Chapter 53: 53. Akira, This Is My Congratulatory Gift
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Akira exhaled a smoke ring and said casually, "No matter what, you've dedicated your life to justice, and the Marine won't treat you badly.
"The monthly pension will allow you to live like an aristocrat."
"Gore Vice Admiral, who died in battle, will also be honored as a hero by headquarters, and his descendants will receive proper care."
"As for the two of you, you've lived such long lives—don't end up ruining your reputations.
"Go back and write your own resignation letters."
The two elderly Vice Admirals were furious when they heard this.
After dedicating their entire lives to the Marine, they were being dismissed so bluntly by a junior who wasn't even a superior.
Who could tolerate such a thing?
Clang.
Their swords were drawn.
Both of them, forgetting their exhaustion, pointed their blades at Akira and shouted angrily:
"Akira, you dare humiliate us old men like this? Do you really think we won't strike you down?"
"Even Fleet Admiral Kong and Admiral Sengoku wouldn't be as arrogant as you when dealing with us."
Akira narrowed his eyes slightly.
But before he could respond, the island's situation suddenly shifted.
The gravitational field had vanished.
Facing Sengoku, Gage could no longer maintain the wide-range ability.
Now, he couldn't even protect himself.
Everyone who had been suppressed and struggling to move suddenly regained their mobility.
The Marine soldiers gripped their swords tightly and charged at the pirates without hesitation.
On the other hand, the pirates, who had been so arrogant before, now turned their backs on the enemy and fled toward the shore in panic.
They had been observing for a while and understood the situation clearly.
The Marine's reinforcements included Hero Garp, Shinma Akira, Akainu Sakazuki, Aokiji Kuzan, and the Golden Lion Shiki.
Damn, how could they fight against this lineup?
As Sakazuki had said before, when Gage failed to detect the arrival of Marine support in advance and allowed them to land on the island, the outcome was already sealed.
This is one of the reasons why the Marine remains the undisputed dominant force at sea.
Once you engage in battle with Marine admirals, if you can't defeat them quickly, you'll face endless waves of reinforcements.
Even someone as strong as Whitebeard wouldn't want to get caught in this kind of battle.
But that doesn't mean there's no way out if you're targeted.
If you spot the Marines before reinforcements arrive and run away immediately, they won't be able to catch you.
Or, as it is now, the reinforcements have successfully arrived, but if you have the ability to break through the encirclement and escape, it's just a close call.
Unfortunately for Gage, there was no way he could break through the encirclement with the level of support present today.
Kuzan, who had been absent for a while, had used his ability to completely freeze the island and the surrounding sea.
This not only prevented the core crew from abandoning the island and escaping but also stopped Gage from using his powers to lift the island into the air, allowing him to harvest the battlefield at his leisure.
The era of great pirates had just begun, and Kuzan at this time was not yet the man he would become.
At twenty-five, he had witnessed many tragedies caused by pirates and was extremely ruthless, showing no mercy to them.
The clone of Shiki was flying around the island, mercilessly taking the lives of pirate underlings.
Garp, facing two opponents as if they were children, was beating two of the three swords so severely that they fled with their heads in their hands.
"Everyone, listen to my order—seize the acting Fleet Admiral!"
At this moment, Sara struggled to break free from Sakazuki's attack and quickly issued instructions to his crew.
Given the current situation, the only chance they had to escape alive was by taking a high-ranking Marine officer hostage.
As a senior officer, Sara had a sharp mind.
Among all the important figures in the Marine present on the island, Akira seemed like the easiest target for his subordinates to capture.
After the battle of Alabasta, apart from his Devil Fruit ability, all other details about Akira had been dug up by the underworld and small illegal newspapers.
For instance, it was widely known that Akira often relied on strategy rather than brute force in his operations.
When facing powerful pirates, he would usually avoid direct confrontation, often returning empty-handed.
For six consecutive years, although he achieved many victories, no notorious pirate had ever been captured and sent to Impel Down under his watch.
Because of this, it was generally assumed that Akira's combat strength was quite weak.
He was considered a purely tactical general.
Even though he later consumed a Mythical Zoan Fruit, it didn't seem to compensate for his perceived lack of strength.
Hearing this, the previously panicked pirates suddenly found new hope.
No longer acting like headless chickens, they all turned their attention to Akira.
