"I heard you knew Kaido had appeared."
"Yes, so I brought a warship."
In one of the offices in Marine Headquarters.
Monkey D. Luffy, wearing a Navy uniform, sat at a desk and opened his mouth to speak to Akainu, who was reviewing the documents laid out there.
"But why didn't you come to help us… you went after his subordinates instead?"
"I thought that was the logical move."
Akainu closed the booklet where the documents had been clipped and continued.
"At the time, they weren't just prospects hoping to join the Whitebeard Pirates — three of their top executives operating in the New World had shown up with their fleets."
"Our investigation into the remnants revealed those men had just followed Kaido wherever he went."
"As a result of wiping them out, the Whitebeard Pirates, having lost much of their strength, won't be able to make a move like this again."
"Even then, they're still beneath King, who came with Kaido!"
"If Kaido and King were there and they joined forces, we wouldn't have stood a chance at all!"
Thud!
Shouting that, Akainu slammed his fist on the desk and rose to his feet.
"Do you think I don't know what you're thinking right now?"
"You want to argue why your men had to die, whether there was another way, whether this was the best solution."
"Sir, that's not it, I—!"
"Luffy... did you really not see this coming?"
Realizing what was implied by that question, Luffy's eyes began to shake.
Seeing Luffy like that, Akainu maintained his stern expression and pressed on.
"I told you before: freedom comes with responsibility."
"You've relied on the privilege of being the grandson of Vice Admiral Garp and your natural talent, running wild without looking behind you."
"Did it never occur to you that someone with a grudge against him would target you?"
Those words cut deep into Luffy's heart.
Agonizing over those words, Luffy clenched his teeth before barely speaking.
"What are you trying to say... my men dying is my fault?"
"This was an accident. The problem is that your subordinates took your place in bearing the responsibility."
"Even if it wasn't your fault, you still have to carry that responsibility."
"It's not only you who loses subordinates. At this very moment, countless Marines are dying in the name of justice."
"And not all of them deny responsibility the way you do! Did you think their lives would come back because you turned your back?"
"Did you think that would ease your conscience?"
His words hammered down on the gap in Luffy's heart like a relentless sledgehammer.
What seeped through those cracks in Luffy's heart was guilt.
"How long do you think you can keep running? This is your responsibility to bear!"
"If you don't take responsibility for the freedom you enjoy, you won't be able to do anything in the future!"
Luffy knew every word was true.
This was reality: for those who live under the name of the Navy as guardians of justice, it was a conclusion they had to accept.
Luffy had thought he might face this someday, but never imagined it would come because of him.
"I'm sorry... sir."
"Where are you going, Luffy! I haven't finished—!"
For someone who was only fifteen then, it was too much to take in.
He left behind those words, turned, and opened the door.
Bang!
The only person left in the office was Akainu.
Akainu, who had come to stop Luffy, stood before the closed door, his hand reaching into the empty air.
It would have been all too easy to stop Luffy by force, but he withdrew his hand and turned back.
Sitting back at his desk, he held his head with one hand and spoke.
"Even so, we... have to move forward."
"What am I supposed to do if you walk out without hearing those words... Luffy?"
He muttered as he looked down at the papers scattered across the desk.
The documents contained photos and personal details of Inspection Unit members, including Smoker and Coby.
*****
"Why, exactly?!"
On a remote island far from Marine Headquarters, his body bound in bandages, Luffy was shouting into the void.
Shattered rocks and splintered wood lay scattered around him, and he was surrounded by a golden aura of Haki.
Uniquely, the aura formed the shape of an animal with a long snout, sharp teeth, and slightly curved horns on either side of its head.
The golden Haki swirling around the dragon's head floated shapelessly, resembling the mane of a lion or horse.
"Why is this happening...?!"
Kneeling before a pool of water in front of him, Luffy looked at the reflection.
It was the beast that had slain his men and loomed above him in the sky that day — like Kaido, it bore the form of a dragon.
"Devil Fruits are born from the dreams of humans."
Luffy recalled words he had heard once from a certain scientist.
Their voice dredged up from the depths of his memory, Luffy's eyes snapped open wide.
"Even if it's the same Devil Fruit, the abilities differ slightly for each user."
"Research showed there was only one reasonable explanation for that."
"It's because the user unconsciously wants the power they gain."
No new special ability had appeared since that day.
Only the form of that power changed when you pushed yourself to the limit.
If that hypothesis is right, then I...!
Luffy swung the Haki coiling around his arm through the air.
The pool and the ground around it tore apart, forming a wide, shallow pit.
In the next instant, the dragon-shaped Haki dissipated like smoke.
'Am I... wanting to become like Kaido?'
'Why, why him... of all people, why him...!'
Confused, Luffy pictured Shanks, Garp, and Akainu in his mind.
But the last image he remembered was that beast looking down at him from the sky.