"Arara, they've already started fighting over there. Should we keep sitting around, or go take a look?"
Aokiji gazed at the cataclysmic battle unfolding in the distance, an indescribable feeling stirring within him.
Although he was aware of the strength of the Yonko and knew they had once been opponents of Garp, when Aokiji personally witnessed the scale of battles that seemed capable of destroying the world, he couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity rising within him.
This kind of power was practically no different from monsters!
Of course, he himself was also a monster.
Sakazuki glanced at Kuzan standing beside him and revealed a faint smile.
"No, we'll stay right here. Just make sure no Pirates escape."
"Oh~ That's quite unlike your usual style. I was actually considering whether to talk you out of acting rashly."
"While I advocate eliminating all Pirates, I'm not an idiot. Those individuals aren't foes the two of us can handle. Acting recklessly would only bring greater losses to the Marines and potentially ruin both Sengoku's and that brat Jake's plans."
In this world, thanks to Jake's presence, neither Sakazuki nor Kuzan were as extreme as in the original timeline.
Their relationship wasn't as tense either, and they occasionally exchanged words during downtime.
Aokiji listened to Sakazuki's words while thoughtfully running a hand through his messy hair before saying.
"So it seems everything happening here was anticipated by Sengoku-san and Jake? Even you received advance notice, Sakazuki? Arara, looks like I'm the one being left out here, completely in the dark."
Sakazuki shot him a glance.
"That's because you refuse to use your brain. Jake is currently in Flevance, and the biggest Pirate group there is the Donquixote Family. Who's their biggest backer behind the scenes?"
Hearing this, Aokiji instinctively replied.
"The Beast Pirates? I heard they've had frequent dealings recently. Are you saying Jake plans to move against the Donquixote Family? That explains why the normally stable Whitebeard Pirates suddenly attacked the Beast Pirates. Was this all arranged by young Jake?"
"Most likely. The close relationship between the Whitebeard Pirates and Jake is common knowledge among us. Though I never expected the Whitebeard Pirates would be so obedient to Jake's plans—that was surprising."
Aokiji looked at Sakazuki curiously.
"Aren't you angry about this, Sakazuki? To you, aren't Pirates purely evil? Why would you approve of Jake collaborating with Pirates?"
"Pirates are absolutely evil and must be eradicated. But I never claimed to be some inflexible brute who only knows how to kill Pirates by force. There are many situations where I don't mind cooperating with certain Pirates to eliminate other pirates. Not only does it save effort, but it also minimizes casualties among my soldiers, allowing us to deploy more forces against remaining Pirates."
Hearing this, Aokiji nodded slightly and exhaled a faint breath of cold air before speaking.
"It seems I truly didn't understand you well enough. In my impression, you've always been the type who would indiscriminately slaughter any pirate you saw, regardless of right or wrong."
Sakazuki lowered his head at these words, then sighed.
"Before the corruption scandal within the Marines came to light, I was exactly as you imagined. To me, the Marines represented justice while pirates were evil. But when I saw those bastards wearing Marines uniforms committing acts ten thousand times more despicable than real pirates, that indescribable hatred I felt toward pirates suddenly vanished."
"This hatred didn't just disappear without reason. Rather, it forcibly dragged my rationality into the realm of emotion. Take the Whitebeard Pirates for example—I've investigated numerous pieces of evidence of their crimes. While they've indeed committed many brutal acts, if any of their pirates killed civilians, Whitebeard would personally throw them overboard. So those crimes can't be attributed to Whitebeard himself."
"Moreover, the Whitebeard Pirates use their reputation to plant their flag before small nations' gates. This allows countries that couldn't afford the World Government's Celestial Tribute to live relatively stable lives under Whitebeard's protection. If I were to kill Whitebeard, all this would collapse. We couldn't replace Whitebeard in protecting those ordinary nations' civilians."
"Because we're ultimately under the World Government's command. When we're sent to collect the Celestial Tribute, do those countries truly believe the Marines represents justice? Sadly, even someone like me can see our actions don't qualify as just."
At this point, Sakazuki heaved a long sigh and fell silent, standing quietly at the ship's bow watching the distant sky and sea burning endlessly, the firelight reflecting off his sharply defined features.
Aokiji studied Sakazuki as if seeing him for the first time.
After a long pause, he finally said slowly.
"During the Ohara incident, I once thought you were a madman who would do anything for rank. I already held strong objections about you then. If not for our shared position, we might have come to blows at Ohara."
Sakazuki glanced at Aokiji and replied evenly.
"I know. Your displeasure with me was obvious to anyone. But regarding Ohara... even now I don't have many regrets. Though if I were to handle the civilian ship situation today, I'd personally board the vessel, carefully identify the scholars, execute them, and spare the civilians."
"That would have been enough. While I regret the scholars' deaths, they insisted on researching forbidden history. As for the civilians, they never should have died. Have you visited their graves since?"
"I have. Were those your doing?"
"More or less. How did you pay your respects?"
"I knelt until I passed out."