Chapter 418: Aokiji Reappears, The Struggle for Fleet Admiral!

"Ara ara~"

Aokiji scratched his head, his tone as lazy as ever:

"Let's put the Marines and justice aside for now."

"I haven't even brought up how heavily you laid hands on your comrades; I nearly lost this leg back then, you bastard!"

On the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

Akainu's breath hitched; he looked down at the vicious scar on his arm and retorted:

"You have no ground to criticize me on that point."

"When are you coming back?!"

"Give me a definite answer!"

Seeing Akainu lose his patience, Aokiji lifted his gaze toward the approaching port in the distance and couldn't help but stretch:

"Let's talk about such things later."

"There's a country that Instructor Zephyr never got to see, and I quite want to see it with my own eyes."

"Britannias?!"

"Ah~"

"If you become a pirate, I won't hold back!"

"At this point, what meaning do the Marines, pirates, or the World Government even have?!"

Aokiji shook his head, his tone laced with undisguised sarcasm:

"Or perhaps you don't know what the World Government—no, the Celestial Dragons—actually are!"

"That's enough."

Without waiting for Akainu's reply, Aokiji immediately hung up the phone and leisurely rode his bicycle, traveling across the seas.

In this life.

Gao Wen's existence had changed many things, yet many others remained unchanged.

After Fleet Admiral Sengoku resigned in responsibility, he recommended Aokiji to succeed him as Fleet Admiral, while the Five Elders favored the more radical Akainu.

Both men were aware of each other's flaws in character.

Aokiji's heart wavered; his stance regarding himself and the Marines was not firm, making him inevitably unfit to become a qualified Fleet Admiral.

As for Akainu, his actions were too radical and too extreme; although much better than in the original timeline, he remained a quintessential representative of the Marine hawk faction.

Neither yielded regarding the position of Fleet Admiral, ultimately leading to a fierce battle on Punk Hazard.

This fight lasted ten days and ten nights, ending with Aokiji collapsing from exhaustion and defeat.

However, unlike the original timeline, although their political views still clashed, their private relationship had eased considerably due to T-Bone's existence.

Aokiji did not lose a leg, and the scars on Akainu's body were not so vicious.

After this battle.

Akainu naturally became the Fleet Admiral, while Aokiji, citing the need to recover from injuries, temporarily stepped down from the front lines for leave, riding his single-speed bicycle to travel around the world.

From the ruins of Ohara, to the former site of Neo-Marines, and then to Raven Port in the East Blue.

It was there that Aokiji saw Zephyr's grave.

In an endless field of gold, Zephyr's grave stood silently, watching over the distant sea and the laughter within the fields.

It was also in that field that Aokiji encountered Ain and met Zephyr's former students.

Aokiji did not reveal himself, merely watching them from afar; from these people, he saw a hope that had never existed before.

The words Gao Wen spoke back in Alabasta still rang in his ears.

Especially after witnessing the various darknesses within the World Government over these past two years, Aokiji's heart found it even harder to endure.

The era created pirates, while the World Government created this deformed era.

It was at that moment that Aokiji suddenly understood why Zephyr had gone to such lengths.

Pirates...

Pirates...

How many true ambitionists voluntarily choose to become pirates?!

"The era created pirates; to end pirates, one must first end this era!"

"Instructor Zephyr's existence has already proven that relying on a revolution from within the Marines to change the World Government is impossible."

"After all, the Marines themselves exist by relying on the World Government and the endorsement of the Celestial Dragons."

"So-called justice... does it also stem from this?!"

"Ambiguous justice, absolute justice, burning justice, lazy justice..."

"Wrong!"

"All wrong!"

"Within the Marines, there is only the justice of the Celestial Dragons!"

"Justice does not reside in Marineford!"

It was from this moment that Aokiji felt the impulse to go and see Britannias.

Whoosh—!

The sea breeze blew from the port, dispersing the biting chill surrounding Aokiji, making him feel a trace of warmth for the first time in ages.

Soon.

The bicycle rolled into the port of Britannias.

Aokiji also successfully set foot upon this land.

It's just that.

In the harbor, a figure with a cigar dangling from his mouth had long been standing there, waiting.

"Saxi Rida na~"

"Smoker~"

Aokiji was somewhat surprised.

He had anticipated meeting an acquaintance here, but he never expected that person to be Smoker.

The grudge between Smoker and Gao Wen could be traced back to the East Blue era.

Having suffered two consecutive crushing defeats at Gao Wen's hands, given Smoker's pride, he was most likely unwilling to accept it.

In Aokiji's understanding, this man was absolutely impossible to bow down to pirates.

But at this very moment.

Smoker still had a cigar dangling from his mouth, his expression still as resolute as ever, yet his military uniform had been shed, replaced by a set of light knight's armor.

"Ah~"

Smoker nodded and said:

"It has been a long time since we last met."

"However, for you, a Marine Admiral, to appear here, I cannot simply ignore it."

"However."

Amidst his words.

There was no warmth or casualness of old friends catching up on Smoker's face, only a faint sense of vigilance:

"Even if my closest friend intends to make a move against this country, they must get past me first!"

Aokiji's mouth twitched:

"Oh my~"

"Your change of stance is quite fast; have you already forgotten the justice you once bore?"

Smoker pointed a finger at the sword-and-shield flag in the harbor, his tone firm:

"This is the... justice I bear now!"

Aokiji fell silent for a moment.

He looked around.

On the faces of the passing Britannian civilians, he saw the same thing as on the people working in the wheat fields of Raven Port.

Hope and stability.

Aokiji suddenly understood somewhat why both Zephyr and Smoker had pinned their hopes on Gao Wen.

He pointed a finger at his own clothes:

"I am currently on leave; having shed that military uniform, I am no longer an executor of justice."

"Is that so..."

Smoker's expression softened slightly; he stopped his steam motorcycle, familiarly led Aokiji to a tavern, ordered two large mugs of beer, grabbed a few Caomei Sect pies, and then sat aside to chat casually.

Most of the conversation consisted of Aokiji recounting events within the Marines after Smoker's departure, mentioning the process of his clash with Akainu, to the point where even Smoker couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat for him.

Yet more than anything, there was relief.

"Even you are not a match for that guy?!"

Smoker couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration, then opened his mouth to comfort him:

"However."

"Being able to fight fiercely for ten days and ten nights, the gap between you two shouldn't be too great; perhaps in a different battlefield, at a different time, the result of the battle would be entirely different."

"What kind of joke are you making?"

Aokiji shook his head, the lazy expression on his face vanishing, rarely appearing somewhat serious:

"Although I really don't want to admit it, if not for that guy holding back several times, the battle..."

"Would have ended long ago."

"After losing his close friend T-Bone, Sakazuki changed a lot; his personality is no longer as radical as it once was, and he has begun to reflect on whether his actions were right or wrong."

"He also experienced a period of confusion, but after the crushing defeat at the Summit War at Whitebeard's hands, Sakazuki stood up again."