"The Summit War…"
Hawk looked out the window.
Scenes from that war surfaced in his mind.
Its fuse was lit by the defeat and capture of one man.
Portgas D. Ace.
He was the biological son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger,
and at the same time the captain of the Second Division under one of the Four Emperors of the New World, Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.
It began when Thatch, captain of the Fourth Division of the Whitebeard Pirates, was killed by his own subordinate, Marshall D. Teach.
After obtaining the Dark-Dark Fruit, Teach deserted the Whitebeard Pirates.
This violated the crew's one iron rule—never kill a comrade.
As Thatch's friend, Ace set out in pursuit of Teach.
Thus began a chase of fate.
At last, on Banaro Island,
the two clashed fiercely.
The result was known to all. Ace was defeated and captured.
Teach then handed Ace over to Marine Headquarters,
using him as a bargaining chip to gain a seat among the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Once Headquarters held the bloodline of the Pirate King in its hands, it made its decision at once—
Ace would be publicly executed at Marineford.
The aims were twofold.
First, to display to the world the Marines' majesty and strength and cow the ever-wilder pirates.
Second, and most important,
to lure Whitebeard to Headquarters.
When he came, the Marines would throw everything into destroying the Whitebeard Pirates, the behemoth that had entrenched itself in the New World for decades.
Hoo.
Hawk drew back his far gaze and lit a cigar.
He had to be part of that war.
First, Headquarters would issue a conscription order.
The elites of Headquarters and the branches alike would be transferred to Marineford.
With strength on par with a Headquarters elite Rear Admiral, unless he laid down his blade and retired on the spot,
he would certainly be among those summoned.
Second, even if there was no summons,
he would go of his own accord.
Because this was his best chance to soar.
The Summit War was a feast for harvesting a vast haul of Justice Points.
In that war,
the Marines' opponent would be the entire Whitebeard Pirates,
and the man once called the world's strongest—Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.
His bounty stood at five billion forty-six million Berries.
Five billion Berries meant five hundred thousand Justice Points.
Just Whitebeard alone was worth half a million Justice Points.
Under him were division captains who strode the New World like storms.
First Division Captain, Marco the Phoenix.
Second Division Captain, Fire Fist Ace.
Third Division Captain, Diamond Jozu.
Fifth Division Captain, Flower Swords Vista.
Each of them was a top-class great pirate with a bounty measured in the hundreds of millions.
Add up the bounties of the whole Whitebeard crew,
and it would not be less than ten billion Berries by rough estimate.
That meant more than a million Justice Points.
So long as he seized his chances and moved shrewdly in the Summit War,
he could take off on the spot.
That colossal sum would be enough to push one of his abilities straight to this world's ceiling,
or raise several to the top tier and bring a qualitative leap to his overall combat power.
Even taking a step back, if he did not use it for power,
a million Justice Points meant a million days of life.
An ordinary life runs scarcely thirty thousand days.
A million days was life approaching the eternal.
Hoo.
"Whitebeard…"
Hawk murmured, "Among those savage, vicious pirates,
you are, relatively speaking, one who has done less evil.
Loyalty and putting family first—on ordinary people those traits are praiseworthy.
But I'm sorry.
Evil is still evil.
A pirate is still a pirate.
And this amount of Justice Points is simply too much."
He slowly exhaled a ring of smoke.
White curls rose and blurred his hard features.
"At most,
I will make sure your Whitebeard family all go down together, every last one of you reunited.
In hell, you can go on being your harmonious family."
Smoke spilled from his lips with a hint of amusement.
"If that still bores you down there,
I'll use the Justice Points you provide to send Shanks, Kaido, and Big Mom along too.
Then the four Emperors of hell can gather in full and make a proper mahjong table."
Knock, knock.
Suddenly, the office door was rapped.
"Enter."
Hawk's voice was even.
Major Dane pushed the door open and stepped in, his expression marked by a certain gravity.
With only the two of them in the room, Dane spoke directly. "Big Brother."
"The envoy from Headquarters has been decided."
"Who is it?"
Dane drew a deep breath and answered in a low voice. "Admiral Akainu."
Hawk paused for a heartbeat at the name,
then the corner of his mouth arced up, wider and wider, until it became a satisfied smile.
"Good."
"If Admiral Akainu is the one coming,"
he said aloud, relaxed and sure,
"then we're set."
Since the one arriving was Akainu, Sakazuki, the worst outcome—being hauled before a court-martial for severe punishment—would not happen.
In the eyes of a man who upheld Absolute Justice, a parasite like Nezumi who colluded with pirates and preyed on the populace deserved death a hundred times over.
Hawk had cleaned house with his own hands. The means had been over the line and against the rules,
but in effect it had carried out the justice Akainu recognized.
Most likely he could keep his post as branch lieutenant colonel.
There was even a small chance to use this opportunity to be promoted and transferred as a branch colonel elsewhere.
Excellent.
Hawk looked at Dane, reining in his smile as his tone returned to its usual calm.
"Then we wait for Admiral Akainu's arrival."
He paused, then added, "There must not be the slightest slackening in the branch's daily training."
"Yes, Big Brother."
Dane turned to carry out the order.
Though he was nominally the highest officer of the 16th Branch for the moment,
in his heart Big Brother was always Big Brother.
Whatever Hawk said, he would do.
A standard battleship of Marine Headquarters was cleaving the calm sea, gliding into the weakest of the seas.
The ship was ordinary.
But the man standing at the bow made it anything but.
Arms folded, he stood as steady as a mountain.
Though the sea breeze was cool, heat shimmered visibly from his body.
One of Marine Headquarters' supreme fighting forces, Akainu, Sakazuki,
arrived in the East Blue.
"The weakest sea, the East Blue."
Akainu turned his head and gave the order. "Strike the Marine flag."
"I want to see
just how weak the pirates of the East Blue really are."
"Yes, sir."