Two days later.
When the Beast God Pirates spread the news of their newly formed Ten Armies, the entire world was shaken.
"That arrogant Bullett actually joined Caesar's ranks? Ever since Roger's death, hasn't he been claiming he would become the world's strongest on his own? What happened to his pride?"
Akainu had two cigars in his mouth, imitating Smoker's habit.
Thick smoke filled the office, making it as hazy as the misty seas.
Anyone entering would feel like they had stepped into a foggy zone.
His eyes were dark and sunken, as if he had been punched twice.
In reality, no one dared to hit the hot-tempered Marine Fleet Admiral.
Akainu's dark circles were the result of his own sleepless nights.
Ever since Caesar, on behalf of the Beast God Pirates, declared war on the Marines, Akainu had not closed his eyes.
Deploying forces worldwide, assigning combat zones, deciding battle strategies, and arranging war equipment had kept him overwhelmingly busy.
In the office, only Kizaru sat leisurely on the sofa, legs crossed, holding a newspaper in his hand.
"Shiki defeat him, Caesar didn't even lift a finger. Perhaps this made that arrogant bastard Bullett realize the gap between himself and the strongest.
Just like when he joined the Roger Pirates back in the day - after failing to defeat Roger, he decided to join them instead.
For pirates, pride and reputation are all bullshit. Do you really think they care about those things?
By the way, the higher-ups have been pressing us to go to Tottoland and rescue those two Celestial Dragons."
"We got no time!"
Akainu viciously threw the cigar from his mouth onto the ground, stomping on it heavily with his foot until it was crushed to pieces.
"Celestial Dragons - a bunch of useless parasites with shit for brains. I can't understand why the world is controlled by such trash. And they've been ruling for over eight hundred years!"
Akainu's face showed clear frustration.
Kizaru slowly put down his newspaper, glanced at the angry Akainu, and chuckled lightly.
"Ohhh, Sakazuki, you'd better not let the Gorosei hear you say that. Otherwise, you'll be in for some trouble."
"Not all Celestial Dragons are worthless, at least the Gorosei and their clans aren't. How could they rule this vast world for so long without some talent?"
"Most importantly, they possess decisive military power, right? As the highest commander of the science division, I know exactly how terrifying the weapons developed at the pinnacle of science can be. The current Seraphim units each cost ten times more than a Pacifista."
"Combining Germa's cloning technology, Demon God genetic modification technology, biochemical weapon technology, mechanical technology, and artificial Devil Fruit technology - their combat power, even individually, is no less than that of an average Seven Warlord."
Akainu rubbed his stiff cheeks and plopped down beside Kizaru.
"What are you trying to say? That mysterious Uranus? What exactly is that thing? We haven't learned anything about it all these years. By the way, what do you think about what Caesar said about there being some king called Imu above the Celestial Dragons?"
Kizaru replied in his usual unflappable tone.
"The Celestial Dragons practice hereditary rule, so having a common king is quite normal. Nothing surprising about that."
"However, since they have a king, that so-called Empty Throne must be the seat of this mysterious king - possibly the result of the eternal youth operation - who has lived for thousands of years."
"Then the so-called Uranus weapon must undoubtedly be in this person's hands!"
As they were speaking.
"Pururu pururu pururu pururu"
The Den Den Mushi in Kizaru's pocket suddenly rang.
He took it out and saw it was a blue Den Den Mushi.
Kizaru didn't answer, instead looking at Akainu beside him.
"The Gorosei are calling again."
"Don't answer! I've said it ten thousand times, we need to prepare for the upcoming war and have no time to deal with those two idi..."
Before Akainu could finish, he saw Kizaru answer the call and quickly swallowed his last word, his face turning red with frustration.
Sure enough, as soon as the call connected, the angry questioning of the Gorosei came through:
"Sakazuki! How dare you! Have you grown too arrogant to even show respect to the World Government? We ordered you to rescue Roswald and Charlos, but you keep making excuses, claiming you're not at Marine Headquarters!"
"I already asked Black Horse, and he said you've been at G-1 base this whole time!"
Akainu's brows instantly furrowed into a deep crease, inwardly cursing Black Horse for leaking his whereabouts at G-1 - what an utter bastard.
After listening to the Gorosei's furious tirade for a while with an amused chuckle, Kizaru suddenly spoke up leisurely.
"Sakazuki, should I make a trip there?"
"Absolutely not!"
Akainu rejected it sternly without a second thought.
What a joke - Tottoland couldn't even be called a dragon's den or tiger's cave anymore.
It was literally a hellish demon's lair!
With over ten top-tier combatants, any single one of them could hold their own against a Marine Admiral.
Maybe a few were slightly weaker.
But the powerful ones, especially Golden Lion and Caesar - if a Marine Admiral faced them alone, they'd likely be defeated with terrifying speed.
"That's truly troublesome. Speaking of which, I was hoping to get the rewards from this world tournament, Sakazuki. Look here - the total prize pool exceeds 50 billion Berries, that's an enormous amount.
Are pirates really this wealthy? It almost makes me not want to be an Admiral anymore. Why don't we just resign from our positions and become pirates in the New World?"
Kizaru muttered oddly to himself, ignoring the ongoing nagging from the Den Den Mushi as he directly hung up.
Akainu snapped irritably. "Borsalino, stop joking around!"
As he spoke, he stood up, his large Justice cloak sweeping behind him.
"Let's go! While Tottoland is occupied with that tournament, we'll find Blackbeard and have him transfer some usable Devil Fruits for us."
Kizaru slowly rose, placing the black top hat from the sofa onto his head.
"I wonder if Aramaki successfully captured that Barrier Pirate. Ah, right, I forgot to mention - yesterday the Gorosei proposed a condition."
"They found Eustass Kid's Magnet-Magnet Fruit, quite a remarkable ability. The Gorosei said they'd deliver the Magnet-Magnet Fruit if we can rescue those two idiots."
Akainu didn't even turn back.
"Have them send it over first, then I'll go save them."
"Yare yare, would you really go save them, Sakazuki?"
"Nonsense! I'm the World Government's number one attack dog. How could I stand idly by when my masters are in trouble? Saving people is naturally my duty!"
"I heard Caesar plans to execute those two fools via worldwide broadcast."
"What? Why didn't you say so earlier! Damn it, I haven't prepared my popcorn, ale, and senbei yet!"
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