Sakazuki

"Hahaha~ He really looks like you did when you were young, Sakazuki!"

Vice Admiral Jonathan laughed as he turned around. Standing behind them was one of the Navy's three supreme powers, a Headquarters Admiral, the man who upheld absolute justice—Sakazuki!

"I never thought about becoming a pirate when I was young!" Sakazuki's words were as scorching as magma. "One after another, as soon as they get a bit of ability, they run off to be pirates. Who's left to uphold justice?"

"Admiral Sakazuki, there's one thing you've gotten wrong. I'm not really a pirate at heart. As a high-ranking Navy officer, I think you're well aware of why I have a bounty on my head."

Akainu naturally knew Cifer wasn't a pirate. Otherwise, his first words to Cifer would have been "Great Eruption."

Even though Cifer was now tacitly accepted as a pirate and was about to become a Shichibukai, Akainu still felt a pang of regret. He had been keeping tabs on Cifer's recent massacres of pirates.

Whether for the bounty or something else, his methods really suited Akainu's tastes. Pirates and villains alike—all evil should be wiped out for justice to prevail in the world!

If not for that Celestial Dragon incident, this guy should have been a comrade fighting alongside me!

Seeing the tension brewing between the two, Vice Admiral Jonathan quickly stepped in to mediate:

"Gentlemen! The base has prepared lunch for you. I think it's about that time—why don't we head to eat first?"

In the Navy mess hall, countless soldiers stared wide-eyed at the scene before them.

Cifer and Akainu sat at two adjacent tables, their hands shoveling food into their mouths nonstop. The empty plates and bowls piled up like mountains in front of them.

"Sister Jessica! Hurry and help—the kitchen can't keep up!"

The chefs, frantically flipping their woks, were on the verge of tears. Vice Admiral Jonathan had warned them earlier that two big eaters were coming today, but he never said these two could wolf down sixty portions of food in one go!

Jessica froze for just a moment at the speed they were devouring the food, then quickly rolled up her sleeves and joined the chef team.

Hina's hand, holding her cigarette, stopped midair. Having been on Cifer's ship for so long, she knew he could eat a lot—usually dozens of people's worth in one sitting—but this was the first time she'd seen him eat this much, this fast!

"Isn't it ready yet?"

The soldiers beside Akainu kept clearing his table and replacing it with fresh food, but the serving speed still couldn't keep up with his eating pace.

Cifer, buried in his meal, suddenly sensed a surge of hostility. By the time he reached out to protect the last Braised Lion's Head in front of him, it was too late.

Akainu's chopsticks had already stabbed into the Lion's Head, and under Cifer's disbelieving gaze, he stuffed it into his mouth.

"You bastard!"

Just as Akainu was savoring the moment, the meatballs meant for his table were snatched by Cifer, who then poured them all into his own mouth in one go.

"Hm?"

The two instantly locked into a contest, frantically grabbing food from each other's tables while slapping away each other's hands.

"Got you!"

Cifer's outstretched left hand was clamped tight by Akainu's palm like a vise, while Akainu's other hand reached for Cifer's table.

A chill wind seemed to sweep through the room, sending shivers down everyone's spines. A pair of massive wings unfurled—Cifer had already activated his Resurrección.

"So this is the form that gave Aokiji trouble and made him choose to retreat?"

Akainu's attention was diverted by Cifer's transformation. This gave Cifer the opening to break free from his grip with a Sound Step, appearing behind Akainu in one smooth motion.

He elegantly reached out toward the soldier waiting to serve Akainu's next dish. In the blink of an eye, every dish in the hall was cleared!

"The food was delicious. Thank you for the hospitality!"

Cifer even returned to his own table, pulled out a napkin, and daintily wiped the corner of his mouth.

"What kind of monster is this?!"

Nearly everyone's eyes were about to pop out. Eating nearly a hundred portions of food in an instant was unheard of!

Akainu and Jonathan weren't too surprised, though. In this world, a strong person's stomach was like a bottomless pit. If Cifer hadn't eaten much, that would have been stranger.

"Mr. Sakazuki, why aren't you eating? Are you full already?" Cifer, still wiping his mouth, didn't forget to taunt Akainu.

The temperature in the mess hall shot up.

"Since you're full, why don't you let me see if you're as terrifying as Aokiji claims?"

Akainu had always been hot-tempered. With such a rare opportunity, he naturally wanted to test the mettle of this prospective Shichibukai and see if this "colleague" was truly worth his expectations.

"Hold on, Sakazuki!"

Vice Admiral Jonathan wasn't happy. If those two monsters started fighting in this fortress, G-8 Base would be reduced to rubble!

"Hina, check the area for any uninhabited islands or a place suitable for us to go all out."

Cifer could tell Akainu had no killing intent toward him. His eyes seemed more filled with regret, as if he thought they were cut from the same cloth.

But since Akainu was so eager to invite him, Cifer wanted to see just how far his first-stage Resurrección could go. As for the second stage—he wouldn't reveal his trump card so easily. That depended on whether Akainu had what it took.

"You two..."

Vice Admiral Jonathan tried to persuade them again, but both men raised a hand in unison to silence him.

Hina was already flipping through sea charts and Navy branch records. When two peak powerhouses decided something, how could small fries like them change it with a few words?

"Found it!"

Just a few minutes after Cifer and Akainu locked eyes in a staring contest, Hina located their battlefield—an island named Reksenor.

It was only about 100 nautical miles from G-8 Base, almost entirely covered in jungles, mountains, and rivers, with all sorts of ferocious beasts roaming around.

The harsh terrain, brutal ecological environment, and inconvenient location had left this place virtually ignored for years.

It was the perfect battlefield for Akainu and Cifer.

Boarding the Navy warship, the two stood together on the deck, gazing toward Reksenor. By unspoken agreement, the sailors—including Hina and Jonathan—did not remain there.

"I'm curious. Twenty years ago, during the Ohara Incident, what was it like to give the order to shell the civilian refuge ship?"

Cifer asked without the slightest hesitation, voicing a question that had long intrigued him.

"When the city gates catch fire, the fish in the moat suffer the consequences."

Akainu didn't dwell on the matter. In his philosophy, that incident could never shake the justice he held in his heart.

But he offered no further explanation to Cifer. In his eyes, Cifer was merely a young man who suited his tastes and whom he favored—not someone he would share everything with.

"Carry it through to the end, huh..."

Cifer could guess a bit. Just as Doflamingo couldn't accept Corazon's betrayal, Akainu's eyes couldn't tolerate a single grain of sinful sand.

Shelling a refuge ship—Cifer couldn't bring himself to do such a thing. But someone had to do it. The seeds of evil had to be completely eradicated, and in that process, sacrifice was inevitable!

As for whether Ohara was truly guilty?

Only those standing at the top could decide. If they said you were guilty, then you were guilty. When you want to convict someone, you never lack excuses.

Akainu had probably seen too much and understood everything too clearly, which was why he had fought tooth and nail to climb higher.