Cain had been on full alert, ready to meet Akainu's attack at any moment.
After all, Aokiji had already told him that he was the target of Akainu's operation. Cain absolutely could not allow Akainu to interfere with Uta's concert.
And so, Cain waited.
Then waited some more.
He waited until the sun crossed from east to west, yet there was still no sign of Akainu anywhere!
Cain could not help wondering whether the man had somehow gotten lost.
Then he spotted a figure rapidly approaching across the sea below on a bicycle, with Yasopp sitting on the back and shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Faster! Go faster!"
…
Several hours earlier.
On the island where the pirates had gathered, the roof above the venue slowly closed until the entire interior fell into darkness.
Arguments and restless shouting immediately erupted throughout the stands.
Then the lights overhead began flashing wildly.
The stage platform rose into the air in an eerie fashion, while every spotlight converged upon the center.
Yet the song everyone expected never began.
Suddenly, every light in the venue went out.
The next instant, a blinding crimson glow erupted.
A towering pillar of fire surged into the sky, bathing the entire venue in blood-red light.
Many of the pirates were already growing restless, but Aokiji instantly flashed among them and froze their feet to the ground, preventing them from moving.
He then turned toward the center of the stage, filled with confusion.
'Why hasn't the singing started?'
More importantly, that was not a pillar of fire.
It was magma.
After fighting Sakazuki on Punk Hazard for ten days and ten nights, Aokiji could recognize that molten heat in his bones.
His pupils contracted sharply as alarm bells exploded in his mind.
Freezing air burst beneath his feet, and ice raced across the stage as he stepped into the center.
The moment he landed, a furious roar carrying a scorching wave of heat struck his ears.
"Great Eruption!"
Aokiji's expression changed.
He had never expected Akainu to actually be hiding here, much less open with a killing blow.
There was no time to think. Freezing air erupted around him as his right arm transformed into a massive ice bird and charged forward.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
Extreme cold and violent magma collided with a deafening explosion.
White steam surged into the air, while the shock wave blasted upward and tore a massive hole through the venue's ceiling.
Broken steel and chunks of rubble rained down, sending the pirates below screaming and scattering in every direction.
The entire venue descended into chaos.
Once the pirates saw that the two figures onstage were Marine Admirals, they immediately tried to escape.
Akainu had no intention of allowing that.
He surged out from the pillar of magma, molten rock spraying outward with his movements.
It spread across the ceiling and continued expanding in every direction, forming an enormous inverted bowl of magma over the venue.
At the same time, he shouted toward Aokiji,
"Kuzan, do you still not understand?! Everything I'm doing is for the Marines! These pirates must be arrested!"
Akainu could not understand Aokiji's behavior.
A Marine soldier stationed here was supposed to have already explained the operation to him.
If the two of them joined forces now, the future Fleet Admiral and a current Admiral capturing so many pirates together would provide a massive boost to Marine morale.
So what was happening?
Did Kuzan truly know nothing?
He did not.
Every person filling the stands carried a bounty. There was not a single civilian among them.
Despite all his confusion, Akainu still explained his true intentions.
"Kuzan, Marines arresting pirates is only natural. These cancers threatening order deserve to be captured—or even executed."
"The Marines have already copied Whitebeard's strategy and stationed coated warships around this entire island."
"They remained underwater until now, but every ship has already surfaced and deployed its forces. We can capture all these pirates in one operation."
"So join me, Kuzan."
It was Akainu through and through.
He could not say a single gentle word.
Instead, his explanation only made Aokiji even angrier.
That indifferent expression, combined with the strange confidence with which Akainu invited him to participate, sent Aokiji's fury straight through the roof.
He failed to notice any of the obvious inconsistencies and charged forward with his fist raised.
The misunderstanding between them instantly exploded into open conflict.
As for why Aokiji had failed to notice anything unusual, the reasons were simple.
