"Two, why must you force me…?"
Admiral Fujitora calmly gripped Yakuza Kasen's in his hand and slowly drew the famous blade, one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Swords.
Click!
A simple motion, drawing and sheathing in a single breath.
Boom!!!
The lightning and magma that surged toward him were suddenly and uniformly crushed into the ground, as if an invisible hand had slammed them flat.
Click.
Fujitora lowered his sword and spoke slowly.
"If you wish to continue fighting, then let us take it outside. Do not destroy Marineford."
This was the power of Admiral Fujitora's Devil Fruit, the Gravity-Gravity Fruit, a Paramecia ability that allowed him to freely manipulate gravity itself.
"…"
Vice Admiral Onigumo stood nearby, on the verge of tears as he looked at the three Admirals and the Fleet Admiral who had started fighting over the slightest disagreement.
He could not advise anyone, and he did not dare to.
Neither magma, lightning, nor gravity was something he could contend with.
As the person directly involved in this incident, he could not leave either, so he was forced to stand miserably in the very center of the confrontation between the strongest Marines alive.
"The problem is never about who to kill, but about not losing the Marine's dignity."
Fleet Admiral Sakazuki seemed to have calmed down after the brief clash. He sat back in his chair, puffing on a cigar, his face dark.
"Hmph. Just a Celestial Dragon's servant, so what if he was killed?"
He exhaled smoke slowly.
"The real problem is that you let so many people witness it. If busybodies spread this news to the Sky Island Alliance and they broadcast it everywhere, would that not make the Marines lose dignity?"
"Tch. Is dignity something given by others?"
Admiral Cero leaned lazily in his chair, swinging his legs casually.
"If anyone dares to mock the Marines because of this, I will personally go to their doorstep and take that face back."
"You wish!"
Sakazuki shot him a sharp glance.
"Do you intend to use this as an excuse to provoke the Four Emperors again? You will depart immediately. Go and stay in the territories of the Beasts Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates and behave."
Cero clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed.
"This matter ends here," Sakazuki continued in a deep voice. "If the Celestial Dragons have any opinions, let them come find me. Their servant dared to extort a Marine Admiral. They have some nerve."
Then Sakazuki turned to Fujitora, who was leaning quietly on his sword with his eyes closed.
"Fujitora, you will go to the Big Mom Pirates' territory and coordinate with Kizaru. Deter the restless Emperors."
"I understand."
Fujitora nodded calmly.
"Alright, then."
Cero stood up, brushing imaginary dust off his silver-white suit.
"I guess I will go play with Whitebeard and Kaido."
Sakazuki frowned.
"Do not mess around. I am sending you to deter them, not to start a war."
"Relax. Is it not enough that I absolutely will not kill them?"
"Also…" Sakazuki added slowly, his tone lowering. "Try to confirm whether Whitebeard is truly dead. With that man's personality, if he were alive, he would not have stayed silent for so long. The rumors are likely true."
"You think Whitebeard is dead?"
Cero blinked, suddenly interested.
"If that is the case, can I take the chance to wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"…"
Sakazuki bit down hard on his cigar, sparks flashing.
"Wipe out my ass. If you are bored, go drink on some island. Do not cause disasters everywhere."
When dealing with other Admirals, Sakazuki wanted them to eliminate more pirates.
But when dealing with Cero, a man who could casually stroll into Emperor territory and turn it into chaos, Sakazuki was truly exhausted.
With the Sky Island Alliance restraining the World Government and the rapidly growing Air Force competing with the Marines, the current balance of power was fragile.
One wrong move could affect the entire world.
However, Sakazuki had to admit that after the Air Force emerged, pirates had indeed quieted down significantly.
Most merchants now preferred airships, drawing pirates into the White White Sea.
And because the Air Force eliminated many sky pirates, Marine forces were freed up elsewhere.
Still, in Sakazuki's eyes, the Air Force remained the greatest threat to the world's order.
"Fine, fine."
Cero waved his hand lazily.
"I will just go back to drinking at the brothel."
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
At night, massive waves crashed against the dock.
The island lay silent under the cover of darkness.
"Woo… woo…"
Suddenly, a gigantic shadow surfaced from the sea.
A pale, rotting sea beast smashed violently onto the dock, beaching itself with a heavy impact.
It resembled a whale, but its fins had long, thin, twisted arms, writhing like human fingers.
"Help… help… me…"
Even more chilling was that the monster emitted distorted human cries.
Its eyes, eerily similar to human eyes, were wrapped in red, vein-like growths.
Then its massive mouth slowly opened.
"…"
From the pitch-black maw, a pale figure stepped out.
It was a man with brown hair and a well-built body over two meters tall, wearing soaked pirate clothing that looked centuries old.
"This is the place…"
His blue eyes were dull and lifeless, like those of a corpse.
"I can smell the presence of the creator."
He lifted his head slightly, oriented himself, and began walking stiffly toward the town, leaving a wet trail behind him.
"Help… help… me…"
The giant whale monster continued writhing on the dock, but it would soon suffocate.
If only I had known…
In its final chaotic thoughts, it was filled with regret.
I would never have gone…
…
The casino, sealed by the Marines, was dark and silent.
A faint beam of light cautiously pierced the gloom.
"Quiet. Do not wake the people around the casino."
Two sneaky figures crept inside.
"Brother Hu, is it really safe to come back here to look for the boss's hidden money?"
A small thug whispered nervously, trembling as he looked around.
Brother Hu, the gang leader who had been terrified by Admiral Cero earlier that day, waved him off.
"Relax. The Marines think they took everything, but they never found the secret compartments. I personally saw that stingy old man hide valuables here."
"Hehe, then we are getting rich."
The small thug grew excited but missed his step.
Thud!
The echo rang through the empty casino.
"Watch where you walk!"
Brother Hu scolded him, then froze when he saw his subordinate pointing behind him in terror.
"Brother Hu… is that a person?"
"A person? How could there be anyone here?"
Brother Hu turned around.
His blood ran cold.
A pale figure stood where the golden statue had once been enshrined.
His legs nearly gave out, but with his subordinate behind him, he forced himself to stand firm.
"Who… who are you?"
The pale figure turned slowly.
"A Fish-Man with Orca blood…"
His voice was hoarse and unnatural.
"I bestow upon you the Disaster of atavistic mutation. Submit before the King."
Invisible white powder drifted through the air.
"Brother Hu… I cannot breathe…"
The small thug collapsed, gasping.
Brother Hu's body began to convulse violently.
His bones twisted, his flesh expanded, and his body grew larger and larger.
By the time he staggered forward, he had transformed into a massive whale monster.
"Let us go."
The pale figure stepped into the creature's open mouth.
"Take me to the blasphemer."
"Woo… woo…"
The transformed Brother Hu lurched toward the distant sea.
The small thug behind him was already dead, his body rotting rapidly.
Plop.
When the monster plunged into the water, it had fully become the same whale sea beast that had washed ashore earlier.
…
Fujitora, resting in the town, suddenly opened his eyes.
He gripped his sword and slowly stood up, gazing toward the dock.
"A strange and powerful presence… has arrived."
---