Whitebeard Pt.1

"So how was it?" Percy asked as they stood on top of a marine battleship looking out towards the sea.

"How was what?" the newly appointed admiral, Sakazuki a.k.a Akainu looked back at him.

"Meeting all those celestial dragons and seeing who we really serve."

"I didn't really pay attention to them" Akainu replied. "I was mainly focused on how they were going to help me achieve my goals of removing pirates from the world."

"And did they promise anything then?" Percy advanced on.

Akainu scoffed, "no. They were just raving about themselves and what I can do for them and how I should aid them should the need arise."

"Yeah, it was the same for me. I visited them house to house because I was a lot younger than you when I got promoted and had to ease their minds about how capable I am."

"I didn't have to go to every house" Akainu said, "just the main world nobles."

"Ahh..." Percy let the conversation die as he prepared to switch topics. Clearly, his new comrade was not in the mood to talk about his experience in Mary Geoise at the moment.

"So you know what you need to do then" Percy stated to the newly minted admiral.

"Yes. I am here to introduce myself to Whitebeard. We are here to demonstrate our power to the rest of the world" commented Akainu.

"Right. Remember, Whitebeard treats all his crewmembers like family, so if we attack any of them, even the lowest tier member, a war will break out."

"I am not scared" Akainu said confidently.

"It's not a matter of being afraid" Percy said patiently. "What has Zed also taught you and Borsalino? It is better to be prepared then to be blindsided right? If we attack first without any reinforcements or plan, then our path to victory is a lot narrower than you or I think. Look, I'm not asking you to bow your head or prostrate on the ground, your an admiral for god's sake. But don't start a war over something trivial."

Akainu was silent before slowly agreeing,

"As long as we get our mission completed, I can swallow my pride" Akainu gritted his teeth in indignation.

"Swallow your pride? What? Do you think that the Whitebeard pirates are going to insult us? Like they have the balls to. Remember, only Whitebeard is powerful enough to really harm any or both of us, the rest, canon fodder."

"I don't get it then. Why are we going to Whitebeard?"

"For two reasons" Percy stuck out his fingers, "one, because it is to let the rest of the world know that the navy is regrouping and that we are ready to go to war with anyone, anytime. Usually you would be enough, but because the gorosei are not quite sure how capable you are yet as an admiral... they sent me in case of emergencies."

"They did what?" Akainu said as his fist started to turn red and magma started to drip onto the deck.

Percy pressed his hand onto Akainu's shoulders and the magma instantly disappeared.

[Damn devil fruit] Akainu thought as he recalled who he was talking to.

"This is your first time dealing with Whitebeard after all, don't be discouraged. He is the strongest man in the world for a reason. If it was me, I would have deployed all admirals to confront the man."

Akainu paused and tried to regain his composure,

"What is the second reason?"

"Funding" Percy stated

"Money, we're not pirates. We're not going to rob the Whitebeard pirates are we?"

"Not from them, from the world government. Because of Gol D. Roger, the world government has started to lose faith in us to effectively instill justice around the world. Therefore, in order for us to maintain or even increase our funding, we need to show them a demonstration of our might. Therefore, we are heading to Whitebeard's territory and confronting him on his own turf" Percy ranted.

"What are we, children?" Akainu pursed his lips.

"This is the language of the world government" Percy shrugged his shoulders. "In the future, you will use similar tactics to convince them as well."

"I doubt that" the new admiral whispered to himself.

"Sir" one of the officers ran to the two admirals, "the navigator just informed me that we are 3 hours away from Strumia Island".

"I told you commander, that we are going to approach Whitebeard on his ship. Why are we headed towards an island?" Percy asked with a tick of annoyance.

"Well sir, our spies have informed us that Whitebeard has been staying on this island for the past 6 weeks and hasn't left. We figured that we head over there and see what to do when we get there."

Percy nodded his head and turned to his peer,

"What do you think? Technically this mission is yours. I am only here to provide back-up."

"I am not a man of patience, especially for pirates" Akainu said as he looked towards the island's direction. "If they haven't left by the time we get there, then I will approach them on the island".

"Okay. But if you do, I will not provide support for you" Percy looked at Akainu. "I was only there because of the meeting on the boat, if it's on land, then you should have no difficulty surviving until I and or the battleship comes and reinforces you."

Akainu agreed and once again looked at the ocean,

"In a few hours, I will finally meet the strongest pirate in the world."

"No" Percy shook his head, "he is the strongest man in the world"

"Humph" Akainu sneered, "we'll see about that".