Aokiji strolled across the surface of the river.
Ice spread outward with every step he took.
He bent down and scooped up a kitten struggling in the water.
He stepped onto the bank and tossed the cat to the kid who had been wailing moments ago and was now staring in stunned silence.
The progress bar crept up a tiny bit.
Aokiji flicked the water from his hands.
"Tch... no idea where Black Sperm is, or if Phoenix Man is still human and working some part-time job somewhere."
Among these memories, the Monsters strong enough and resilient enough to recover quickly—
none of them have shown up.
The large criminal organizations have all been wiped out by Flash.
The Monster-producing-Monsters plan is out of raw Materials.
How full does this progress bar have to be?
His bar was already close to half—pretty efficient.
But from here on, he'll keep unlocking more character templates and grinding one ideal-based progress bar after another.
And [Justice] is almost every Marine powerhouse's shared ideal.
(Note: don't get the wrong idea—mass-producing Monsters isn't about letting them loose to wreak havoc or converting humans; it's turning pests like cockroaches into Monsters to farm the bar.)
Once he can mass-produce Monsters,
the time needed for every future Marine template bar will be slashed.
Before Dragon-level Monsters start spawning in bulk, Aokiji will have gained more templates and greater battle power.
Someone tugged lightly at his clothes.
Aokiji looked down; the little boy hugging the drenched cat raised a hand.
"Mister, thanks for saving Little Black—here's a candy for you."
"Stay away from the river from now on." Aokiji took the sweet. "Off you go."
The boy ran off in a chaotic bundle of limbs and fur.
Aokiji squeezed the cheap toffee in his fingers.
Even though the main goal was to max the bar,
being thanked still felt good.
"Brrring-brrring-brrring—"
"Click—cha!"
"Moshi-moshi, what's up, Sitch? A Monster appeared?"
"Yes, Mr. Aokiji!"
In the operations room, Sitch stared at the array of monitors.
He relayed over the phone:
"It's a Demon Level Monster. The nearby heroes have been taken down; only one is still holding out. Location sent to your phone—please head over!"
"Roaring Slugger!!"
The bat blurred into after-images!
Under the barrage, the three-storey Vengeful Chicken caved in chunk after chunk.
Blood and flesh sprayed; the scene was brutal.
Snake Fist Sneck, his suit shredded and clutching his stomach, leaned against a half-collapsed wall, face ashen.
Around him, several other heroes who'd come to help lay defeated and immobile.
"No good... we just can't finish this thing off completely..."
Snake Fist Sneck coughed up blood.
When they'd arrived,
the delinquent swinging the bat was already pounding the Monster senseless,
so they'd assumed the oversized chicken would be easy pickings.
Instead, the shockwaves had effortlessly put them down for good.
And even if the Monster was mashed into paste,
a swirl of black mist would knit it whole again—
practically immortal.
"A Monster like this... no single person can beat it..."
Sneck thought of the hottest name in the Association, the inhuman prodigy he'd seen with his own eyes—Aokiji.
If the Association would just send him,
and they could pin the Monster down, maybe Aokiji could Seal it!
The bat-wielding kid was badly injured too, running on pure Aura now... Show some Senior spirit, damn it!!
Snake Fist Sneck pushed against the wall and stood, trembling.
Just as he prepared to drag his broken body back into the fight,
two sets of footsteps approached.
"Brother's such an idiot— I only scraped my knee coming down, and he's ignoring everything to keep smashing that chicken... Monster!"
It was a little girl's worried voice.
A lazy voice answered: "Idiots have idiot methods; at least your brother's keeping the destruction from spreading."
"Aokiji...?"
Sneck's confidence lifted when he saw who it was.
He staggered over.
"The Association finally sent you!" Sneck laid out his plan.
"I'll team up with that kid to buy you time—use your Psychic Power to hold the Monster..."
"Hold on, why bring a little girl onto a battlefield?!"
Looking at Sneck, blood oozing everywhere,
Aokiji said instinctively:
"You're practically shedding your skin—lie down."
"I practice Snake Fist, I'm not an actual Snake—how would I shed skin!"
The outburst sent more blood spurting.
"Stop joking—this thing's insanely strong, even you..."
"Zenko, look after this uncle."
Aokiji walked off, done listening.
Sneck tried to follow,
to talk Aokiji into his plan.
Zenko hopped up and chopped the back of his neck.
"Just like my idiot brother—when you're hurt, rest!"
Bang—
Sneck hit the ground.
Boom—!!!
The chicken's head exploded!
"Damn Monster! No matter how many times you revive, I'll smash you!!"
Metal Bat roared.
He gripped the bat, power building, ready to strike the instant the Monster re-formed.
But when Vengeful Chicken's head burst,
it didn't topple over to regenerate!
The headless body kept moving, wings spreading as it lunged!
Metal Bat couldn't react in time and was sent flying!
Ice spears shot out, forming a wide looping slide.
Metal Bat spun along it several times, shedding the impact before landing.
"I'll take over—go protect your sister."
White frost bled from his arm, elements gathering around his fist, reinforced by fierce Armament Haki.
The Ice-Ice Fruit's power fused with the martial arts learned from Garp—
Aokiji's close-combat Move developed specially for him: Ice Gauntlet!!
Air split as Aokiji flashed above the Monster!
The oversized chicken, wreathed in smoke-like grudge, was still regrowing its head.
It never noticed him—
then the plummeting impact!!
Most of Vengeful Chicken's massive body melted away instantly!
The shockwave flipped huge slabs of pavement.
"Bwaaak—!!!"
The Monster shrieked in pain.
Metal Bat, dizzy from the loop,
whacked his own head with the bat to clear it.
Only then did he realize
the creature that had shrugged off every swing he'd thrown
was now writhing in the crater, half gone.
An attack that could actually hurt it!
So why the hell hadn't his worked??
Aokiji stepped onto what remained of Vengeful Chicken.
The black grudge mist still tried to knit the body together; another punch put a stop to that.
Soul, element—both took damage.
A little resentment meant nothing.
Armament Haki—worth every bit.
...
(Throw some stones)