On the ice, Ace flew towards the distance on his ship. After he had traveled some distance, a figure appeared in the distance.
Whoosh.
The figure appeared right beside Ace and boarded the small boat. It was Heckle.
The small boat continued to sail into the distance. Even with an extra person, reducing their weight to one kilogram posed no obstacle to the boat.
Meanwhile, Xia Qiu was thundering towards the distance, running at full speed, pushing his velocity to the absolute limit.
Before he killed Blackbeard, his top running speed was thirty meters per second. After consuming Blackbeard, he could now reach about thirty-five meters per second.
His massive body surged into the distance, his heart filled with contemplation.
Aokiji is truly strong.
As expected of an Admiral. The gap between Ace and him is significant.
In the original story, Ace and Aokiji fought to a draw for one move, but the difference in their strength was still quite large.
Although fire can melt ice, Aokiji's Freezing Gas is too powerful. It can freeze a vast sea area, far exceeding the power of Ace's fire. Moreover, Aokiji could fight against Akainu, who wielded the even stronger Magma-Magma Fruit ability, for nine days and nine nights, only falling on the tenth day. His ability's strength is not low.
Furthermore, in terms of physical combat and Haki, Aokiji also surpasses Ace.
The gap between them is huge.
Fortunately, they didn't officially engage in battle. Even if I went all out, using Haki and Soru, it would be difficult to defeat him.
As for my subordinates, the only ones who could participate in this battle are Alken and Mr. Christmas.
The former's explosive ability could offset some of the ice, but the effect wouldn't be very strong, and he'd be instantly defeated.
Mr. Christmas could launch a surprise attack, but Aokiji has Observation Haki, making surprise attacks difficult to succeed. Moreover, he possesses Haki. As long as he's caught even once, he'll be instantly defeated.
Therefore, the two of them could only act as a distraction, sacrificing their lives to buy time for a momentary attack on Aokiji.
But based on their performance just now, that's impossible.
For me and Ace to defeat Aokiji would be like a fool's dream.
The only possibility is to choose the desert interior of Alabasta as the location, using the harsh environment to offset his ability. High temperatures and low humidity would reduce his freezing capabilities. With the entire Baroque Works working together, there might be a chance to defeat Aokiji.
But there are too many problems. Firstly, if it were in Alabasta, Aokiji might not come himself and would instead mobilize others to attack.
Secondly, even if that were the case, the battle would last for a long time, and other Marines might arrive.
Finally, Vivi would disagree. When setting the damage control line, if Aokiji had found her, Xia Qiu had intended for the destination to be the desert interior of Alabasta to fight Aokiji. However, Vivi disagreed, believing it would cause great harm to Alabasta, so they set it on Elvin Island.
When Aokiji arrives, Vivi will tell him that they will meet on Elvin Island. She will call him in front of Aokiji, arrange a time, and lead him there.
This is an agreement between Xia Qiu and Vivi.
Xia Qiu has never underestimated the Marines. With his indirect control over Baroque Works, even if they remained hidden, they would eventually attract attention.
Therefore, Xia Qiu had long planned what to do if the Marines arrived after he consumed a Vice Admiral.
The Marines' investigation would have several directions.
The most obvious one would naturally be Vivi. She is the only one who can connect all the events.
If she were captured, what would he do?
After discussing with her, Xia Qiu arranged for her to betray him to ensure her safety and simultaneously execute the next phase of the plan.
Depending on the interrogating officer, Vivi would provide different information.
If the main interrogator was a Vice Admiral or lower, Vivi would tell them that they needed to call in advance. She would directly request a meeting in front of them, and then Xia Qiu would tell them where to meet.
At that point, Xia Qiu would go directly there and fight the Vice Admiral, proving Vivi's words were true and killing the Vice Admiral.
If it were an Admiral, Vivi's response and the content of her phone call would vary depending on who it was.
For example, she would tell Aokiji to call and arrange to meet on Elvin Island.
But in reality, Vivi and Xia Qiu have never needed to call each other in advance. She always knew which island Xia Qiu was on, so why go through this unnecessary step?
This Elvin Island corresponds to Aokiji.
Furthermore, Tu Yan Island corresponds to Akainu, Green Leaf Island corresponds to Kizaru, and Oak Island corresponds to the CP Department.
These four islands, along with the island where a Vice Admiral appears, all refer to Island Four.
