Turning Akainu, I Won't Enjoy This Glory Alone!

Sakazuki had just left the small courtyard with two young officers and headed toward Headquarters Prison. In front of the homes occupied by quite a few rear admirals and vice admirals in this residential district, at least two young officers stood guard. Some of them even disregarded his presence as an admiral, hurrying along as though some major incident had occurred.

"What is Akira trying to do?"

Watching this unfold, Sakazuki's expression immediately darkened. "His trial hasn't even fully concluded yet. If he causes some major incident, not even Marshal Sengoku will be able to save him—and I certainly won't let him off lightly!"

The two young officers walking ahead said nothing, as if they had not heard him, and only continued to quicken their pace.

Seeing this, a flicker of displeasure crossed Sakazuki's eyes, but he held it in.

After all, Akira was not only a vice admiral under his command, but could also be considered his junior fellow disciple. When Akira underwent officer training, the man responsible for training that class of officers had been Sakazuki's own teacher—Marine Headquarters Admiral Zephyr, codenamed Black Arm.

When Akira had been promoted to Headquarters vice admiral and assigned under his command, Sakazuki had not approved of this subordinate at first.

Akira's way of doing things, especially his ability to curry favor with every side at Marine Headquarters, had been difficult for him to understand. As a Marine Headquarters officer who stood for justice, instead of focusing on capturing pirates and eradicating evil, he had actually gone all in on networking and personal connections at Headquarters.

However, though Sakazuki had found it hard to understand at the time and had even looked down on it somewhat, he soon discovered that whenever Akira went out on missions and faced those utterly wicked pirates at sea, the ruthless methods he displayed were somewhat similar to his own—perhaps even more extreme in certain respects.

That was because whenever Akira went out to capture pirates, his priority was never capture or arrest. Instead, he almost always chose to kill them on the spot.

Akira's reasoning was that the funds allocated by the World Government should not be spent imprisoning these criminals, but should instead be used to improve the salaries and benefits of the Marine soldiers and officers of every rank responsible for capturing criminals.

It was precisely because of Akira's way of doing things that Sakazuki had turned a blind eye to some of Akira's mistakes, which he considered insignificant. He had even chosen to shut his doors and refuse to meet anyone while the investigation team was gathering evidence.

Before long, Sakazuki left the residential district and arrived at Marineford Square.

"Hm?"

The moment he entered the square, Sakazuki abruptly stopped, staring in disbelief at the dense mass of figures gathered there beneath the cover of night.

When he saw that most of those gathered in the square were officers and soldiers who had once served under Akira, a sense of foreboding immediately rose in his heart.

As early as when Akira had been investigated by the investigation team and arrested, he had sensed that something would happen. Over the years, Akira's influence within Headquarters had grown greater and greater. Many officers had even come to regard Akira as a faith. In many major matters, if Akira did not nod his approval, then not to mention an admiral like himself—even Marshal Sengoku's orders would be selectively ignored by them.

He did not quite understand why these officers and soldiers supported Akira so fervently. He only knew that whenever Akira led warships out on missions and encountered criminals, Akira, as a vice admiral, was always the one standing at the very front.

"This is bad."

Looking at the sea of people in the square from afar, even Sakazuki could not help tensing. If unrest broke out at Headquarters at a time like this, it would be a tremendous blow to both the Marines and the World Government.

Akira's influence at Marine Headquarters was simply too great. If this was not stopped in time, Sakazuki believed that these people gathering at Marineford under the cover of darkness were planning far more than merely breaking Akira out of prison.

With that thought, Sakazuki did not dare delay. He quickened his pace, passed the two young officers ahead of him, and reached the prison as quickly as possible.

The instant he entered the prison, Sakazuki's nerves tightened once again.

Several dozen Headquarters officers of various ranks had already gathered inside, including one Headquarters vice admiral.

Most importantly, the prison guards had changed into Marine officer uniforms and stood neatly outside the iron bars.

"Admiral Sakazuki!"

Before Sakazuki could react, the dozens of officers in the prison almost simultaneously turned toward him and raised their hands in salute.

"What are you trying to do?"

His sharp gaze swept over every officer present as Sakazuki strode to the cell holding Akira and said in a low voice, "All of you, get out!"

The moment those words fell, the entire prison sank into dead silence. Every officer remained in their original position, standing perfectly still.

"Are you trying to rebel?"

Sakazuki's fists clenched instantly. "I'll give you one more chance. Leave the prison immediately, or you will be treated as rebels!"

As soon as Sakazuki finished speaking, the tightly shut cell door suddenly swung open with a clang. Then Akira, who should have been wearing handcuffs and shackles, calmly stepped out of the cell and stopped before Sakazuki.

"Akira, you..."

Sakazuki had not expected Akira to be free of handcuffs and shackles, much less to stroll brazenly out of his cell. His pupils contracted, and his face filled with shock. "Are you really going to start a rebellion?"

If it were only Akira alone, then as one of Headquarters' greatest fighting forces, Sakazuki would not have been worried about how much trouble Akira could cause.

But the situation now was that not only had the prison been taken over by Headquarters officers loyal to Akira, but several tens of thousands of people had gathered outside in Marineford Square!

Even as one of Headquarters' strongest forces, it would be difficult for him to stop a rebellion on such a massive scale.

More importantly, he had no idea how many more people would join them afterward. In particular, Borsalino's reaction during the trial hall proceedings earlier that day, despite being an admiral like him, had been highly suggestive.

And Gion, an admiral candidate, had openly stated her position: she would never allow the Chief Judge to take Akira to Enies Lobby.

"Admiral Sakazuki, this can't be called a rebellion just yet~"

Akira, who had stepped out of the cell, slightly raised his head to look at Sakazuki. Standing over three meters tall, Sakazuki naturally exuded an indescribable pressure. Akira said evenly, "It's only called a rebellion if it fails. If it succeeds, it's called a revolution!"

Without waiting for Sakazuki to react, Akira continued with a shocking declaration. "Tonight, I will replace Sengoku as the new Marshal of Marine Headquarters. I will root out every true cancer lurking within the Marines and let the light of justice cleanse all darkness from the world!"

"If this mutiny fails, I will bear all responsibility alone!"

"If it succeeds, I will not keep this glory for myself!"

"Admiral Sakazuki, are you... willing to stand beside me?"

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