Chapter 123: Akainu: I Will Absolutely Not End Up Like That

Sakazuki looked down at Sailu lying on the rubble, seeing her covered in blood, her mechanical arm completely destroyed, yet she still stubbornly lifted her head.

"Do you think you've won, villain?" Sailu asked weakly but unyieldingly.

Sakazuki looked at Sailu's blood-covered yet still stubborn face.

He remembered how this woman had previously mouthed "Justice," and a strange feeling arose in his heart; he snorted coldly: "Justice? The justice you speak of is nothing but a ridiculous farce destined to fail."

"Hehehehe!" Sailu suddenly let out a chilling, distorted laugh, madness burning in her eyes. She gritted her teeth and said: "Farce? Submission? In this battle, I will not lose from the very beginning!"

Sakazuki frowned, sensing the eerie energy fluctuations in the air. He realized something was wrong and demanded sternly: "What did you do?"

"Ten Kings Judgment Ultimate Mystery — Five Paths Reincarnation Wheel Furnace!" Sailu let out a low roar, and brilliant light burst from her body.

An unprecedented sense of danger struck, and Sakazuki's pupils contracted sharply.

"Damn it!" he gritted his teeth and roared lowly, his feet exploding instantly as he shot toward Sailu like an arrow leaving the bow.

"Too late..." Sailu curled her lips into a cold smile, "But at least, I'll drag you, the greatest villain, down with me!"

In an instant, a beam of light shot from Sailu's chest, igniting the air everywhere it passed. Sakazuki gritted his teeth, covering both arms with Armament Haki while condensing a magma barrier before him.

At the critical moment, Sailu's weak yet determined voice rang out again: "How unwilling... there is still so much evil left uncleansed..."

At that moment, Sakazuki's heart shook violently. Because these words seemed as if they had come from his own mouth.

The words had not yet fallen when a suffocating energy suddenly erupted.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion shook the entire battlefield, the earth trembled violently, as if doomsday had arrived.

A dazzling white light burst from Sailu's body, blazing like the sun, instantly devouring nearly a hundred kilometers around.

The air wave surged out like a tsunami; wherever it passed, everything was reduced to powder. Solid buildings, under this terrifying impact, were like paper, collapsing instantly. The ground shattered inch by inch, countless cracks spread like spider webs.

Wherever the white light reached, the air was instantly ignited, forming a huge mushroom cloud that slowly rose, as if a giant's hand had gouged out part of the entire city.

At this moment, it seemed as if the entire world had fallen into dead silence.

After a moment, the smoke and dust slowly cleared, revealing the huge crater at the explosion's center; the crater's edge still hissed, rocks melted by high temperature formed a smooth glass-like surface.

Suddenly, the lava at the center of the crater began to roll and boil.

A huge lava ball slowly rose; although its surface had hardened, it still emitted suffocating high heat.

"Crack!"

A crack suddenly split open on the lava ball's surface, followed immediately by another sharp sound, and the entire lava ball shattered into pieces like a broken eggshell.

Sakazuki's figure slowly emerged from within. His signature Marine coat was now in tatters, covered with large and small scorch marks and tears, almost unrecognizable.

Then he raised his hand to wipe away a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth; a rare solemnity flashed in his eyes—the power of this blow far exceeded his expectations.

Even a Marine Admiral would not come out unscathed from directly withstanding an explosion capable of leveling a city.

Sakazuki's gaze swept over the ruins, but Sailu's last words and those mad eyes kept replaying in his mind. That familiar fanaticism, that determination to stop at nothing, gave him a sense of déjà vu.

"Hmph." He snorted coldly, shook his head, trying to dispel that strangeness.

Sakazuki took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. His gaze became firm again, and he whispered to himself:

"Strength decides everything."

Sakazuki slowly raised his hand, clenched his fist, and his knuckles cracked.

"As long as I possess absolute power, I can uphold justice; I will absolutely not end up like that."

He scanned the battlefield again, a hint of coldness in his tone: "This kind of decaying rule—does it deserve to speak of justice?"

"Justice... belongs to no one. Justice is absolute!"

The words had not yet fallen when an invisible aura burst from him, pressing upon the surrounding air like substance; the rubble on the ground trembled slightly under this aura.

However, this aura came quickly and vanished just as quickly, fleeting.

Suddenly, a violent tremor came from the ground in the distance.

Immediately followed by a loud "Boom—", a huge underground entrance emerged.

Sakazuki narrowed his eyes, staring at the dark entrance, a cold smile on his lips: "It seems the last rats are hiding here."

At the same time, deep underground in the imperial palace.

This was a magnificent and mysterious space; in the center of the hall, countless huge crystal pillars formed a circle, slowly rotating and emitting a faint humming sound.

In the middle of the crystal pillars stood a towering stone platform, upon which the Emperor's slender figure stood.

Minister Honest lay on the ground in a sorry state; the earlier explosion had shaken him so much he could barely stand. His bulky body trembled incessantly, anxiety written all over his face.

"Damn it!" Honest climbed up and cursed, the flesh on his face trembling with anger: "Those good-for-nothings actually caused such a commotion!"

Then he looked up at the Emperor on the high platform, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty, please punish these traitorous ministers and rebellious sons now! Only you can do it!"

A glint of cunning flashed in his eyes, then he put on an anxious expression, his voice carrying a hint of pleading: "We cannot let the Great Empire that has lasted a thousand years perish in our hands!"

The Emperor looked down at the gem-encrusted Imperial Scepter in his hand; a hint of confusion flashed in those young eyes.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the rotating crystal pillars around him, finally landing on Honest.

"Things that only I can do," the Emperor murmured, uncertainty in his voice.

Honest's eyes gleamed, and he quickly said: "Your Majesty is wise! Just as the Former Emperor protected the people back then, now it is your turn to save the Empire!"

Hearing this, the Emperor took a deep breath and walked firmly onto the high platform. With each step he took, the surrounding crystals rotated more violently, and the blue light became even more dazzling.

"For the Empire, for the people," the Emperor said softly; his voice was young, yet carried an undeniable dignity: "I must shoulder this burden!"

(Chapter End)