Would Sakazuki really let Yoriichi Tsugikuni leave so easily?
If the Marine Headquarters had sent the hawkish Sakazuki to Patrilia Island just to wave goodbye, they never would have dispatched someone like him in the first place.
The moment the Meteor Volcano's molten projectiles fell into the sea, thick white steam engulfed Sakazuki's fleet. But the migration fleet had barely traveled far before a massive surge of heat pierced the fog. A colossal chunk of magma, over ten meters in diameter, shot out from the steam and hurtled toward the lead ship, the Dawn.
If it struck, even a vessel as sturdy as the Dawn would be doomed, especially with civilians and Marines aboard. There would be no time to evacuate.
Sakazuki wasn't holding back. Both of his attacks were meant to be lethal.
"Oh," Borsalino muttered as he turned toward the incoming magma. "Looks like Vice Admiral Sakazuki isn't planning to let us go that easily."
His tone was calm, chin resting in one hand. As a Logia user, he had nothing to fear. Even if the ship sank, he could easily escape. To him, Sakazuki's assault was little more than a flashy firework.
"Vice Admiral, if we don't fight back," Issho said, striding toward the rail, "I doubt we'll leave in one piece."
With a single sweeping strike of his blade, Issho halted the oncoming magma in midair. Without any further motion, the molten rock lost momentum and dropped into the sea beside them, stirring up waves and a heavy sulfuric mist.
Yoriichi wrinkled his brow at the strong stench, waving away the steam and walking to the edge to stare toward the distant fleet.
From the very first strike, he had known who it was.
Admiral-to-be. The future Akainu, Sakazuki. His Magma-Magma Fruit was too distinct to mistake.
Yoriichi didn't want a confrontation. He only sought to protect innocent pregnant women, and fulfill a promise to Roger.
Yes, Gol D. Roger had committed great sins. He'd sparked the Great Pirate Era and fanned the flames of ambition across the world.
But Roger's crimes were his alone. His wife and unborn child had borne none of his wealth, nor taken part in his legacy. In Yoriichi's eyes, punishing them was the embodiment of evil, of collective guilt at its worst.
He didn't hate Sakazuki. He understood the man. A true soldier, a symbol of Marine absolutism. Sakazuki would make the same choice as Kong in the trolley dilemma, sacrifice one to save five.
But even so…
"The Marines really do disappoint me," Yoriichi said, hand resting on the railing as he looked toward the distant ships.
His words caught the attention of Issho, Kyros, and the others. To them, Yoriichi was the living embodiment of justice, a man who loved the Marines deeply. They couldn't understand why he would speak such words.
"Vice Admiral… this isn't entirely the Marines' fault, is it?" Kyros asked hesitantly. "Surely the higher-ups are under immense pressure from the World Government. Yes, this decision was… misguided. But the Marines are still the embodiment of justice, aren't they?"
Kyros had spoken at length with Rear Admiral Cober. Though slippery, Cober had been honest with him. Kyros now understood the kind of pressure Marine officers faced under the World Government's heel.
To him, the idea of Tenryuubito as the creators of the world was an immutable truth. He'd never considered otherwise.
"Just a bit misguided?" Yoriichi said quietly. "They preemptively slaughter the innocent to prevent something that hasn't even happened yet."
"That's justice?"
The trolley dilemma was often used to justify sacrifice. But unlike that scenario, there were no five lives on the line, no immediate victims in danger. Killing pregnant women wouldn't save anyone. There was no present danger. Only fear.
The World Government feared that Roger's child might one day become like him. But who said the child of a pirate would become a pirate? Would the child of a Marine always become a Marine, and never a revolutionary?
To judge unborn children for hypothetical futures, to dress up murder as 'prevention', that was no justice.
Yoriichi understood how the World Government could come to such a conclusion. For 800 years, Tenryuubito children had always become Tenryuubito. Kings gave birth to kings. Decision-makers were those who had monopolized the hierarchy.
Their thinking was bound by class and privilege.
He expected that from the World Government. He didn't even feel disappointment anymore.
But the Marines… the Marines were supposed to be different. The Marines were supposed to represent merit, possibility, and rising beyond station.
And yet, here they were, embracing that same twisted ideology.
"I actually admire Vice Admiral Sakazuki," Yoriichi said with a sigh. "He's principled. But sometimes, too extreme."
"Like now."
"I think he needs a little help… cooling off."
