139. Justice that crumbles the moment it's tested—is that really justice at all?

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"Sakazuki, I brought him."

Rayleigh was carried by the jailers all the way up from the sixth floor.

The guards didn't stop until Magellan, who followed closely like a shadow, spoke.

Rayleigh looked up.

He saw the door on the first floor of Impel Down was wide open.

Three warships were docked at sea, and a huge number of soldiers stood on the decks, weapons in hand.

At the gate, two Marine officers wearing justice cloaks waited outside.

Rayleigh recognized the two immediately.

Sakazuki, one of the most infamous figures in the Marines, renowned across the world. It was hard not to know him.

Next to him, a step behind, stood another well-known Vice Admiral of the Marines—Tokikake, the Brown Pig.

Thanks to Shakky's intelligence network, Rayleigh was well aware of him, too.

"I thought Sengoku himself would come to escort me."

Surprisingly, they only sent two Vice Admirals.

"That's kind of insulting, huh."

Rayleigh smiled wryly.

He felt that as the former first mate of the Pirate King, with his status and power, it would have been more appropriate for an Admiral to escort him.

He distinctly remembered when the Marines escorted Roger to East Blue for his execution; it was Hero Garp, Admiral Sengoku, and more than half the headquarters, including Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals.

Now, it was his turn.

But only two Vice Admirals had shown up.

Although one of them was a major powerhouse, Rayleigh couldn't help but feel slighted.

But whether it was Sakazuki, Tokikake, or Magellan, none of them cared about his feelings.

"Magellan, thanks for your hard work!"

Sakazuki approached and raised his hand to greet him.

Magellan glanced at him, a small smirk forming at the corner of his mouth.

It had been a long time since he ate the Venom-Venom Fruit, and most people avoided touching him.

Even those with strong physical constitutions who weren't afraid of his toxins would instinctively keep their distance.

"It's not hard work, it's my duty," Magellan responded, shaking Sakazuki's hand firmly.

The two walked side by side as they headed outside.

Tokikake waved his hand, and the Marine soldiers, who had been waiting, ran over and took Rayleigh from the jailers.

"I thought Sengoku or Garp would have come."

"It's just Rayleigh, the Dark King. I'm more than enough."

As they walked, Magellan casually chatted with Sakazuki.

The two weren't particularly close, but their Devil Fruit powers were somewhat similar, and they shared a common disdain for pirates.

With Sakazuki having taken on an important task from his superior, their relationship went beyond just being colleagues under the World Government. They had become rare friends who could converse freely.

Rayleigh thought to himself: Can you not say these things right in front of me?

It's kind of embarrassing.

But having used up all his strength the night before, his entire body was weak, and all he could do was pretend he hadn't heard a thing.

In this situation, he was the prey, and they were the hunters. Complaining would only make things worse.

"By the way, I heard you're about to become an Admiral?"

"Yeah, Fleet Admiral Sengoku will officially announce it to the world today."

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you. How about you? The position of Director of Impel Down has been vacant for a long time. When are you taking over?" Sakazuki asked curiously, with a slight smile.

Though Impel Down wasn't as high-profile as the Marines, the former director, Desmond, had been dismissed for quite some time, and the new appointment had been delayed.

It was an odd situation.

A major force like Impel Down without a proper leader wasn't good for anyone. At this point, the only one with the strength and qualifications to become the new director was Magellan.

But even though everyone had quietly acknowledged this, until the Five Elders gave their official approval, there was always room for uncertainty.

"Very soon!"

At the mention of this, Magellan smiled awkwardly, scratching his head. "I just returned from Mary Geoise two days ago."

"Oh? You met with the Five Elders? How did it go?"

"Yeah, aside from a small incident with my powers during the meeting, everything went smoothly."

Sakazuki's eyes flickered.

An accident with Magellan's poison powers? He could imagine the plants and flowers in Mary Geoise being corroded.

"Then let me congratulate you in advance. I didn't expect your rank to surpass mine."

"Ah, you and I don't need to worry about such things," Magellan replied, waving it off. "Public is public, private is private."

Soon, the group exited Impel Down, and Sakazuki escorted Rayleigh onto the warship. After bidding farewell to Magellan, the three warships set sail for Marineford with great force.

"Tokikake, you take the lower decks and guard the hold. I'll watch from above," Sakazuki commanded, arms folded, his face serious.

"Understood, Admiral." Tokikake nodded, slipping on his sandals as he headed toward the prison hold below the warship.

