[Saint Jalmack]
[Shichibukai]
"The Shichibukai..." Gion whispered to herself, her eyes full of disbelief.
"Is this plan... really starting to move forward?"
"You know about this plan?" Aiden asked.
"I heard Vice Admiral Tsuru mention it before."
Gion took a deep breath, her expression complicated.
"To deal with the Great Pirate Era, the World Government plans to recruit some powerful pirates. But I never expected the people they were contacting would be this kind of scum!"
"Victor Hugo, just for the chance to become one of the Shichibukai, is actually going to turn living people into statues as gifts for the Celestial Dragons?"
"That explains everything," Aiden said calmly.
"No wonder this place is called a 'model branch,' and there haven't been any pirate attacks for hundreds of miles around."
"The Navy and the pirates have been working together for a long time.
The pirates don't rob merchant ships. They come here to trade."
"The Navy doesn't hunt pirates.
Instead, they capture ordinary civilians."
"This is what they call peace.
They use the flesh and blood of innocent people to maintain this surface-level prosperity."
"Bastards!!"
Gion suddenly slammed the letter onto the table.
The force made the teacup jump.
"I won't allow it! The Navy absolutely cannot tolerate something like this!"
She turned sharply and walked toward the inner room, preparing to use a Den Den Mushi to contact Navy Headquarters.
"I'm contacting Headquarters right now! I'll contact Vice Admiral Tsuru!
Even if this involves a Celestial Dragon, even if it involves the Shichibukai project, none of this can be built on such cruel crimes!"
"I refuse to believe Headquarters will just stand by and do nothing!"
The fire of justice burned in her eyes.
This was her bottom line and her conviction as a Navy Commodore.
However.
Slap.
A hand firmly pressed down on hers, stopping her from picking up the Den Den Mushi.
Gion froze and looked up angrily.
"Aiden! What are you doing?! You're going to stop me at a time like this?!"
Aiden stood beside her.
His hand was like an iron grip, pinning down both Gion's hand and the Den Den Mushi.
"Commodore Gion," Aiden said in a frighteningly calm voice.
"If you make that call, this problem will truly become impossible to solve."
"What are you saying?" Gion looked at him in disbelief.
"Are you saying Headquarters would cover up this kind of..."
"Headquarters will most likely compromise."
Aiden cut her off.
His dark eyes looked straight into hers, as if he could see through her and into the filthiest rules of this sea.
"Do you really think that after Nelson has been operating here for so many years, building such a huge operation and even turning the base into a palace, the high-ranking officers at Navy Headquarters wouldn't know anything at all?"
Gion's body suddenly stiffened.
Aiden's voice mercilessly tore away the last veil.
"This is the Golden Route, one of the World Government's major sources of tax revenue.
As long as the G-17 branch keeps paying those massive taxes on time, and as long as it looks like a 'model' branch on the surface..."
"Even if some people notice something is wrong, they will choose to look the other way."
Aiden let out a cold laugh and continued.
"On top of that, this business involves the Celestial Dragons.
The moment you make that call, this becomes a political incident."
"To protect the reputation of the Celestial Dragons and keep the Shichibukai project from being tainted by scandal..."
"The best outcome is that they transfer us away and replace us with someone more obedient to erase all traces of it."
"And the worst outcome..." Aiden released her hand and pointed at Gion, then at himself.
"As the people who exposed the truth, we will become traitors trying to sabotage the Shichibukai project. We might even be framed as pirates' accomplices."
"When that happens, the ones in trouble will not be Nelson and the others.
It will be us."
Gion's hand remained frozen in midair.
She wanted to argue, but she had spent many years at Headquarters.
Her reason told her that what Aiden said was the most likely reality.
She slowly lowered her hand.
It felt as if all her strength had been drained away, and she sank heavily into the chair.
"Then tell me, what should we do?" Gion's voice carried a hint of confusion and pain.
"Do we just watch as Victor arrives openly and continues their trade?"
"Of course not."
Aiden smiled.
It was a smile full of killing intent, yet it also made people feel strangely safe.
"Since 'procedural justice' won't work, and might even get us killed, then we'll play this another way."
He walked to the window and looked at the brightly lit port in the distance.
"Victor will arrive the day after tomorrow.
To gather the 'high-quality materials' that the Celestial Dragon wants, Nelson must prepare the raw materials for him before the deadline."
Aiden turned around and looked at Gion.
A cunning and dangerous light shone in his eyes.
"But he has already drained this island dry.
New materials can only be brought in by sea."
"If we show up openly at the dock where he receives the materials tomorrow morning, and even act like we're going to open the crates for inspection, what do you think Nelson, who is already on edge, will do?"
Gion was stunned, and then her pupils shrank.
"He'll be driven into a corner? But... attacking a Navy Commodore is a capital offense!"
"For someone who is about to lose his reputation and everything else, a capital offense is not what scares him.
Losing all hope is."
Aiden calmly broke down the weakness of human nature.
"As long as he feels that killing us is his only way out, and as long as he believes that with the pirate Victor, the CP0 agents, and his elite troops, he can silence us without anyone finding out..."
"He will pull the trigger without hesitation."
Aiden spread his hands, a cold smirk on his face.
"Once they make the first move, everything we do after that will simply be self-defense and putting down a mutiny."
"Under that name, no matter how many people we kill, as long as we wipe them all out... dead men tell no tales.
When the time comes, who gets to decide the truth? The survivors."
Gion listened to Aiden's plan.
The confusion in her eyes faded, giving way to disbelief.
This plan was too crazy and too perfect.
Using the enemy's fear and greed to force them into making the first mistake, then taking the moral and legal high ground to carry out a massive purge.
But there was one enormous risk.
"Aiden, your plan depends on one thing." Gion frowned deeply, her expression serious.
"We have to survive their attack and kill them all."
"Since Victor Hugo is being nominated for the Shichibukai, his strength is definitely not something to take lightly."
"On top of that, besides the CP0 agents and Nelson's elite units, there will definitely be a whole ship full of pirate elites.
With just our strength, winning in that kind of desperate situation won't be easy."
"If we can't hold out, then we'll be the ones who die."
She was not afraid of fighting.
As a Navy Commodore, she was confident against any strong enemy.
But this time, they were facing enemies many times their number, along with a great pirate who might become one of the Shichibukai.
This was dancing on the edge of a blade.
Aiden looked at Gion's worried face.
The smile on his face did not fade at all.
He stepped forward and gently patted Gion's shoulder.
The movement was as natural as comforting a worried comrade.
"Don't worry, Commodore."
Aiden's voice was not loud, but it carried a calm confidence that put people at ease, as if he could still handle things even if the sky collapsed.
"I am here for everything."