Sakazuki: Mother Was Never a Choice!

The old man nodded repeatedly as if his memory had returned, saying, "Yes, yes, yes, my son is also named Sakazuki, but he's only eight years old—no, my son should be grown up by now, otherwise how would I have a grandson?"

At this point, the old man's eyes became vacant again. He turned his head to look at Momonga and asked curiously, "Who is my grandson? I... I seem to have forgotten again! Wuwuwu, I forgot my grandson~"

Saying this, the old man stood up in a panic and ran towards the bedroom.

Seeing this, Momonga did not stop him. Instead, he watched Sakazuki with a serious expression.

Sakazuki also took this opportunity to put down his bowl, look up to meet Momonga's gaze, and ask, "Has Akira been taking care of Mother for the past three years?"

Momonga nodded. "When I'm out on missions, Lord Akira asks Vice Admiral Gion for help. Usually, Lord Akira stays with the elderly gentleman because, many times, the elderly gentleman might forget who he is just by Lord Akira turning around, and might even mistake him for a bad guy and chase him out."

Upon hearing this, Sakazuki turned his head to look at his mother, who was searching the room for her grandson. His eyes gradually became firm.

He didn't think Akira had done this intentionally.

Because he had seen the investigation report. Before the elderly lady's identity was investigated, Akira didn't know about the relationship between her and him.

This meant that Akira had no ulterior motive in taking care of the elderly lady.

Thinking of this, Sakazuki no longer hesitated and said directly, "Can your Den Den Mushi be used? Help me contact Akira!"

Momonga took out a Den Den Mushi and dialed.

Soon, the Den Den Mushi was connected.

Before the other party could speak, Momonga got straight to the point, "Transfer me to Lord Akira!"

After a few short seconds, Akira's voice came from the Den Den Mushi, "Momonga, I'm giving you ten minutes. No matter what choice Sakazuki makes, you must immediately return to your post and accompany me to see Sengoku!"

Sakazuki brought the Den Den Mushi to his face and said in a deep voice, "I am Sakazuki. I will only ask one question now. If your answer is what I want to hear, I will help you ascend to the position of Marshal!"

Before the Den Den Mushi could react, Sakazuki immediately changed his tone, "Since you have already investigated my Mother's identity, why didn't you directly use it as a condition to make a deal with me? You should know very well that this is my only weakness!"

"There's no reason!"

Akira's voice came from the Den Den Mushi, unhurriedly. "I believe that after you learned of the elderly lady's identity, you would definitely compromise on what happens tonight, and even fight for me unwillingly. Because no matter when, a mother is never a choice!"

"But I won't do that, because for me, family is not a bargaining chip."

At the same time.

On the road leading to the Marine Headquarters building, Akira casually threw the Den Den Mushi to Strawberry beside him. He looked up at the towering headquarters building ahead, his eyes gradually narrowing.

Although he hadn't said much to Sakazuki, the fact that Sakazuki had proactively contacted him through the Den Den Mushi was enough to show Sakazuki's attitude.

Regarding Admiral Sakazuki, Akira didn't need him to stand with him at this moment. As long as Sakazuki chose to stand by and watch, his grand plan tonight would succeed.

"Bang~"

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and then a bullet tore through the air, heading precisely for Akira's face.

Before Akira could react, Bastille, who had been silently following him, suddenly drew his sword. The giant Shark Slayer blade swept out in an arc, cutting the incoming bullet in half.

Immediately after, Bastille took a step forward, and the Shark Slayer blade erupted with a terrifying aura. He then unhesitatingly slashed towards the direction from which the bullet had come.

Swish--

A slash wave containing a terrifying aura flashed out, instantly cutting the roof of a building hundreds of meters away in half.

Accompanied by a piercing scream from the rooftop, the neatly severed roof immediately tilted and fell, crashing to the ground with a rumble, kicking up clouds of dust.

Akira did not stop because of this small interlude. As Bastille swung his sword to slash through the air, he had already stepped forward and, surrounded by Strawberry and a group of Headquarters Vice Admirals, Rear Admirals, various officers, and hundreds of soldiers, walked directly towards the Headquarters building.

"Akira, you traitor to the Navy!"

The moment Akira entered the main entrance and stepped into the hall, a roar suddenly erupted.

Immediately after, a figure rushed out from the ranks of soldiers guarding the first floor and lunged at Akira like lightning.

"Shigan!"

Seeing that the person was about to reach Akira, Strawberry, who was closely following him, suddenly flashed forward. One of the Navy Six Styles, Shigan, accurately pierced the chest of the approaching person.

"Damn it!"

The officer, who had been blocked by Strawberry, had his pupils contract. Then, with eyes wide with boundless rage, he glared at Strawberry and said sternly, "Strawberry, why is this happening? You are the hero who pursued the Sun Pirates back then, Admiral Kizaru's most trusted subordinate. Why are you following Akira, this traitor to the Navy, and rebelling!"

Strawberry grabbed the officer by the neck and said expressionlessly, "It's meaningless to discuss right and wrong now. All who stand in Lord Akira's way are our enemies. Therefore, you can die!"

Before his words fell, Strawberry cleanly snapped the officer's neck and then quickly followed Akira, who was already heading towards the elevator.

This was Strawberry: cold-blooded, ruthless, and decisive.

In a way, he was the same type of person as Admiral Sakazuki, yet he had become a subordinate of Admiral Borsalino.

Although Admiral Borsalino trusted him greatly, he disagreed with Admiral Borsalino's ambiguous sense of justice and found it difficult to integrate into the other Vice Admirals under Admiral Borsalino's command. This troubled him greatly, but he had nowhere to express it, so he could only bury it deep in his heart.

Until one time, when he was on a mission in the New World with Akira, who had just been promoted to Vice Admiral, he saw Akira's methods of dealing with pirates. It was as if he had found a kindred spirit. After the mission, he took the initiative to find Akira, which was unprecedented.

After a few encounters, he was completely won over by the personal charm of Akira, the youngest Vice Admiral in Marine Headquarters, and regarded him as a confidant, becoming friends who talked about everything.

Most importantly, he discovered that Akira not only possessed immense strength but also lofty ambitions that made him feel far behind.

After thoroughly understanding what Akira wanted, he secretly resolved to become one of Akira's most powerful assistants.

However, he still underestimated Akira's ambition.

What Akira wanted was not just to become the youngest Marshal in Navy history.

Of course, all of that was no longer important.

What was important was that no matter what actions Akira took, he would choose to stand by his side. A soldier dies for his confidant.