On the rubble in the distance, Akainu and Aokiji stood side by side; one radiated an irrepressible, thick killing intent, while the other exuded a coldness as if from ice that had never melted for ten thousand years.
Yet, they shared one single commonality: the look in their eyes when watching Mina contained the same emotion—apprehension.
“Hey, are we still fighting?” Mina crossed her arms, looking down at the two murderous Vice Admirals below, her voice somewhat mocking.
“But let me offer a kind reminder: if you keep fighting, those Marine soldiers who barely managed to survive might all end up as fish food.” She gestured with her chin toward the Marine soldiers struggling and supporting each other in the icy seawater.
Some of these people had lost arms, others had lost legs, and many more were unconscious from the earlier Haoshoku impact, currently being dragged out of the sea by their comrades.
“Look at those poor colleagues of yours.” Mina’s voice reached everyone’s ears clearly.
“Is it really worth losing your lives for that ridiculous ‘Justice’ you keep talking about?” These words were like an invisible needle, piercing the hearts of all the Marines present.
Especially Aokiji.
His gaze swept over his miserable subordinates, then toward Ohara, which had been razed to the ground and mostly sunk to the bottom of the sea, and a glimmer of deep hesitation flickered in his eyes.
What exactly was the “Justice” he believed in?
Was it to maintain the face of the World Government, at the cost of sacrificing innocent civilians, or even the lives of his own comrades?
“Shut up!
You’re spreading heresy!” Akainu’s roar interrupted Aokiji’s thoughts.
His angry, twisted face was full of paranoia.
“For absolute Justice, any sacrifice is necessary!
It is their honor to die for Justice!” “Honor?” Mina acted as if she had heard a huge joke and couldn’t help but sneer.
She couldn’t be bothered to waste more breath on Akainu, this paranoid fanatic who had fallen into madness, and instead turned her gaze back to Aokiji, who was clearly unsettled.
“Hey, I’m talking to you, bean sprout.
Did you hear that?
Your comrade says letting these soldiers die is their honor.” “An Admiral who can’t even protect his own soldiers, and you want to talk about Justice?
Don’t make me laugh!” Mina’s voice rose sharply, filled with undisguised contempt.
“In my opinion, people who don’t value their comrades are worse than trash!” This sentence, like a heavy hammer, struck hard at Aokiji’s heart.
The Marine officers around them, who had originally held Akainu in awe, now looked at Akainu and Aokiji with an indescribable sense of doubt and alienation.
They were also soldiers, and they also had comrades.
Akainu’s rhetoric about “sacrifice being an honor” appeared so pale and cold-blooded in the face of Mina’s simple and brutal questioning.
Aokiji’s body trembled imperceptibly.
He slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the fighting spirit in his eyes had completely dissipated.
He had given up; he had no heart left to continue fighting.
“Sakazuki, stop talking!” Aokiji finally couldn’t help but growl at Akainu, who still wanted to ramble on.
However, Akainu completely ignored him, still staring fixedly at Mina, repeating his philosophy like a broken record.
“For Justice, sacrifice is inevitable!
What would a pirate like you understand!” “Oh?
Is that so?” Mina raised an eyebrow, the mockery at the corner of her mouth deepening.
“Then why don’t you go sacrifice yourself?
I saw that when you were knocked away by me earlier, you screamed louder than anyone else.” “At the end of the day, you’re just a selfish coward who fears death.
Don’t think that just because you have some bullshit talent or some crappy Devil Fruit ability, you can stand above others and use their lives as stepping stones for your own merit record!” These words were blunt and harsh, yet they hit the nail on the head.
Even Aokiji, in the look he gave Mina, had an added glimmer of something unusual.
Akainu’s face turned completely liver-colored.
He opened his mouth but couldn’t refute a single word, only able to glare fixedly at Mina with eyes that seemed ready to spew fire, as if he wanted to tear her to pieces with his gaze.
Just as the atmosphere turned tense to the extreme, Aokiji seemed to suddenly notice a detail.
“Wait a minute…” He looked at Mina, his brows furrowed, “Why is the move you just used…
similar to Mr.
Garp’s…” This question instantly caught Akainu’s attention as well.
Garp’s iron fist was known to everyone within the Marines.
