Chapter 418: Aokiji Returns, the Admiral Contest!

"Ara ara~"

Aokiji scratched his head, his tone as languid as ever.

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

"I haven’t even brought up how brutally you treat your comrades—my leg nearly didn’t make it back then, you bastard!"

On the other end of the call.

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

"You have no grounds to criticize me on that."

"When are you coming back?!"

"Give me a straight answer!"

Seeing Akainu lose patience, Aokiji lifted his gaze toward the harbor drawing nearer and stretched lazily:

"We’ll talk about that later."

"I’d really like to see the countries Zephyr never got to visit."

"Britannias?!"

"Ah~"

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

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

Aokiji shook his head, his sarcasm unmasked:

"Or do you not even know what the World Government—or rather, the Celestial Dragons—are really like?!"

"That’s it."

Before Akainu could reply, Aokiji hung up and rode his bicycle calmly across the sea.

In this life.

Gao Wen’s existence changed many things, but many others remained untouched.

After Admiral Sengoku resigned in disgrace, he recommended Aokiji as his successor; the Five Elders favored the more aggressive Akainu.

Both knew each other’s flaws.

Aokiji’s inner turmoil and wavering stance toward himself and the Marines made him unfit to be a proper admiral.

Akainu was too extreme, too radical—though far better than in the original timeline, he remained the quintessential Marine hawk.

Both refused to yield on the admiral position, ultimately clashing in Punk Hazard.

The battle lasted ten days and ten nights, ending with Aokiji exhausted and defeated.

But unlike the original timeline, though their ideologies still clashed, T-Bone’s existence had softened their personal relationship.

Aokiji did not lose a leg; Akainu’s scars were less grotesque.

After that battle.

Akainu became admiral by default; Aokiji took a temporary leave of absence under the pretense of recovering, riding his bicycle to travel the world.

From the ruins of Ohara, to the former base of the Neo Marines, to Crow Harbor in the East Blue.

It was there that Aokiji saw Zephyr’s tombstone.

Amid endless golden fields, Zephyr’s tombstone stood quietly, watching over the distant sea and the laughter in the fields.

It was also in those fields that Aokiji met Ayn, and Zephyr’s former students.

Aokiji did not reveal himself—only watched them from afar, seeing in them a hope he had never known before.

Gao Wen’s words from Alabasta still echoed in his ears.

Especially after witnessing the World Government’s darkness over the past two years, Aokiji found it unbearable.

The era created pirates; the World Government created this twisted age.

In that moment, Aokiji suddenly understood why Zephyr had gone so far.

Pirates…

Pirates…

How many truly volunteered to become pirates out of ambition?!

"The era created pirates. To end pirates, first end this era!"

"Zephyr’s existence has proven that revolution from within the Marines cannot change the World Government."

"After all, the Marines exist only because of the World Government’s backing—and the Celestial Dragons’ sanction."

"So… is justice itself born from this?!"

"Ambiguous justice, absolute justice, burning justice, lazy justice…"

"No."

"All wrong!"

"In the Marines, there is only the Celestial Dragons’ justice!"

"Justice is not in Marineford!"

From that moment, Aokiji felt a sudden urge to visit Britannias.

…

Huh—!

The sea breeze from the harbor blew away Aokiji’s biting chill, granting him a rare, long-absent warmth.

Soon.

His bicycle rolled into the port of Britannias.

Aokiji finally set foot on this land.

But.

At the harbor stood a figure with a cigar clenched between his teeth, waiting.

"Saxi Bilitana~"

"Smoker~"

Aokiji was surprised.

He expected to meet someone familiar—but never imagined it would be Smoker.

Smoker’s grudge against Gao Wen dated back to the East Blue.

After two crushing defeats at Gao Wen’s hands, Smoker’s pride likely still burned.

In Aokiji’s view, this man would never bow to pirates.

Yet now.

Smoker still bit his cigar, his expression as resolute as ever—but his Marine uniform was gone, replaced by a knight’s light armor.

"Ah~"

Smoker nodded and said:

"It’s been a long time."

"But as a Marine Admiral, your presence here is something I can’t ignore."

"But."

As he spoke,

Smoker showed no warmth of reunion—only quiet wariness:

"Even if my closest friend intends to strike this nation, he must pass through me first!"

Aokiji’s lip twitched:

"Oh my~"

"Your shift in allegiance is swift—have you already forgotten the justice you once carried?"

Smoker pointed to the sword-and-shield flag in the harbor, his voice firm:

"This is the justice I carry now!"

Aokiji fell silent.

He looked around.

On the faces of Britannias’ passersby, he saw the same thing as the laborers in Crow Harbor’s wheat fields.

Hope. Stability.

Aokiji suddenly understood why both Zephyr and Smoker had placed their hope in Gao Wen.

He pointed to his own clothes:

"I’m on leave—without this uniform, I’m no longer an enforcer of justice."

"I see…"

Smoker’s expression eased; he shut off his steam motorcycle, led Aokiji to a tavern, ordered two large mugs of beer and several strawberry pies, and sat down to chat.

Mostly, Aokiji spoke of Marine affairs after Smoker’s departure, recounting his battle with Akainu—so much so that even Smoker held his breath.

More than anything, he felt relief.

"You couldn’t even beat that guy?!"

Smoker couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, then comforted:

"But."

Fighting for ten days and nights means your gap isn't huge—perhaps on another battlefield, at another time, the outcome would be different.

"What are you talking about?"

Aokiji shook his head, his usual lazy expression fading into something rare and serious:

“Though I hate to admit it, if not for that man sparing us several times, the battle…”

“Would have ended long ago.”

“After losing his close friend Akainu, Sakazuki changed greatly; his personality was no longer as reckless as before, and he began to reflect on whether his actions were right or wrong.”

“He once went through a period of confusion, but after his devastating defeat at Whitebeard’s hands in the Marineford War, Sakazuki rose again.”