Yoriichi stepped onto the railing.
Seeing this, Issho, Mihawk, and the others joined him at the rail. Borsalino smirked as Yoriichi leapt into the air.
"Protect the ship," Yoriichi called, his figure vanishing in a sonic boom. A red blur streaked across the sky and disappeared from view.
"Aren't you going to stop him?" Borsalino asked, amused.
Kyros shook his head. "Our orders are to guard the ship."
"Oh~ So reliable, Captain Kyros," Borsalino chuckled. He began to glow, preparing to leave, but Mihawk's blade swept past his head, halting him.
"His order was to protect the ship," Mihawk said, expression cold. "Strictly speaking, that applies to you too."
"Oh my," Borsalino drawled, standing up straight. "Every single one of Yoriichi's subordinates is terrifying."
He returned to the railing with the others and looked out to sea.
By then, Yoriichi had already landed on the bow of Sakazuki's flagship.
Sunlight streamed down as Sakazuki looked up at him.
Yoriichi's red hair and sheathed sword made his identity unmistakable.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni!" Sakazuki bellowed.
"You disobeyed Marine Headquarters. You left Dressrosa without permission and interfered with an official Marine operation. And now you're sheltering criminals!"
"Are you even still worthy of the title Marine?"
"I heard from Zephyr-sensei that you were promising. But clearly, you've let him down. You've betrayed justice!"
Sakazuki's fury wasn't just anger, it was heartbreak. He had once hoped Yoriichi would be a shining star of the next generation. Now, to see him like this…
"Nice to meet you, Vice Admiral Sakazuki," Yoriichi said with a calm smile, jumping down onto the deck.
"Is that the Yoriichi Tsugikuni?" the Marines whispered.
"The one who captured the Pirate King? He looks so… normal."
"He's not that impressive, right? Doesn't look strong at all!"
"Idiot! Didn't you see how he got here? Shut up!"
But Sakazuki wasn't listening to his subordinates.
Magma boiled on his arm, dripping onto the deck and burning holes into the wood.
"Your temper, Vice Admiral, is rather intense," Yoriichi said, drawing just a sliver of his blade. The scalding air made him frown.
"I really do hate this smell."
With a twist of his wrist, he parried the incoming lava fist, then unsheathed his sword fully in one smooth motion.
The blade flashed.
Sakazuki was lifted off his feet, smashed through the main mast, and hurled into the ocean. Blood and magma splattered across the deck.
"It's not that I'm inexperienced," Yoriichi said softly. "It's that your justice… is misaligned."
"Go cool off in the sea, Sakazuki."
He slid his sword back into its sheath.
"Don't save him," he called to the shocked crew. "He'll float. Devil Fruit users don't sink if you leave them alone."
"But… but don't they drown?" one Marine asked dumbly.
Yoriichi gave him a flat look.
Finally, Sakazuki's adjutant, an HQ Rear Admiral, darted off and dove into the sea. The crew scrambled to assist.
Yoriichi sensed the Rear Admiral pulling Sakazuki back up. Without lingering, he used Geppo to return to his ship and ordered the fleet to continue.
By the time Sakazuki was dragged onto the deck, coughing up seawater and soaked in blood, the refugee fleet was long gone.
His chest was slashed open from shoulder to gut, over 40 centimeters. His red uniform, already crimson, was now soaked in deeper red.
"That bastard…" he coughed, clutching his aide.
Just one strike.
That was all it had taken.
Only now did Sakazuki understand just how terrifying Yoriichi had become.
The Marines who had witnessed the clash were awestruck. A Vice Admiral like this… no, a future Admiral like this, gave them pride in the uniform they wore.
Patrilia Island faded into the distance behind them.
Yoriichi stood at the railing, staring silently.
Sakazuki hadn't followed. Probably realized the gap in strength.
"He gave up, huh?" Borsalino said, arriving with tea.
"Don't say it like that," Yoriichi replied, accepting the cup. "Vice Admiral Sakazuki is a man of principle."
Borsalino said nothing, eyes narrowing as he sensed something ahead.
Yoriichi turned his head as well.
Three warships were approaching.
The lead ship… he recognized it.
Marine Headquarters' Flagship Zero.
Sengoku's ship.
"Another problem…"
"Why is it that someone always tries to stand in the way of my justice?"
He whispered the words to himself, eyes fixed on the horizon.
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