One piece: I,Akaino will not die easily

Sakazuki heavily set down the Den Den Mushi, feeling a headache coming on. Heaven only knows what kind of ideas Garp would instill in that kid. Fortunately, from the call, it seemed Sengoku intended to have Robin stay with Tsuru for the time being.

The vice admiral lightly tapped his fingers on the desk, his mind racing. On one hand, Robin's entry into the fortress was under the leadership of the naval hero Garp, and she had even visited Sengoku the Buddha's office alongside him.

While Garp probably hadn't thought things through in such a complicated way, it was inevitable that subordinates and officers would have their own interpretations—essentially, the subtext was clear: Robin was under the care and protection of Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the legendary, highly revered Garp.

In Sakazuki's view, the Navy of this era was, in essence, a monstrous entity with a mixed organizational structure. This was because it had characteristics of both a modern army—comprising a small number of elite officers and a large number of trained "cannon fodder" soldiers—and a typical ancient mercenary army, where soldiers were privately controlled by commanders.

The soldiers belonged to their officers, combat strength depended heavily on the personal prowess of the commanders and their loyal soldiers, and individual martial valor was emphasized at the expense of coordination.

This is precisely why Sakazuki had plans to integrate the individual initiative and sense of responsibility emphasized in modern armies into the Navy's system. Soldiers needed not only to be proficient in combat but also to understand why they fought.

Although naval regulations and discipline were fairly complete, the differing styles and habits of leading officers, combined with a management system that leaned toward personalized governance, meant that even Marineford—despite being an elite institution—could not escape the pattern. The Navy, spread across the four seas and various routes, was riddled with factions.

Even among the elites in Marineford, there were divisions: each admiral had their favored vice admirals and rear admirals, who acted as their trusted subordinates.

Among the vice admirals, there were clear splits between combat-oriented hardliners and the more moderate faction. There were factions based on Marineford loyalties, branch loyalties, or even groups stemming from shared mentorship by the same instructors.

The Navy's system of selecting local elites for advanced training at Marineford to some extent exacerbated this situation.

Looking further ahead, Sakazuki deduced that, after this incident, Robin would almost certainly be categorized as being under the protection of the Marineford faction led by Garp and Sengoku.

Additionally, since both Sakazuki and Kuzan were students of Zephyr, Robin, without even realizing it, had gained the goodwill of many officers and staff in Marineford.

Overall, the benefits outweighed the drawbacks. However, Garp's unreliable teaching methods still left Sakazuki with a sense of disgust, like he'd swallowed a fly. Shaking his head, the vice admiral tried to erase Garp's obnoxious "blah blah blah" laughter from his mind, only to find it etched even deeper.

Realizing there was no saving himself, Sakazuki decided to give up on the mental struggle. He stood and stepped outside the cabin to shift his focus elsewhere.

The marines who had been fighting aboard the pirate ship had all returned to the warship by now, and the ship's doctors were busy bandaging and stitching up the wounded.

Thankfully, there were no casualties this time, and the most severely injured soldier had only suffered a stab wound through the abdomen. Thanks to the doctors' swift efforts, his condition had already stabilized.

The vice admiral casually grabbed a bottle of alcohol from the medical kit, dipped a clean cotton ball into it, and crouched down to disinfect a soldier's arm, which bore a large knife wound. The ship's doctor next to him began administering local anesthesia, preparing to suture the wound.

"Vice Admiral, thank you so much!" The soldier was flustered, unaccustomed to this kind of treatment.

Sakazuki, however, didn't bother with sentimental platitudes like, "You're all my beloved soldiers." Instead, he silently carried out his actions, letting them speak for themselves.

Watching the soldier grit his teeth through the stitches, the vice admiral softly distracted him. Sakazuki knew that local anesthesia only slightly dulled the pain—when the needle pierced the skin, it still hurt.

"Do you know why you took that hit?" he asked.

The soldier quickly nodded. "It's because I panicked when the pirate charged at me."

The doctor pierced the needle through the skin.

"Exactly. If you'd kept your composure when they rushed in for a desperate attack, you could've used your sword to parry and then countered with a sideways slash.

That would've severed their fingers against the blade, instead of leaving you vulnerable to two heavy strikes that broke through your guard," Sakazuki said, reflecting on mistakes he'd noticed during the skirmish.

The soldier listened intently, only to be caught off guard by a rapid triple-stitch from the doctor. "AARGH!" he howled in pain, instinctively jerking backward.

The vice admiral slapped the back of the soldier's head. "What are you screaming for? It's done!"

The doctor nodded in gratitude to Sakazuki, then quickly motioned for other soldiers who'd been watching to take over, wrapping the soldier's stitched wound in bandages. He swiftly moved on to another soldier in need of stitches.

"BOOM!"

The deafening sound of cannon fire rang out again, sending the now-corpse-laden pirate ship to its watery grave.

Sakazuki turned his gaze toward Onigumo and Lindemann, who were overseeing the transport of confiscated goods to the warship's storage. Lindemann, upon noticing Sakazuki's glance, quickly grabbed his inventory list and jogged over.

"Vice Admiral, we've seized forty barrels of gunpowder, twenty barrels of alcohol, dozens of crates of ammunition, and various other miscellaneous supplies still being tallied," Lindemann reported, ticking items off his list as he spoke.

"Good. Have the soldiers speed it up—we're preparing to head back home," Sakazuki announced, delivering news that instantly lifted everyone's spirits.

Three months at sea hadn't been particularly grueling, and the food on the warship was passable, but it was nothing compared to the daily provisions at Marineford. Not to mention the joy of reuniting with family and friends—no amount of battlefield glory could compare to that.

"Hurrah!"

"Long live!"

"Trust in justice!"

Sakazuki turned his gaze toward the general direction of Marineford, squinting as if he could see the Navy's headquarters beyond the Gates of Justice. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of lively scene awaited him back at Marineford.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten to console Jonathan, who was sure to be sulking or to deliver a fresh vat of molten magma for his sharp-tongued junior, Kuzan.

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