Loyalty to the Marshal!

Not only was John Giant shocked, but all the Vice Admirals behind Akira, including Gion, as well as many officers in the plaza, were staring in horror at the figure kneeling on both knees.

They were not shocked that Akira had awakened Conqueror's Haki, but that Akira had, with only Conqueror's Haki, rendered Vice Admiral John Giant completely powerless and kneeling on the spot.

Most importantly, Akira's Conqueror's Haki had not affected anyone else present; it had only locked onto John Giant.

After a brief silence, a commotion suddenly erupted in the crowd, and various voices began to emerge.

"What happened? Why did Vice Admiral John suddenly kneel?"

"Didn't you hear? Conqueror's Haki! Lord Akira released Conqueror's Haki!"

"What is Conqueror's Haki?"

"Conqueror's Haki is the qualification of a king possessed by one in a million people; it's an innate ability! Most importantly, Conqueror's Haki cannot be cultivated and can only be improved by enhancing one's own strength!"

"Even if Conqueror's Haki is the qualification of a king possessed by one in a million people, it shouldn't be able to render Vice Admiral John completely powerless!"

"There is only one truth!"

"Lord Akira's strength is likely infinitely close to an Admiral, and may even surpass an Admiral."

Akira ignored the shock of everyone present and continued to walk towards John Giant without haste.

With every step he took forward, John Giant felt the weight of the five-element mountain pressing down on him, making it impossible to resist. His massive body slumped down as Akira approached.

When Akira reached him, he could no longer hold on and collapsed, his body flat on the ground.

Yet, even so, the pressure on his head did not lessen at all.

As his body pressed flat against the ground, several cracks immediately appeared on the ground, spreading out in all directions.

Seeing the cracks appear on the ground beneath John Giant, the Vice Admirals following Akira widened their eyes. The soldiers in the plaza also had to hastily dodge as the cracks spread to their feet.

"Conqueror's Haki cracked the ground!"

Gion, following behind Akira, looked down at the cracks spreading to her feet, then looked up at the figure who had already reached John Giant, her face filled with disbelief.

"Conqueror's Haki cannot be cultivated and can only be improved with one's own strength!" Strawberry also revealed an ecstatic expression at this moment, his words carrying a hint of excitement, "Lord Akira's ability to crack the ground with Conqueror's Haki is enough to show that his own strength may surpass that of an Admiral!"

Akira, who had arrived in front of John Giant, said nothing but calmly observed the giant Vice Admiral before him. Although John Giant was completely flat on the ground, due to his massive physique, Akira, who was less than 1.9 meters tall, could only look at him at eye level.

"Betting the name of the Navy's absolute justice?"

After observing John Giant for a moment, Akira suddenly looked up and smiled, "Vice Admiral John, aren't you even a little curious why you, a member of the Giant tribe, have lived in Marine Headquarters since childhood?"

John Giant struggled to lift his head, only to find that he was stuck to the ground as if glued, unable to raise it at all. He could only speak with difficulty, "Akira, you, a Vice Admiral of Headquarters, have launched a rebellion to seize the position of Marshal. You... you have no right to talk about justice in front of me."

"It seems you're really not curious."

Akira shook his head and smiled, then simply took a step forward.

Buzz--

As Akira's foot landed, the void vibrated again with a low frequency. The Conqueror's Haki, which had been raised to its highest level by the system, erupted.

The next second, the ground collapsed with a "bang," and John Giant, who was on the ground, fell with it, becoming level with the ground.

"Not bad~"

Looking at the figure embedded in the ground, Akira narrowed his eyes, very satisfied with the Conqueror's Haki that had been raised to its highest level.

John Giant's appearance didn't require him to act. He had stopped Strawberry and the others precisely because he wanted to test how overbearing the Conqueror's Haki was after being raised to its highest level by the system.

Of course, suppressing John Giant with Conqueror's Haki was just a small test for him now; the power of the highest level Conqueror's Haki was far from this.

Just then.

A flash of light rose from the family residential area, then drew an arc across the night sky, falling straight onto the Marineford plaza.

As the flash disappeared, Admirals Sakazuki and Borsalino stood side-by-side, appearing behind Akira.

"Admiral Sakazuki!"

"Admiral Borsalino!"

As soon as the two Admirals appeared, another commotion erupted in the crowd. Many placed their last hopes on them, shouting excitedly.

However, just as these people were excited, thinking the two Admirals had come to stop Akira, Sakazuki immediately stepped forward, faced Akira, and saluted, "Marshal Akira, Sakazuki reports for duty!"

Sakazuki's appearance instantly silenced the Marineford plaza.

A glimmer of despair flashed in the eyes of the soldiers and officers who had been eagerly anticipating, as even Admiral Sakazuki, who upheld absolute justice, had pledged his loyalty to Akira. What reason did they have to hold onto hope?

Borsalino, standing beside Sakazuki, did not stand idle and also raised his hand in a salute.

Akira turned back and smiled at the two of them, then decisively stepped forward.

Seeing this, Sakazuki and Borsalino quickly followed.

Following them, Gion, Momonga, and the other Vice Admirals regained their composure and followed closely behind.

Because of the interlude with John Giant and the timely appearance of Admirals Sakazuki and Borsalino, there were no more disturbances among the tens of thousands of soldiers gathered in the plaza. All of them stood tall, watching Akira ascend the steps and reach the high platform.

Akira, who had reached the high platform, scanned the crowd below and then took a step forward under everyone's gaze.

"All hands!"

As Akira took a step forward, Sakazuki, who had been standing below the high platform, immediately turned to face him and raised his hand in salute. He shouted loudly, "Salute to the Fleet Admiral!"

Whoosh—

Tens of thousands of people in the square took a unified step forward, then craned their necks to look up at the high platform and shouted in unison, "Loyalty!"

The loud, orderly voices echoed through the skies above Marineford, eventually converging into a torrent that resonated endlessly under the night sky.

In the conference hall of the Marine Headquarters building, Sengoku and Zephyr, standing by the window, gazed afar at the figure of the young Fleet Admiral standing on the high platform in the square. Feeling the passionate and driven atmosphere filling the air, they both sighed in unison, "Youth is truly wonderful."

Before their words had even faded, their expressions suddenly changed, and they both looked up at the sea outside the Marineford walls.

They saw that on the sea outside the Marineford walls, a figure was slowly approaching Marineford on a bicycle under the moonlight. As the figure moved forward, the previously rippling sea surface ahead of him immediately began to freeze at an astonishing speed.