The Fleet Admiral's office in Marineford was thick with smoke. A single cigar burned down to ash in the iron grip of Sakazuki, the man the world called Akainu. His gaze was molten, fixed on the dossier in his hand.
Across from him, three shadows stood in silence were the Admirals.
Borsalino, Kizaru, leaned lazily against the wall, his golden coat catching the light as his lips curled into that same unreadable smile.
Issho, Fujitora, sat calmly at the table, cane resting across his knees, his blind eyes tilted toward the ceiling as if he could hear the weight of the room.
Aramaki, Ryokugyu, lounged in the corner, a toothpick rolling between his teeth, his expression half-bored, half-predatory.
The silence broke with Akainu's growl.
"Magnus Delmar." He spat the name like poison. "The fool didn't just break out of Impel Down. He declared himself the destroyer of the World Government and worse the Supreme Ruler of what comes after."
He slammed the file down.
"Vice Admirals dead. Buster Call wasted. A giant freed. Bullet unleashed. A Marine defector turned traitor." His eyes burned like magma. "And every scrap of it under his command."
Kizaru let out a soft whistle, his tone mocking, almost playful.
"Maaah, that's pretty scary, isn't it? A boy who wants to burn the world and build himself a throne. Sounds like the kind of light that draws moths by the millions. Pirates, slaves, soldiers… all of them looking for a savior." His smile sharpened. "A dangerous light indeed."
Ryokugyu stretched his arms overhead, yawning.
"Bah. Another big dreamer with too much haki and too little sense. Let him gather his toys. The bigger the tree, the harder it burns when we cut it down." His grin darkened, sharp as roots tearing through stone. "I'll enjoy choking the life out of him when the order comes."
Fujitora tilted his head slightly, his voice calm but edged with sorrow.
"A man who dares to dream beyond Pirate King… who dares to imagine tearing down the very order of the world. Whether you call it ambition or madness, such will cannot be ignored and such will… will call to others." His blind eyes turned toward Akainu. "If we do not act carefully, Sakazuki-san the world may find itself listening."
Akainu's jaw clenched, magma spitting faintly from his fists."Careful? Hmph. You're right about one thing, Issho. The world will listen and if we let him breathe, even a moment longer, they'll start to believe."
He leaned forward, voice like a war drum.
"This isn't a pirate. This isn't a revolutionary. This is a disease and like all diseases.."
The cigar in his hand turned to molten ash.
"..it must be burned out. Completely."
The Admirals stood in silence, each shaped by their own thoughts.
And then as if on cue the den den mushi on the desk crackled to life. The voice on the other end was clear, cold and inhumanly calm. A voice none of them disobeyed.
The Five Elders had spoken.
"All Admirals are to prepare. Magnus Delmar is to be hunted. By sea, by sky, by every force at our disposal. His death… or his capture… is now Absolute Justice."
The room fell silent again as the air grew heavier enough to crush bones.