Time passed quickly, but the journey was uneventful, without any disturbances.

By the time the warships docked, the Marine headquarters soldiers were already gathered in the square. The Den Den Mushi for live broadcasts was set up, transmitting the scene to the entire world.

"Admiral Sakazuki, you've arrived just in time. You're next up for the speech," a Marine ran up, speaking urgently.

"Understood. Tokikake, I'm heading off," Sakazuki said, his tone firm.

"Got it. Leave everything here to me, Admiral Sakazuki."

Rayleigh, now escorted once again, found himself walking through a secret passage beneath Marineford Fortress.

"Where does this lead?" Rayleigh asked.

"It goes to the high platform that's been set up. You'll be interrogated by our Fleet Admiral there," Tokikake answered, glancing back as they ascended the stairs. He didn't mind explaining—it was all already decided.

"What exactly do you plan to interrogate me about?"

"Heh, you'll find out soon enough," Tokikake grinned.

There was no point in answering directly, and it was better to keep Rayleigh on edge. Though it was the truth, leaving him unprepared was intentional.

Rayleigh sighed helplessly, realizing there was nothing more to ask.

Step, step.

The two continued up the stairs.

After a few minutes, they finally reached the end of the tunnel, though the upper exit remained tightly closed.

"It's not your turn yet. Just wait," Tokikake said, folding his arms and leaning against the wall.

Seeing this, Rayleigh sat down cross-legged, quietly recovering his strength while listening closely to the movements above.

Even though the exit was still closed, Akira's voice came through clearly.

"People around the world watching this live broadcast, I am Marine Fleet Admiral Akira."

"Before today's trial begins, there's an important announcement regarding personnel changes in the Marines."

"The World Government has decided that Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Zephyr will step down from their positions as Marine Admirals."

"Sengoku will take on the role of Director of the Marine Criminal Investigation Bureau, while Zephyr will continue serving as the Chief Instructor of the Marine Academy."

"The three vacant Admiral positions will be filled by Vice Admirals Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan."

"Please join me in welcoming them to the stage."

Clap clap.

Thunderous applause echoed across the area.

All the "voices" Rayleigh picked up with his Observation Haki were overwhelmingly strong, reflecting the soldiers' excitement and approval of the decision.

"Sengoku and Zephyr stepping down from Admiral positions?"

"So soon..." Rayleigh muttered quietly.

He couldn't help but recall the times he had fought against Sengoku. Back when Rayleigh roamed the seas, Sengoku was also in his prime. They had clashed several times.

And now?

Roger had died, and Sengoku was stepping down from the front lines.

Both of these monumental events had happened within a single year, and it left Rayleigh feeling slightly melancholic. His energy seemed to weaken with the realization.

"Our time has truly passed," Rayleigh thought as he stared at the darkened stairway behind him, slowly being consumed by shadow, just like his own rich past that was gradually fading away.

The sounds from above continued, but neither the speeches by Sengoku and Zephyr, nor the new Admirals' promises to the world, stirred anything within Rayleigh.

Until—

"The next announcement is crucial."

"In order to ensure the trial of Rayleigh is completely transparent, we will demonstrate the powers of the Truth-Truth Fruit to everyone."

"Stella, come forward!"

Rayleigh's attention snapped upward.

"The Truth-Truth Fruit?" he thought.

"Ah, right, that Devil Fruit is mentioned in the fruit encyclopedias. So, they'll use it on me to ensure everyone believes my words."

Rayleigh frowned slightly. "But why is the Marine making this trial so complicated? What exactly do they want to interrogate me for?"

Ever since Marine announced worldwide that Rayleigh would face trial, he had been locked up in Impel Down, unaware of their exact plans for today.

At this moment, Rayleigh couldn't think of anything he had that would interest the Marines so much—unless it was the location of Raftel. But even then, without the four Road Poneglyphs, there was no way to reach it, and he couldn't simply give it away.

As the activity on the high platform continued, Rayleigh quieted his mind and focused his senses.

Stella, the user of the Truth-Truth Fruit, began to demonstrate the Devil Fruit's power to the entire world.

Rayleigh's expression gradually shifted as he listened.

"Did Marine really go this far just to gain the world's trust?"

His eyes widened in disbelief, and he glanced at Tokikake, who stood nearby.

The verification was being carried out in three stages, with three different types of people.

The first was a wealthy noble, notorious worldwide.

