Jinbe's expression changed drastically when he heard Uchiha Hikaru's words. Jinbe knew Aokiji's strength; even if Law and Urouge went together, it would be impossible for them to beat Aokiji. Although Aokiji had already left the Marines, heaven knew whether he still had even a shred of that eradicate-evil-and-promote-good mindset left toward pirates.
"Old man's going back to help them!" The thought crossed Jinbe's mind, and he wanted to turn around and head back.
"Hey, hey!" Hikaru grabbed Jinbe by the arm. "Please have some self-awareness. Do you want to violate my arrangements? Besides, aren't I your boss no matter how you look at it? The person you should be helping to protect is me, right?"
Jinbe scratched his head and said in disbelief, "I always feel that even when facing an admiral, you don't need my help. Compared to those two, you're the one who gives me peace of mind."
"Heh!" Hikaru chuckled softly and said to Jinbe, "It's only right that you believe in my strength, but you should trust my judgment even more unconditionally."
Hikaru's tone wasn't particularly serious or heavy, but when Jinbe heard it, he felt the weight of those words.
No matter what kind of arrangements Hikaru had in mind, as a subordinate, the very first thing Jinbe needed was unconditional trust and obedience toward his leader, rather than acting willfully based on his own consciousness. That wasn't the trait a qualified subordinate should possess.
Even if there were a pit of fire ahead and Uchiha Hikaru told Jinbe to jump in, if Jinbe acknowledged Uchiha Hikaru as his boss, he had to unconditionally obey and trust that order.
This was the absolute superior-subordinate relationship and trust between master and servant.
"I understand!" Jinbe nodded slowly. From this moment on, Jinbe's state of mind