Buru-buru—
Somewhere in the waters of the Grand Line.
A handsome, curly-haired young man was riding a bicycle across the sea when he suddenly received a call on his Den Den Mushi.
Aokiji slowly took the Den Den Mushi out of his coat, then leisurely set it on his bicycle's handlebars.
The ringing never stopped the entire time.
Aokiji pursed his lips and only then answered the call.
"Moshi—"
Aokiji had just started to speak.
A very polite, enthusiastic, and friendly greeting came from the other end of the line.
"You bastard, Aokiji!!!"
"Ah la la..."
Aokiji scratched his ear and replied lazily.
"So it's Fleet Admiral Sengoku. What's the matter?"
"Of course something big has happened!"
The Den Den Mushi vividly mimicked Sengoku's furious expression.
"You bastard! Why did you recommend Vongola Storm for the Sword Unit?"
"Vongola Storm?"
Aokiji raised an eyebrow.
"He's a very interesting Marine. I did invite him to join the Sword Unit back then.
"What happened to him?"
"Vongola Storm wiped out Impel Down!!!"
"Actually, it was Instructor Zephyr who recommended him for the Sword Unit!"
Aokiji very deftly changed his tune.
"I'm not close to Vongola Storm at all. I've only met him a few times.
"If you have a problem, Fleet Admiral, you can take it up with Instructor Zephyr."
"You bastard! Don't even think about shirking responsibility!"
Sengoku said angrily.
"You're the highest-ranking officer in the Sword Unit!
"Now one of the Sword Unit's members has caused a huge mess. Don't think you can just wash your hands of it!"
"Ah la la, that sounds like a lot of trouble..."
Aokiji scratched his messy, unruly hair.
"What exactly did Storm do?
"'Wiping out Impel Down' sounds a bit exaggerated, doesn't it?"
"That was an exaggeration on my part."
Sengoku's tone finally softened.
"Still, although Vongola Storm didn't wipe out Impel Down, he came close to turning the place upside down!
"He executed more than ninety percent of the prisoners in Infinite Hell."
"...He really is an impressive Marine."
After a long pause, Aokiji finally managed to respond.
"Sakazuki will be thrilled when he hears the news."
"Now is not the time for your bad jokes!"
Sengoku reprimanded him coldly.
"Do you still consider Vongola Storm a Marine? He's caused irreparable damage to Impel Down!"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I have a question."
Aokiji's tone turned serious.
"Setting aside the prisoners held in Impel Down, did Vongola Storm harm the life of any other innocent person?"
As soon as he asked, Sengoku fell silent.
"I just confirmed the facts with Impel Down."
Sengoku paused, then continued.
"Apart from the criminals, Vongola Storm didn't kill a single prison guard or staff member."
"Then what's the problem?"
Hearing that, Aokiji felt a quiet sense of relief.
"Marines killing pirates is unavoidable.
"Though Storm did go a little overboard this time...
"But if you intend to charge a Marine with 'killing too many pirates,' Fleet Admiral, I think you should send that trigger-happy bastard Sakazuki to Impel Down first!"
Sengoku wasn't fooled by Aokiji's little trick of changing the subject.
"Killing pirates in battle and slaughtering a prison full of criminals who've already been convicted..."
Sengoku asked pointedly.
"Are those really the same thing?"
"The scum locked up in Infinite Hell deserve the death penalty!"
Aokiji replied forcefully.
"What I don't understand is why the government deliberately chose to spare their lives!"
There were indeed various factions within the Marines, such as the "hawks," the "doves," and the "moderates."
Generally speaking,
Aokiji belonged to the "doves."
But even among the dove Marines, not everyone was as kindhearted as Zephyr.
Black Arm Zephyr, the "Non-Killing" Admiral.
He'd hunted countless pirates in his life, yet never killed a single enemy.
Aokiji deeply admired his instructor.
But he didn't believe that "killing pirates" was wrong.
There truly were irredeemable scum on the seas.
And the criminals locked away in Infinite Hell were the "scum of the scum."
Aokiji thought Storm had gone a little too far.
But it wasn't a big deal.
Honestly,
if the Admiral in charge of the Sword Unit weren't Aokiji but Akainu,
that guy might have even publicly praised Storm for what he'd done!
"Kuzan..."
Sengoku sighed.
"Sometimes, I really can't tell.
"Do you still hold to 'Burning Justice'...
"or have you completely changed to 'Lazy Justice'?"
"Ah la la..."
Aokiji chuckled, not answering the question directly.
"It's hard for people to understand themselves completely."
"Let's drop it!"
Sengoku chose to move on from the subject as well.
He'd gone through his own changes in outlook as a Marine.
