"Issho, keep him on the ship until I return."
A busy signal came from the receiver.
Sakazuki's chest was filled with rage, but before an enemy like Issho, he tried his best to suppress his emotions. His eyes had already become bloodshot.
Seeing Sakazuki like this, Issho let out a soft sigh, tucked the Den Den Mushi into his robe, and slowly rose to his feet.
Though he could not truly share Sakazuki's feelings, he could more or less understand why the man was so furious.
Being imprisoned by the New Marines was probably not the main reason. The main reason was—
Tsugikuni Yoriichi had denied Sakazuki's worth as a Marine. Sakazuki now regarded the Marines as his entire life. To deny his worth as a Marine was to deny him as a person.
"What could someone who's had everything go his way possibly understand?!"
"Can someone as naive as you even call yourself a Marine?!"
"What right does someone expelled from the Marines have to judge me?!"
Sakazuki sat on the bed, staring at Issho's chest as he growled in a low voice. Those words were not meant for Issho, but for Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
But the communication had already been cut off. Tsugikuni Yoriichi could not possibly hear Sakazuki's unwilling defense.
Issho, who had been about to leave, paused at Sakazuki's words. He turned back and looked at him.
"Yoriichi is not a naive man."
"In some ways, what he seeks is the same as what you seek."
"It is only that the road he walks differs from yours."
"Who is right and who is wrong? The standard for judging that should be quite simple, shouldn't it?"
"When it comes to killing pirates, he may not have killed fewer than you. And the civilians he has saved far outnumber