Chapter 368: Capturing Gaji
Of the four children of the Vinsmoke Family, all except Yonji had been captured.
Ichiji had drowned, Niji was scorched black all over, and Reiju had been taken down by Ian with a single slash. The victories had come quite easily.
When the three were captured and thrown onto Ian’s ship, Fujitora walked over, drew his staff sword, and applied gravity suppression on them, restraining them. Only then did he speak: “It feels a bit strange. Back on Travira Island, they were far more troublesome than this. Is it just my imagination?”
Ian glanced at Reiju but couldn’t answer Fujitora’s question. He too found it odd. On Travira Island, Reiju had used her poison ability, but this time, she hadn’t employed it at all.
Could it be that they were truly holding back? But if so, what were they planning?
Just then, Nico Robin walked over. She wasn’t wearing her cowboy hat, and a pair of sunglasses hung on her forehead above her bangs. Crossing her arms, she said to Ian, “I don’t know if you’ve read the story picture book in the World Economic Journal, but you should be very careful.”
“Oh? The World Economic Journal? What’s that?” Ian asked, puzzled.
“The World Economic News!” Robin explained. “Since I knew you were going to fight the Germa Group, I specifically looked up their information. In that newspaper, there was a serialized story picture book from a long time ago. It told the tale of the evil army Germa 66 battling the hero ‘Sora,’ who could walk on the sea. This story was supposedly based on the real experiences of Marine heroes. Although it always ended with the Marines’ victory, in almost every story, the evil army Germa 66 would push the hero Sora into desperate situations, displaying astonishing cunning. If this story truly reflects the Germa Group, then their strength might not be as simple as it appears on the surface.”
“You’re worried they might be plotting something?” Ian asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he looked at Robin.
“I’m just giving you a heads-up,” Robin said with a smile.
Ian nodded and fell silent. Robin’s warning was timely, making him more vigilant. However, in his plan, he had always intended to let the Germa people go.
Turning to Fujitora, Ian asked, “Still no movement from Aokiji behind us?”
“No, he’s been watching from a distance,” Fujitora replied, shaking his head.
Indeed, when Ian and his group set out to intercept Germa, Aokiji had followed them again. But this time, with Fujitora accompanying them, even though Aokiji kept his distance, Fujitora had detected him.
For those skilled in Observation Haki, when it reaches a high level, it develops unique traits. Fujitora’s Observation Haki was characterized by its immense breadth and scope. His perception range was so vast that it could even sense meteors in outer space. With such a massive range, Aokiji naturally couldn’t escape his detection.
Of course, while Fujitora’s Observation Haki was broad, it lacked fine detail. Similarly, just as there was this type of Observation Haki, there were also those with microscopic precision, those like Enel who could hear people’s thoughts, and those capable of “seeing the future.”
These were all manifestations of Observation Haki pushed to its limits.
Unfortunately for Aokiji, his lack of understanding of Fujitora had led to his exposure. Under these circumstances, Ian and his group learned that the Marines had sent Aokiji to monitor their actions as Warlords.
Let him monitor, Ian thought. He didn’t mind much. Even without Aokiji, their movements as Warlords were already exposed. Ian didn’t want to call him out or provoke a conflict that might cause unforeseen complications, so he let him follow. However, since Ian wasn’t sure what orders Sengoku had given Aokiji, and Germa was still a member of the World Government, the Marines might step in to protect them. That’s why Ian hadn’t let Fujitora join the fight earlier, keeping him on standby to deal with Aokiji. If Aokiji tried to stop their attack on Germa, Fujitora, who was also at Admiral level, could hold him off.
But now that the battle had reached this point and Aokiji still hadn’t moved, Ian felt relieved.
What Ian didn’t know was that while they were discussing Aokiji, Reiju, lying on the deck, had overheard their conversation.
Ian and Fujitora’s exchange was quiet, but the four Vinsmoke children were all enhanced humans, with sharp senses that needed no elaboration.
“Aokiji? One of the three Marine Admirals?” Reiju kept her eyes closed, unmoving, but inwardly she felt a surge of frustration. “Even a Marine Admiral can’t interfere. Father, what are you still planning?”
This was Ian’s first time fighting the Germa Group, so he didn’t know that the four Vinsmoke children not only had steel bodies but also incredible regenerative abilities. His slash on Reiju wasn’t fatal, only enough to incapacitate her. For others, such an injury might have rendered them immobile, but for Reiju, it wasn’t enough.
After lying still for a while, her wounds had already begun to heal.
The same was true for Ichiji and Niji. They had already regained their mobility but pretended to remain unconscious, not moving.
This was partly due to the gravity suppression Fujitora had placed on them and partly because their father, Gaji, had issued new combat orders through the headphones in their helmets.
They were just waiting for the right moment.
On the other side, Boa Hancock had led the Kuja Pirates to attack Germa’s snail ships.
Beneath the sea, the Fish-Man Pirates were coordinating the assault. Jinbe’s fish-man subordinates were occupying most of the Germa soldiers’ attention, using their immense strength to try to capsize the snail ships.
On land, this would have been impossible. A snail ship, with its shell structure and its own weight, was incredibly heavy. But here, on the sea, a group of a dozen fish-men could easily push these snails over.
Realizing this, the Germa soldiers on the snail ships’ shells desperately fired into the water to stop the fish-men.
This meant that when the Kuja Pirates boarded the snail ships, they faced far fewer soldiers.
The flagship of the Germa fleet was a massive black snail ship. Boa Hancock had spotted it immediately and, after boarding with her crew, encountered Gaji.
Gaji’s children were modified humans, but Gaji himself was not. Although he had undergone some Lineage Factor modifications, he wasn’t like his children, who were perfect products of Germa’s countless technologies from birth. In fact, Gaji was weaker than his children.
And his opponent now was the only female Warlord, the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock.
To make matters worse, Boa Hancock, disgusted by Gaji’s soldiers, had used her Conqueror’s Haki at the start of the battle, knocking them all unconscious.
This inadvertently prevented Gaji from using his “Wall” technique.
The “Wall” technique allowed the Vinsmoke family to have their soldiers take damage for them during attacks or defense. These modified soldiers, from the moment of their creation, were instilled with absolute loyalty to the Vinsmoke family. They would not hesitate to shield their masters, showing no emotion or hesitation.
Even knowing they would die, they wouldn’t waver.
This was yet another terrifying aspect of Germa’s technology.
But unfortunately for Gaji, he was up against Boa Hancock. Faced with her petrification ability, he had no way to counter it. After barely managing a dozen exchanges, Boa Hancock struck him in the right ribs with her Perfume Femur.
Once the petrification took effect, Gaji could only be captured obediently.