Even if I'm the Enemy of the World, I Don't Care!

Akira would not simply sit back and wait for death. Even without the system, even if the Chief Judge and the CP9 Chief were in cahoots, he would not let himself die here.

More importantly, as the efforts he had put in over the years began to bear fruit, he was no longer the rookie who only wanted to survive. He had long since begun secretly laying the groundwork to become a vice admiral at Marine Headquarters.

As a transmigrator, how could he remain beneath others for long?

Now that the system had appeared at just the right time, there was naturally no need for hesitation. He decisively made his choice in his heart.

After a brief silence, Akira slowly rose and approached the iron bars. Looking at the seven or eight officers waiting eagerly outside, he said unhurriedly, "I have a plan. I need you to carry it out immediately!"

The moment he said this, the seven or eight officers present all brightened and stepped closer to the bars.

"Whether it's Spandam or the three Chief Judges of Enies Lobby dressed up as three-headed monsters, none of them are my target!"

After sweeping his gaze across the officers, a glimmer called ambition gradually ignited in Akira's eyes. "If we're doing this, then we're doing it big. My goal is—taking Marshal Sengoku's place."

Hearing this, the seven or eight officers froze for a moment before their expressions turned feverish. They raised their hands in salute and shouted in unison, "Loyalty!"

Marine Headquarters, Officer Dormitory Building Eight.

The residents of Building Eight were all officers ranked from Second Lieutenant to below Colonel. Other than officers attending the officer training camp, who were crammed into shared dormitories, the rest had private quarters of their own.

Third floor, Room 301.

A young officer wearing a Marine Headquarters colonel's coat stood solemnly before his desk, staring unblinkingly at the thick stack of Berries lying on it. There were exactly twelve million Berries.

Although he was now a Headquarters colonel with a warship of his own, he knew full well that he could never have risen to colonel so quickly through his own efforts alone.

Before this, he had merely been a major at a Marine branch in the West Blue. The only reason he had been transferred to Headquarters was because a fellow townsman serving there had recommended him to Vice Admiral Akira!

At the time, he had learned quite a bit about Vice Admiral Akira through that fellow townsman. He knew that the vice admiral was generous and kind at Headquarters, extending a helping hand to anyone truly in need, regardless of rank.

When he had contacted that fellow townsman at Headquarters through a Den Den Mushi, it was only because his elderly mother had fallen seriously ill. His meager salary at the branch was nowhere near enough to cover the medical expenses she needed.

During that time, he had begged everyone he could, only to receive cold responses. Even the colonel at his branch had intended to dismiss him because he kept leaving to care for his mother every few days.

In his despair, he thought of his fellow townsman working at Headquarters.

With nothing but the hope of giving it a try, he contacted the man and received a response from Vice Admiral Akira through him.

After learning of his actual circumstances, Vice Admiral Akira had personally left Headquarters and appeared at the branch base where he was stationed in the West Blue. He had personally taken Mother to the best hospital and paid every expense.

With Vice Admiral Akira's help, Mother gradually began to recover. Just as he was wondering how he could repay the vice admiral, a transfer order suddenly appeared before him, instructing him to bring Mother to Marine Headquarters.

After arriving at Marine Headquarters, he was not only promoted to colonel but also became Vice Admiral Akira's subordinate. Mother was arranged to live in Marineford's family housing district, where doctors from Headquarters' medical unit looked after her exclusively.

"Stock, do you know why I helped you?"

That was what Vice Admiral Akira had asked him at the time.

He had shaken his head, because he truly did not know why someone as important as Vice Admiral Akira would go to such lengths to help a mere branch major like him.

Vice Admiral Akira's answer remained unforgettable to this day.

Vice Admiral Akira had said, "Because even at your most desperate, you never considered doing anything that went against justice! Of course, as a Marine of justice, that is how one ought to be. But Stock, justice must sometimes be weighed against the situation. If Mother were critically ill and I had nowhere to turn for help, I would decisively abandon this so-called justice. Because nothing in this world is greater than one's mother! For my mother, I wouldn't care even if I had to make an enemy of the entire world!"

Vice Admiral Akira's words had made him understand something: if he could not even protect the people closest and dearest to him, what meaning was there in the justice he upheld?

From then on, he kept his gratitude toward Vice Admiral Akira in his heart. At Marine Headquarters, he built connections in every direction and met many like-minded colleagues. With Vice Admiral Akira's protection, he also gained a firm foothold at Headquarters.

But good times did not last. Before he could follow Vice Admiral Akira and accomplish something great, Vice Admiral Akira was thrown into prison.

Knock, knock, knock—

Suddenly, a knock sounded without warning.

Immediately afterward, the door behind him was violently forced open.

"Colonel Stock!"

"The time has come when Vice Admiral Akira needs you!"

Upon hearing this, Stock hurriedly turned around.

The moment he saw the two officers who had burst into his bedroom, the confusion in his eyes instantly transformed into fervor.

His body snapped upright at once as he raised his hand in salute. "Loyalty."

As Stock shouted the slogan, cries of "Loyalty" rang out one after another from the officers' rooms throughout Building Eight. Beneath the night sky, they gradually converged into a surging torrent, rapidly spreading toward the other officer dormitories and enlisted soldiers' barracks.

At the same time.

Marine Headquarters' senior officer residential district.

Under the cover of night, dozens of young officers rushed toward one detached courtyard after another.

Two of the young officers arrived at the gate of a courtyard on the very edge of the residential district and, without hesitation, rang the bell.

As the bell sounded, the door of the three-story building in the courtyard immediately opened. A middle-aged man wearing a Marine cap and a dark red suit stepped out.

The middle-aged man was none other than Sakazuki, one of Marine Headquarters' Three Admirals, known by the codename Akainu.

Possessing the Logia-type Magma-Magma Fruit ability, he adhered to absolute justice. Because he would not hesitate to designate even comrades and civilians as targets for extermination in order to complete a mission, many soldiers at Headquarters feared him. Most officers and soldiers usually kept their distance from him out of respect and fear.

However, the two young officers standing outside the gate showed no fear despite seeing him emerge with a frown and an unhappy expression. They stepped forward, held their heads high, and shouted in unison, "Admiral Sakazuki, Vice Admiral Akira wishes to see you!"

Hm?

Sakazuki's gaze sharpened as he stared straight at the two young officers. An invisible pressure quietly burst forth, locking onto them in an instant.

Feeling the overwhelming pressure released by one of Headquarters' strongest forces, the two young officers immediately felt as though they could barely breathe, their bodies trembling slightly beyond their control.

Even so, neither of them bent at the waist. They maintained their salutes, standing ramrod straight.

"Just as expected of soldiers trained by Akira!"

Seeing their reaction, a trace of barely perceptible approval flashed through Sakazuki's eyes. He then stepped forward decisively. "Lead the way."