Cursed Seas and Slashing Tides

"Wonder where Ryomen is..." Nami mumbled in worry as the crew waved to Tonji and Sherry, who were leaving on the frozen sea.

"I'm sure he's fine." Usopp scoffed.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked, noticing his unusual tone.

"Nothing. Better said, what's wrong with him? Didn't even come back to see if we're alright."

"I'm sure there's a reason." She insisted.

"Oh, there is." Aokiji, who was lazily sitting on the ground, interjected.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Zoro asked, his expression guarded as the Straw Hats shifted into a wary stance.

"I trapped him in ice." Aokiji replied plainly. "Seemed troublesome if he got involved."

"What!? I thought you were alright!" Luffy shouted, anger rising in his voice.

Aokiji scratched his head, ignoring Luffy's outburst. "I only came here for Nico Robin, but now I think...all of you should die here and now."

The crew tensed, immediately readying for a fight.

"Although your numbers are small, it's clear you'll become a problem later on."

"H-Hey! I thought you came for a walk!" Usopp stammered, his voice tinged with fear.

"And one of the reasons...is you, Nico Robin."

"So you did come after her!!" Luffy shouted.

"With your cunning, you survived in the underworld…and now you've hidden yourself in this crew."

"Hey! I don't like what you're saying! Just what do you have against Robin!?" Sanji demanded.

"I have nothing against her. You'll find out soon enough just how troublesome she is."

"And as proof, every group she has been with until now…has been destroyed. I wonder why, Nico Robin?" Aokiji's gaze was sharp, unyielding.

Robin stayed silent, staring at him in dread.

"Cut it out! We don't care about her past!" Luffy shouted back, his voice firm.

"I see, you've managed to get close to them." Aokiji muttered, unimpressed.

"What are you trying to say!? If you want to capture me, just do it!!" Robin shouted back, launching her attack.

"Trienta Fleurs!" Dozens of arms appeared around Aokiji, holding him in place.

"Oh my...perhaps I said too much. I thought you'd be a little wiser."

"Clutch!" The arms twisted his back with a sickening snap—only for Aokiji's body to crack into ice.

"He's dead!!" Chopper cried, his voice shaking.

But as they watched, the admiral's icy body pulled back together.

"That wasn't very nice." He said, plucking a few blades of grass from the ground and forming an ice sword.

"I had no intention of taking your life." He said, swinging the blade toward Robin.

Robin froze in terror, watching the sword close in, unable to dodge.

"Cursed Dismantle!" The sword shattered mid-air, causing everyone to turn toward the voice.

"Ryomen!" Nami and Luffy exclaimed with relief.

"Hm? I told you to stay–" Before Aokiji could finish, Ryomen lunged forward, his fist connecting with the admiral's face.

"You…have Armament Haki?" Aokiji questioned, his head barely moving from the impact.

"Leave her alone." Ryomen said coldly, ignoring the question.

"Haa...I can't do that. You're becoming more dangerous with each passing second." Aokiji replied, his expression darkening.

"Gomu-Gomu no...Bullet!!"

"Onigiri!"

"Collier!"

Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji charged in with their own attacks, but Aokiji barely flinched, the blows leaving no mark on him.

Then, before they could react, Aokiji's touch left their hands and feet encased in ice.

"He froze them!!" Chopper gasped, wide-eyed.

"He got all three of them at once!" Nami whispered, disbelief in her voice.

"Damn you!" Ryomen growled, charging again—only for Aokiji to kick him back, sending him skidding across the ice.

Ignoring Ryomen, Aokiji continued his steady march toward Robin.

"You've got some good friends...but you're still yourself, Nico Robin."

"You're wrong…I have–" Before she could finish, Aokiji's hand touched her shoulder, frost quickly spreading over her body.

"Robin!!" The crew cried out in alarm.

"Relax...if you throw her carefully, she'll be fine. But if she breaks apart, she'll die." Aokiji said, raising his hand higher. "Like if I were to, let's say, strike her like this…"

Just as his hand descended, Ryomen suddenly appeared, grabbing the frozen Robin with one hand, while with the other—

"Cursed Cleave!" Aokiji's leg buckled, a fresh wound opening as he recoiled in surprise, his leg cracking beneath him.

'This strange energy...It can't be part of his Devil Fruit…' Aokiji thought, suspicion flickering across his face. He quickly shook off the thought, focusing on his task.

"I suppose you'd be the one feeling the closest to her." He said, raising his uninjured foot to strike, but Ryomen had already thrown Robin toward Luffy, taking the impact of Aokiji's stomp on his own chest.

"Aaah!!" Ryomen gasped, the air forced from his lungs.

"We won't let you hurt her!!" Luffy shouted, defiance in his voice.

Aokiji narrowed his eyes, sending an ice spike hurtling toward him, only for Usopp to grab Robin midair and pull her away.

Luffy fell, clutching his chest where the ice spike had struck, blood starting to seep from the wound.

"Usopp! Chopper! Get back to the ship! Start thawing Robin!" Luffy ordered, determination in his voice.

"A-Alright!!" They replied, scrambling to carry Robin to safety.

"For God's sake, don't waste your lives on a woman like her." Aokiji said coldly.

Before he could advance, Nami attacked with her staff, Aokiji easily blocking.

"Thanks for the suggestion, but no thanks." Nami shot back, her confidence unwavering. "The pirate world's supposed to be filled with women like her."

