Speak! Aokiji Kuzan! I'll Make You Speak!

Blue sky, white clouds, flocks of birds.

The Momonga awoke from its coma, but a sharp, tearing pain still throbbed in its abdomen.

The intense pain quickly jolted the elite Vice Admiral from Marine Headquarters daze back to his senses.

"White Dragon!"

Ignoring the pain, Momonga nimbly rose from the deck of the warship, intending to find the Shichibukai who had suddenly attacked him.

To his surprise, the Prison Ship remained peaceful and orderly.

There was none of the tragic scene, like a living hell, that the Momonga had imagined.

It appears that, apart from the flying Momonga, who is in charge, no other naval soldiers on the Prison Ship were injured.

'White Dragon... is he only targeting me?'

A thought suddenly flashed through the Momonga's mind.

Just then, Storm's voice rang out from the side.

"Hey, Vice Admiral Momonga, you're awake?"

Upon hearing the sound, the Momonga was instantly startled. He drew his military knife from its sheath, the gleaming blade pointing directly at the enemy.

A pirate, and someone who is currently...

A pirate holding a bowl of noodles, diligently slurping them up?

Upon seeing Storm's current appearance, the Momonga's eye twitched violently.

What does this guy think warships are?!

"It's been so long since I've had such authentic Navy-style ramen."

While talking, Storm had already finished off a large bowl of noodles.

He casually tossed the empty noodle bowl aside; the pile of empty noodle bowls beside him was almost as tall as a person.

"Vice Admiral Momonga, would you like a bowl?"

Storm picked up a bowl of ramen, then controlled the Clay Arm to take another bowl of ramen and deliver it to the Momonga.

Swish--

The Momonga, wielding a military knife, slashed horizontally, instantly splitting the soft Clay Arm in two.

He then extended his right hand and caught the bowl of ramen steadily, without spilling a single drop of soup.

This ramen is something pirates can eat, but he can't?

"Snort!"

The Momonga sheathed its sword, took the chopsticks handed to it by a nearby naval soldier, and began slurping its noodles.

Meanwhile, Storm had almost finished eating while the Momonga was unconscious.

After finishing the bowl of ramen in his hand, he stopped eating.

"Vice Admiral Momonga."

Upon hearing Storm's words, the Momonga didn't respond at all; he just kept slurping his noodles.

The Vice Admiral general merely glanced out of the corner of his eye at the pile of empty noodle bowls stacked high like a small mountain next to White Dragon.

Then he slurped the noodles even harder...

Storm didn't seem to mind the other person's cold attitude and continued speaking to himself.

"We'll be at Jaya Island soon. I've already dealt with the pirates there; you just need to transport them to Impel Down."

"I just wrote a letter and would like you to deliver it to Hannyabal, the Chief Jailer of Impel Down."

"No matter what, I'm contributing to the Impel Down's performance targets."

"Hannyabal should be very happy to send pirates from two pirate islands to Impel Down in one go, right?"

Upon hearing this, even the flying Momonga, who was slurping noodles, couldn't help but cough.

"Pushing for performance targets"?

What kind of new idea is this?

Storm glanced at the still-coughing Momonga, ignoring its posture, and continued, "..."

"There's one more thing. I just wrote a letter and would like you to deliver it to Marine Headquarters Fleet Admiral Sengoku of the Marine Sengoku."

"I told you my current bounty is too low! Increase it! At least raise it to over 100 million Beli!"

"Otherwise, I'll fight every Marine Vice Admiral I see in the Marine Vice Admiral."

"Vice Admiral Momonga, you don't want the Navy's prestige to be trampled underfoot by pirates, do you?"

You bastard!

The Momonga simply stopped slurping his noodles and glared angrily at Storm.

If it weren't for the "rules," he would definitely teach that bastard White Dragon a lesson!

At least make the White Dragon bleed!

Storm, despite being stared at intently by the Momonga, felt no pressure whatsoever. He shrugged and continued speaking.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing—"

"The navy is not your messenger!"

The Momonga couldn't stand Storm's incessant chatter and coldly interrupted him.

"If you have any messages, you can deliver them yourself!"

"Both Marine Headquarters and Impel Down would very much 'welcome' to you!"

"Yes, you're right, but I'm too busy to get away right now, aren't I?"

Storm shrugged and said in a very smug tone.

"You know, that's how pirates are."

"The righteous navy only needs to obey orders, maintain the government's rule, and be the Celestial Dragons' dogs."