"Sara-sama is right, our only chance to escape is to capture that man."
"Brothers, for the sake of our future freedom, let's go!"
"Kill, for freedom!"
The pirates roared, charging forward with their weapons raised high.
The Marine soldiers, realizing the danger, quickly moved to protect Akira, even if it meant getting injured.
Having just received a substantial bonus from Akira, the soldiers were determined not to let anything happen to their leader.
"It seems I've been underestimated."
Sensing the intense malice directed at him, Akira couldn't help but smile.
Without hesitation, his pupils behind his glasses suddenly hardened!
An overwhelming surge of Conqueror's Haki erupted from him, spreading in all directions.
Since Akira hadn't yet fully mastered his Observation Haki, he couldn't selectively avoid targeting his allies, so his Conqueror's Haki swept across everyone indiscriminately.
The noisy island suddenly fell silent.
All the charging pirates, their faces twisted with rage, rolled their eyes and collapsed, unconscious.
Only a few skilled fighters managed to remain standing, pushing forward despite the crushing pressure.
Even the two elderly Vice Admirals, who had demanded an explanation earlier, were now on one knee, drenched in cold sweat.
"Don't worry about me," Akira said, waving his hand to stop Sakazuki, who was about to abandon Sara and come to his aid.
Akira reached into his black suit with his right hand, and after searching for a moment, pulled out a stack of distorted leaves.
"You just focus on your opponents; leave these guys to me."
After rummaging a bit more, a smirk curled at the corner of Akira's mouth. "They think I'm an easy target? Heh~~~"
Sakazuki paused, his eyes widening at the sight.
Why does he have so many of those leaves?
He had personally witnessed the power of these transformation leaves before.
Back in Alabasta, Akira had used a copy of Firewolf Norton, whose power was almost identical to the original. The only drawback was that the copy didn't have as much stamina and was easily overwhelmed, but it had no other significant weaknesses. While it might not have been effective in high-level battles, it was a devastating tool in lower-level skirmishes.
Initially, Sakazuki had thought such items were rare treasures, even if produced through a Devil Fruit ability. He assumed their quantity was limited.
But now, seeing Akira pull out so many of them, he was stunned.
One of the selected leaves, already inscribed with a name, transformed mid-air into a long sword.
"Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu!"
The long sword flipped over and, with Akira's mysterious command, was plunged directly into the ground.
A flash of light radiated from the blade, refracting in everyone's eyes.
In the next moment, the ferocious pirates suddenly looked as if they had seen some wild beast, their faces twisted in terror.
They immediately turned on each other, slaughtering their comrades in a frenzy.
Some, unable to find an enemy, stabbed the unconscious crew members on the ground.
The sounds of blood splattering and cries of pain filled the air.
Sara and the two old Vice Admirals watched this scene in utter shock, their faces pale with horror.
"Bastards, what are you doing?" Sara yelled, narrowly avoiding the attacks of several crew members.
But his crew seemed deaf to his words, attacking each other with even more ferocity.
After a few failed attempts to bring them to their senses, Sara realized that conventional methods wouldn't work. He killed several of his own men with a single slash and was about to personally deal with Akira when he suddenly felt a burning sensation behind him.
"Dark Hound!"
"Damn it."
Akira turned his attention back to the two old Vice Admirals.
"So, drawing your swords on me means you're prepared to risk your lives?"
Bang.
The sword in the old Vice Admiral's hand dropped to the ground involuntarily. He bowed his head in silence, too afraid to reply.
They finally understood.
Despite Akira's relatively short time in the Marine, his strength was overwhelming.
Not only did he possess Conqueror's Haki, but this Kyōka Suigetsu sword was something they couldn't break free from, even with their Armament Haki.
Akira's eyes flickered slightly, and after a moment's thought, he decided to let it go and ignored them.
There was no need to waste time on these two.
If he tarnished his own reputation by punishing them, it would be more trouble than it was worth.
He had already decided that once he became Fleet Admiral, these old-timers would be kicked out of the Marine.
When a new leader comes to power, the old guard must step aside. Akira had no interest in keeping generals under his command who would defy him.
It's one thing to obey others before you've proven yourself, but after all the effort he had put in over the past two months, if they still refused to acknowledge him, then it was all for nothing.
Since reasoning didn't work, he'd just have to "invite" them to leave his team.
Time passed slowly.
