Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
One after another, officers draped in white justice capes, each with their own thoughts, filed out of the meeting room and headed down the corridor.
The moment Sephiroth left the meeting room, he ran into Akainu coming toward him. The disgust in the other man's eyes remained utterly undisguised...
Seeing this, Sephiroth answered with a cold sneer.
As Akainu was about to pass him, Sephiroth casually stepped sideways, blocking his path at just the right moment.
"Move."
A cigar hung from Akainu's mouth. His expression darkened slightly, and a vicious glint flashed through his eyes.
Several years ago, when Akainu had first heard of Sephiroth's title, Throat Cutter, and his near-extermination approach toward pirates, he had thought highly of this rising Marine star. He had even considered drawing him into his own faction.
However...
Akainu had then heard that Sephiroth was closely associated with dove faction members such as Commodore Kaisa. Furthermore, Sephiroth believed in Flexible Justice, which, from the sound of it, differed somewhat in principle from the Absolute Justice Akainu upheld.
Clashes caused by differing ideals and methods of handling matters were nothing new to Akainu...
For instance, during his time at the academy, Zephyr had harshly berated him for slaughtering pirates during missions and leaving no survivors. Yet Akainu had argued back without hesitation, and the two had quarreled fiercely.
They had even ended up fighting each other directly.
Although Zephyr had beaten him black and blue, Akainu had remained as stubborn as ever. Whenever he faced pirates, he killed them if he could...
With that precedent in mind, Akainu had abandoned the thought of recruiting Sephiroth into his faction after weighing the matter. Still, he had not intended to make an enemy of him.
After all, they were colleagues. As long as Sephiroth