One piece: I,Akaino will not die easily

The pirates, still resisting, widened their eyes in disbelief as they watched their leader's head get chopped off. True camaraderie was rare among pirates—most of them were bound together by shared interests rather than loyalty. Betrayal and infighting were common.

When these bandits realized that the backbone of their crew had all but been wiped out, fear gripped them. Most people are afraid of death, and now, with the navy's morale surging, their terror only grew.

Some pirates began tossing their curved swords onto the deck, submitting themselves to the navy soldiers pointing guns at them. One after another, more pirates followed suit. Their morale had utterly collapsed, and faced with the threat of death, they ultimately chose to surrender. All the surviving pirates on the ship threw down their weapons and stopped resisting.

Lindemann raised an eyebrow and slowly approached one of the disarmed pirates. Using the tip of his blade, he lifted the pirate's chin, staring at him with a teasing smirk. "Just now, I heard you shouting things like, 'We'll die with dignity!' or 'Fight them to the end!' How did your tune change so quickly?"

The pirate, forced to raise his head with the blade against his chin, smiled awkwardly and stammered, "Sir, you must've misheard... We never—"

"No, I definitely heard it." Sakazuki interrupted, his voice cutting in sharply. The brim of his cap concealed half of his face, making his expression unreadable. As he walked past Lindemann, he gave the commodore a light pat on the shoulder and ordered calmly, "The usual protocol."

Lindemann understood instantly. With a smile, he slashed his blade across the pirate's throat. Blood sprayed out violently as he loudly relayed the vice admiral's command: "No one is to be left alive!"

Sakazuki's ears were filled with the dying screams and pleas of the pirates as he walked back toward the navy ship, his coat swaying slightly with each step. Behind him, blood splattered and bodies collapsed to the deck, creating a grim tableau he never once turned back to witness.

(Incidentally, during the 17th and 18th centuries, the British Empire handled pirates in a similar manner—resisters were executed on the spot, while those who surrendered were handed over to a judge to be sentenced to hanging. Except for a handful of pirates granted privateering licenses, most other pirates met tragic ends.)

As soon as Sakazuki stepped onto the deck of the warship, Onigumo approached him with genuine admiration in his tone. "Vice Admiral Sakazuki, your strategy was flawless. I've never seen such a methodical approach to an ambush before."

Sakazuki sought the rear admiral's evaluation, asking, "What do you think of this method of eradication? Should it be adopted in the future?"

"Absolutely!" Onigumo responded without hesitation. "The way that pirate captain was trapped like an insect ensnared in a spider's web—it was both terrifying and exhilarating to witness! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed those soldiers could work together so seamlessly to subdue a pirate with a 20 million beli bounty, let alone kill him!"

Sakazuki nodded in agreement. "Inventory the supplies on the pirate ship and destroy it once the collection is complete. Have the medics on standby to treat any injured soldiers. I'll immediately draft a mission report summarizing the past three months for Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Afterward, the entire crew will rest briefly and prepare to return to headquarters."

"Understood!" Onigumo saluted crisply and immediately began assigning tasks.

The vice admiral returned alone to the captain's quarters, feeling a twinge of concern about how Nico Robin had been adapting over the past three months while staying with Jonathan's family. Being at sea, chasing down pirates, he hadn't had the chance to privately call his friend to inquire. Shaking his head, Sakazuki dismissed his insignificant worry. He would return to headquarters in just a few days, and with Fleet Admiral Sengoku overseeing things at Marineford, young Robin likely hadn't been faring too poorly.

Sakazuki picked up the logbook from the past few months and carefully reviewed the matters he needed to report. After some contemplation, he dialed Sengoku's Den Den Mushi.

He wasn't ready to disclose the battle formation strategy to Sengoku just yet. It wasn't fully refined, and this operation had been its first trial. After more extensive field testing against pirates, he planned to submit a detailed report to Commander-in-Chief Kong to evaluate its potential for widespread implementation.

"Hello, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, this is Sakazuki." The vice admiral began organizing his words, intending to relay the details of the pirates and towns encountered in chronological order when—

"WAHHH!!! WAAHH!!!" Instead of the steady voice of Sengoku, the Den Den Mushi echoed with the sound of a young girl crying. What's more, the voice seemed strangely familiar…

There was chaotic noise on the other end, and then a bright, energetic voice drowned out the sobs. The tone was both puzzled and slightly aggrieved: "Okay, okay! Making you do 300 push-ups was my bad. That goat-beard guy already scolded me for it. Here, here, have a donut, and we'll call it even, okay??"

Suddenly, Sakazuki finally heard Sengoku's unmistakable bellow: "GARP!!!! SHUT UP!! STOP MAKING THINGS WORSE!!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!" The Den Den Mushi vividly imitated Sengoku's furious expression. Then his tone shifted drastically, becoming gentle and soothing: "Don't cry, don't cry… Tsuru, stop laughing and come help…"

Dumbfounded, the vice admiral muttered, "Uh, what?"

"Oh, Sakazuki! It's been a while since I've heard from you," Sengoku finally responded, though his tone carried an inexplicable hint of guilt.

"..."

What the hell was I about to report again?