"Summit War..."
Hawke gazed out the window.
In his mind, the details of that war replayed vividly.
The spark of the war originated from the defeat and capture of one man.
Portgas D. Ace.
Ace.
He was the biological son of the Pirate King—Gol D. Roger.
At the same time, he was one of the Four Emperors of the New World, serving as the 2nd Division Commander under "Whitebeard" Edward Newgate.
The incident began when the 4th Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Thatch, was killed by his subordinate, Marshall D. Teach.
Teach had obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit and defected from the Whitebeard Pirates.
This violated the only iron rule of the Whitebeard Pirates—killing comrades is forbidden.
As Thatch's friend, Ace pursued Teach.
Thus began a fateful chase.
Ultimately, on Banaro Island,
The two clashed in a fierce battle.
The result, as everyone knows… Ace was defeated and captured.
Subsequently, Teach handed Ace over to the Navy Headquarters.
He used Ace as a bargaining chip to secure a position among the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Once Headquarters had Ace—the "bloodline of the Pirate King"—they acted swiftly.
They decided to publicly execute Ace at Marineford.
The objectives were:
First, to demonstrate the Navy's authority and power to the world, deterring increasingly rampant pirates.
Second, and most importantly,
To lure Whitebeard himself to Headquarters.
Then, the Navy would exert all its might to utterly destroy the Whitebeard Pirates, the massive force that had dominated the New World for decades.
"Huff..."
Hawke withdrew his gaze from the distance and lit a cigar.
He had to participate in this war.
First, Headquarters would issue a conscription order.
Elite forces from Headquarters and all branches would be deployed to Marineford.
Given his current rank, unless he laid down his sword and retired,
He would inevitably be conscripted.
Second, even if Headquarters didn't conscript him,
He would still go voluntarily.
Because...
This was his best chance to soar!
The Summit War was a feast for harvesting massive Justice Points!
In that war,
The Navy's opponent was the entire Whitebeard Pirates.
The man once hailed as "the strongest in the world"—Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.
Whitebeard.
His bounty reached 5,046,000,000 Belly.
Five billion Belly equals 500,000 Justice Points!
Just Whitebeard alone was worth 500,000 Justice Points!
Under his command were division commanders who dominated the New World:
1st Division Commander, "Phoenix" Marco...
2nd Division Commander, "Fire Fist" Ace...
3rd Division Commander, "Diamond" Jozu...
5th Division Commander, "Flower Sword" Vista...
Each of these was a top-tier pirate with bounties in the hundreds of millions of Belly.
The total bounty for all members of the Whitebeard Pirates, roughly estimated, would exceed ten billion Belly.
Meaning…
Over one million Justice Points!
As long as he could seize the opportunity and operate cleverly in the Summit War,
He could take off immediately!
This enormous Justice Point bounty could elevate one of his abilities to Peak level in this world!
Or he could raise multiple abilities to Top-Tier, causing a qualitative leap in his overall combat strength.
Even if he didn't use it to enhance his abilities,
One million Justice Points equaled one million days of survival.
An ordinary person lives just about thirty thousand days.
One million days…
Almost eternal life!
"Huff—"
"Whitebeard…"
Hawke muttered quietly, "Among all these vicious pirates, you were indeed…"
"Relatively speaking, less wicked."
"Loyal to your comrades, family comes first—these qualities, if seen in ordinary people, deserve praise."
"But… sorry."
"Evil is still evil."
"A pirate is still a pirate."
"And… this Justice Point bounty is simply too high."
He slowly exhaled a smoke ring.
The white smoke curled upward, blurring his cold, hard facial features.
"At most…"
"I'll make sure your entire Whitebeard Pirates family goes down together."
"In Hell, continue being a harmonious family."
The smoke flowed from his lips, tinged with playfulness.
"If nothing else, and you get bored down there…"
"I'll use your contributed Justice Points to send Shanks, Kaido, and BIG MOM down as well."
"Then the Four Emperors of Hell will gather together—a perfect mahjong table."
"..."
Knock knock—
Suddenly, the office door was knocked.
"Come in."
Hawke's voice was calm.
Lieutenant Commander Dane pushed the door open, his expression serious.
Only the two of them were in the office. Dane addressed him directly:
"The special envoy from Headquarters has confirmed."
"Hmm… who?"
Dane took a deep breath and replied in a low voice:
"It's… Admiral Akainu!"
"..."
Hawke was briefly taken aback.
Then, a curve formed at the corner of his mouth, growing into a satisfied smile.
"Good!"
"If it's Admiral Akainu…"
He said aloud, with a tone of ease and certainty.
"Stable!"
If Akainu—Sakazuki—had arrived, the worst-case scenario, such as being sent to a military tribunal for harsh punishment, would not occur.
A rat like Teach, who colluded with pirates and preyed on the countryside, would certainly be deemed guilty in the eyes of this Admiral who upheld "Absolute Justice."
Cleaning up the mess personally might be a bit above rank, not strictly by the rules,
But in the end, it aligned perfectly with the "justice" Akainu recognized.
High probability: he would keep his position as a branch Commander.
Low probability: he might even get promoted, transferred to another sea as branch Lieutenant Commander.
Excellent!
Hawke turned to Dane, his smile subdued, voice returning to its usual calm.
"Then let's wait for Admiral Akainu's arrival."
He paused, adding, "There can be no slack in the branch's daily training."
"Yes!"
Dane turned and left to carry out the order.
Though he was now nominally the highest officer of the 16th Branch.
Whatever Hawke-san said, he would follow.
...
A standard Marine Headquarters warship cut through the calm sea, slowly approaching the weakest sea.
The ship was ordinary.
But the man standing at its bow made it extraordinary.
He crossed his arms, his posture as steady as a mountain.
Although the sea breeze was cool, waves of heat radiated visibly from him.
One of Headquarters' top forces, Sakazuki.
Arriving at the East Sea.
"The weakest sea… East Sea."
Akainu turned and commanded,
"Take down the Navy flags!"
"I want to see."
"How weak the pirates of the East Sea really are!"
"Yes, sir!"
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