Jinbe stood there dumbfounded for a moment. He had never imagined Akainu would step in and challenge him like that; it was simply inconceivable!
What was Cage's relationship with Akainu? Jinbe was utterly bewildered.
Hoo-hah hoo-hah hoo-hah...
Regaining his composure, Jinbe's breathing suddenly quickened. He glared at Akainu, rebuking him, "Akainu, what do you mean by that? Am I to understand you think our Fish-Man kind deserves to die?"
"Anyone who stands against the Marines deserves to die," Akainu stated expressionlessly.
"You, you, you..."
Jinbe trembled with rage, his face flushed. He panted like an ox. Many Marines present found the scene odd, wondering if he might die from anger.
"Calm down, Jinbe. It's not worth getting sick over," Sengoku clenched his jaw, the muscles on either side of his mouth twitching, barely suppressing a smile.
It wasn't just Akainu; one could say that all Marines held no affection for pirates, only refraining due to Jinbe's status as a Warlord.
"You too, say less, Sakazuki," Sengoku gave Akainu a look, and the latter quietly sat back down.
"Extinguishing my anger is simple: hand that Cage over to me, or kick him out of the Marines and throw him directly into Impel Down!"
Jinbe remained relentless.
"Hand him over to you? Throw him in prison? Who do you think you are, you're just a pirate! Don't get carried away!"
Zephyr, who had been silent, suddenly stood up resolutely. As a retired officer, he shouldn't have been present, but since Cage had caused such a major incident, and he was his student, he had come to Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office for the meeting.
"You're interfering too much," Sengoku also said, clearly displeased.
"You all!!!"
Jinbe gnashed his teeth in anger. What kind of situation was this? A mere Commodore, an active Admiral, a retired Admiral, and even the Fleet Admiral himself were all speaking up for Cage?
"Are you forcing me to quit the Seven Warlords?" Jinbe asked coldly.
"If you want to quit, no one can stop you," Akainu interjected. "There's one thing you shouldn't forget: the government invited you into the Seven Warlords to bridge the relationship between Fish-Men and humans. Just because a few troublesome Fish-Men were killed, you want to quit the Seven Warlords? This shows that you Fish-Men have no sincerity whatsoever."
"How about this?"
Sengoku thought for a moment. "I'll call Cage and see what he says."
———
Pere pere pere...
Far away in the East Blue, Cage immediately received Sengoku's Den Den Mushi call.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
Cage's respectful voice came through the Den Den Mushi. Sengoku, upon hearing it, questioned, "Why did you kill all the Fish-Men?"
"I was acting in self-defense. Those Fish-Men were all wielding large guns and cannons. If I hadn't killed them, our own men would have been wiped out," Cage explained unhurriedly. "All the Marines witnessed this. That guy Arlong even threatened to kill all of us Marines."
Sengoku looked at Jinbe, asking, "Did you hear that too?"
"What kind of excuse is that!"
Jinbe's eyes blazed with fury. He shouted into the Den Den Mushi, "You must be that fellow named Cage... I propose a death match between men, putting aside our respective positions!"
When these words fell, many Marines frowned. For Jinbe to say such a thing, he had no shame.
Firstly, he was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, yet he was challenging a Marine rookie who had just graduated from the academy? And the other party was merely a Commodore.
In terms of age, Jinbe was easily twice Cage's age.
"Of course..."
Seemingly aware that his request might be inappropriate, Jinbe continued, "I will not personally participate. I will send the vice-captain of the Sun Pirates, Aladine, to deal with you!"
This request was somewhat reasonable. Cage on the other end of the Den Den Mushi was silent for a moment.
"Scared?"
Jinbe grinned, a hint of contempt in his expression.
"Scared? Not really. I was just muttering to myself earlier that you probably wouldn't seek revenge, but it seems my unlucky mouth was right after all. Did it get 'blessed' or something? How ominous, truly a jinx!" Cage's voice rang out again.
Jinbe's face darkened upon hearing this, and he impatiently questioned, "Are you agreeing or not?"
"No problem at all."
Cage readily agreed.
Many Marines present felt a wave of doubt. That Aladine, as the vice-captain of the Sun Pirates, was certainly no pushover. Although Cage had heavily wounded Edward Weevil before, that was with Zephyr's assistance. Otherwise, everything would be an unknown.
Therefore... had he agreed a bit too quickly?
"Let's fight in three days. The location will be in the East Blue. Just tell that Aladine to prepare himself for death."
Cage replied calmly.
"I hope you won't regret it then."
Jinbe snorted coldly, then angrily left Marine Headquarters.
"You agreed a bit too rashly, Cage."
Once Jinbe had left, Sengoku slowly spoke. "I could have simply found an excuse to decline. You're a Marine officer I have high hopes for. I don't want anything to happen to you."
Sengoku's words were heartfelt. Cage, at only eighteen, possessed remarkable combat ability. If he reached the age of the Three Admirals, he would undoubtedly become a pillar of the Marines.
"Rest assured, Fleet Admiral. The one who'll regret it will be Jinbe, not me."
Cage replied with firm conviction. He had to deliver swift justice to any pirate provocation!