"After the Alabasta incident, Vice Admiral Aokiji encountered the Straw Hat Pirates, but instead of eliminating them, he greeted them. However, afterwards, he informed CP9's chief, Spandam, about Nico Robin's upcoming journey to Water 7 and even handed over the Golden Den Den Mushi, which activates the Buster Call, to Spandam.
Now, the question is: Where did Spandam initiate the Buster Call?
Two minutes on the clock, starting now."
Upon hearing the words "Buster Call," Robin's pupils suddenly contracted, and a mix of shock and fear appeared on her face.
Everyone who witnessed this scene could feel the fear in Robin's heart at that moment.
After all, it was a nightmare she had at the age of eight, one that might never fade away.
However, this question puzzled many others.
First, let's consider the premise.
Vice Admiral Aokiji encountered the Straw Hat Pirates but didn't eliminate them. This, in itself, is a very interesting situation.
If this had happened before, they would have been quite puzzled. However, now they didn't find it strange at all.
After all, Aokiji spared Nico Robin twenty years ago, so sparing her again twenty years later didn't seem to be a problem.
Moreover, it wasn't just Robin; even Luffy and his crew were spared.
Recalling how the Marines went easy on Luffy during the Battle of Marineford, with the exception of Akainu, who relentlessly pursued him, it seemed like the Marines had been lenient with Luffy all along.
Marine Headquarters, Tashigi, and other Marines all looked at Aokiji in surprise. They didn't expect him to start going easy on pirates so early!
Sengoku was somewhat relieved that he had assigned Aokiji elsewhere instead of sending him, and instead sent Kizaru.
Otherwise, he would have been left waiting alone again.
Akainu glared angrily at Aokiji. He wondered if this guy had any bottom line as a Marine. Instead of capturing pirates when he encounters them, he comes up with various tricks like passing on information, giving the Buster Call authorization to someone else. Why not just capture and kill them? Wouldn't that end everything?
Akainu couldn't help but recall the Marine's leniency towards those pirates during the Battle of Marineford. The Marines still needed him to straighten things out. Once he became Fleet Admiral, he would dismiss all these clowns and get rid of these damn actors.
...
It was understandable that Aokiji didn't capture the Straw Hat Pirates and Nico Robin. But why did he pass on the information to Spandam and give him the authority to initiate the Buster Call?
This left everyone perplexed. Why did these guys always enjoy playing riddles? Couldn't they do something normal for once?
What were they trying to accomplish?
The actual question was where Spandam initiated the Buster Call.
Since the Straw Hat Pirates were heading to Water 7, it was natural for Spandam, upon receiving this information, to go there and capture them. If he wanted to initiate the Buster Call, it would surely be at Water 7, right?
Many people subconsciously thought of that possibility.
However, this thought terrified the people of Water 7.
What was the Buster Call?
It was a devastating bombardment that annihilated humanity, regardless of what was present. If the Buster Call was truly initiated at Water 7, then Water 7 would be finished.
This was their hometown. Did it have to become the next Ohara?!
The people of Water 7 panicked, shouting and cursing, asking the Straw Hat Pirates not to come there. They angrily questioned Aokiji about his motives, why he didn't capture them when he encountered them but chose to let them go.
They were already spared once, but now Aokiji was spreading the news and giving the authority of the Buster Call to someone else.
"Now, please listen to the tenth and final question."
You don't care at all about the lives of the people in Water 7.
I didn't expect you, Aokiji, to be the same kind of person as Akainu. They must have misunderstood you!
The people of Water 7 were infuriated. They didn't expect these Marine Admirals to treat human lives so lightly.
Akainu and Aokiji, neither of them considered the civilians as people.
Among the Three Admirals, only Kizaru remained, which left them helpless. Did they have to rely on someone like him for protection?
Not only the people of Water 7, but also people from other places felt a sense of helplessness and sadness, knowing that their lives were in the hands of others.
At Marine Headquarters, the initially concerned crowd now realized that something was wrong.
The Buster Call was initiated.
If this thing was activated, it was no joke. Once initiated, it wouldn't stop until everything was bombarded and destroyed.
In other words, if the Buster Call was really initiated in Water 7, then Water 7 would be finished.
The Marines suddenly realized the severity of the consequences. It wasn't just a matter of Vice Admirals letting pirates escape; it was an action that completely disregarded the safety and property of the people of Water 7.
Aokiji was now aware of this. "I'm sorry, Admiral Sengoku. I didn't expect this situation to arise. I suppose my intention at that time was to give Nico Robin and the Straw Hat Pirates a test. If they passed, Nico Robin would have found a group of trustworthy companions. If they failed, she would die there. I wanted to end this cursed fate."
Aokiji thought for a moment and understood why he had done this. It was all derived from the lingering guilt towards Saul and the people who died in Ohara.
But he never expected the Buster Call to actually happen. If it was really initiated in Water 7, then he would be unforgivable.
Aokiji's face turned sour. He never expected things to turn out like this.
"You really care about those pirates," Akainu sneered. Aokiji had been dissatisfied with him after the incident in Ohara, and now he wanted to see if Aokiji had the nerve to blame him?
"You can care about pirates, but why can't you think about the civilians in Water 7 at this moment?"
Furthermore, what did Aokiji have to compare with him? At least Akainu was for the complete eradication of evil, while Aokiji was acting out of personal emotions alone.
Aokiji's face grew even more grim after hearing Akainu's words.
Akainu also had some responsibility in this matter. If Akainu hadn't sunk the evacuation ship during the incident in Ohara, Aokiji wouldn't have shown mercy to Nico Robin, leading to all these subsequent events.
However, Aokiji had no valid argument to refute Akainu at the moment because it was indeed his own oversight.
At this point, Sengoku spoke up, "Since the incident has already happened, there's no point in discussing it further. Now we can only hope that Spandam didn't initiate the Buster Call in Water 7. Otherwise, the consequences would be severe."
Sengoku looked sternly at Aokiji, especially after Akainu's incident in Ohara. If Aokiji was once again responsible for the Buster Call in Water 7, the reputation of the Marine Admirals would be utterly ruined.
The Three Admirals represented the face of the Marines. If two Admirals consecutively caused such incidents in front of the whole world, the Marines wouldn't be able to hold up the flag of justice anymore.
Moreover, what troubled Sengoku was that both Akainu and Aokiji, whom he valued highly, had encountered trouble. On the other hand, the one he had always considered a joke, Kizaru, was proving useful at this critical moment.
Could it be that in the future, he could only entrust the position of Fleet Admiral to this clown?
Shaking his head, Sengoku realized that these matters could only be discussed later. The most crucial thing now was to determine where the Buster Call was initiated. If it happened elsewhere, there might still be room for recovery. But if it truly occurred in Water 7, then the trouble would be immense.
As Sengoku spoke, the Marines present couldn't help but sigh. When had the Marines fallen to such a state? They were constantly facing humiliation and loss of face.
This was something they had never considered before because the image of the Marines had always been one of justice and sanctity, not to be defiled by others. It was their lifelong belief and the goal they had been striving for.
However, since the start of the quiz live stream, the sense of justice in the Marines had continuously diminished, tarnished, and humiliated... and they found themselves unable to refute it, because...
How did Luo ke humiliate the sense of justice in the Marines?
Luo ke simply recounted the things we have done.
Ah, this... this... it really hit hard.
They felt helpless but also understood that it was their fault. They wanted to change but didn't know where to start. Many Marines began to feel lost in their hearts…
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=> The day of studying in Hogwarts.
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(End of this chapter)