground, discussing Haki. They both greeted the Straw Hats.
"Gildarts, what are you doing here?" Ikki asked.
"Oh! Another group of refugees," Gildarts replied, explaining the situation.
Only you would get involved in something like this, Ikki thought. In the original story, Aokiji had used his ice powers to create a path to help the refugees escape, while Gildarts just built them a giant raft.
"You two know each other?" Aokiji asked Ikki curiously.
"Yeah. We've only known each other for about half a month," Ikki said.
"Huh," Aokiji replied, before turning back to Gildarts. "If you really want to get stronger at Haki, you should go to the New World. With your strength, you'll be fine as long as you don't provoke any of the Four Emperors."
Gildarts nodded, but didn't say anything. What Aokiji didn't know was that Gildarts' plan was to do exactly that: provoke Kaido and challenge him to a fight.