"Hey! Sakazuki, what are you saying!! It's too noisy here! Can't hear clearly!!!" Sengoku roared hoarsely into the Den Den Mushi, the surroundings bustling with voices, a departure from Marine Headquarters' usual solemn atmosphere. Beside him, the wild shouts and cries of the marines made it fundamentally impossible for him to hear clearly what was being reported from the other side of the Den Den Mushi.
Sakazuki, aboard Gion's warship, sat in the captain's room holding the receiver, feeling somewhat helpless: "Admiral! We are about to return to Headquarters, please send the specific coordinates of Thriller Bark..."
But Sengoku's side was indeed too noisy; various noises burst from the mouth of the Den Den Mushi on Sakazuki's end, making it impossible to distinguish specific information. However, the Admiral candidate with sharp hearing still identified the closest sound source, who was also the owner of this Den Den Mushi—Sengoku's voice.
"Put in more effort! How could our Wise General team, with this kind of control style, possibly not win against Garp that guy's mindless run-and-gun!!" The Great Buddha's voice, sounding somewhat frantic, came from the other side of the phone, little knowing that this made Sakazuki, listening to the phone, even more exasperated.
Why is it that whenever I go on duty, Marine Headquarters collectively throws a party, while as soon as I hole up in Marineford, I'm stuck buried in various documents and materials, working hard, and even moonlighting as a hot spring water heater?
Gion, sitting beside Sakazuki, listened to the live broadcast from the Den Den Mushi, couldn't help but laugh, leaning onto Sakazuki's shoulder: "Seems like it's Marine Headquarters' quadrennial Navy Cup."
Sakazuki, of course, knew it was the damn Navy Cup, but the psychological disparity of others watching the game while you work overtime was truly grating.
Although the warship of friendship could capsize at any moment, he had originally intended to hang up the phone and call Sengoku back later. But looking at the cute appearance of the pink-haired rabbit beside him, shaking with laughter, Sakazuki kept a straight face and still casually placed the receiver on the table.
"Hey!! Garp! You damn coach!! Changing into a jersey and shamelessly joining the game yourself, do you really have no shame!! That last goal doesn't count, Referee!!! Big Brother Kong!! This is biased refereeing!!!"
Listening to both sides at the finals furiously testing the boundaries on the verge of arguing, Sakazuki actually figured out some of the dynamics.
The sports events organized by Marine Headquarters, from a practical standpoint, aimed to strengthen the marines' physique, enhance their teamwork ability, and promote the spirit of never giving up. But thinking deeper, Sengoku and Garp personally commanding as generals also continuously strengthened their prestige in Headquarters.
"Hey, Sakazuki, what are you thinking?" Gion noticed her lover zoning out and couldn't help but be curious.
"Want to watch the game..." Men all have a mature side, but under certain circumstances, their minds are as simple as a stubborn child's.
And for Vice Admiral Sakazuki, in the late stages of 'straight-man chauvinism' (直男癌), it wouldn't seem wrong to call him a single-celled organism.
Gion smiled. Sakazuki always presented a cold face to the outside world—iron-blooded, ruthless, and skilled in strategic calculation.
But in front of her, this mature yet lonely soul always inadvertently revealed a little bit of simplicity and cuteness.
She didn't know what thought occurred to her, but the corner of her mouth suddenly curled into a mischievous smile. The pink-haired big rabbit leaning on Sakazuki's shoulder suddenly shot upwards, lightly sitting on Sakazuki's lap.
Sakazuki's brow furrowed. Just as he was about to ask about her behavior, he was met face-first with a 'good ball'. The female rogue leaned close to her boyfriend's ear and whispered: "Watch me dribble and collide!"
Sakazuki, with half his head pressed into her chest, was caught between laughter and tears. He muffled a futile explanation: "I think our understanding of 'watching the game' seems quite different..."
Gion, sitting directly on Sakazuki's lap, pushed his head further in, teasing: "That ball doesn't have the high perk of this ball, okay?"
"Enjoying this kind of perk right now, I'm not happy at all." Sakazuki clearly perceived the big rabbit's voluptuous buttocks slowly rubbing against his crotch. "You are playing with fire, Gion."
Gion was about to answer, but her lower body keenly sensed something rising. She looked at Sakazuki with a half-smile: "Though the mouth says no, the body is very honest!"
"It's playing with magma, okay." Sengoku's voice suddenly coming from the sealed cabin really startled the two.