The few simple, unadorned, yet unreasonably powerful punches Mina had thrown earlier did indeed bear a strong resemblance to Garp’s style.
“Oh?
You mean this?” Upon hearing this, Mina’s eyes darted around and she immediately switched to “bluffing mode.” She cleared her throat, put on a mysterious and unfathomable expression, and said in the tone of someone who had been there before.
“I received the true teachings of Old Man Garp!
He personally told me that my fists were born to uphold Love and Justice!” “These punches were all trained according to his methods!” As she spoke, she waved her fair, delicate fist with feigned seriousness, though in reality, she was already laughing inside.
What kind of bullshit “true teachings”?
It was nothing more than relying on the Garp template and swinging wildly.
But looking at the expressions of these two guys, they seemed to believe it.
“Oh, right!” Mina seemed to suddenly remember something, clapped her hands, and her expression instantly switched from “enlightened master” to “street rascal.” “We’ve been fighting for so long, I’m exhausted.
Shouldn’t you two offer some compensation?” As she spoke, she reached her huge palm toward her chest, groping in that bottomless cleavage, pretending to pull out some top-secret weapon.
“Compensation?” Both Aokiji and Akainu were stunned.
They really couldn’t think of what this monster before them could possibly need that would threaten them.
“That’s right!
Compensation!” Mina said confidently, “Otherwise…” She paused on purpose, saw the puzzled expressions on both their faces, and then slowly reminded them.
“I recorded the whole process of you ‘executing Justice’ earlier with a Den Den Mushi.” “If you don’t pay some hush money, my big mouth might accidentally spread these images to the whole world…” As she spoke, she wore an expression of “I’m very conflicted.” As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of Aokiji and Akainu changed instantly!
A recording?
They knew better than anyone that if this footage were to spread, it would cause a devastating blow to the reputation of the Marines and even the entire World Government!
The “Buster Call” was inherently a dirty method that couldn’t see the light of day, combined with the images of Akainu shelling the evacuation ship and the two of them, the highest combat powers, teaming up to besiege a “civilian”…
This would absolutely become a sky-shaking scandal that would shake the foundations of the World Government’s rule!
“You…!” Akainu pointed at Mina, trembling with rage.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Mina saw their reaction, knew her bluff had succeeded, and quickly waved her hands to soothe them.
“I’m a person with a tight mouth!
As long as you agree to my request, I guarantee that these things will be properly sealed away, and no more than three people will ever see them!” She patted her chest, which was comparable to a mountain, and promised solemnly.
“I swear on the honor of our Giant Race!” Hearing “the honor of the Giant Race,” Aokiji and Akainu looked at each other, and the anger and killing intent in their hearts were replaced by a hint of helplessness.
In the general impression of the world, although the Giant Race was powerful, their personalities were mostly honest and straightforward, keeping their word.
They really couldn’t connect the cunning-as-a-fox woman in front of them with that honest race.
However, things having reached this point, they seemed to have no other choice.
“What…
compensation do you want?” Aokiji took a deep breath and asked in a tone that was almost a compromise.
“Let me think…” Mina rubbed her chin, pretending to think seriously, but in reality, her mind was blank; she hadn’t thought of what she wanted at all.
“Forget it, I haven’t thought of it yet.” She waved her large hand and gave the final verdict in the tone of a rascal.
“How about this: you two each owe me a favor.
Whenever I think of it, I’ll come to collect.” After speaking, she didn’t wait for the two to reply, turned around, found her huge surfboard, and threw it onto the sea surface with style.
Her huge figure stepped onto the surfboard, flames jetting from behind, and amidst the complex gazes of the Marines, she laughed and sailed away, her words still echoing in the sea area.
“Haha, remember that!
Don’t forget!
If you forget our promise, I’m…
very difficult to deal with, oh~!” Everyone present looked at each other, unable to understand her train of thought; she just threatened them and then ran away.
And the Marine soldiers who had just participated in the Buster Call saw their morale drop to freezing point, and their faith even began to collapse.
Aokiji looked in the direction where Mina had disappeared, silent for a long time, his eyes filled with loneliness.
After a long while, he let out a barely audible sigh.
“Sigh, I didn’t expect her to make so much sense.”