Chapter 81 Aokiji's Shame
[Marineford · Supreme Strategy Conference Hall]
The thick air was filled with a sense of oppression before a storm, as if the entire Naval Headquarters was firmly suppressed by an invisible atmosphere of solemnity.
Sengoku's fingers pressed firmly against the edge of the conference table, his knuckles turning white and a vein throbbing in his forehead.
Zephyr stood not far away, his eyes calm, as if he had seen through everything that was about to happen.
——The clearing of the meeting room within a radius of five kilometers has been completed.
At this moment in the conference room, the hawks and the doves were like two volcanoes ready to erupt at any time, with anger and coldness clashing with each other.
Rogge walked forward slowly, each step like a drum beating the heart, his eyes locked on Kuzan who was sitting lazily: "Kuzan."
His voice was low, but it rumbled like thunder in the sky: "Your so-called 'lazy justice', are you so lazy that you can't even uphold justice itself?"
Kuzan put his hands in his pockets, still maintaining a nonchalant attitude. "Don't say that, Rogge Vice Admiral... The world isn't black and white."
Rogge narrowed his eyes slightly, but his tone became more stern: "Really? Then let me ask you!"
"The Straw Hat Crew acted recklessly in Enies Lobby. You 'supervised' them all the way, but in the end, not only did you let them go, you also personally destroyed the symbol of justice of the World Government - Enies Lobby!"
"Kuzan, are you upholding 'justice'? Or are you protecting your personal feelings?"
The atmosphere in the hall instantly froze, and all eyes fell on Kuzan.
"Ku-zan!"
"What did you do in Ohara back then? Do you want to explain it in front of all the Marine executives today?!"
Kuzan's eyes narrowed slightly, a rare flash of panic in his eyes: "...This has nothing to do with what's happening now."
"No--"
Rogge interrupted coldly, his voice growing deeper and colder: "You dare to say that all this has nothing to do with 'Nico Robin'?!"
The whole place was silent, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
Rogge continued to press forward, his eyes filled with murderous intent like a knife: "Ohara Buster Call, you witnessed her mother's murder with your own eyes, and you personally threw her into that ocean of despair!"
"Eight, Kuzan, she's only eight!"
"Since then, she has been wanted by the World Government, living in exile, carrying the highest bounty in history for the 'Devil's Son' crime—and what about you?"
Rogge slammed the table, pointing angrily at Kuzan. "Not only did you not end this hunt, but you followed her all the way, openly and covertly 'keeping an eye' on her for over a decade. Haha... With this so-called 'justice', are you really practicing 'lolicon' justice?!"
boom--!
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience was in an uproar!
Sakazuki's face darkened and he growled, "You b*****d, you actually have such a fetish?!"
Zephyr's face was livid, and his fists were clenched. "Kuzan...you really disappoint me!"
Even the usually lazy Kizaru half-opened his eyes, a hint of mockery in his eyes: "Ah, Kuzan Admiral, this is a bit hard to explain."
Aokiji looked embarrassed and had no idea how to refute it for a moment. His face was so gloomy that water could drip out of it.
Rogge sneered and approached:
"Can you dare to say that it wasn't you who used that ridiculous 'lazy justice' as an excuse to force Robin to flee the world and leave her with nowhere to go?"
"How dare you say that you didn't use the pretext of 'preventing her from being hunted' as a pretext, but instead pushed her into the abyss time and time again?"
"What do you mean by justice? Is it redemption, or is it just enjoying this long, dirty, selfish hunting game?"
Kuzan lowered his head in silence, veins throbbing faintly on his forehead, and his fists trembled.
Sengoku's expression was extremely gloomy, and Tsuru Vice Admiral's face turned pale. He slowly closed his eyes and sighed.
Sakazuki laughed in anger: "What a lazy justice! Aokiji, you are qualified to talk about justice?!"
Faced with the questioning, Kuzan remained silent.
He wanted to speak, but found that he couldn't come up with any reason to justify himself.
"Enies Lobby... shouldn't have existed in the first place."
Aokiji finally whispered something, but it exploded in the conference room like a bombshell!
Sakazuki shot up and slammed his fist down on the conference table.
--Bang!!!
The hard seastone tabletop was directly burned through by the lava, and the hot magma dripped and corroded a deep pit!
