Chapter 218: You Can't Lie
In a courtyard decorated in the style of Roman nobility, a man wearing only shorts lay lazily on a beach chair, basking in the comfortable sunlight.
Beside him stood a triangular table with drinks placed on top.
In front of him, women in swimsuits played in the pool, splashing water and laughing softly. At a glance, it looked like the carefree life of an aristocratic playboy.
However, the man had no mood to enjoy the scenery.
Nor did he pay any attention to the alluring figures before him.
Contrary to the relaxed atmosphere around him, veins bulged faintly at his temples, clearly showing that his mood was far from peaceful.
The women in the pool immediately sensed the strange atmosphere.
Although they seemed to be playing without care, their attention had always been on the man who held their fate in his hands. Seeing his state, they quickly stopped and retreated to the side, not daring to make any unnecessary movements.
"Fufufufufu..."
A distinctive laugh escaped the man's lips.
It was malicious, scornful, and filled with contempt, as though the entire world was beneath him.
That unique laugh revealed his identity.
Doflamingo.
At this moment, he was laughing at the information relayed through the Den Den Mushi.
Yet the veins on his forehead betrayed the truth.
This laughter did not come from joy.
It came from anger.
After a long silence, words finally squeezed out from between Doflamingo's teeth.
"That brat... is quite interesting."
They sounded like words of praise.
But even the Den Den Mushi broke out in a cold sweat.
On the other end of the line, Vergo remained silent for a moment before asking, "Young Master, what should we do now? Should we really follow that kid's idea?"
"Fufufu... That's why I said the brat is interesting."
Doflamingo's smile widened.
"He dug up my escape route directly."
Originally, even if they found the culprit, if that person had truly grown to such an extent, Doflamingo would have chosen cooperation.
After all, killing him would not recover what had been lost.
Establishing a mutually beneficial relationship would have been better.
But now, that was impossible.
Once a thorn was lodged between both parties, even a partnership based purely on profit could no longer truly be established.
"Vergo," Doflamingo said, "your task is to find out who that culprit is."
"Understood. And after we find him?"
"Don't make a move yet."
Doflamingo's voice carried a dangerous smile.
"Tell him that brat sold his information to us."
He paused slightly.
"And tell him we know his identity as a slave."
Doflamingo placed particular emphasis on the word slave.
Because he knew very well how much those who had once been enslaved by the Celestial Dragons hated that word.
For those who had escaped, it was a scar they wished to hide until death.
"It seems peaceful days are about to be shattered again."
His laughter rang out once more.
"Fufufufu..."
...
At the facility responsible for training Marine recruits.
Axel stood off to the side, yawning lazily.
The sunlight was gentle, and the sea breeze was refreshing enough to make someone drowsy.
Besides, watching from the sidelines of the training ground was already boring to begin with.
Ever since he returned after meeting Vergo, Axel had been given this relaxed assignment.
There was no special training arranged for him, despite Zephyr's earlier intervention. It was as if that matter had been forgotten.
Axel was quite satisfied with this idle time.
Just then, a Marine jogged over, slightly out of breath.
"Captain Axel, First Class Seaman Ain and First Class Seaman Binz have returned."
"Got it," Axel replied casually.
The Marine did not dare show any dissatisfaction.
On the day Axel first arrived, everyone had been shocked by his officer rank.
As soldiers with some pride, they could not easily accept a child suddenly standing above them.
Naturally, someone had picked a fight right away, teasing him as a little runt.
Before anyone could react, the ones who dared mock him were already lying on the ground.
They were still in the infirmary now, their injuries unknown.
This Marine had no desire to be next.
"Is there anything else you require?" he asked, his demeanor almost like that of a hotel waiter patiently awaiting a tip.
"You supervise them," Axel said. "I'm leaving."
"..."
The Marine wanted to ask if they could switch tasks.
After all, he lacked the authority to make these recruits obey him.
But when Axel patted his shoulder firmly a few times, he swallowed those words back down.
Axel left soon after and found Ain and the others before long.
At that moment, the two were maintaining their weapons.
This was the first thing they did every time they returned.
They believed that only by treating their weapons seriously would their weapons respond in kind.
Only then could they take their own lives seriously on the battlefield.
"What are you doing here?"
Ain and Binz both exclaimed in surprise when they saw Axel.
They had been away on a mission and did not know he had arrived here.
They had assumed Axel was still with Instructor Zephyr and had not expected him to appear in this place.
This was Vergo's territory.
Unless someone outranked him, no one could enter without his permission.
And in Marineford, only a handful of people held higher positions than Vergo.
Axel clearly was not among them.
"You can come, but I can't?" Axel retorted.
Then he looked at them.
"And did you come here because of my reaction earlier?"
Binz froze, unsure how to explain.
Seeing his awkwardness, Ain spoke first.
"Binz, you go back first. I'll talk to him."
Binz nodded.
He gathered his weapons and tools, then turned and left.
"This was my idea," Ain said. "You know how straightforward Binz is."
"Why come here?"
"Because your reaction suggested something was wrong with Vice Admiral Vergo," Ain said. "As Marines, it's our duty to investigate."
"Then you guessed wrong."
Axel's expression did not change.
"There's nothing wrong with Vergo. Otherwise, with your mediocre skills, how could you have gone unnoticed?"
He spoke naturally, without the slightest hesitation.
"My strange reaction last time was only because I admire his reputation."
Axel lied without blinking.
Contrary to how he usually seemed, he was actually quite skilled at lying.
Many times, he had no choice but to lie.
He had navigated countless crises through deception, and he had long since grown accustomed to using his ability to perfectly control his body, finely adjusting his expressions to support his lies.
"You really can't lie."
Ain's voice was soft.
She looked at Axel as if she were looking at a fool.
"Don't you realize? When you tell the truth, you're actually easy to fluster."
Her gaze stayed on him.
"Only when you lie does your expression become natural."
She paused.
"And right now, it's obvious you're lying."
To be honest, Ain did not like seeing Axel lie.
In those moments, his expression was not merely natural.
It felt unfamiliar.
Distant.
She hated that feeling.
Hah.
So that's the reason.
Being too natural made it unnatural?
Axel pondered this.
It was somewhat ironic.
The only one who could see through his lies was a little girl.
People often said children possessed a window of sincerity, one through which they could see the simplest truths of the world.
Ain's simple observation had exposed the flaw in his lie, leaving him with no way to cover it up.
"So tell me the truth," Ain said.
She looked at Axel with hopeful anticipation, wanting to hear the real answer from him.
"If you don't, Binz and I will keep investigating."
Her voice became firm.
"It's our responsibility as Marines."
.....
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