Saved! Sakazuki looked at the receiver placed on the table, inwardly sighing in relief while also feeling a little disappointed.
Sengoku's face was full of gloom. First, Garp, that bastard, committed a foul, then the Great Buddha, discovering the Den Den Mushi was still connected, inadvertently listened to half a "live broadcast."
Sakazuki's expression didn't change, directly steering towards official business: "The Vinsmoke family situation in the North Blue is mostly handled. Admiral, please send me Gekko Moria's current location."
The Wise General adjusted his glasses, "The underground arms and trade system over in North Blue, are you really reassured handing it entirely over to the Vinsmoke family to manage?"
Sakazuki extended a finger, hooked Gion's chin, indicating for her to obediently get down: "How could I? It's just that I haven't found a suitable Navy representative yet!"
"Moria?" Sengoku asked the second question: "I already sent you the address just now, but why do you care about him?"
"Because I have found a permanent method for the Navy to prevent pirates from escaping Impel Down prison!" Sakazuki's tone in saying this was extremely grand.
"How so?" Sengoku was clearly very interested in this. Golden Lion Shiki's escape was a sore spot for him. Even though recently the two wardens known as the 'iron wall' were guarding it, Impel Down imprisoning numerous great pirates still made him very vigilant.
Sakazuki deliberately kept him guessing: "Regarding this matter, I hope you can personally come with us to Impel Down to see, then you will understand!"
"Get out here, Gekko, I know you're inside." Sakazuki roared unceremoniously. Before his eyes was parked a giant three-masted ship, dozens of times larger than the warship he was riding.
Only, at this time, this huge ship was covered in scars, as if it had experienced a fierce battle.
However, the only answer was the sound of waves hitting the hull, and no one appeared.
Sakazuki spread his hands wide, choking black smoke continuously surged from his shoulders, and unlike before, there were no magma drips from the elementalized arms; only the area of the black smoke source gradually spread from the shoulders towards the palms.
Within the dense black smoke and dust, a deep gray color began to gradually emerge, heavy enough to make one breathless.
That is a byproduct of volcanoes and magma—pyroclastic flow.
Containing astonishing heat, the volcanic ash formed as Sakazuki spread his arms like a pair of gray and dark-red mixed wings. These giant wings were still continuously extending outwards.
"Wings of Ember Fire!" Sakazuki fiercely slammed his hands together in front. The pyroclastic flow, distributed on both sides, finally found its target and descended upon this huge pirate ship.
"!" Moria, lying in the bedroom resting his eyes and recovering from injuries, finally realized the seriousness of the situation, but it was too late. Smoke and dust surging from all directions covered the entire town at extremely high speed. Wooden furniture was ignited by the extremely high-temperature ash, and the stifling volcanic ash wantonly deprived the air of oxygen.
"Shadow Bats!!!" Moria took a deep breath, and with a wave of his hand, let the swarm of bats formed from shadows envelop him and quickly rush towards the direction the sound came from.
The pyroclastic flow deprived oxygen and obstructed vision. When the shadow bats broke through the smoky miasma, the defeated man, wrapped entirely in bandages, finally discovered that what awaited him was a giant lava fist right in his face.
"Kagebōshi!" Quickly swapping places with his shadow, Moria evaded the magma in the blink of an eye.
But a dark-red figure had already closed the distance. Moria clenched his left fist, and the shadow bats, molded by his fruit ability, formed a new shape: "Kage Bako!" (Shadow Box!)
However, what horrified him was that the Shadow Box, meant for trapping and obstructing, was directly torn apart brutally by the opponent. That figure wearing a Navy coat ripped open the bandages on his chest with one claw, leaving five charred claw marks.
The tremendous force injured the already heavily wounded chest cavity again. Moria let out a muffled grunt and plummeted headfirst towards the ground. Only when nearing the ground did he barely manage to swap places with his shadow.
Before he could even catch his breath, that Marine struck with an elbow. How could the heavily injured man, having already suffered greatly in the exchange, dare to take it head-on? Countless shadow bats flashed out from his clothes, blocking for him for a moment. Moria quickly retreated towards the entrance of the Thriller Bark, roaring fiercely as he backed away: "Marine! I have already joined the Seven Warlords! You cannot attack me without reason!!"
"Seven Warlords?" Sakazuki sneered, breaking through the bat swarm, and asked the first question: "Since you knew the Navy was visiting, yet didn't come out to greet, do you really think you're the boss?"