Garp walked over, dragging the two men who were beaten so badly that their faces were unrecognizable.
The two silent old Vice Admirals, thinking they had found an ally, rushed to Garp, complaining about Akira and lamenting their grievances.
Their complaints boiled down to this:
Akira was too arrogant, getting rid of them even before becoming Fleet Admiral, and humiliating them in the process.
They had risked their lives for justice, yet they were asked to resign without any appreciation.
"If Akira is so ruthless now, I can't imagine what will happen to the Marine once he becomes Fleet Admiral."
"If it were Sengoku, this would never have happened. Garp, you can't turn your back on your comrades."
But Garp's response was to toss the two "swords" aside without a second thought.
Then, with a punch the size of a sandbag, he knocked each of them out cold, sending them flying without mercy.
Blood sprayed from their noses as they soared through the air, and by the time they hit the ground, they were already unconscious.
"I think Akira's right. You two should've retired a long time ago."
"If we hadn't gotten here so quickly, Sengoku might have been killed."
Garp dusted off his hands as if he'd done something trivial and sat down beside Akira.
Not long after, Kuzan, covered in frost, and Sakazuki, emanating magma, completed their tasks and joined them.
The four of them sat in a row, smoking the same cigars, watching the same scene.
The sea breeze blew gently, bringing fresh air that dispersed the stench of blood, creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere.
The expressions on the faces of the four men visibly relaxed as they enjoyed the calm.
"Don't you need to help Admiral Sengoku?" Kuzan asked.
Akira flicked his cigarette butt away and replied, "Mr. Sengoku probably doesn't want us to interfere."
Garp took a deep puff, his expression calm and unconcerned. "Indeed, this is Sengoku's own fight. We're better off waiting."
Sakazuki, after a brief pause, added, "Besides, the Heavy Ax Pirates have been wiped out, and Gage is cornered. He can't escape. No rush."
Seeing that the others were in agreement, Kuzan simply nodded.
The four of them continued smoking while the field soldiers began cleaning up the battlefield. The wounded, supported by their comrades, headed towards the warship, preparing to return to headquarters for treatment.
In the distance, the sounds of battle still echoed, with explosions and clashes of Conqueror's Haki reverberating through the air.
As night fell and the soft glow of the moon appeared, the battle seemed to reach its climax.
"Trying to run, Gage? I've been waiting for this."
"Damn it, Sengoku! Are you really going to kill us all?"
"Fall beneath me—the Great Buddha will crush you!"
Boom!
The island shook as if struck by an earthquake. A slender crack extended from the battlefield to the shore, splitting the ground into countless pieces.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Sengoku emerged, dragging a weakened and barely breathing Gage behind him.
Sengoku was panting heavily, his jacket long gone, and his trousers torn. A deep axe wound marred his powerful chest, and despite his best efforts to control the bleeding, blood continued to seep from the wound.
Akira's eyes turned serious as he stood up, followed closely by Garp, Sakazuki, and Kuzan. The group watched silently as Sengoku approached.
With a heavy thud, the unconscious Gage was thrown to the ground in the middle of the gathering.
"Akira..." Sengoku began, standing still as he looked at Akira with a complicated expression. After a moment's hesitation, he spoke again, "You're right. The Fleet Admiral should be a wise man."
"This is my gift to you, the future Fleet Admiral."
Sakazuki and Kuzan both let out a sigh of relief at his words. Even Garp had a broad grin on his face.
Though Akira was poised to become the next Fleet Admiral with the backing of Kong, Zephyr, and several other generals, lingering resentment from Sengoku would have been a significant concern—a ticking time bomb.
The thought of a Fleet Admiral and Admiral at odds would spell endless internal conflict for the Marine, which would only please their enemies.
Akira, however, didn't show any visible signs of elation. Instead, he took a deep breath and walked confidently toward Sengoku, extending his right hand and gripping Sengoku's tightly.
"Don't worry, I won't betray your trust."
"From now on, you and I will work together to end this era of great pirates."
"All for justice!"
Hearing this, Sengoku's eyes filled with even stronger approval. "For justice," he echoed.
[Ding, log update!]
[Host took the risk and personally led a team to support the competitor Sengoku, the Buddha. The other party was greatly moved, and his recognition of you rose rapidly—this behavior is helpful for missions 1, 2, and 2.
Receive 1600 experience point rewards.]
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