One Piece: I'm not Roger

The battered Celestial Dragons left Aokiji feeling deeply troubled. Explaining this matter to the World Government would not be easy. With the battle for the Fleet Admiral position approaching, he did not want the World Government to hold a grudge against him. Still, if he was expected to repay the humiliation by treating Hina the same way, he simply could not do it.

After all, Hina was a junior he had always gotten along with well. In the end, he could only put on a stern front and try to force the situation forward.

Aokiji stepped ahead and spoke with a righteous tone.

"Roger, these two Celestial Dragons were obviously abused while in your custody. You need to give the Marines an explanation, otherwise we will not hesitate to start a war."

Aether gave a faint smile.

"No, they simply fell down. It has nothing to do with me. If you do not believe me, you can ask them yourselves."

The moment Aether pointed at the two Celestial Dragons, both of them trembled violently. Tears and mucus covered their miserable faces as they hurriedly nodded in fear.

"That's right! We fell by ourselves! It had nothing to do with Lord Aether!"

"Yes, yes! Lord Aether never touched us!"

The surrounding Marines fell silent.

The Celestial Dragons were actually calling him "Lord."

Just seeing their terrified expressions was enough for Aokiji to imagine the kind of suffering they had gone through during these past few days. For Celestial Dragons, people who normally acted above the world itself, to behave this obediently was almost absurd.

Still, this outcome was better than expected. Since there was now an excuse to smooth things over, Aokiji immediately followed along.

"Fine. Then let's proceed with the exchange."

The flagship slowly approached the Marine warship.

As the hostage exchange officially began, the two Celestial Dragons ran toward the Marine side like frightened dogs escaping a nightmare. Their appearance was so pitiful that many Marines secretly felt satisfied.

No one dared to openly offend the Celestial Dragons, but seeing these so called World Nobles reduced to such a pathetic state was undeniably pleasing.

On the opposite side, Hina was escorted onto the deck by several Marines.

Her exhausted eyes stared blankly ahead until they landed on Aether.

The man responsible for overturning her entire life was looking at her quietly, his expression gentler than expected. The mentally and physically drained Hina subconsciously took a step forward.

That step was not for herself.

It was for the child in her belly.

From the moment she abandoned the idea of getting rid of the child, she had already accepted responsibility for it. No matter what happened next, she could no longer remain with the Marines.

Perhaps all of this was her own fault.

Or perhaps she should blame Aether.

Just yesterday, she had been one of the Marine's rising stars, admired and respected by countless people.

Today, she had become a hostage, a bargaining chip connected to the Pirate King.

As Hina continued walking forward, the two Celestial Dragons had already reached the Marine side. Clinging to nearby Marines while crying miserably, they left the Vice Admirals looking extremely uncomfortable. Neither wanted physical contact with the Celestial Dragons, yet pushing them away was equally impossible.

Everything appeared to be proceeding smoothly.

Then suddenly, the shadow beneath Hina's feet twisted violently.

A figure dressed in CP0 attire burst out from the darkness like a ghost. The assassin moved with terrifying speed, a sharp dagger thrusting directly toward Hina's heart.

The attack happened too quickly for most people to react.

Just as the blade was about to pierce her chest, a chain shot across the battlefield and intercepted the dagger with a sharp metallic clash.

At the same instant, an overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki exploded outward.

The terrifying pressure slammed into the CP0 assassin, causing his body to freeze for the briefest moment.

That single moment was enough.

Aether vanished from where he stood and instantly appeared before the assassin.

His fist, coated with Advanced Conqueror's Haki, crashed into the CP0 agent's chest.

Boom!

The assassin barely managed to cross his arms in defense before the impact sent him flying like a cannonball. His body smashed directly into a nearby Marine warship.

The enormous ship tilted violently from the force, nearly capsizing on the spot.

The battlefield instantly fell into stunned silence.

Hina stared blankly at the scene before her.

The World Government had just attempted to kill her.

No, more accurately, they wanted to kill the child she carried.

The Gorosei clearly understood where her loyalties leaned. Simply because she carried Aether's child, they had decided to erase her without hesitation.

While her thoughts spiraled into confusion, Aether had already pulled her into his arms.

A suffocating wave of Conqueror's Haki slowly spread from his body.

The World Government's actions had genuinely angered him.

Even so, when he looked down at Hina, his voice remained unexpectedly steady.

"Were you scared?"

Hina slowly raised her head.

Their eyes met.

Within those golden eyes, she felt something she had not experienced in a very long time.

Safety.

The exhaustion weighing on her heart finally loosened slightly.

In the end, she quietly rested her forehead against his chest.

"I'm fine."

At this moment, she no longer wanted to think about the future.

She only wanted to rest.

The Marines were equally shaken by the sudden turn of events.

Garp, who had intended to remain a spectator throughout the exchange, immediately stood up with an ugly expression.

Sengoku had never informed him of such a plan.

Did this mean the World Government had acted independently behind the Marines' backs?

The heavily injured CP0 agent slowly emerged from the wreckage of the damaged warship. Supporting his wounded body, he raised a golden medallion representing the authority of the Gorosei.

Then he shouted loudly across the battlefield.

"By order of the Five Elders, arrest Pirate King Roger and the traitor Hina immediately! Vice Admiral Garp, Admiral Aokiji, Admiral Akainu, all of you are ordered to attack at once!"

The command instantly caused an uproar among the Marines.

Nobody had expected things to develop this far.

"Are they insane? Vice Admiral Gion is still in Roger's hands!"

Aokiji's expression turned grim.

As the commander of this operation, the responsibility now rested heavily on his shoulders. Everything today was originally meant to build momentum for his promotion to Fleet Admiral, which was why Akainu had remained silent and allowed Aokiji to lead.

But now the situation had become a complete disaster.

Even Garp's face darkened with fury.

The Gorosei had actually chosen to ignore Gion's safety entirely.

If they truly attacked now, he would have no way to explain things to Tsuru afterward.

At the same time, Garp noticed Kizaru appearing in the distance.

Clearly, the Gorosei had prepared this arrangement long ago.

Garp's expression became colder as he shouted toward the CP0 agent.

"This old man never received such orders! I'll personally question Sengoku when I return!"

Seeing Garp refuse to cooperate, the CP0 agent immediately shifted his focus toward Aokiji.

"Admiral Aokiji, are you also refusing the authority of the World Government? This medallion represents the highest authority of the Five Elders. You should understand its meaning."

The CP0 agent paused briefly before continuing.

"The Five Elders have also stated that if you carry out this order, regardless of success or failure, the position of Fleet Admiral will belong to you. No one will compete against you."

"But if you refuse... then perhaps the Five Elders will need to reconsider whether you are truly qualified to become Fleet Admiral."

The atmosphere instantly became heavy.

Akainu's sharp eyes narrowed dangerously.

Meanwhile, hesitation appeared on Aokiji's face.

The position he had pursued for years was suddenly right in front of him.

Although he did not believe they could truly defeat Aether and his crew, especially here in the New World, the temptation of becoming Fleet Admiral was still enormous.

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