One Piece: I am the Fleet Admiral?

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The Fleet Admiral's office at this time.

Pere~Pere~Pere~Pere~...

The call of the Den Den Mushi broke the silence.

"Moshi moshi, I'm Akira!"

Akira casually grabbed it from the side, connected it, and spoke.

Pere~Pere~Pere~Pere~...

But there was no sound from the receiver, and the ringing continued to echo.

"Huh? Isn't it the communication Den Den Mushi?"

Akira put down the receiver and followed the sound.

A special Den Den Mushi came into view.

These are monitor Den Den Mushi, which collect images through the eyes of similar Den Den Mushi, then transmit those images to another Den Den Mushi for projection.

As a Fleet Admiral, no matter how rare the type of Den Den Mushi is, it's always equipped here.

Seeing this, Akira didn't hesitate.

He got up and closed the curtains first, dimming the light in the office so that the projected picture could be seen more clearly.

After finishing, he raised his hand and connected the monitoring Den Den Mushi.

The opposite scene was instantly projected onto the wall.

In the distance, a large group of people were waving weapons and making noise.

A miserable figure was tied to a high log, waiting for final judgment at any moment.

Akira frowned slightly.

From such a far distance, only vague outlines of people could be seen.

No one knew the specific location being projected, or the identity of the person tied to the log.

"Can someone come out and explain to me?" Akira couldn't help but speak up.

"Connected, connected!"

"It's Lord Akira's voice! Captain, captain..."

"Wooooooo!"

Suddenly, there was movement around.

Several excited voices, mixed with sobs, came through.

In the next second, a Marine soldier with a bruised nose, a swollen face, and blood and tears on his cheeks, filled the entire projection area.

"Lord Akira, help~~~!"

As soon as he appeared, the captain immediately burst into tears.

Other soldiers around him, infected by his emotion, also started crying.

"Where are you? What happened?" Akira asked quickly.

"Lord Akira, we are on Fish-Man Island, and we're soldiers from the G-3 base following Tokikake to carry out military duties."

"During this time, we've been chasing pirates here who want to head to the New World."

"Yes, yes, but those nasty Fish-Men set us up today."

"They took all our trophies and are going to execute Vice Admiral Tokikake in public."

The soldiers described the situation among themselves.

Akira finally understood the gravity of the situation.

But he couldn't believe it.

"So... the person tied to the log... is Tokikake??"

"Hmmmmmm!" 

The soldier captain nodded affirmatively.

Akira: ""

---

Gyoncorde Plaza.

"What kind of Marine pirates, like raccoon dogs, are no better than scum."

"There are no good humans; they're all our enemies. What are you waiting for? Kill that Marine already!"

"Everyone, please calm down. That man is a Vice Admiral from Marine Headquarters. If we kill him, the Marines won't leave Fish-Man Island alone."

The square fell silent for a moment.

In the next second, an even bigger uproar erupted.

"If we let him go, who will spare us? Pirates have been plundering our treasures, and Marines have been kidnapping mermaids for sale. Why should we tolerate this anymore?"

"My people, don't be naive. The hatred and discrimination humans have against us will never fade, even if we do nothing."

"Take up arms and fight! Our homeland will be protected by our own hands, and it starts with this Marine who dared to kidnap Shyarly."

On the log, the undisguised killing intent directed at him made Vice Admiral Tokikake, whose body was bound in a large X shape, tremble.

He was in a miserable state.

Several large lumps had been smashed on his head, with blood continuously flowing from his forehead down to his chin.

His eyes were swollen to the point where they could only open slightly, and pain radiated from every part of his body.

He took a deep breath, trying to break free from the rope's shackles.

But no matter how hard he tried, his weakened body couldn't muster even a fraction of his strength.

"Cough... How much tranquilizer did these damn Fish-Men give me?"

"All I did was catch one of their mermaids, was this really necessary?"

Tokikake gritted his teeth, feeling a mix of sadness and anger.

He was sad because, as a Marine Vice Admiral, he was being humiliated like this, on the verge of being executed publicly by the Fish-Men.

And angry because they didn't defeat him with honor.

It would have been one thing if they'd overpowered him in battle, but these Fish-Men used a beauty trick to seduce him and then secretly administered a large dose of tranquilizers.

Otherwise, with his strength, there's no way he would've ended up like this, even on Fish-Man Island.

---

Gunshots rang out in the square, and at the same time, blood sprayed from Tokikake's shoulder.

"Am I really going to die?"

Tokikake glanced at the wound and muttered to himself.

Even without using Observation Haki, he could sense that these Fish-Men weren't bluffing—they truly intended to kill him.

This was Fish-Man Island, located 10,000 meters deep. Even if Marine Headquarters were alerted, they would likely arrive just in time to collect his body.

In other words, unless something unexpected happened, today... he would die!

"I shouldn't have crossed that bastard Akira."

Tokikake was filled with regret.

In hindsight, he realized what had happened.

When Akira had called back then, the special request for him to find the most beautiful mermaid was clearly a trap.

The real goal was to lure him to Fish-Man Island, likely under orders from Teacher Zephyr.

Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense why his staff had immediately arranged for new orders as soon as he arrived.

To be honest...

Before today, Vice Admiral Tokikake was quite comfortable on Fish-Man Island.

