Fighting Akainu

Soon, Akainu arrived before Haku and the others!

"You're Haku, right?" Akainu looked at Haku beside Garp with disdain in his eyes. Clearly, from the moment he laid eyes on Haku, he had already equated him with weakness.

Haku, in turn, studied the legendary figure before him—one of the Three Admirals, Akainu.

The man's appearance matched the image in Haku's memory: a breastflower, a dark red suit, a Marine cap on his head, black leather gloves on his hands, and a Marine Admiral's coat draped over his shoulders.

But the expression on his face stirred an inexplicable irritation in Haku. His hand instinctively drifted to the Zanpakuto at his waist.

Garp spoke up discontentedly, "Sakazuki, you bastard, why aren't you staying at headquarters? What are you doing here?"

Akainu glanced at the unreliable Garp but didn't bother answering.

It was no secret that Akainu and Garp had been at odds for a long time.

Akainu adhered to 'Absolute Justice,' showing no mercy to any evil. But Garp's son was the leader of the Revolutionary Army, known as the world's most dangerous criminal.

Because of that connection, even though Garp was hailed as the 'Hero of the Marines,' Akainu still found ways to target him.

Akainu's opposition to Haku becoming a Marine Admiral wasn't just about the reasons he'd stated earlier.

In Akainu's view, if Haku became an Admiral, and something like Dragon's defection from the Marines happened again, the Navy's reputation would be utterly ruined.

So, facing Haku, Akainu was dead set on stopping him from becoming an Admiral. Besides, he believed that even if Haku had been personally trained by Garp, his strength was at best Vice Admiral level. That was why Akainu had taken the task of evaluating Haku's strength from Aokiji.

What Akainu didn't know was that Aokiji had clashed with Haku long ago. Aokiji knew Haku's true strength, and if he could help it, he didn't want to fight Haku himself.

So when Akainu suddenly jumped in, Aokiji was happy to hand the evaluation task over to him.

In the distance, Aokiji saw Akainu blocking Haku's path, and a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Kizaru noticed this and sidled up to the drowsy Aokiji, asking, "Kuzan, have you known this Haku for a long time?"

At Kizaru's words, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and the Headquarters Vice Admirals who had followed them all turned their attention to Aokiji.

Aokiji nodded reluctantly, confirming it.

Kizaru, now serious after getting confirmation, pressed on, "Since you know the kid, you must know his strength, right? How strong is he?"

Everyone silently sharpened their Observation Haki, eager to hear Aokiji's assessment of Haku's strength.

Aokiji's face darkened. He glanced at Kizaru, as if recalling something unpleasant, and said in a low voice, "Haku's strength is terrifying! And last time, we only exchanged a few blows. I felt like I couldn't beat him!"

Fleet Admiral???

Vice Admiral Tsuru???

The other Headquarters Vice Admirals???

Kizaru put on an exaggerated, surprised expression as he looked at Haku, who was now facing off with Akainu, and said, "Oh my, these young folks are really scary!"

No one had expected Aokiji to admit he felt he couldn't beat Haku. That made them all take the distant Haku more seriously.

Before long, among the three in the distance, Garp started walking back toward Sengoku's position, leaving only Haku and Akainu behind.

Garp, that old fox, might have been carefree, but he'd already guessed something. He decided to leave the field to Haku and Akainu. In his view, a fight was inevitable anyway. And besides, he had full faith in Haku's strength.

Haku smiled at the Fleet Admiral before him, unfazed no matter how much Akainu tried to radiate his overwhelming presence. This was the mark of true strength.

Haku spoke first, "Mr. Akainu, do you have some advice for blocking my path?"

This kid! Akainu thought to himself, catching the blazing battle intent in Haku's eyes. The age gap between them made Akainu feel like he was being looked down on.

Akainu said, "Kid, I'm here to evaluate your strength now. If you're not up to par, I suggest you give up on becoming a Marine Admiral!"

Oh~?

Haku was a bit surprised. Before arriving at Marineford, Garp had hinted that his evaluator should have been Aokiji. So why had it suddenly turned into Akainu?

But whoever the opponent was, it didn't matter to Haku. As long as he could complete the system's mission, that was all that counted.

"Are you sure you want to be my opponent? You know, only Kuzan can suppress my abilities," Haku said, slowly drawing the Zanpakuto from his waist.

"Enough talk, kid! Are you looking down on my strength?" With that, Akainu launched the first attack at Baiyuan.

Facing the fist wreathed in scorching magma, Haku's expression didn't change.

Just as the blazing magma was about to touch Haku's body, a Zanpakuto coated in Armament Haki blocked it in front of him.

Akainu's eyes narrowed. After all, Haku was trained by Garp. In Akainu's mind, even if Haku was lacking, he shouldn't be so weak as to fail blocking such a simple attack.

Shunpo!

Haku's form appeared beside Akainu, the heavily Haki-infused Zanpakuto slashing toward his right arm.

Fast! Akainu thought, even as his right arm quickly Elementalized to dodge Haku's slash.

In the distance, Sengoku and the others hadn't even seen how Haku moved to Akainu's side.

Sengoku's frog-like glasses glinted with sharp light as he said to his old comrade Garp, "What was that movement speed just now? Even the naked eye couldn't catch his form!"

Garp had somehow pulled out a bag of donuts and was munching carelessly, "Honestly, Old Man doesn't know either. Haku said it's a short-range movement technique he created by combining 'Soru'!"

Tch! That kind of movement made every Marine high-ranking officer's heart race. With just that one move, Haku had already earned some recognition.

Great Eruption!

Akainu got a bit more serious and stopped holding back, striking fast and accurately at Haku's vital points.

You bastard!!! Haku cursed inwardly, because he couldn't dodge this attack. Behind him was the Dog-head warship he'd just arrived on.

If Haku dodged, the Marines on that ship would be in for a world of hurt.