Faced with the power of the Truth-Truth Fruit, he admitted to the entire world that his fortune was built on selling his countrymen as slaves and selling children to warring nations, so that warmongers could brainwash them into becoming trained killers and cannon fodder.

This kind of confession was a capital crime. No sane person would willingly admit such a thing, especially in a live broadcast with their life on the line.

Fleet Admiral Akira had even warned the nobleman beforehand: if he confessed to an unforgivable crime, Marine would enact justice on the spot. But if he kept silent and denied everything, he would be allowed to return home safely.

Despite this, the nobleman, under the power of the Truth-Truth Fruit, truthfully admitted his crimes. Rayleigh could feel his heartbeat pounding, his face pale with fear. The man wanted desperately to lie, but he simply couldn't.

After his confession, a bullet swiftly ended his life.

The second person to be tested was a pirate who had witnessed everything.

As before, Akira publicly promised that as long as the pirate claimed he had never committed any crimes, Marine would acquit him and set him free.

And to top it all off, Marine had arranged 100 million berries for the pirate, offering him a life of luxury if he denied his crimes.

But, just like the noble, the pirate's fate ended with a bullet.

In Rayleigh's eyes, these two sacrifices were enough to convince the majority of people about the legitimacy of the Fruit of Honesty's power. Except for a few schemers, fanatics, or cynics, most would accept it. After all, it would be easy to assume these two were pressured into a death sentence by the Marines, acting under threat.

Marine, however, seemed to be making a calculated move to silence any doubts.

"Bring out a Vice Admiral? Are you out of your mind?" Rayleigh swallowed hard, his body trembling slightly.

That's right—the third subject Marine had prepared was a Vice Admiral from Marine Headquarters, a highly respected figure admired by countless soldiers.

On the high platform, the soldiers were now reading out the charges against the Vice Admiral for the whole world to hear.

——The crime: while drunk, he violated the mayor's wife and, fearing discovery by the Marine Criminal Investigation Bureau, killed her entire family, framing pirates for the deed.

Tokikake's mood visibly darkened, his expression hard and solemn. He muttered, "Those who betray justice deserve to be punished."

"But he's a Vice Admiral!" Rayleigh stammered, still trying to wrap his mind around it.

This wasn't some low-ranking soldier or general. This was a high-ranking officer, just below the Fleet Admiral and the Admirals themselves—a man with the power to lead entire operations.

Tokikake didn't respond, simply raising his head and sighing deeply.

At that moment, Tokikake couldn't help but recall the high-level meeting Fleet Admiral Akira had called to discuss this very Vice Admiral's crimes.

At that meeting, Akira had proposed publicly trying the Vice Admiral's crimes before the entire world, with the goal of executing him on the spot.

Akira outlined three key benefits of this decision:

1. Truth and Trust: It would demonstrate to the entire world, both ordinary citizens and the ambitious alike, that the power of the Truth-Truth Fruit was real. It would ensure that when Rayleigh's trial came, the world would believe the truth he spoke.

2. A Warning to the Marines: It would serve as a clear message to all Marine officers, reminding them that no matter where they were stationed or how powerful they believed themselves to be, the Marine Criminal Investigation Bureau was always watching.

3. Restoring Public Confidence: The world would see that while some evil may exist within Marine, the organization as a whole stood firmly for justice. The "few bad apples" would be rooted out, proving to the people that Marine could be trusted.

Of course, Akira's proposal sparked an immediate and intense debate.

Some officers supported the move, while many others were strongly opposed. They argued heatedly, citing the potential damage this could do to Marine's reputation. Many feared it would demoralize officers across the seas and undermine the very idea of Marine justice.

For three hours, the room was filled with arguments, nobody able to convince the other side.

In the end, it was Akira's simple statement that silenced everyone.

"If the people lose faith in justice because a Vice Admiral committed a crime, then Marine should ask itself whether the justice it's upheld for 800 years is truly just."

"Justice that crumbles the moment it's tested—is that really justice at all?"

"And as for the officers being disheartened? Only those who have betrayed justice should be worried. Sakazuki, tell me—are you worried?"

Sakazuki's silence, along with the agreement of Sengoku, Zephyr, and the three Admirals standing behind Akira, ended the argument. The decision was made.

Boom!

A gunshot echoed from the high platform.

The sound reverberated through Marineford, and across the world, those watching the live broadcast felt their hearts tighten and their breath catch.