"Kuzan!! Are you denying Marine's authority or are you denying justice?!"
"You are blatantly shielding the Pirates!!"
Sakazuki roared angrily, Haki gushed out, the temperature of the entire conference hall soared instantly, and a strong smell of burning began to fill the air.
"Enies Lobby is destroyed! The dignity of the law has been trampled upon! Can you completely shirk all responsibility by saying 'it shouldn't have existed'?!!"
Kuzan's eyes turned cold, but he still stood up: "Sakazuki... Is this what you call absolute justice? Indiscriminate killing will only make the world more chaotic."
"a**hole!!!"
Sakazuki couldn't bear it any longer, his whole body turned into magma, and he punched Kuzan fiercely!
--boom!!!
The floor-to-ceiling windows of the conference hall were shattered by the loud noise. The two men turned into two meteorites of fire and ice, smashed through the outer wall, soared into the air, and fought on the open space in the square!
The sky was half a burning sea of fire, half a frozen frost. Magma was surging, and ice and snow were falling!
Sakazuki roared, "Kuzan! Today I will clean up the mess for Marine!!"
Kuzan's eyes were cold: "Sakazuki, your justice will only destroy everything!"
The two of them activated their Haki to the fullest, and their momentum exploded directly in the sky. Thunder and flames intertwined, and the sky and the earth seemed to darken.
[In the conference hall]
The huge "Justice" flag fell silently, and the air in the huge conference hall seemed to be completely frozen.
Sengoku just stood up and wanted to scold, but the moment Rogge took a step, he was directly suppressed by the surging Conqueror's Haki. His steps paused and his heart sank!
A black storm raged in the conference hall. Haki was like a materialized raging wave, tearing through the air and directly impacting the steel beams of the ceiling, making a deafening noise!
Rogge stood at the center of the storm, his expression as cold as a glacier, murderous intent boiling in his eyes.
"Marshal Sengoku—"
Rogge spoke each word, his voice like the mighty bell of the judgment sky:
"Your so-called 'Anti-Affair Bill' now seems to be nothing more than a piece of scrap paper, isn't it?!"
"Is it that when faced with the person who should be executed, they simply don't dare or are unwilling to carry out the execution?!"
He fixed his gaze on Sengoku like a hawk and sneered:
"Is this law specifically enacted to constrain us, the soldiers who truly carry out justice?"
"Or is it just a joke for those low-level soldiers with no background or backing?!"
--boom!!
Rogge's Haki completely erupted, the ground cracked instantly, the wall shook, and the metal badge with the word "Justice" slowly shook under the strong air pressure, making a dull metallic whine!
Leiter and Enel took a step at the same time.
Rhett clenched his fists, his seastone brass knuckles reflecting a cold murderous intent, his whole body boiling with armed color like an iron-blooded battlefield, a murderous aura from the front line of the battlefield swept the entire place!
Enel's golden pupils slightly closed, lightning flashed at his fingertips, and his mind network had already locked onto the emotional fluctuations of all the doves in the conference room. Every trace of murderous intent and every ray of fear could not escape his perception.
All the hawkish factions held weapons in their hands, their auras locked on the dovish generals, their murderous intent like a raging wave!
Kizaru was still leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, as if he was not involved in the matter, but his fingertips had inadvertently touched each other, and the corners of his eyes opened slightly, revealing a serious light.
Chatun, Huoshaoshan and others were sweating profusely, looking at each other with dry throats, but no one dared to stand up.
They knew clearly that if there was any further verbal provocation, today's high-level meeting would probably turn directly into a reckoning trial!
Rogge slowly scanned the room, his voice resounding throughout the hall like a judgment from heaven:
"If you dare not cleanse this sea of corruption—"
"Then let us clean up this filthy ocean!"
"Righteous justice will reshape a new order with iron and blood!"
The solemn atmosphere in the hall reached its ultimate level!
——At this moment, the ultimate battle between Sakazuki and Kuzan has already torn the world apart outside Marineford Square. The extreme scene of volcanoes and ice fields is reflected in the huge floor-to-ceiling windows of the conference room.
And this "Building of Justice" that once symbolized the highest authority of the Marine also began to crumble completely at this moment!