"I… honestly, I don't even know what to say."
Inside an Admiral's office at Marine Headquarters, Kizaru tapped his fingers against the desk, his brows tightly furrowed as he hurriedly relayed the news he had just uncovered to Aokiji over the Den Den Mushi.
"The concert in Water 7 has been designated by Sakazuki as an operation to capture 'Pink Cain'!"
"WHAT?!"
Cold air burst from Aokiji's body on instinct.
His brows drew together as he shouted angrily.
"DID I DAMAGE THAT BASTARD'S BRAIN DURING OUR FIGHT?! IF A BATTLE BREAKS OUT IN A PLACE PACKED WITH THAT MANY PEOPLE, HOW MANY INNOCENT CIVILIANS WILL DIE? HAS HE NOT EVEN CONSIDERED THAT?!"
Aokiji could not understand Sakazuki's madness.
Or rather, he had never understood that extreme form of "justice" that treated human life as disposable.
"It's no use. I already tried talking him out of it, and it didn't help at all," Kizaru said with a helpless sigh.
"He said that if all he did was fight you, win an internal dispute, and take the Fleet Admiral's position through the Marines weakening themselves, then he'd rather not have it."
"He wants to capture a pirate with a bounty above one billion Beli by himself and use a real achievement to pave his road to becoming Fleet Admiral."
"And Cain is the target he chose."
"I seriously don't understand it. He already knows Cain's true identity, so how can he still do something this extreme—"
Before Kizaru could finish, someone lightly tapped the back of his neck.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Vice Admiral Tsuru standing behind him with her arms folded and a calm expression.
His face changed slightly, and he hurriedly lowered his voice toward the Den Den Mushi.
"Hold on a moment over there…"
The receiver was covered the next second, leaving only muffled sounds.
On Aokiji's side, frost had already spread across the floor beneath his feet.
Sharp spikes of ice covered the ground and nearly reached the Going Merry.
The surrounding air had grown so cold that tiny wisps of white mist condensed within it.
Rage churned inside Aokiji, overlapping with the burning ruins of Ohara and the cannon fire that had filled its skies.
Akainu had been like this long ago.
Now he was an Admiral and was about to inherit the position of Fleet Admiral, yet he had not changed at all.
Aokiji had believed that Sengoku's words that day—about Marine justice, and about the burden and responsibility of becoming Fleet Admiral—might have tempered at least some of Sakazuki's extremism.
They had clearly agreed to make the Marines better.
They had agreed that protecting civilians was a line they could never cross.
So why?
Why did Sakazuki insist on using innocent lives as stepping stones on his path to the Fleet Admiral's seat?
Before Aokiji could suppress the anger surging through him, the Den Den Mushi in his hand suddenly jerked violently.
Kizaru's voice exploded from it, filled with rare disbelief and panic.
Aokiji's fingers loosened, nearly dropping the snail.
"HELLO? KUZAN? ARE YOU STILL LISTENING?!"
"VICE ADMIRAL TSURU JUST TOLD ME PRIVATELY THAT EVEN FLEET ADMIRAL SENGOKU APPROVED SAKAZUKI'S OPERATION! WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THIS WORLD?!"
"HELLO? KUZAN? ARE YOU THERE?!"
…
Aokiji was burning with fury over Akainu's actions.
But was the truth really what he believed?
At that moment, inside the Fleet Admiral's office at Marine Headquarters, Vice Admiral Tsuru entered after giving Kizaru those instructions.
Sengoku and Akainu were standing side by side, gazing through the window.
Tsuru looked at them gravely.
"Are you sure it's all right to keep Kuzan and Borsalino in the dark like this?"
"You've probably noticed it too, Tsuru," Sengoku said slowly, his voice carrying unmistakable helplessness.
"Kuzan may not say anything aloud, but he can no longer hide what he's thinking. He has probably already begun considering leaving the Marines."
"We found a resignation letter he wrote some time ago in his office. He hasn't submitted it yet, but the fact that it exists already tells us far too much."
Once Sengoku finished, Akainu spoke in a low voice.
"In his current condition, he can no longer properly fulfill the duties of a Marine Admiral."
"More importantly, once I become Fleet Admiral and launch the World Military Draft, the Marines will undergo a complete restructuring."
"If he still has this state of mind by then, there won't be a place for him anymore, no matter how much the Marines expand."
In truth, Cain had never been the real target of this operation.
The supposed plan to capture Pink Cain was merely a cover.
Their actual objective was to eliminate the pirates gathering in Water 7 from every corner of the sea for Uta's concert.
They had already contacted Mayor Iceburg and specifically arranged for the concert venue to be divided into separate sections.
On the day of the concert, there would be two independent stages.
One would be the main stage for the normal performance.
Aokiji would personally guard it, guaranteeing the safety of every ordinary civilian present.
The other would be a trap stage created specifically for pirates, and it would serve as the central battlefield for Akainu's purge.
As for how they would separate the pirates from ordinary citizens, the Marines had already prepared a complete screening plan.
All they needed was Mayor Iceburg's cooperation and permission.
The reason they had hidden the truth from Kuzan was that Akainu intended to use this operation to tear down his old state of mind and force him to rebuild himself.
He wanted to make Kuzan rediscover his passion for justice and reignite the spirit of justice that had long grown lazy and numb.
Through this operation, Akainu wanted Aokiji to see one thing clearly:
Even Sakazuki would fight with everything he had to protect civilians.
And if Kuzan still failed to rediscover his justice in the end, that was fine too.
The man had already written his resignation letter.
If it truly came to that, they could simply push him over to Cain's side and have him serve as the liaison between the Marines and that pink brat.
Sakazuki genuinely had no desire to deal with Cain himself.
This awkward arrangement concealed concern that Akainu could never bring himself to say aloud.
It was the only concession, compromise, and understanding he could offer the longtime rival and brother who had stood beside him for so many years.
Tsuru naturally understood his intentions, but one question still bothered her.
"Then why are you keeping Borsalino in the dark too?"
"Hmph."
Akainu snorted and turned his head away without answering.
Seeing that, Sengoku immediately smiled with interest.
"You don't have to say it. I can guess."
"It's because Borsalino learned Cain's true identity before either of you, and that annoyed you. So you decided to use this opportunity to get a little revenge, didn't you?"
"I understand. Garp and I pulled stunts like that plenty of times when we were younger, hahaha."
"But you're about to become Fleet Admiral. You should really rein in that childish side of yours."
Akainu's ears grew slightly warm.
Embarrassed, he tugged the brim of his cap lower and muttered.
"Good grief."
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