And they would be told that Heckle is the President, who has been closely monitoring Vivi. After cooperation is established, Cecilia would be sent to reveal her identity and proceed with the next stage of cooperation.
This would maximize Vivi's safety and simultaneously serve as a warning to Xia Qiu.
If it were Aokiji, Xia Qiu planned to try fighting him. With Ace present, combining his own abilities and reserves, he would test Aokiji's strength to make the act more convincing.
If it were Akainu or Kizaru, Xia Qiu and Heckle would not show themselves. They would leave directly, leaving behind information about Vivi's betrayal.
And if it were CP0, Xia Qiu would fight directly to rescue Vivi.
This is the agreement between Xia Qiu and Vivi.
However, Xia Qiu did not expect Aokiji to arrive so quickly, nor that his strength would be so overwhelming.
But the arrangements have taken effect.
Next, Aokiji will follow Vivi's description and dismantle Baroque Works' strongholds.
On Whiskey Peak, agents from several newly established islands, Island 1, Island 4, and Island 5.
They would discover the location of the headquarters on Island 1, which contained a warehouse, five hundred million Belly in cash, and some classified information, including the Sand-Sand Fruit's weakness to water, and Alabasta's drought plan, among other things.
On Island 5, they would find Dancing Powder. Combined with Alabasta's drought, it would be enough to make Alabasta a victim.
After all, the city of Aru-Ma was ruined by drought, and Baroque Works had assisted Alabasta in establishing its capital city.
This way, Alabasta could prove it was coerced for this reason, and Baroque Works would be exposed.
It was an organization that relied primarily on intelligence and conspiracy, with combat power from Giant Beasts and many strong individuals with bounties between one hundred million and two hundred million Belly. They were currently cooperating with Ace.
This was consistent with Baroque Works' previous actions.
They would eradicate Baroque Works and issue bounties for themselves: Heckle, Cecilia.
Xia Qiu could also avoid direct pursuit and take this opportunity to abandon Baroque Works.
He had long grown tired of the assassin work for Baroque Works. When he went to hunt Blackbeard, he had already stopped operations on Whiskey Peak.
Moreover, he had started transitioning long ago.
Even if Baroque Works was dismantled, he still had the Drum Kingdom controlled by Zala, Alken, and Mr. Christmas. The kingdom itself was not important, but the three of them were still quite useful.
Vivi would gain complete control of the casino, and the distributed funds would still belong to Xia Qiu, managed by Vivi.
The shops in Aru-Ma City, the security company, the club, and the shipping industry would still exist, many having been separated long ago.
This way, the remaining assets would become sound assets.
Then, Xia Qiu, Ace, and Heckle would completely divert the Marines' attention.
Baroque Works would completely disappear from public view, with only the three of them roaming outside.
As for Vivi, she was a key figure.
Xia Qiu wasn't worried about what she would do, not because he trusted her loyalty. They were never in a superior-subordinate relationship, only collaborators. Without loyalty, there could be no betrayal.
The main reason was that their relationship was too intertwined to be separated. Vivi had been involved in too many actions.
Vivi had already acted to capture CP9. If it were exposed, she would have no way to escape.
Also, the Drum Kingdom was suggested by Vivi for Xia Qiu to undertake, hoping to help the people of the Drum Kingdom. The Drum Kingdom was also moving in a better direction, and she wouldn't personally destroy this country.
For example, the location of the Vice Admirals was also information provided by Vivi.
The establishment of the intelligence system and the sharing of funds also involved Vivi's participation.
Regarding Pluton's location, Vivi already had information about the Poneglyph. If the information about Pluton in Alabasta were leaked, it would lead to a disastrous future for Alabasta.
Vivi and Baroque Works had become existences where one thrived, and one perished together.
Therefore, she wouldn't take risks to do anything superfluous.
After this incident, Vivi could also completely sever ties with Baroque Works and be safe.
All she needed to do was to 'betray' Xia Qiu.
Then, Xia Qiu would rendezvous with Ace, divert attention, and flee to other places, giving them a signal that he had moved.
Then, he would quietly return, hide, and study the Six Powers and Life Return until he succeeded, without showing himself.
Once he mastered these, he could begin his plans.
One year, two years.
At that time, he would reappear before the world.
Thinking this, Xia Qiu ran to the end of the frozen ocean, directly jumped into the sea, and swam towards the distance.
Oh, right, Vivi had one more task.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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