"But pirates have many more things to consider."

To be fair...

Storm's statement was not sarcastic.

He was simply stating what the navy had done.

But just like that classic saying...

Lies don't hurt, but the truth is the sharpest knife.

Upon hearing this sharp criticism, the Momonga's lips moved, but it couldn't utter a single word, its whiskers trembling with anger.

What is it that most breaks the Momonga's defenses?

Everything Storm said is true!

Enough is enough; there's no need to endure it any longer.

Grin--

Enraged, the Momonga drew its sword, and a heavy, dark [Armament Haki] enveloped its surface.

For a Marine Vice Admiral vice admiral, mastering Armament Haki and Observation Haki is the most basic requirement.

Storm remained unfazed as the Momonga pointed a knife at him; he calmly watched the Momonga.

There's one more thing.

"Don't just point a military knife at a Shichibukai like that."

"Because of you, I'm weak~"

[More-More Fruit - 100x Speed]!

Storm's voice boomed like thunder in the Momonga's ears.

Even with the reaction speed of an elite Vice Admiral from the Marine Headquarters, they couldn't detect exactly when the other party appeared.

They couldn't even detect the other party's movement trajectory.

Getting hit by someone's fist is perfectly normal.

Bang!

Storm's fist struck the Momonga in the stomach once again.

The latter curled up, its eyes bulging, and flew off the warship, soaring all the way to Jaya Island ahead.

This moment is just like that moment back then.

Vice Admiral Momonga, fallen flat on his face.

[Platinum Trophy: Momonga]

[Trophy Star Rating: ★★★★: ★★★★★]

Storm cracked his fist and looked at the silent naval soldiers standing to the side.

"Navy, time to get to work!"

The Prison Ship loaded the prisoners and sailed away from Jaya Island.

The unexpected arrival of "passengers" —Jaya Island was not originally on the original itinerary of the Prison Ship —caused the arrival of an unplanned "passenger."

Therefore, many prisoners have to be crammed into the same cell.

But that's not something Storm needs to worry about.

On Jaya Island at this time.

Apart from Storm, there were only a few cats and kittens left.

Calling this a "deserted island" wouldn't be too far off.

Ignoring the rest of the island, Storm honed his Armament Haki alone on the shore.

Blue--Blue--

A Den Den Mushi scooped-up noodle) rang.

As if he had expected this, Storm rode his dragon into the sky and then answered the Den Den Mushi.

"Moshi Moshi--"

"Vongola Storm!"

Aokiji's serious voice came through the Den Den Mushi; he rarely used this tone.

"Why did you attack the Momonga! And even threatened to attack Marine Vice Admiral?"

"So it really is because of this..."

Storm wasn't surprised at all by Aokiji's strong reaction, and he said casually.

"Because this is my 'revenge'."

"...?"

Aokiji's face, which had just been filled with anger, now looked completely bewildered.

The Den Den Mushi vividly portrayed Aokiji's expressions and demeanor.

"Revenge?"

Aokiji was completely unprepared for this answer.

Why are you seeking revenge on... the Momonga? What grudge do you have against him?

"It's not revenge against the Momonga, it's revenge against the navy."

Storm corrected Aokiji's mistake.

"To be precise, I'm targeting you, Admiral Aokiji."

"...? ah?"

The bewildered expression on Aokiji's face became even more pronounced.

"Me? What did I do wrong? I didn't do anything..."

"Yes! It's because you didn't do anything!"

Storm's tone became more dramatic as he bombarded Aokiji with a barrage of questions.

"Admiral Aokiji! You clearly promised to raise my bounty to 1.295 billion Beli!"

Why did I only see 95 million Beli today?

"What about the other 1.2 billion Beli? Did you embezzle it?"

"Do you know how much damage that 95 million Beli bounty has done to my young heart?"

"..."

Aokiji's mind was a complete blank.

Or perhaps, the extreme helplessness rendered him completely speechless at that moment.

"Just... because of this?"

"Yes! That's why!"

Are you crazy?!

Snap!

Aokiji angrily hung up the Den Den Mushi.

He even thought that the Momonga had done something first that provoked Storm, which led to the two of them fighting.

Before Aokiji called, he had considered mediating the conflict between the two.

Unexpectedly, it was all because of the bounty?

Is this a problem?

Aokiji thought and thought, tried and tried to hold back, but finally couldn't resist.

He dialed another Den Den Mushi) directly.

