"…"
For a moment, you could hear a pin drop on the drill yard.
Dane and the 16th Branch soldiers were completely stunned.
Admiral Akainu… wasn't he here to review Lieutenant Colonel Hawk?
How did the topic turn, and now he was trying to recruit them under his command?
Then… what about Lieutenant Colonel Hawk?
In an instant, countless thoughts churned through the soldiers' minds.
On one side was a personal invitation from one of Marine Headquarters' supreme powers, promising the highest honor and a bright future.
On the other was Lieutenant Colonel Hawk, who had led them out of hardship, given them dignity and strength, and earned their deep respect and loyalty.
If Lieutenant Colonel Hawk didn't go…
they didn't want to go either.
"…"
Akainu took in the undisguised hesitation on Dane's face and the others'.
His interest in the Hawk he was about to meet grew stronger.
This kid not only purged pirates with thunderbolt methods, he had trained a branch's soldiers to this level.
More rare was this power to bind hearts.
He was an admiral of Marine Headquarters, offering top-tier posts and treatment.
Yet these soldiers still hesitated…
"Uh…"
The Headquarters Marines who had come with Akainu didn't dare breathe too loud; eyes down, faces blank.
This…
An admiral personally recruiting, and branch soldiers hesitating?!
What spell had Hawk cast on them?
If it were them, there would be no hesitation.
To delay even a second would be disrespecting Headquarters' offer.
"Where is Lieutenant Colonel Rayne Hawk?"
Akainu's eyes swept the branch soldiers.
Their strength was still far from matching Headquarters elites,
but when he'd casually tossed down that miniature Meteor Volcano,
not a single one had broken ranks and fled.
They had instinctively formed up and tried to hold.
That response in the face of overwhelming force, that fearlessness before death, and that discipline etched in their bones—
good.
Strength could be forged later.
Armament Haki, Observation Haki—those could be mastered and honed through hard training.
But discipline and military bearing—
that was what the Marines most lacked now.
Look at those two back at Headquarters!
One was always, "Oooh, how scary\~," and never lifted a finger if he could skate.
The other was worse, "Man, perfect weather for a nap\~," his fighting spirit totally gone.
The future of the Marines could not rest on those two deadweights.
If these youngsters joined Headquarters, they would inject fresh vigor into that stagnant core.
That was why he had spoken to recruit them.
As for their hesitation now?
No matter.
As long as he got that Hawk kid,
the rest would follow—every last one.
"…"
"Admiral Akainu, Lieutenant Colonel Hawk has been waiting in his office."
"Please, this way."
Dane snapped to and led the way with respect.
Akainu followed with the Headquarters Marines.
Inside the office.
Hawk was leafing through a hydrographic atlas of the Grand Line.
Tap—
Heavy, measured footsteps sounded outside.
Then the door opened.
A heat like magma rolled in first.
Akainu's tall figure filled the doorway.
"…"
Seeing who it was, Hawk rose at once and snapped a textbook Marine salute. "Admiral Akainu."
"Mm."
Akainu gave a faint nod, no excess expression, and strode to the main seat, sitting squarely.
"I've essentially grasped the course of events on the way here."
"This so-called review is just a formality."
He leaned forward a touch and fixed Hawk with his gaze. "Now, Lieutenant Colonel Hawk—tell me."
"What is your justice?"
He would judge this young man who had stirred the East Blue by that answer.
Justice was the Marines' creed.
Every Marine carried his own justice.
He wanted to see what justice Hawk upheld.
"Reporting to Admiral Akainu."
Meeting the gaze that felt like it could burn through a man's heart, Hawk spoke evenly. "My justice…"
"is the justice of slaughter."
"Oh…"
Akainu's brow twitched, a flicker of some unreadable light in his eyes.
"Slaughter, huh… not bad."
He settled back into the chair, tone layered with meaning.
Justice of slaughter.
He was satisfied with that answer.
This sea was filthy with evil.
It did call for a thorough, merciless slaughter.
Only by burning rot to ash could true clarity come.
Only…
talk was cheap.
Headquarters had plenty who could spin finer words than this.
"But, Hawk—"
"on this sea, those without strength are the ones who get killed."
Before the words were finished—
Boom!
A scorching pressure burst from Akainu.
"Do you have the strength to carry out a justice of slaughter?"
The temperature in the office rocketed.
The surface of the wooden desk began to warp and smoke.
Papers on the wall ignited without flame and sifted into ash.
"Ugh—!"
Dane at the door and the Marines who'd followed Akainu felt a searing suffocation all at once.
Faces changed, they stumbled back in a rush and fled the office.
Drip—
Only Hawk stood straight where he was.
Sweat ran from his brow, cheeks, neck like streams—and flashed to vapor in the heat.
But he did not move.
An inky black sheen welled from beneath his skin and rushed to cover him head to toe.
Armament Haki—
driven at full power.
His intermediate physique strained madly against the terrifying pressure pouring off Akainu.
No wonder he was the Summit War's MVP.
Gritting his teeth, Hawk's thoughts raced. This wasn't even Conqueror's Haki.
It was only the killing intent accumulated over years, fused with the Magma-Magma Fruit's power, naturally radiating such crushing force.
The oppression… was overwhelming.
"Armament Haki, eh…"
Watching the jet-black coating sheath Hawk, the satisfaction in Akainu's eyes deepened.
With no careful guidance from Headquarters' elite instructors, he had awakened Armament Haki by himself—
and this degree of refinement was not something short-term training could produce.
It took effort beyond ordinary men—
and talent.
In that instant, Akainu changed his mind.
He had thought this East Blue trip would be a formality—
meet the young man, confirm his resolve to slay evil,
then go with the flow and recommend him for promotion to Headquarters colonel—case closed.
After all, from Nezumi's death to the near disappearance of East Blue pirates to the branch's renewed discipline and bearing,
every piece left him very satisfied.
But now—
a fierce impulse surged in Akainu's heart.
He wanted to test with his own hands just how much weight this Rayne Hawk truly carried.
Perhaps…
a Headquarters colonel's post was far from enough.
"Hawk, I still have one slot for a direct promotion to Headquarters Commodore…"
"but you will have to prove to me that you deserve it."
"!!!"