"Let's go."
Akihara Kagura waved his hand somewhat helplessly.
"Well, I'm truly grateful..."
Fujitora seemed a bit embarrassed as he touched the ground with his cane sword and made a request: "I wonder if I could choose the place to chat?"
Ignoring Fujitora's height of 2.7 meters...
The new Vice Admiral kept his eyes tightly closed; his hands resting on the cane sword as if he were an elderly man unable to see...
There was even a touch of pleading on his face that evoked sympathy, making it hard to refuse his request.
"..."
Akihara Kagura suddenly smiled.
"Seen through, haven't I..."
Although Fujitora couldn't see, his intuition seemed to sense Akihara Kagura's smile: "Admiral Kagura's smile probably indicates that you don't mind where we chat or if the place we go to is dangerous..."
"Such confidence..."
Fujitora's brow lightly furrowed, his face tilting slightly as if still trying to gauge Akihara Kagura's thoughts: "Even I find it hard to fathom."
"Forget it."
"In any case..."
"I can only be a meddler for now..."
Fujitora drew his cane sword, directly tracing a circle on the floor where he and Akihara Kagura stood, and controlled a massive semi-cylindrical rock slab to break free from gravity and soar into the sky, taking them both up.
"Please don't worry..."
As Fujitora commanded the rock underneath to fly, he turned back to reassure Akihara Kagura: "I know of an uncharted island..."
"Going to an uninhabited island, huh?"
Akihara Kagura stood calmly on the rock slab, showing no sign of fear: "This doesn't seem like a mere chat..."
"After all..."
Fujitora was indifferent, calmly continuing: "Between men... persuasion through mere words is hard..."
Fujitora was a kind-hearted person.
This kind-hearted man wanted to mediate the conflict between Akihara Kagura and Ryokugyu.
Because Akihara Kagura genuinely showed an intention to assassinate his colleague, Fujitora also wanted to test Akihara Kagura, hoping he wouldn't act too drastically.
When a man wishes to persuade another...
Most of the time, mere words won't suffice.
To persuade someone, you must prove you possess the strength or authority for them to heed. Both Fujitora and Akihara Kagura are Vice Admirals, and Akihara Kagura obviously doesn't heed advice, so Fujitora had to rely on strength to convince him.
Unfortunately...
Akihara Kagura had a similar idea.
As they flew toward the distance, Aokiji seemed to observe the scene, feeling relieved that someone was willing to handle inter-colleague conflicts...
Just as he was relaxing a bit, a Dog Head Battleship stopped at the port, and Vice Admiral Garp leapt down in front of Aokiji!
"Kuzan..."
Garp gazed at Aokiji, his eyes seemingly aged as he softly made his request: "I want to see Luffy."
"Mr. Garp..."
Aokiji couldn't refuse the request of the man before him, hoping he wouldn't do anything foolish that could lead to disaster.
"I won't do anything foolish."
Garp understood Aokiji's look, shaking his Cloak of Justice, he gazed up at Enies Lobby's emblem of the World Government.
That flag has flown for eight hundred years...
Now...
It's increasingly annoying...
Garp walked step by step to the makeshift holding area at Enies Lobby, casually asking: "I seemed to have seen Akihara Kagura and Fujitora Issho leave just now?"
"Yes..."
Aokiji thought about it, seemingly getting a headache again, hoping Fujitora could persuade Akihara Kagura and hoping they wouldn't clash, considering he could utilize the Konoha Pirates...
Regrettably.
Things rarely go as planned.
On a deserted island.
Fujitora knew very well that Akihara Kagura wouldn't heed advice, so he directly proposed his demand: "Let's have a duel. If I lose, I won't meddle in any matters; if you lose, may you resolve your grudge with Vice Admiral Ryokugyu, and I'll persuade him to apologize, no offensive actions will occur again..."
Honestly...
Fujitora's duel was quite unfavorable for him.
Because even if Fujitora won, he gained nothing and had to use some methods to convince Ryokugyu to apologize. This Vice Admiral simply wishes to be a good person.
"The bet isn't very fair."
Akihara Kagura shook his head decisively and added: "If I lose, everything goes as you said; if I win, Ryokugyu avoids a death penalty but not a severe punishment, and you must agree to one request..."
As he said this, Akihara Kagura's eyes contained a hint of a smile, which Fujitora unavoidably noticed.
"Moreover..."
"It's any request..."
"..."
Fujitora hesitated.
Because the bet was too significant for him.
If he truly lost to Akihara Kagura, he couldn't convince himself not to keep his promise. He pondered for a while before slowly nodding...
Honestly...
Initially, Fujitora had the resolve to win decisively...