The air in the conference room seemed to have been completely ignited by the scorching heat radiating from Akainu's body.
Meanwhile, Garp's unrestrained laughter and Kizaru's constant "Oh my~" commentary only added fuel to the fire.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku clutched his chest. He felt as if his heart were testing the limits of breaking.
He had never imagined that a meeting meant to solemnly decide the next Fleet Admiral would turn into a complete farce because of Renzo, the remote "source of laziness."
Four Admirals.
Three openly oppose Akainu.
If news of this got out, the Marine would lose all dignity.
"Enough!!!"
Sengoku finally exploded. He slammed his fist onto the alloy table with all his strength, making the Den Den Mushi bounce.
"Garp! If you laugh again, I'll throw you out to feed the seagulls!"
"Borsalino! Wipe that expression off your face!"
"Sakazuki! Sit down!!"
Sengoku's authority finally suppressed the chaos.
Garp forced himself to stop laughing, though his shoulders still shook.
Kizaru shrugged helplessly.
Akainu's chest heaved violently, but he eventually snorted and slowly sat down. His magma-burning eyes, however, remained locked onto the Den Den Mushi as if he wanted to melt it on the spot.
"Sengoku."
At that moment, a calm, aged female voice filled with unquestionable authority spoke.
It was the Great Staff Officer, Vice Admiral Tsuru.
From beginning to end, she had simply sat quietly, as if the farce had nothing to do with her.
But the moment she spoke, both the enraged Akainu and the lazy Aokiji unconsciously straightened up with serious expressions.
"Tsuru…" Sengoku looked at his old friend wearily.
Tsuru slowly opened her eyes, eyes that had witnessed countless changes in the world.
Her gaze ignored Renzo's Den Den Mushi and Kizaru entirely. Instead, it settled calmly on Akainu and Aokiji.
"Sengoku, you're tired. That's understandable."
Her voice was steady.
"It's only natural that you wish to step down."
"But the position of Fleet Admiral cannot remain vacant even for a single day. That is the bottom line of the World Government, and the foundation of the Marine."
Her eyes returned to Sengoku.
"This meeting has already revealed the Marines' greatest hidden danger, division."
"Kuzan's compassion. Sakazuki's absolutism. Borsalino's neutrality. And…"
She glanced briefly at the Den Den Mushi.
"…Renzo's laziness."
"These four kinds of justice can no longer coexist."
"Oh my~," Kizaru muttered quietly, "I never intended to cause division. I just want to clock out on time."
"So," Tsuru continued, ignoring him, her voice becoming decisive.
"A vote is meaningless now."
"If ideology cannot be unified, then we must use the Marines' oldest and most traditional method to decide."
Sengoku's heart sank. "Tsuru… you mean-"
"That's right."
Tsuru's gaze sharpened like a blade as she stared directly at Akainu and Aokiji.
"Sakazuki. Kuzan."
"You both believe your justice is the future of the Marine."
"If that is the case, then prove it with your fists."
She announced the only and most brutal solution.
"The position of Fleet Admiral will be decided by a duel."
"!!!"
The entire room was stunned.
All the vice admirals inhaled sharply.
A life-and-death battle between the Marines' two strongest powers?!
"I accept!"
Akainu stood up immediately. The twisted face filled with rage finally revealed a ferocious grin.
"This is the most decisive solution! Kuzan! I will step on your shoulders and forge a new justice for the Marine!"
"Aaa…"
Aokiji slowly stood as well. His lazy expression vanished, replaced by cold seriousness.
"…This turned into the most troublesome situation."
He exhaled a breath of cold air, lowering the temperature of the room.
"But Sakazuki, to stop your insane justice… I will never back down."
The two terrifying auras collided violently.
The clash of ice and fire made the entire Marineford tremble.
"Good!!"
Sengoku slammed the table.
"In that case-"
"Wait! Wait a minute!!"
Just as Sengoku was about to finalize the decision, that lazy, irritated voice rang out again from the Den Den Mushi.
"…?"
Akainu and Aokiji froze simultaneously and turned toward the snail.
"Renzo!!" Sengoku felt veins bulging in his forehead. "What problem do you have now?!"
"I have a huge problem!"
Renzo actually sounded a little angry.
"Are you people crazy?!"
"A duel?!"
"Sakazuki and Kuzan? Two awakened Logia users fighting?"
"I just did a quick calculation…"
Renzo's voice sounded deeply pained.
"If those two fight at full power, it'll take at least ten days and ten nights!"
"Half the New World's climate will be thrown into chaos!"
"One entire island will be completely destroyed!"
"Do you know what… what… what the hell that means?!"
For the first time, Renzo's voice rose several octaves.
"It means I have to write reports!"
"It means I have to deal with environmental damage!"
"It means I have to comfort nearby allied nations!"
"It means my vacation for the next entire month will be ruined!"
Even if he didn't personally handle it, he still had to protest.
Renzo let out a hysterical roar, though it still sounded lazy.
"Ten days and ten nights! This is such an incredibly troublesome decision!!"
"I, Renzo! Commander of the G-5 Base! The conscience of the Marine!"
"Strongly oppose this idiotic resolution that will infinitely increase my workload!!"
"…."
"…."
Vice Admiral Tsuru's face, one that had seen everything in the world, froze for the first time.
She had considered countless possibilities.
But she had never imagined Renzo's reason for opposing the duel…
…was still because he didn't want overtime.
"Then you… you bastard… what do you want?!" Sengoku shouted, nearly rolling his eyes.
"Isn't it obvious?!" Renzo replied matter-of-factly.
"You're just choosing a leader. Do you really need ten days of fighting?"
"I propose…"
Renzo's voice suddenly sounded full of "wisdom."
"You two, right now, immediately-"
"…play rock–paper–scissors."
"…Huh?"
Sengoku dug his finger in his ear, thinking he misheard.
"Rock... paper... scissors," Renzo explained temptingly.
"Best two out of three. No wait, that's troublesome, one round decides everything."
"Whoever wins becomes Fleet Admiral."
"The loser goes back to work quietly."
"Silent, efficient, peaceful, and convenient!"
Renzo proudly concluded, "This is the perfect way to solve trouble!"
"So? Isn't my proposal genius?!"
"…."
"…."
"…."
The conference room fell into ten seconds of silence, even quieter than the Land of Sloth.
Everyone stared at the golden Den Den Mushi as if it were an alien.
"Waaa~."
Kizaru was the first to break the silence. Adjusting his sunglasses, he muttered in a tone of sincere admiration:
"Oh my rock–paper–scissors. That's efficiency so high… it's almost moving~…"
"You… you…"
Akainu pointed at the Den Den Mushi.
His red face turned purple… then black.
"You, "
"PFFT-!!!!"
A mouthful of hot blood mixed with magma suddenly sprayed from Akainu's mouth.
"Renzo!!!"
"I will never share the same sky with you!!!"
BOOM!!
Akainu's rage finally exploded.
With one punch, he smashed the entire Marineford alloy conference table and the Den Den Mushi into molten lava.
"Oh my Sakazuki, you broke the Den Den Mushi~."
Kizaru said casually.
"G-5 can't hear us anymore~."
"SAKAZUKI!!!"
Sengoku looked at the hellish scene in front of him and felt the world spinning.
"I… I… quit…"
Thud.
Sengoku the Buddha, Fleet Admiral of the Marine, during his final meeting before retirement, gloriously fainted from anger.
.....
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu