The Marine Headquarters training ground was usually filled with sweat, shouts, and the sound of fists and bodies colliding, a symbol of blood, passion, and strength.
But recently, this place had gained an odd blemish.
Centered around the sunny corner where Renzo often went to nap, a wide area had quietly earned a nickname among the soldiers: the "Fatigue Zone", or, less politely, the "Lazy Field."
Anyone who trained there found their motivation mysteriously dulled. Their efforts halved, their spirits sank, and even the drill instructors instinctively avoided the area.
Naturally, this "corrosive atmosphere" reached the ears of Sakazuki.
Now, he stood at the edge of the training ground, arms crossed over his chest. His granite-hard features were carved with fury, and his hawk-like gaze locked on the man slumped against the far wall, napping under a Marine coat, Renzo.
To Akainu, that man was the embodiment of shame to the Marine's discipline and Absolute Justice.
Useless. Lazy. Leeching off some mysterious ability for special treatment, and, worse, infecting other soldiers with his idleness.
This kind of rot had no place at Headquarters!
And when Akainu learned that Sengoku and Tsuru not only tolerated this behavior but even called Renzo a "strategic resource," his rage erupted like magma in his veins.
"Justice does not permit the taint of sloth!"
He muttered coldly and strode forward, each step heavy as a volcano shifting its weight.
Wherever he passed, soldiers halted their training, standing at rigid attention, both in respect and in fear of the almost tangible fury radiating from him.
"Vice Admiral Akainu!"
"Sir!"
Nervous voices rang out.
Akainu ignored them all. His eyes were fixed solely on one man.
The entire training ground fell silent. Everyone could sense that something serious was about to happen.
Meanwhile, Renzo was deep in a dream, endless platters of grilled meat floated before him, and he was just about to bite into the biggest, juiciest piece…
Suddenly, an oppressive, invasive wave of hostility and trouble crashed down on him, yanking him violently out of his delicious fantasy.
With visible irritation, he cracked open one eye, just barely.
Before him stood Akainu: tall, broad, seething with molten anger, his glare burning hot enough to melt steel.
"…Tch…" Renzo clicked his tongue in annoyance, his brows knitting tightly.
"…The sunlight… is blocked… troublesome…"
He didn't care at all about Akainu's terrifying aura, only that the man's shadow was ruining his sunbath.
A vein popped on Akainu's forehead. This brat… was ignoring him?!
"Captain Renzo!" Akainu's voice was deep and rumbling, like a volcano moments before eruption.
"As a Marine, you waste your days here in sloth and disgrace! Stand up now!"
Renzo's half-lidded eyes remained dull, heavy with sleep and mild annoyance.
"…Oh… Vice Admiral Akainu… what is it? If there's nothing urgent… could you move a little? You're blocking the sunlight…"
His tone was flat, almost bored, as if complaining about the weather rather than addressing one of the Marine's mightiest officers.
"Insolent!" Akainu roared, the sound making the nearby soldiers' ears ring.
"Where is your sense of justice?! You've dragged the honor of the Marine through the mud!"
"…Justice…?" Renzo blinked, confused, as though he'd just heard some obscure, complicated word.
"…Upholding justice… sounds exhausting… That's your job, isn't it?"
He yawned wide, eyes watering slightly. "Can't you just… leave me alone? Everyone minds their own business… wouldn't that be nice?"
"Stubborn fool!" Akainu snarled. He'd had enough. This lazy parasite needed to be taught a lesson, the hard way.
"If you refuse to move, I'll make you move!"
The words barely left his mouth before his right arm swelled, darkening as Armament Haki surged through it. The air shimmered from the heat as molten magma oozed out, sizzling and popping.
"Great Eruption!"
He wasn't using his full power, but even this blow could easily obliterate a warship.
The massive magma fist roared forward, radiating destruction, aimed straight at the still-sitting Renzo!
Gasps erupted across the training field.
No one could believe it, Vice Admiral Akainu was attacking a captain!
And not just attacking, with that much force?!
But Renzo's reaction was…
He frowned deeper.
"…Hot… noisy… and looks like a hassle…"
That was all. A simple, pure thought.
And then, something utterly impossible happened.
When Akainu's molten fist reached about a meter from Renzo, its violent momentum suddenly faltered, and then died.
The magma stopped moving.
It was as if the lava itself suddenly decided it was too tired to burn, too lazy to continue, too bored to explode.
The Armament Haki coating it lost its tension, fading and dispersing.
Before everyone's eyes, the molten rock cooled, blackened, and solidified, until all that remained was a pile of lifeless, smoking chunks of volcanic rock, clattering harmlessly to the ground just inches from Renzo's feet.
Even the smaller fragments that flew close to him seemed to lose their energy midair, falling softly like ash.
'The attack… failed?'
'No, it didn't just fail. It was as though the attack itself had given up.'
Akainu froze mid-strike, pupils narrowing in disbelief.
His magma-enhanced punch, carrying both his Haki and fruit power, had just collapsed on its own? Without even grazing the target?
"What… what kind of witchcraft is this?!" Akainu shouted, furious and bewildered.
Renzo glanced lazily at the smoking debris near his feet and scooted back an inch, the largest movement he'd made all day.
"…Ugh… now it's all messy… Cleaning this up'll be such a pain…"
He muttered it like Akainu had merely spilled a trash can.
"Silence!" Akainu's fury ignited fully, consuming all reason.
He didn't believe it. He refused to believe it.
Roaring, he poured every ounce of Armament Haki into both arms, which transformed into twin infernos. The heat distorted the air itself.
"Meteor Volcano!"
He swung both fists upward, hurling an endless barrage of magma punches skyward, which then came crashing down like flaming meteors, raining from all directions toward Renzo's tiny patch of ground!
A full-scale bombardment, no escape, no defense possible!
Let's see you stay lazy now!