Chapter 155: The Incident Concludes
There were three things people said one should never do in life.
Block another person's path to wealth.
Break up a marriage.
Kill someone's parents.
What Axel had just done was no different from cutting off Spandam's path to promotion with his own hands. Every effort Spandam had made, every scheme he had arranged, had gone up in smoke along with the Pluton blueprints.
How could he possibly accept that?
Spandam turned toward the Chief Judge, hoping the old man would say something.
Instead, the Chief Judge seemed to have lost all interest in the matter. He turned his head slightly, looking as though he wanted nothing more to do with it.
Spandam cursed inwardly.
That damn old man is washing his hands of this!
And he was right.
The Chief Judge no longer had the will to continue this proceeding.
When he saw the blueprints burn, shock had crossed his face, but not because of the blueprints themselves. What truly shocked him was Axel's attitude.
He had never imagined someone could destroy the Pluton blueprints so decisively.
As for the loss of the blueprints, the Chief Judge did not feel anxious.
The reason he had helped search for them in the first place was because such things would bring unimaginable disaster if they fell into evil hands.
Now that they had been destroyed, that worry was gone.
Naturally, he no longer wanted to involve himself further.
More than that, he had always respected Tom, the shipwright who created the Sea Train. Arresting a man like that had never been his wish.
With no support from the Chief Judge and anger boiling in his chest, Spandam snapped, "I'm going to arrest you, you little bastard!"
Axel laughed.
There was something almost sympathetic in it, but the mockery underneath was impossible to miss.
"On what grounds?" he asked. "I'm not a criminal."
Spandam choked.
He wanted to say, Then I'll make you one.
But after thinking it through, he swallowed those words.
That trick did not work on Axel.
Spandam's usual method was to frame people using his power and background. But this brat had a background too, and judging from the recent publicity around him, it was not a small one.
Still, Spandam could not swallow his anger.
His eyes shifted toward Tom.
"Tom cannot be released. He is still a suspect in the attack on the judicial ship."
Since he could not touch Axel directly, he would make Tom suffer instead.
After all, the brat had come here to save him.
Axel had expected Spandam to go back on his word.
He did not curse.
He did not attack.
Instead, he calmly raised a finger toward the empty space beside his shoulder.
Then, strangely, he began to poke at something that did not seem to exist.
Spandam frowned.
Shouldn't this brat be angry?
The lack of reaction made Spandam feel as if he had punched a sponge. His own force came back weak and useless, leaving him even more irritated.
Then his vision blurred.
A Den Den Mushi appeared on Axel's shoulder as if by magic.
Spandam rubbed his eyes, almost thinking he had seen wrong.
Axel stopped teasing the Den Den Mushi and said in a colder tone, "Our conversation just now was recorded. If Tom doesn't leave with me, I don't mind broadcasting it."
Spandam no longer cared how the Den Den Mushi had appeared.
Its expression was too vivid. It was clearly not a toy, but a real Den Den Mushi.
Which meant the recording was probably real too.
He immediately recalled what had been said and what would happen if that conversation spread.
There were two key points.
First, the World Government had been secretly searching for Pluton.
In this era, what would the Government want a destructive ancient weapon for?
The answer was obvious.
To deal with its enemies.
Pirates.
The Revolutionary Army.
Anyone who heard the news would wonder whether the World Government had already obtained information about Pluton. Those who could not afford to wait would come looking, and as one of the people involved in the secret investigation, Spandam would definitely become a target.
Second, the World Government's methods.
Framing a shipwright who had just rendered a great service.
That alone was enough to shake people's trust.
Either point would harm the World Government.
And when that happened, the Government would need a scapegoat.
The most likely candidate was him.
Spandam.
Compared to Axel, his background was weaker. He was also easier to sacrifice to calm public anger.
The Government could hardly turn Axel, who had only recently been praised in the newspapers, into a villain overnight. That would be no different from slapping its own face.
Spandam was incompetent in many ways, but he was not stupid.
He understood the danger immediately.
"You'd better think this through," he warned. "If that conversation gets out, you won't escape the consequences either."
Axel smiled indifferently.
He did not take the threat to heart at all.
He had already dared to involve himself in an incident with the Celestial Dragons. What else would he not dare to do?
At that moment, the Chief Judge, who had originally intended to stay out of it, finally spoke.
He could not ignore Axel's threat.
If that recording truly spread, the impact on the World Government would be too great.
"You may take Tom with you," the Chief Judge said.
His voice carried undeniable authority, the weight of many years spent presiding over judgment. Even Spandam fell silent.
"However, I have one question. You must answer me first. Regardless of your answer, I will allow you to take Tom."
The Chief Judge looked at Axel.
"Do you have any other copies of the Pluton blueprints?"
From the Chief Judge's perspective, if the blueprints had fallen into Axel's hands, it would be normal to make a backup of something so precious and easily reproducible.
He could not be sure whether this child would do such a thing.
So he asked.
His words rekindled a faint hope in Spandam.
Why hadn't he thought of that?
Blueprints could be copied.
Spandam held his breath and waited for Axel's answer.
"That was the only copy," Axel said firmly. "There are no others."
He truly had not prepared a second physical copy.
If Tom's copy had been the only Pluton blueprint in the world, then no other blueprint would ever appear.
Strictly speaking, though, Axel had preserved another version.
Inside his own mind.
And that was a place no one could search.
The Chief Judge studied him for a moment.
"I will believe you for now."
His tone grew heavier.
"But if any Pluton blueprints are leaked by you or Tom in the future, you will bear full responsibility. When that time comes, the only road waiting for you will lead to Impel Down."
The latter half sounded like a threat.
But its meaning was clear.
Axel and Tom could leave Enies Lobby unharmed this time.
Spandam heard it too.
But he had no authority to overrule the Chief Judge's decision here, so he could only accept it with clenched teeth.
Even so, the faint hope in his heart did not completely die.
After all, deception was common.
He refused to believe that someone could obtain something like the Pluton blueprints and not keep a backup.
.....
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