"Stand aside, little missy." Aokiji scoffed, grabbing her staff to strike—only for the weapon to slide off of her body.

His brows furrowed. "Another Devil Fruit user? Why do only three of you have bounties?" He muttered.

"I'm too beautiful to be wanted." She replied with a smirk.

"This is why I hate low-level pirates." He sighed, his tone cold. "You all think you're invincible."

Nami's eyes widened as his fist came down, too fast to dodge.

"Rend!" Just before Aokiji's attack landed, he suddenly staggered as pain flared through his injured leg. Nami slipped out of harm's way, eyes wide with relief.

"What?" Aokiji looked down at his leg, the initial slash now extending, bleeding further. His gaze turned to Ryomen, who fell unconscious from the effort.

'I thought the old heads were exaggerating…but this kid…is truly dangerous.' Aokiji thought darkly.

Sanji and Zoro flanked him, only for Luffy to stop them.

"Wait, you two! Don't fight him! I want to do it alone! Take Ryomen back; he's after him!" He ordered, and they nodded, grabbing Ryomen.

"Let's settle this, one on one!" Luffy challenged, taking a stance.

"Fine by me." Aokiji said with a shrug. "But be warned...this will be a fight to the death."

…

Later, at the Merry.

"You left him alone!?" Ryomen exclaimed as he regained consciousness.

"He said he wanted to go one-on-one with Aokiji." Sanji replied.

"So you just left him!? How can you be so cruel? Or were you scared!?" Usopp shouted, tension building.

"It was the Captain's orders…" Sanji gritted his teeth.

"Stop it, you two!" Ryomen intervened, his voice urgent. "I'm going back—are you coming or not?" He added, pushing past the argument.

…

"I'll remind you again, you all…will find that woman to be more than you can handle." Aokiji warned, his gaze fixed on a frozen Luffy.

"She was born with a brutal personality. You can't change that." He looked at Luffy with a calm intensity in his eyes. "Your crew…will soon fall apart."

Turning to leave, he added. "You took care of Crocodile, so I'll let you live…for now." A pause, then a faint smile. "And…No, nevermind about Smoker's silly message. See you later."

With that, Admiral Aokiji vanished.

"Luffy!" Ryomen shouted in worry, rushing to his captain.

"He isn't dead!" Zoro reassured him quickly.

"Thank goodness!" Sanji exhaled in relief.

"You guys, grab his legs." Ryomen instructed, already kneeling to help lift Luffy.

"Now, let's take him back!" Zoro said, urgency in his voice.

"Hurry up!" Sanji agreed, a hint of annoyance at Zoro's tone.

"You're lucky…for now " Zoro muttered.

"Oh, shut up and walk!" Sanji scoffed.

"Keep it down, you two." Ryomen warned, irritation creeping into his voice.

…

They soon reached the Merry, waiting anxiously as Chopper checked on Luffy and Robin. Moments later, the doctor emerged, his eyes wet with tears, putting everyone on edge.

"Both of their hearts…are beating!!"

"Yes! Haha!" Nami shouted, her relief palpable.

"Why did you have to scare me like that!?" Ryomen asked, grabbing Chopper in a relieved hug.

"Luffy!"

"Robin-chan!"

Usopp and Sanji tried to rush in, only to be stopped by Zoro.

"You idiots, leave them to rest."

Sanji rolled his eyes but relented, heading toward the kitchen to prepare something warm for the patients, while Nami inspected the condition of the ship.

"The ship's fine, but we should stay for the night so they can recover." Nami reported.

"Here, Doctor Chopper!" Sanji called, coming out with two warm drinks.

"D-Doctor!? Don't try to flatter me, jerk!" Chopper stammered, a blush creeping over his face.

Usopp slumped against the mast, worn out from the day's events.

Ryomen cleared his throat, his expression uncomfortable. "Um…I wanted to apologize for not being able to help when Aokiji came after you all." His eyes fell slightly.

"It's fine, we know he trapped you in ice. And you came when it mattered." Nami reassured him with a soft smile.

Ryomen nodded. "Right…" He glanced around, an awkward silence settling. "So,uh…what happened with Foxy and his crew?" He asked, wincing a bit at the topic.

"They left." Usopp shrugged. "We won…not that you helped, of course." He added with a scoff.

An uneasy silence followed.

Ryomen stared at Usopp, his expression darkening, though he said nothing. Usopp swallowed but held his ground.

The others felt the tension thickening until Ryomen finally spoke, his voice low. "You're right…I'm sorry." Without another word, he turned and went below deck, leaving the others to process what had happened.

"I…shouldn't have said that." Usopp murmured, his voice tinged with regret.

"Yeah…" Nami replied softly, her gaze lingering where Ryomen had disappeared.

"We're all under a lot of pressure. Tomorrow, things will look better." Chopper said, trying to reassure them.

"I guess so. After dealing with Foxy and then Aokiji, my head's just all over the place." Usopp sighed. "But still…that was terrifying! I thought he might charge at me any second!"

"Your mind's just playing tricks. He's…under a lot of strain." Nami replied.

"I'll go prepare dinner. That'll help everyone get back on track." Sanji said, heading toward the kitchen.

"Good idea. We should all get some rest. It's been…one hell of a day." Zoro added, sharing a look with Sanji. Both seemed lost in thought, recalling Ryomen's words on Skypiea.