Every day was easy—he didn't have to do much or think about anything too deeply. All he needed to do was guard the entrance, command the soldiers to puncture the coating covering the pirate ships from a distance, and then happily collect the spoils.

Even if some powerful pirates broke through the blockade and forcibly entered Fish-Man Island, they still couldn't escape his traps.

In just a few days, the warship he brought was already overflowing with gold and berries.

After squandering these trophies, he and the soldiers indulged in a life of excess and debauchery every day.

But comfort has its limits.

A pirate crew from the New World was planning to enter the first half of the Grand Line via Fish-Man Island.

Originally, Tokikake didn't want to clash with them. After all, no one survives in the New World without being incredibly powerful.

He decided to turn a blind eye and let them pass.

However, the pirates were probably worried that the Marines might attack them on their way out, breaking their coating and leaving them defenseless in the deep sea.

This led to a chain of suspicion, and the pirates decided to confront him head-on.

Seeing no other option, Tokikake had to engage them.

The battle between the two forces was massive, and the destruction was horrifying.

No part of Fish-Man Island was spared, and even the ancient city of Ryugu was half-destroyed.

The war raged for three days and three nights.

In the end, Tokikake stood victorious.

But although he won, it came at a great cost. His body was severely injured, and he needed time to recover.

It just so happened that the spoils on his warship needed to be taken back to headquarters, and he had received orders from Akira to return, so Tokikake decided to leave.

From start to finish, he didn't care about how the residents of Fish-Man Island felt as they watched their homes being destroyed.

After all, he had expended a lot of effort to finally kill the pirates, and as an allied country, they should be grateful.

But before leaving, he decided to catch a beautiful mermaid as a gift for Akira.

Don't misunderstand—it wasn't out of gratitude.

It was to show Zephyr and Gion Akira's true nature and explain why he had initially refused Akira's order.

Not only did he want to clear his own name, but he also hoped to make Gion recognize Akira's "true face."

Otherwise, he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against Akira, who had now become the Marine Marshal.

Killing two birds with one stone, so why not?

He didn't want to capture one of the gentle mermaids from Mermaid Cove, so he turned his attention to the notorious Fish-Man District, a place despised by the locals.

The operation went smoothly. After all, he was a Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters—capturing a low-strength mermaid was child's play. If something had gone wrong, it would have been laughable.

He didn't see anything wrong with it either.

Young female mermaids could be sold for hundreds of millions of berries in human trafficking, so things like kidnapping Fish-Men and mermaids were common.

There were slave traders, pirates, kingdom guards, and even fellow Marines who had done the same before.

During his days on Fish-Man Island, he had seen this happen countless times, and he had grown used to it.

This was simply how Fish-Men and humans interacted.

The tension between Fish-Men and humans has been a bitter, mutual hatred that has lasted for hundreds of years.

The Fish-Men have irreconcilable differences with humans. Their entire race is oppressed and forced to live at the bottom of the sea. If they dare to venture to the surface without being incredibly strong, they either face death or are captured and sold into slavery.

One night, two beautiful mermaids approached Tokikake to thank him for saving Fish-Man Island from pirates.

Tokikake thought he was in for a pleasurable evening, so he let his guard down and drank the wine the mermaids offered him.

After that, everything went dark.

He woke up once, only to be severely beaten by the people from Fish-Man District. When he regained consciousness again, he found himself tied to a log, staring down the barrel of a gun.

Now, he was filled with regret.

If he hadn't slandered Akira in the first place, he wouldn't have been sent to Fish-Man Island on this mission, and none of this would have happened.

Click, click, click...

Below him, dozens of pistols were raised high, one aimed directly at his forehead from a distance.

The sensation of death was so close that a chill ran from his spine to the back of his head.

"Akira, if you have any conscience, you must avenge me."

"After all, I came here to kidnap the mermaid on your orders."

"To die at the hands of these lowly Fish-Men is truly—"

Tokikake lost it completely, descending into madness. All he could feel now was deep resentment toward everyone on Fish-Man Island, and he began spewing words he would have never said before, without thinking.

"I'm going to die anyway, so why not go all out? I might as well disgust you all before I die!"

With that in mind, he loudly spewed hateful words at everyone below:

"You Fish-Men are filthy and disgusting, you deserve to stay hidden in the dark depths of the sea forever."

"I heard you've always wanted to live on land? Hahahahaha..."

"Do you really think you're worthy? Fish should know their place. Is it so hard for you to accept your status as beasts?"

"I regret not killing more of you filthy Fish-Men."

---

The once noisy square fell into a stunned silence.

All the inhabitants of Fish-Man Island were shocked, listening to Tokikake's vile trash talk.

Everyone's bodies trembled with fury.

At that moment, the eyes of not only the Fish-Men but also the mermaids were filled with a strong desire for retribution.

"Shut up, you racist bastard!"

"Why, we never harmed humans, so why do you discriminate against us?"

"Kill him! What are we waiting for? Kill him!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Tokikake laughed maniacally: "Why shouldn't I, as a human, discriminate against you Fish?"

Even King Neptune, who had been trying to calm his people, and his wife Otohime, were silent.

Anyone who dared to speak up for Tokikake at that moment would undoubtedly become an enemy to their own people.

Just as everyone was about to pull the trigger, a large screen in the square suddenly flickered to life, displaying a new image.

The words that followed further fueled the hatred of everyone present.

"People of Fish-Man Island, why do you think you're being discriminated?"