Marine Infighting

"SAKAZUKI! Have you lost your mind?!"

"Shut up!!"

Akainu's words were like a lit fuse thrown into a powder keg!

Several Marine Vice Admirals from Aokiji's faction, or those already deeply dissatisfied with Akainu's radical methods—such as Momonga and Strawberry—instantly flew into a rage!

They yanked out their swords and glared furiously at Akainu, powerful auras erupting from their bodies. "Admiral Kuzan is our comrade! One of the Navy's greatest fighting forces! How can you so casually speak of sacrificing him?!"

"For this so-called 'Absolute Justice,' you'd even abandon your comrades' lives?! What kind of justice is that?!"

"Do you want every Marine soldier to lose heart, Sakazuki?!"

The Marine formation in the plaza instantly descended into unrest and division.

The hawkish soldiers who supported Akainu's ideals had fanatical looks in their eyes, while more soldiers—especially members of Aokiji's direct command—were filled with anger, sorrow, and hesitation.

The Vice Admirals stood at swordpoint with one another, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder.

"My~ oh~ my~~~"

A distinctly drawn-out voice rang out.

At some point, Kizaru had Teleported to the top of a tall flagpole at the edge of the plaza, sitting cross-legged and leisurely basking in the sun.

He Took out a pair of small sunglasses and put them on, then spread his hands at the chaotic scene below. "What a~ ter~ ri~ fy~ ing~ bit of infighting... I'm getting old, and my heart isn't so good. I'd better sunbathe and stay away from all this trouble."

He perfectly embodied the highest realm of slacking off.

Fujitora's brows knitted tightly into a deep furrow.

Leaning on his Staff Sword and facing Akainu and the arguing Vice Admirals, he spoke in a deep voice. It was not loud, yet it carried a heavy pressure. "Fleet Admiral... Admiral Sakazuki's words are misguided. The bond between comrades is also a cornerstone of justice. Standing by and watching them die is not what we Marines do."

His stance clearly placed him on the side opposing Akainu.

Ryokugyu looked at the enraged Vice Admirals, then at Akainu with magma churning around him, before finally shifting his gaze to Aokiji, who looked utterly dead inside on the deck.

He scratched his head, Pulled out half a blade of grass he had not finished eating earlier from his pocket, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed hard a few times. "Mm... so bitter... This grass is full of the taste of anger and magma... Tastes awful..."

Yet he still swallowed it.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku shot Akainu, that "useless teammate," a vicious glare. That look conveyed a complex array of messages: You're good for nothing but ruining things, No one would think you were mute if you shut up, and My blood pressure had just gone down, and now you've sent it soaring again.

Sakazuki, you magma-brained idiot! Will you die if you don't cause trouble?! If Kuzan can be saved, why not save him?! What good does provoking Allen do us?!

Ignoring Akainu's rhetoric about "sacrifice," Sengoku took a deep breath and made the most rational—and most humiliating—choice available under the circumstances.

His eyes burned as he fixed them on Allen. His voice regained the steadiness of a Fleet Admiral, but carried an unquestionable decisiveness. "Release them simultaneously!"

Sengoku enunciated the four words one by one. "When I count to three, you will remove Kuzan's Seastone shackles and push him toward the shore. I will order Rayleigh's Seastone chains removed and let him walk toward the harbor! It will happen at the same time! No tricks!"

Hearing Sengoku's decision, the huge weight in Allen's heart finally fell away!

Whew... Good thing the Fleet Admiral is a sensible man. Not every Marine is as insane as that magma idiot!

A victorious smile appeared on Allen's face, and he snapped his fingers. "Deal! You're refreshingly straightforward, Fleet Admiral! Then... we'll do as you say!"

He immediately crouched down, preparing to remove the Seastone shackles from Aokiji's hands and feet while secretly mobilizing his Space Ability, ready to carry out a precise "hostage" exchange.

Just as Allen's hand was about to touch Aokiji's shackles, and Sengoku raised his hand to order Rayleigh released—

Without any warning, a pure white figure appeared behind Rayleigh on the execution platform as if it had Teleported there!

The speed was so fast that even Garp, standing nearby, only had time for his pupils to contract! The newcomer was CP0's commander! Wearing an expressionless white mask, he held the ominous famed blade Onikiba, whose vicious design and sinister aura radiated deadly cold light. Its icy edge was already pressed precisely and steadily against Rayleigh's throat!

The blade even sank slightly into the skin, drawing a thin line of blood!

The CP0 commander ignored Garp's furious glare from so close by, ignored the uproar that instantly erupted below, and ignored Sengoku's furious roar.

His voice, specially altered and as cold and merciless as grinding metal, carried clearly through the mask across the entire plaza. "By the Five Elders' highest order!"

There was not a trace of emotion in his voice. "'Pluton Battleship and Dr. Vegapunk's clone are the World Government's highest strategic objectives! This transaction must be completed! Neither may be missing!"

His blade pressed down slightly, forcing Rayleigh to tilt his head back.

"If the transaction cannot be completed..."

The commander's gaze locked onto Allen aboard the small boat through his mask like that of a venomous snake. "Pluton and Silvers Rayleigh will be beheaded here today as a warning to others!"

"CP0!!! What do you think you're doing?!!"

Fleet Admiral Sengoku's roar was like that of a wounded lion, filled with the ultimate fury of being openly slapped in the face and overruled. "This is an operation led by Marine Headquarters! Who gave you the authority to interfere?! Release Rayleigh at once!"

The CP0 commander turned a deaf ear to Sengoku's enraged questioning, as though the other man were nothing but air.

His eyes remained locked only on Allen, and that icy voice rang out again, carrying naked threat and declaration. "Brat, face reality."

He tilted his head slightly, indicating the additional white figures silently emerging from the shadows around the plaza—CP0 elites—as well as the powerful, dangerous presences farther away, hidden in the shadows of buildings or behind warships. They were the Shichibukai and others.

At that moment, Allen understood as well. Aokiji could only restrain the Marines, not the World Government. After all, tempted by the Pluton Battleship, those five old men could abandon every Marine.

"Hand it over! Otherwise..."

The CP0 commander paused, emphasizing each word. "You and your Uncle will not leave this island alive today!"

Those words were like the final death knell, tolling coldly in everyone's hearts.

The World Government's fangs were fully bared at this moment!

The authority of the Fleet Admiral? The lives of Marine Admirals?

Before the temptation of "Pluton," all could be sacrificed! The atmosphere instantly dropped to freezing point, the air seeming to solidify into ice-cold killing intent.

The CP0 commander's voice was completely flat, like a machine's synthesized speech. "Gol D. Allen. Surrender peacefully. Resistance is futile. You have too few people. You have no chance of winning."

Every word was like an ice spike, trying to freeze the air itself.

Allen first exaggeratedly dug at his ear with his little finger, as though clearing out noise, then suddenly rolled his eyes in an enormous 360-degree eye roll, nearly flipping his eyeballs into the top of his skull.