First, Cain had told him about Uta's ability, and Aokiji believed it was more than enough to guarantee everyone's safety.
Second, countless minor matters had kept him too occupied to investigate the surrounding area carefully. Cain had also repeatedly promised that the performance would satisfy him, so Aokiji had never bothered to inspect the venue in detail.
With each side holding incomplete information, he simply assumed that more pirates than expected had arrived.
Most importantly, the Marine responsible for informing Aokiji of the operation's true details had never delivered the message.
And the reason for that involved another person who had arrived on the island.
Yasopp was currently backstage.
He had originally come looking for Uta, but soon discovered a suspicious group gathering in secret and recognized the security personnel as disguised Marines.
Concerned for Uta's safety, Yasopp waited for the right moment and knocked every one of them unconscious.
That included the Marine assigned to brief Aokiji.
This was what had created the misunderstanding between Aokiji and Akainu.
Afterward, Yasopp continuously spread his Observation Haki, desperately searching for Cain and Uta.
When he sensed the battle erupting overhead, he immediately blasted a hole through the stage ceiling and leaped upward, only to arrive in the middle of Aokiji and Akainu's fight.
Unfortunately, the venue was now filled with thick steam, making it impossible to see clearly.
Yasopp frantically searched for Cain and Uta, but his Observation Haki told him that neither of them was anywhere on the island.
He immediately panicked.
At that moment, a massive magma fist came hurtling toward him.
Yasopp dodged, only to crash directly into Aokiji behind him, whose body was covered in ice.
He had previously learned from Aokiji that Akainu was planning a capture operation. At the time, however, Aokiji had been on vacation and had made no move against him.
But Yasopp was also working with incomplete information.
He still believed Cain and Uta were somewhere on this island.
The moment he saw Aokiji, he hurriedly asked where the two of them were.
Akainu's expression immediately darkened.
The failed transmission of information had already caused the misunderstanding between him and Aokiji to deepen.
On top of that, the two had fought only half a month ago.
Their ideals clashed, their emotions were already running high, and neither had any patience left for explaining things calmly.
Now Yasopp had gone straight up to Aokiji and started speaking with him.
Akainu's temper instantly flared.
And so, a spectacular scene appeared across the concert stage.
Aokiji chased Akainu.
Akainu chased Yasopp.
And Yasopp relied on Observation Haki to dodge their attacks while frantically searching for Uta!
As Aokiji pursued Akainu, he watched him casually blast the "civilians" hidden by the steam in the stands.
They were actually pirates, but Aokiji did not know that.
At last, he could no longer endure it.
"That's enough, Sakazuki!"
Aokiji roared furiously.
"I knew I could never accept what you're doing! I have no idea what Fleet Admiral Sengoku was thinking when he chose you!"
"But from now on, you can finally become Fleet Admiral without me standing in your way."
"I'm telling you clearly right now—I'm leaving the Marines!"
Akainu, who had been chasing Yasopp, suddenly froze and turned toward Aokiji in disbelief.
His first plan had been to prove that he was not the man Aokiji believed him to be and help his old rival rediscover his sense of justice.
That plan had now completely failed.
If anything, their relationship had only grown worse.
Akainu did not panic.
He immediately switched to his second plan.
If Aokiji truly intended to leave, then he would push him toward Cain's faction instead.
So he tentatively asked,
"Oh? Are you certain?"
"I am!"
Aokiji answered without hesitation.
"If the Marines are going to follow your methods from now on, then they no longer represent the justice I believe in. I have to leave!"
The moment those words fell, the heat radiating from Akainu's body instantly evaporated all the steam around them.
Aokiji froze.
The surrounding venue was packed with Marines, all of them arresting pirates throughout the stands.
Every one of those soldiers had clearly heard him announce that he was leaving the Marines.
Nearby, Yasopp had finally found a moment to contact the Red Hair Pirates, who had only just escaped Garp.
That was when he learned the truth.
He had gone to the wrong island.