Sakazuki was already starting to lose interest.
After hearing Aramaki's talk about Celestial Dragons and the like, he finally asked, "If Mary Geoise already has a plan, why are you telling me all this? Send someone to negotiate with Ortoren."
Aramaki gave an awkward laugh. "The Five Elders still aren't sure what Admiral Benn is thinking. What if those terms don't appeal to him? Or what if he's truly determined to go down the wrong road? Then we need to be ready."
"So the 'ready' part is me?" Sakazuki raised an eyebrow.
Aramaki hesitated, as if weighing whether he should say what came next.
Sakazuki didn't rush him. He simply drew on his cigar, calm and silent.
That only made Aramaki more uncomfortable. After a moment, he clenched his teeth. "Admiral Akainu, what I'm about to say may sound disrespectful…"
"Say it." Sakazuki nodded, tone even.
"Ever since the issue with Admiral Benn came up, the Five Elders have lost a lot of trust in Marine Headquarters," Aramaki said in a low voice. "Especially when it comes to the Fleet Admiral… The Five Elders believe Fleet Admiral Sengoku may also have problems. So while they're removing Admiral Benn from the Marines, they also intend to have the Fleet Admiral, Garp, Zephyr, and the others… step down."
Calling it "stepping down" was just dressing up the word purge.
Sakazuki's expression stiffened, anger flaring in his eyes. "Have they considered what kind of loss that would be for the Marines?"
Aramaki stopped holding back. At this point, tiptoeing around it would only push Sakazuki away, so he took a breath and laid it out.
"Of course they have. Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Garp, and the others are the pillars of the Marines, the backbone of our strength. If they're forced into retirement, we'll lose a huge portion of our combat power and our morale…"
"Then—" Sakazuki started.
Aramaki cut him off quickly. "But by then, the major pirate threat in the New World will have been eliminated, and the Revolutionary Army has already suffered a heavy blow in East Blue. Our external threats will be much smaller. So as long as we can soothe Admiral Benn in a 'gentle' way, what follows will just be growing pains. If the Marines endure that period, things will stabilize!"
Before Sakazuki could speak, Aramaki pressed on again. "And Admiral Akainu… this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you!"
"An opportunity?" Sakazuki's face stayed rigid, but the heat in his chest was already rising.
"Of course," Aramaki said, voice turning excited. "Look at it this way: the Fleet Admiral has only been in the position for a few years. In his current condition, under normal circumstances, he could hold that seat for at least another ten years. But if you stand firmly with the World Government, with the Five Elders, then once this is settled… who in the Marines would have a better chance than you of becoming the next Fleet Admiral?"
Sakazuki froze for a beat.
He couldn't deny it. If Ortoren left to become a Celestial Dragon, and Fleet Admiral Sengoku retired, then who was left to compete for the next Fleet Admiral?
Kuzan?
No chance. Kuzan was too close to Zephyr, to Garp, to the Fleet Admiral, and to Ortoren. If anything, he'd be lucky not to end up on the list himself. Fleet Admiral? Forget it.
At that point, only Sakazuki would be qualified to take the post.
To be honest, for a split second, he was tempted.
Only for a split second.
Aramaki thought he understood Sakazuki, and the Five Elders thought so too. They believed Sakazuki cared more than anything about the Fleet Admiral's seat, that it was his lifelong ambition.
And that part was true.
Sakazuki did want to become Fleet Admiral.
But he had no interest in becoming Fleet Admiral through something this disgusting.
Drive every rival out of the Marines in advance, then stroll into the seat?
Just hearing it made his stomach turn.
Yes, he wanted that position. But if he was going to fight for it, he would do it head-on, the right way, not by using this kind of filthy shortcut.
After a brief moment of distraction, Sakazuki's gaze toward Aramaki didn't change, but inwardly, a sense of revulsion had taken root.
In the past, he had thought Aramaki was someone whose way of doing things aligned well with his own.
Now, he only found him disgusting.
Aramaki hadn't been talking about the Fleet Admiral position at all. What he really wanted was to become an Admiral.
Sakazuki had already seen through his intentions. Aramaki planned to use Mary Geoise's power to reshuffle the upper ranks of the Marines, forcing at least one Admiral seat to open up. Then, by clinging to Mary Geoise and waving around his so-called "loyalty," he could step into that vacant Admiral position.
Sakazuki didn't expose him on the spot. After a long silence, he finally said,
"I understand…"
"You agree!?" Aramaki asked, surprise and delight creeping into his voice.
Sakazuki waved a hand and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke that obscured his expression.
"First, try to see whether you can get through to Ortoren. As for me… no matter what happens, I will never sit by and watch the Marines split apart."
No matter what, Sakazuki was loyal to the Marines.
And as an Admiral, he would never allow the Marines to fracture.
Hearing this, Aramaki felt a surge of joy. Sakazuki hadn't given a clear answer, but that was to be expected. Something like this was never decided in one conversation. Even so, Sakazuki's reaction was already more than satisfactory.
Once things developed further, he could always come back and persuade him again.
"Very well, Admiral Akainu. I won't disturb you any further. I still have matters to deal with on my end," Aramaki said with a cheerful smile.
Soon after, he left Sakazuki's office.
After Aramaki departed, Sakazuki sat silently at his desk for a long time. Then he stubbed out his cigar roughly in the ashtray, his eyes dark and cold.
"Hmph. As expected of someone parachuted down from Mary Geoise," Sakazuki snorted. "He really has no feelings for the Marines at all, and not a shred of true loyalty."
At that moment, Sakazuki was certain of one thing: in Aramaki's eyes, the interests of the Marines didn't matter in the slightest. All he cared about were his own interests, and those of Mary Geoise.
Such a person was, without question, disloyal.
Someone who wasn't loyal to the Marines trying to win over an Admiral who had devoted half his life to them… wasn't that laughable?
Yet moments later, Sakazuki let out a quiet sigh, bitterness and helplessness mingling together as he murmured to himself,
"Shackles, huh… Ortoren, are you really doing this for the Marines, or for yourself?"
...
At that same moment, in the Fleet Admiral's office one floor above, Fleet Admiral Sengoku stood by the window.
He looked out over the scenery beyond the Fortress of Justice and saw Aramaki, cloak of justice draped over his shoulders, walking out of the stronghold.
After a moment, Sengoku muttered softly,
"Sakazuki… what kind of decision will you make?"
Ever since he had reported Ortoren's departure from headquarters to the Five Elders, more than half a month had passed without him being able to contact Fleet Admiral Kong in Mary Geoise.
The explanation he'd been given was that Fleet Admiral Kong had fallen ill and was receiving treatment in Mary Geoise.
Sengoku neither accepted nor rejected that explanation.
But he could already sense it. A storm was gathering. The greatest crisis in the Marines' history, and at the same time their greatest opportunity, was drawing near.
"What are you thinking about, Sengoku?" came a voice from the sofa behind him.
Sengoku smiled, twirling his braided beard as he turned around to face Tsuru.
"Tsuru," he said calmly, "I've devoted my entire life to the Marines. Given how things are now… it may soon be time for me to 'sacrifice' myself."
"You don't have to go to Mary Geoise, Sengoku," Tsuru said, a trace of helplessness flashing in her eyes.
"When the time comes, I must," Sengoku laughed, though the smile vanished almost instantly. After a moment, he sighed softly. "All my life, I've been walking on thin ice. Tsuru… do you think the Marines can make it to the other shore?"
"You're the wise general," Tsuru replied, shaking her head. "Do you really need to ask me that?"
She gave no answer.