"Vongola Storm! You brat!! Don't be so lawless!!!"

"Commander Aokiji! You broke your promise first!"

"I did not agree to this!"

"You never refused this!"

"Subordinates are not allowed to talk back to their superiors!"

"Commander Aokiji! I'm not talking back to you! I'm trying to reason with you!"

"You--"

Aokiji was furious at Storm's words.

If it weren't for the Den Den Mushi (a type of Den Den Mushi).

Aokiji even wanted to use "Ice Age" to shut Storm up!

"Oh dear, what a silver tongue you have..."

Feeling utterly bewildered, Aokiji was speechless for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"What kind of 'reasoning' are you talking about? The Navy's reasoning? Or the pirates' reasoning?"

"This is a universal truth!"

Storm refused to yield an inch.

"What you say, you must do; that's the principle I'm talking about."

"You little rascal..."

Aokiji couldn't help but grind his teeth, making a crunching sound.

"Anyway, it's wrong of you to beat up Marine Vice Admiral!"

"So the Marine Vice Admiral personally let the 'Devil Child,' who was a key target of the World Government, escape, right?"

"..."

"The Marine Vice Admiral ordered the shelling of innocent civilian refugee boats, right?"

"..."

"Is it right for the Marine Vice Admiral stand idly by and watch the triennial 'World Government Non- Member Nations Indigenous Hunting Competition'?"

"..."

"Speak up, Admiral! Aokiji Kuzan! I'll let you speak!"

"..."

Aokiji closed his eyes, his anger vanishing without a trace, leaving only a long sigh.

"Storm, what else do you know? At your age, you shouldn't be exposed to so much of the world's dark side..."

"Have you forgotten? I once served in Impel Down."

Storm's tone was calm and even.

"In Impel Down, I made a friend, Emporio Ivankov;"

"In the South Blue, I also made a new friend, Bartholomew Bear."

"As for that 'Devil Child,' he was entrusted to me by you yourself."

Emporio Ivankov, Bartholomew Bear, Nicole Robin...

The God Valley Incident, the Ohara Incident...

One hidden memory after another surfaced in Aokiji's mind.

He thought that "Lazy Justice" had become so lazy that it was unwilling to remember these disgusting evils.

I never imagined things would turn out this way.

Storm's few words.

This could once again stir up the dark memories that Aokiji had forgotten.

"I'm so sorry, Storm..."

Aokiji gave a bitter smile, his tone as melancholic as his [Ice-Ice Fruit].

That's just how the navy is.

"Just like you said, the navy only needs to obey orders and maintain the government's rule..."

On the back of the pristine white navy coat, the word "Justice" is branded.

However, the Navy is a violent institution under the World Government.

How difficult it is to uphold justice!

Let alone ordinary marines who can't even properly understand or implement the concept of justice.

Even a Marine Headquarters Admiral.

They are equally incapable of upholding justice!

Whether Akainu's "Thorough Justice" is right or wrong is another matter.

Aokiji's "Lazy Justice"... is already outrageous enough.

As for Kizaru's "Ambiguous Justice"...

Can this still be called "justice"?

It's clearly a heartless "Zhengyi"!

Even Aokiji, who was also Admiral, couldn't understand Kizaru's "justice" on many occasions.

However.

This is Admiral.

Storm's voice rang out once more.

"Admiral Aokiji."

"How."

Do you like playing chess?

"Um?"

"Life is like a game of chess; those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly."

"What did you say? I don't understand."

"I'm telling you, Admiral Aokiji, why don't you leave the Navy—"

Snap!

Aokiji hung up the Den Den Mushi immediately.

"Ah la la..."

Storm, holding up the Den Den Den Mushi that had lost signal, imitated his boss's distinctive laugh.

"Aokiji, oh Aokiji, 'Lazy Justice' has wavered once again~"

Storm remembered clearly that the last time he tried to "recruit" Aokiji, the latter had directly rejected his invitation.

Aokiji even stated at the time, "I will not leave the Navy!"

But this time...

Storm again advised him to "leave the Navy".

Aokiji didn't say anything, he just hung up the Den Den Mushi.

Is it that he doesn't want to answer?

Still afraid to answer?

Storm smiled, and just as he was about to put away the Den Den Mushi, the ringtone suddenly started again.

But this time it wasn't Aokiji.

It was Bartholomew Bear, who had been out of contact for several days.

12,000 words in the third update, please subscribe!

There should be another update tonight...