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Sakazuki is no stranger to betrayal.
The look on those fools who think they can get away easily never failed to amuse him. Of course, Sakazuki's not laughing at them for doing so. They're not important. It's not funny. Even so, it's fun to see how the whole clownery unfolds before him.
Those fools think the Marine is a damn stage.
They think it's a joke.
Sakazuki doesn't think so. He shows them how to play the role correctly. Why, of course, Sakazuki had never once been wrong in his life.
"I have nothing to say to traitor."
His blood was boiling, burning like lava and smoke started billowing out of him. Exceeding cigarette smoke that looks almost never goes out. This one is different, it is a sign that the execution of justice will begin. His face will never change no matter what. Sakazuki never changed one bit. His face was as hard as a rock, dark as the bottom of a slate, and there was nothing out of the ordinary about it.
If his role happens to be a villain then so be it. He is on the right side. He exists for absolute justice.
Sakazuki plays the role no one could ever take.
The scene changed as easily as Sakazuki flipped the palm of his hand. The land is burning, and smells terrible, of bones and flesh. He'd had forgotten how foul the screams of the fools hurting his ears earlier.
That was easier than cutting the rotten branch of his bonsai trees.
"Arara." Someone's voice came from behind him along with a hissing sound. "You outdid yourself again, Sakazuki-san."
"Kuzan." Sakazuki acknowledged the voice owner. Kuzan arrived right beside him with feet covered in ice, sizzling against the lava. "What are you doing here?"
"I was passing by. Thought I can see you for a bit," Kuzan answered lightly.
"Unnecessary."
"You hunted them to hell for sure, this is."
Sakazuki threw away the last bit of his cigar before lit a new one. The task given to him was to capture the traitors, bring them to the table of judgment, and let them receive the punishment they deserve.
Those higher-ups know better not to let Sakazuki do it if they don't want anyone dead.
Traitors have no place. Sakazuki had made his judgment that it was wise to just kill them. They don't have to deal with the fools longer.
"Are you going back to the headquarters?" Kuzan asked when Sakazuki turned around and walk to his ship. He caught up with two giant steps. "Sakazuki-san, let me get on your ship."
"What did I say about going with your bike?"
"Don't say that." Kuzan put his arm around Sakazuki. It's still sizzling. "How about we drink before going to report? Sakazuki-san."
Sakazuki didn't answer right away. But that wasn't a bad proposal.
"Fleet Admiral!"
"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki!"
"The news was just in, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki."
People are coming in and out of his office. His new office is bigger, and busier, getting on his nerves more. He's now not just Sakazuki. Not the old Vice Admiral Sakazuki. He's not an admiral anymore. The name Akainu is not his anymore to use.
Fleet Admiral Sakazuki is who he is now.
People were singing praises for him. The same soldiers who talk behind his back. Those who talk about him secretly for being a tyrant.
Those useless soldiers think the Marine is a cheap soap opera.
An entertainment.
"Aokiji left because of him."
"No, I think Akainu banished him."
"Stupid! They fight fairly!"
"Still- Aokiji can't stand Akainu."
"True, true."
"So what? Aokiji betrayed the Marine."
"He left just like that."
"Yeah, you have a point."
They will never shut up about it, won't they?
Sakazuki knows better not to listen. They're worth nothing. A waste of his time if he were to deal with them. They can talk, they can bark, and Sakazuki will be the one to make the final call.
They don't know what they're talking about.
They don't.
The pain from that day when he kneeled on the ground for the first time.
Kuzan was the first one to make him feel cold.
He lost him.
Sakazuki lost a friend.
"I'm going, Sakazuki."
"Where do you think you're going!? You're not leaving anywhere, Kuzan!" That was the closest Sakazuki can get as a plea. Sakazuki knew he will never get a second chance. He knew well how he robbed Kuzan of his freedom.
Still, Sakazuki isn't wrong. He will lead the Marine in a way that no one not dared to do. Sakazuki will do it and that's for the best. Kuzan should've understood.
Or was it Kuzan who choose to ignore it anyway?
Why of course, Kuzan has his own ideology. To stay true to it he'd changed his role to something completely different. That's the path Kuzan to walk on.
A path with no Sakazuki.
Sakazuki knows better than anyone that Kuzan was never a traitor. Even when he felt cold when surrounded by flowing lava, when it felt empty, when he felt betrayed; Kuzan is still his..
.. ally.
Sakazuki erased the memory, the least he can do is to bury it deep down somewhere. He has to keep moving forward despite the blood trails in his footsteps.
The Marine needs him. A work to finish. A mission to complete. A justice to defend.
Sakazuki has chosen the new admirals to fill in the empty seats. Both of them are strong and adept at using their power. He doesn't want to fight any of them. He might not exactly get along really well with Issho and Aramaki and has no plan to cater to them, he's not Borsalino, but Sakazuki wants them to last.
The new power of the Marine.
New era.
A new curtain has been flared open and Sakazuki's the center of it.
One day, perhaps if the day could really come and he'd make sure to do it; when he'd done his mission to bring peace. When justice he wanted is up above along with the flag of the Marines, as everything returns to how it should be, pirates are no more, when he's done- Sakazuki wants to sit down.
Sakazuki wants to sit down at a table over the tatami floor with his friends. There will be Borsalino being annoying, Aramaki that will never shut up, and Issho slurping ramen like there's no tomorrow. There will be Kuzan too, and Sakazuki will exchange cups of sake with him.