Akainu: Mother Was Never a Choice!

The old woman seemed to have regained her memory and nodded repeatedly. "Right, right, right. My son's name is Sakazuki too, but he's only eight—no, my son should be all grown up by now. Otherwise, where would my grandson have come from?"

As she spoke, her eyes grew hazy again. She turned to Momonga and asked curiously, "Who's my grandson? I... I think I've forgotten again! Boohoo, I forgot my grandson~"

With that, the old woman hurriedly got to her feet and ran toward the bedroom.

Momonga didn't stop her. Instead, he watched Akainu with a grave expression.

Taking the opportunity, Akainu set down his bowl and looked up at Momonga. "Has Akira been taking care of Mother all this time, for the past three years?"

Momonga nodded. "When Akira is away on a mission, he asks Vice Admiral Gion to help. Otherwise, he stays with the old woman. A lot of the time, all it takes is for Akira to turn around and she'll forget who he is. She might even mistake him for a bad person and throw him out."

At that, Akainu glanced toward his mother, who was searching the house for her grandson, and his gaze gradually grew resolute.

He didn't think Akira had done it on purpose.

He'd read the investigation report. Before investigating and discovering the old woman's identity, Akira hadn't known she was related to him.

That meant Akira had cared for her without any ulterior motive.

With that in mind, Akainu didn't hesitate. "Can you use your Den Den Mushi? Put me in touch with Akira!"

Momonga took out his Den Den Mushi and dialed.

The call connected moments later.

Before the other person could speak, Momonga got straight to the point. "Put Akira on!"

A few seconds later, Akira's voice came through the Den Den Mushi. "Momonga, you have ten minutes. Whatever choice Akainu makes, you must return to your post at once and come with me to see Sengoku!"

Akainu brought the Den Den Mushi to his face and said gravely, "This is Akainu. I have only one question. If your answer is the one I want, I'll help you become Marshal!"

Before the other end could respond, Akainu immediately changed tack. "Since you've already found out who my mother is, why didn't you use that as leverage to make a deal with me? You should know that she's my only weakness!"

"There was no reason to."

Akira's voice came through the Den Den Mushi, unhurried. "I believed that once you learned who she was, you'd compromise over what happened tonight. You might even fight for me against your will. Because no matter what, Mom was never a choice!"

"But I wouldn't do that. To me, family isn't a bargaining chip."

Meanwhile,

on the road to Marine Headquarters, Akira casually tossed the Den Den Mushi to Strawberry, who was beside him. He looked up at the towering headquarters building ahead, his eyes narrowing.

Although he hadn't said much to Akainu, the fact that Akainu had contacted him through the Den Den Mushi was enough to show where he stood.

Akira didn't need the Headquarters Admiral to stand beside him right now. As long as Akainu chose to stay on the sidelines, tonight's plan could succeed.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, followed by a bullet tearing through the air and flying straight toward Akira's face with pinpoint accuracy.

Before Akira could react, Bastille, who had followed beside him in silence, drew his blade in a flash. His enormous Shark Slicer swept through a curved arc and cleaved the oncoming bullet in two.

Then Bastille stepped forward. A fearsome aura burst from his Shark Slicer, and he swung it without hesitation toward the direction the bullet had come from.

Whoosh—

A slash wave charged with a terrifying aura flashed through the air, instantly cleaving the rooftop of a building hundreds of meters away.

A piercing scream rang out from the rooftop. The severed section tilted and came crashing down, hitting the ground with a thunderous crash and raising clouds of dust.

Akira didn't stop for this minor interruption. As Bastille swung his blade and sent a slash through the air, Akira strode forward, surrounded by Strawberry and the other Headquarters Vice Admirals, Rear Admirals, officers of every rank, and hundreds of soldiers, heading straight for the headquarters building.

"Akira, you disgrace to the Marines!"

Just as Akira stepped through the entrance and into the lobby, a furious roar rang out.

A figure burst from the soldiers guarding the first floor and lunged toward Akira as fast as lightning.

"Finger Pistol!"

Just as the man was about to reach Akira, Strawberry, who was right beside him, darted forward. One of the Navy Six Styles, Finger Pistol, struck the attacker squarely in the chest.

"Damn it!"

The officer Strawberry had stopped narrowed his eyes. Then he glared at Strawberry, seething with rage, and shouted, "Strawberry, why? You were the hero who once pursued the Sun Pirates, and Admiral Kizaru's most trusted right-hand man. Why would you rebel and follow this disgrace to the Marines, Akira?!"

Strawberry grabbed him by the neck, his face impassive. "There's no point arguing about right and wrong anymore. Anyone who stands in Akira's way is our enemy. So you can die."

Before he'd finished speaking, Strawberry snapped the man's neck without hesitation, then hurried to catch up with Akira, who had already headed for the elevator.

That was Strawberry: cold, merciless, and decisive.

In a way, he was much like Admiral Akainu. Yet somehow, he had ended up serving under Admiral Borsalino.

Although Admiral Borsalino trusted him deeply, Strawberry couldn't agree with the admiral's ambiguous sense of justice. He also found it difficult to fit in with the other Vice Admirals under Borsalino. It troubled him, but he had no one to talk to, so he could only keep it buried in his heart.

Then, one day, he went to the New World on a mission with Akira, who had just been promoted to Vice Admiral. Seeing how Akira dealt with pirates, Strawberry felt as if he'd finally found a kindred spirit. After the mission, he sought Akira out of his own accord—a rare thing for him.

After a few meetings, he was completely won over by the charisma of Akira, the youngest Vice Admiral in Marine history. He came to regard him as a confidant, and the two became friends who could talk about anything.

More importantly, Strawberry realized that Akira possessed not only great strength, but also ambitions so grand that even Strawberry could only look up to him.

Once he fully understood what Akira wanted, he secretly resolved to become one of Akira's most capable assistants.

Still, he had underestimated Akira's ambition.

Akira wanted more than simply to become the youngest Marshal in Marine history.

Of course, none of that mattered anymore.

What mattered was that no matter what Akira did, Strawberry would stand by his side. He would give his life for the one who understood him.