The Navy's Response
Sure enough, not long after boarding the Ark Maxim, Enel transformed into a streak of lightning and landed in front of Roy and the others.
He was in very bad shape, covered in burn marks, with blood constantly spilling from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were bright and piercing. He coughed up blood and laughed loudly, "Hahaha, even Admiral is nothing special!"
Seeing Enel's smug look, Crocodile the Sand couldn't help but pour cold water on him. "Hmph, you only fought against a half-crippled Admiral who didn't even have half his fighting strength left, and you still managed to escape back in such a sorry state. What's there to be happy about?"
"Hmph, at least I can still fight him. If it were someone else, I'm afraid they wouldn't even have a chance to escape." Enel took out the S-2 Potion and swallowed it, his face becoming much rosier.
Crocodile the Sand twitched his lips and wisely chose not to reply. He didn't have Enel's speed, and escaping from Akainu was almost impossible for him.
"Aaaaaah! Damn it!" Akainu slammed down in a rage, completely sinking the already shattered peninsula below. "We were just one last hit away from victory, and they still managed to escape!"
Akainu was also extremely frustrated. As Marine Admiral, his speed was definitely not slow, but it depended on who he was compared to. Compared to Enel's lightning-like transformation, his speed was far from sufficient.
"By the way, those Celestial Dragons..." Akainu looked depressed. Although he didn't want to think about it, he had to face reality. He decided to go and check on them; maybe he could save one of them.
"Huh? It's CP0!" When they returned to their original spot, Akainu was surprised to find that the "persistent" CP0 had actually protected the Celestial Dragons at the crucial moment.
Although the three Celestial Dragons were unconscious and their wounds were horribly gruesome and inhumane, as long as they were not dead, there was still a chance to save them.
This was the first time Akainu had ever seen that the despicable CP0 members were actually so adorable; they were practically his Akainu angels.
"Celestial Dragons alright?" Akainu knew he was in the wrong, so he patiently asked.
Several CP0 members looked at Akainu speechlessly. How dare he show his face as the culprit? However, they also knew that he was, after all, the highest combat power of the World Government. Even within CP0, only the Director-General, who was known as the "strongest shield of the Celestial Dragons," could rival him. They dared not be disrespectful to someone of this caliber.
So, after a moment's thought, one of them said in a cool voice, "The Celestial Dragons are out of danger. They just need to be taken to the nearest hospital to recuperate."
Upon hearing this definitive answer, Akainu breathed a sigh of relief, finally receiving his first piece of good news of the day.
"Wait, what about those Supernovas?" Akainu suddenly remembered those bastards. He had originally planned to use Roy as a scapegoat, so he hadn't paid much attention to those Supernovas. Now that he couldn't catch Roy, he had no choice but to let those Supernovas take his place.
The CP0 members exchanged glances and shook their heads. "We didn't see any Supernovas when we arrived. Perhaps they escaped in the chaos while you were fighting."
Akainu's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He could already imagine the storm he would face when he returned.
The next day, at the Marine Headquarters, in the Fleet Admiral Office.
"Akainu, let me see what you've done!" Sengoku threw a stack of newspapers in front of Akainu; almost every newspaper's front page was filled with similar headlines.
Is the Marine Headquarters and the Shichibukai officially at war? A battle that will shake the world is about to erupt!
Shocking! The Untold Story of Admiral Akainu and the Nightmare the Shichibukai!
Who is he? The man who makes Admiral Akainu unable to resist!
Why are the Celestial Dragons screaming in broad daylight? Is this a sign of distorted humanity or moral decay?
The Phantom Sword Pirates surpass the Marine Headquarters! Where should we go from here?
A Marine Admiral Defeated by Shichibukai! Will Nightmare Roy Become the Next Pirate Kings?
"Damn scum!" Akainu's face changed from red to green, then from green to purple, and finally from purple to black. Anyone else who saw this would never have imagined that the legendary Admiral Akainu had such a face-changing skill.
