Translator: PapaSmurf0700
"Any word from Garp?"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku, having just returned to Marineford from the Holy Land of Mariejois, wore a thunderous expression. Garp had delivered Ace without incident, which was a small miracle. But then the old fool had vanished, heading for the Sabaody Archipelago without a single word. Now, he was completely off the grid. Even his own second-in-command had no idea where the hell he'd gone.
"We've questioned every man on Vice-Admiral Garp's ship, sir," Admiral Aokiji reported, his tone placid. "No one has an answer."
"Ooooh, how troublesome," a lazy voice drawled from across the room. Admiral Kizaru had his feet propped up on the table, the very picture of unconcern. "Maybe he couldn't bear to watch his own grandson's execution, so he's gone somewhere to sulk."
Initially, the top brass of the Navy only knew about the link between Luffy and Garp. But after the Alabasta incident revealed that Straw Hat Luffy and Fire Fist Ace were sworn brothers, the connection between Garp and the son of the Pirate King became an open, unspoken secret among the admirals.
"That's not his way, Borsalino," Aokiji said, pulling his sleep mask up onto his forehead. His gaze was cool but firm. "Vice-Admiral Garp's sense of justice isn't something you should question so lightly." Aokiji's respect for Garp was well-known, and Kizaru's glib remark had clearly struck a nerve.
Kizaru's infuriatingly smug expression didn't shift in the slightest.
"Hmph." A third voice, harsh and hot as slag, cut through the tension. "He adopted the Pirate King's spawn. His own son founded the Revolutionary Army to overthrow the world. His grandson declared war on the Government. Garp's personal 'justice' doesn't erase those goddamn facts."
The speaker stood with his arms crossed, a figure of immense and intimidating power. He wore the same admiral's coat as the others, but over a dark red suit that seemed to simmer with contained heat. There was only one man in the Navy who would dare speak with such contempt in this room. Admiral Akainu—Sakazuki.
While Aokiji subscribed to a "Lazy Justice" and Kizaru to an "Unclear Justice," Akainu was a zealot of "Absolute Justice."
"And does the Navy truly represent justice?" Aokiji countered, his voice dropping to a dangerously calm level. He was the one most deeply affected by the Priest's recent broadcast. "How about you go to Mariejois in a month, Sakazuki? Go tell those two thousand slaves you're the face of justice. See how many of them believe you."
Faced with Aokiji's venomous challenge, Akainu's eyes remained like chips of obsidian. "The Navy requires the World Government's backing to maintain peace and eradicate the filth of piracy from this world. Pirates are absolute evil. To destroy them, any sacrifice is acceptable." He added, his voice devoid of all emotion, "Those slaves are part of that price."
Crack...
A sudden sound, like the air itself was freezing solid, filled the room.
"That's just like you, Sakazuki," Aokiji hissed, a bitter chill bleeding from his body, forming sharp trails of frost in the air around him. He was genuinely furious now. Akainu's words had ripped open an old wound.
"Just like at Ohara, wasn't it? To eliminate a 'potential' evil, you ordered the bombardment of an evacuation ship full of innocent civilians. You'd sink an entire island of lives to destroy a threat that might not even exist. Is that what you call justice?"
Akainu's face hardened. "The World Government determined Ohara was a threat. They were studying the Void Century, attempting to revive the Ancient Weapons. Are you questioning that, Kuzan?"
His voice grew lower, more menacing. "Or has your mind been rotted by pirate sophistry? For eight hundred years, the World Government has protected this world. And you're siding with pirates because of some sentimental bullshit?" He took a step forward, the air around him shimmering with heat. "If you've turned traitor, I'll eliminate you myself right here."
Magma began to bubble and seep from his skin.
"I stand for the innocent lives you're so willing to discard," Aokiji shot back, the floor around him cracking under a layer of spreading ice. He felt a sudden wave of exhaustion. He had become disillusioned after Ohara, and hearing Akainu's unbending dogma again, he finally understood. He understood the Five Elders. He understood their fear.
"Eight hundred years of rule doesn't automatically make them right, Sakazuki! Your worldview is too damn absolute!"
The cold radiating from him intensified.
"You're a coward, Kuzan!" Akainu roared, his body now more magma than man, ready to erupt. "You try to protect everyone, so in the end, you protect no one!"
"ENOUGH!"
A monumental roar, backed by a crushing wave of Conqueror's Haki, slammed into them both. Sengoku was on his feet, his fist planted on the desk. "Is this the time for your personal squabbles?! The war is at our doorstep! Do you have any idea what this infighting will do to morale? Do I need to remind you of your duties as Admirals?!"
He glared at them, his fury silencing the room. "Akainu! Your mission is to fortify our defenses. Do not fail. Aokiji! If you still believe in the justice of this Navy, then do your damn job. If either of you still has a problem..." Sengoku's haki flared again. "...then you'll answer to me personally."
The two admirals, their elemental powers receding, fell silent. They turned and left the room without another word.
"Ooooh, what a pair of scary guys," Kizaru commented, not having moved an inch. "Like a couple of monsters."
"You have a mission too," Sengoku grunted, turning his tired, angry eyes on Kizaru. "In one month, you will lead the fleet to Sabaody to retrieve the slaves. Remember, the broadcast is for show. The second you have them, you return to Marineford immediately. The Straw Hats are a nuisance, but that old monster Whitebeard will not sit idly by and wait for us to finish."
Sengoku couldn't give a damn about two thousand slaves. The Celestial Dragons would have three thousand more by next year. It was meaningless. His goal was singular: crush the Whitebeard Pirates and end the era.
"My, my," Kizaru said, finally standing up and stretching. "That sounds like a very difficult assignment." He strolled out of the room, hands in his pockets.
Left alone, Sengoku sank into his chair, the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"Kuzan... Borsalino... Sakazuki..." he muttered to the empty room. "Three pillars of justice... Which one am I supposed to choose?"