Only he knew what that had been like.
Sengoku continued.
"Unless something unexpected happens, Vongola Storm will definitely be given a bounty!"
"A bounty? Why?"
Aokiji asked, puzzled.
"Doesn't Impel Down have Magellan, and that other guy, um, Shiryu?
"Magellan should have subdued Storm, right? The Venom-Venom Fruit is pretty powerful."
Sengoku had made the situation sound so dire earlier.
Aokiji had assumed Storm had been caught before he could accomplish anything.
Before he could infiltrate the pirates, the "blade" had already been locked away in Impel Down...
Aokiji had even prepared himself mentally to break someone out of Impel Down.
But now, it seemed he'd misunderstood?
"You underestimated Vongola Storm. So did I!"
Sengoku spoke with a complicated tone.
"According to Magellan's testimony, Vongola Storm has awakened his Clay Fruit!
"After nearly wiping out all of Infinite Hell, Vongola Storm transformed into a white dragon and flew straight out of Impel Down!"
"Th-that can't be a joke, can it?"
Aokiji's eyes widened in shock as he asked in disbelief.
"How long has Storm even had the Clay Fruit? He's already awakened it? And he can fly?"
"That's how things stand. Maybe Storm really is a genius..."
Sengoku explained.
"I just went to the staff office and discussed Vongola Storm's bounty with Tsuru.
"Given what he's done and his level of strength, his first bounty could be frighteningly high!
"No matter what, Vongola Storm's identity as a 'pirate' is pretty much settled—wait.
"I have another call coming in..."
Sengoku's voice quickly grew faint.
But Aokiji's hearing was sharp enough for him to make out the conversation on the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
"What do you mean, keep it quiet?"
"Something as serious as the incident at Impel Down happened! The government and the Marines are actually going to keep it under wraps?!"
"Damage the government's credibility... what a joke!"
"I'm the Navy Admiral!"
Aokiji heard Sengoku roar in anger.
But what shook him even more were several other, fainter, elderly voices.
"What does a Navy Admiral even amount to?!"
"You Marines are nothing more than the government's public face!"
"The Marines won't be handling what happened in Infinite Hell!"
Right after that, the call was cut off.
Aokiji waited quietly for a while.
Only then did Sengoku's exhausted voice come back on the line.
"Sorry, Kuzan. I didn't mean to make you watch that... Let's act as if nothing happened with Vongola Storm!"
Aokiji could tell Sengoku was about to hang up, so he suddenly asked,
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, was that the Gorosei you were just speaking with?"
"You recognized them?"
Sengoku didn't hide the truth. He answered directly.
"It was the Gorosei. They ordered us to keep what happened in Infinite Hell quiet.
"So Vongola Storm's bounty will be canceled..."
Aokiji didn't care about the bounty one way or another. He asked bluntly,
"In the government's eyes, what exactly are we Marines?"
"What are we? Haha."
Sengoku chuckled.
"Kuzan, when the day comes that you become Fleet Admiral, ask the Gorosei that question..."
Click—
Sengoku hung up.
Aokiji stood alone in the middle of the vast ocean, his feelings a mystery even to himself.
After a long while,
Aokiji dialed another number.
"Moshi moshi, Kuzan speaking."
"Admiral Kuzan! I haven't heard from you in ages. I was starting to think you'd left the Marines too!"
"Don't joke around, Storm."
Aokiji held the Den Den Mushi and spoke very seriously.
"I just received word from Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
"You've done something truly remarkable!"
"I only did as you instructed."
Storm's aggrieved voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
"Didn't you tell me to become a pirate?"
You call this being a pirate?!
Aokiji rolled his eyes dramatically.
Storm complained without holding back.
"Hey, hey, hey! Den Den Mushi can imitate its owner's expressions. I saw that eye roll!"
"Ah, la la..."
Aokiji laughed it off before getting to the point.
"Do you still want to continue being a pirate?"
"Of course! I'm a blade in the darkness! I'll remember my mission and never forget my original purpose!"
Storm answered readily.
"I'm going to become a Great Pirate! Venture deep into the New World! Infiltrate the Yonko!"
Aokiji pressed him further.
"So you're planning to enter the New World right now?"
"Of course—not!"
Storm denied it.
"Keep pace with a Yonko's pirate crew by myself? I can't do that yet.
"If I want to successfully infiltrate the Yonko, I'll have to find a few suitable allies first!"
Aokiji: From Burning Justice to Lazy Justice. Whether he'll still be just after leaving the Marines is anyone's guess...
Sengoku: From Justice that Reigns Supreme to Absolute Justice.
There will always be people who confuse Sengoku's ideals with Akainu's.
Akainu stood for Thorough Justice.
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