In fact, when Akainu returned to Marine Headquarters and learned that almost everyone in the entire sea had witnessed his battle with Roy, he realized something was wrong. However, he underestimated the depravity of those unscrupulous reporters. Just looking at the headlines in those newspapers was enough to make him want to kill.
What frustrated him even more was that Roy's ability to Future Sight occupied most of his mind, leaving him no time to pay attention to the outside world. Otherwise, he would never have failed to notice a reporter's paparazzi photos.
"Now, the Five Elders have sent word: first, they are sternly questioning why you attacked the Shichibukai without the permission of the World Government; second, the Celestial Dragons are making a heart-wrenching accusation, accusing you of completely disregarding their personal safety and acting recklessly." Sengoku was indeed furious. Although he had long known that Akainu acted radically and stubbornly, he had not expected Akainu to be so impulsive.
Moreover, the negative impact of this incident goes far beyond that.
Besides causing conflict between the Navy and the Shichibukai and attracting attacks from the Celestial Dragons, it also caused the Marine Headquarters' prestige to plummet to rock bottom on the seas.
It should be noted that the Three Admirals have always been the face of the Marine Headquarters and the World Government, representing the highest combat power to deter the world. However, in this battle, Akainu was completely suppressed by his opponent and had almost no power to fight back, thus shattering his invincible myth.
Akainu took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I still stand by my opinion. This man who defeated countless strongmen in his first year at sea and earned the title of Nightmare is far too dangerous! Especially after two years of dormancy, his strength has become terrifying. He has swordsmanship at the level of Great Sword Master, Future Sight Observation Haki the future, and a mysterious and strange Devil Fruit Awakening ability. If he continues to grow, I'm afraid he will have to hand over even Whitebeard's title of the World's Strongest."
"I know what you're saying, but some things can't be done just because you know them. Take this time, for example. You were overjoyed, thinking you could capture Roy, but what was the final result?" As someone who had been watching Roy from the beginning, Akainu understood Roy's potential and threat better than Sengoku.
"If there were two Admiral ..." Akainu said unwillingly.
"Leaving aside the consequences of mobilizing two Admiral to attack our nominal ally, I'll just ask you one question: do you really believe that two Admiral can definitely send the enemy to Impel Down?" Sengoku countered.
"That was when..." Akainu stopped mid-sentence. He was indeed not confident. Roy's strength was no weaker than his, and what made Roy most fearsome was his endless stream of tricks. No one could guarantee that Roy had used all his trump cards in the previous battle.
"Have you thought it through? Perhaps his strength is far inferior to any of the Four Emperors, but the price to pay for eliminating him would be even greater than the price to pay for attacking any Four Emperors pirate crew!"
"So we're just going to let him grow up like this?" Akainu felt incredibly frustrated.
"Hmph, do you know that at least half of the newspapers circulating at sea are written by our navy?" Sengoku glanced at the newspapers on the table out of the corner of his eye.
Akainu's lips twitched. So, the reason I made such a fool of myself was because you guys were behind it all.
Seemingly aware of Akainu's question, Sengoku continued, "On this vast sea, everyone is chasing fame and power, unaware that these are poisons disguised as sugar. In the New World, where all pirates aim to become the Pirate Kings, what would happen if someone suddenly appeared who was universally recognized as the most likely to become the next Pirate Kings?"
Akainu's eyes widened, and he suddenly realized that it was no wonder that old man Garp always called Fleet Admiral Sengoku a cunning old bastard. Sure enough, those who play tactics have dirty hearts.
"But ordinary pirates can't cause him any trouble at all, and the Four Emperors shouldn't be so easily provoked."
"I might not be able to guarantee anything about others, but Kaido, that muscle-bound idiot who's obsessed with dying, would definitely not miss out on an opponent like this."
Just as Akainu was inwardly praising Sengoku for being such a cunning old fox, he heard Sengoku say, "And you, Akainu, you should just stay and serve as a private for a while. We'll consider your position after Calm Seas."
"Private..." Akainu was cursing inwardly.