"You are Akainu!" Moria finally recognized the visitor, his expression changing drastically.
But before he could utter a second sentence, the Marine, finally seizing an opening, leaped up with Moonwalk and stamped down decisively from above. Sakazuki planted his foot firmly on the back of Moria's head, forcing his pale cheek against the dirt. He grinned ferociously and asked the second question: "Or perhaps, you don't even want to avenge your comrades anymore?"
The word "avenge" deeply pierced Moria's heart. Pressed onto the ground, the great pirate's eyes turned blood-red, filled with blood vessels.
His comrades were killed one after another by Kaido, and his every attempt to obstruct seemed so powerless. He thought he could control the battle situation and grasp the rhythm like he had when dealing with Jack the Drought previously, but the cruel reality showed him how Beasts Kaido effortlessly crushed his surprise attack. Even his final trump card—Shadows Asgard—only served to excite that monster.
Yes, a monster, a monster that couldn't be killed no matter what.
Seemingly tireless, unaware of what pain was. Even Moria's strongest punch was taken head-on by him.
What was crushed was not only Moria's body but also his spirit. This is the fundamental reason why he ultimately chose to rely infinitely on external forces, degenerating into a lazy, figure-collecting otaku.
A complete and utter defeat. The annihilation of his crew might have been a factor affecting his spirit, but the true despair was the difference in power—like an eternally unscalable mountain peak, leaving Gekko unable to see any hope of revenge. And this despair grew day by day with the passage of time.
"Yes, revenge, Moria," Sakazuki bent down and leaned close to Moria's ear, "Sweet revenge. The Navy can give you a chance."
He looked at this wretched pirate and sneered: "I know you pirates always have some inexplicable backbone. Death, for you, isn't a punishment."
Sakazuki kicked heavily at the opponent's cheek. The powerful force of the kick actually sent Moria's huge figure spinning several meters away: "Welcome to a living hell! Pirate! Suffer! Be tormented!"
The great pirate didn't make a sound, just silently endured all the beating and humiliation. He struggled to get up, a large swollen red patch now on his cheek. He casually wiped the blood spilling from the corner of his mouth: "The chance you mentioned, what do you mean?"
"Your Kage Kage Fruit's abilities, the Navy has basically figured them out. You can temporarily absorb shadows to increase your combat power, right?" Sakazuki glanced at him. "At the same time, you can also make others' shadows animate corpses and inanimate objects. Then, presumably, the effect achieved by high-quality shadows versus low-quality shadows is worlds apart, right?"
"...Yes. I didn't expect you Navy even knew that. Just say it! What exactly do you want?" Moria stared deeply at Sakazuki, then frankly admitted his fruit's hidden abilities.
Sakazuki adjusted his black gloves: "I want to help you, but this deal depends on your own performance."
"The world's largest deep-sea great prison, Impel Down—presumably you pirates know of it."
Moria spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva: "Notorious."
The Navy Headquarters Vice Admiral was almost amused by the pirate's words: "You hardly have the qualification to use the word 'notorious'. Impel Down has five levels, but in reality, there is also a Level 6. Those villains, wicked enough that the World Government would want them completely erased from existence, they are still alive."
Gekko suddenly stammered. He seemed to understand the deal Sakazuki wanted to discuss: "Those people's shadows..."
Clap, clap. Sakazuki couldn't help but applaud him: "You're a smart man, Moria. The prisoners of Impel Down—no, their shadows—I can hand them over for you to use! No need for you to find ways to preserve the shadow owners' lives; the Great Deep Sea Prison will take care of everything!"
"If there were shadows of the strong... yes, shadows of the strong... truly strong ones," Moria muttered to himself as if sleep-talking, but he also understood deals are never one-sided. Gekko's brow furrowed tightly: "What do you want me to do? Haven't you seen I'm already acting as a lapdog for you Marines?"
"Not enough. Far from enough," Sakazuki shook his head. "Your efforts have not met our expectations."
He walked forward and held up one finger: "I'm bad at math, always mixing things up, but there's one thing I can always count clearly! One hundred pirate heads in exchange for one hundred shadows from one level of Impel Down prisoners. And the higher the bounty amounts, the deeper the level the Navy will open up for you. Even Level 6 is not just a dream."
"I agree!" Without the slightest hesitation, Moria nodded heavily in agreement. In the midst of despair, someone had shown him a path to success! A path to successful revenge! Even if it was offered by the Navy!
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