Accidents Always Come In Ways No One Expects

At the other end, Big Mom crushed the Den Den Mushi that she had just snatched from Perospero, and the violent, murderous intent in her eyes could no longer be suppressed.

Originally, even after Gawain attacked the Big Mom Pirates' fleet, she could still barely calm down under Perospero's persuasion.

After all, the overall situation is important, and protecting the interests that have been obtained is the top priority.

But now she has lost not only the fleet but also the Pluton blueprint that is about to be obtained but, even her most outstanding child.

In other words, this trip to Water 7 has only resulted in losses and no gains.

It's really frustrating.

How could Big Mom endure such a big loss in succession with her character?

"Shiki!"

A roar broke out from Big Mom's mouth, and the sound waves that spread scared the birds in the sky.

There was also an invisible Conqueror's Haki spreading, raging like a hurricane, so that circles of waves spreading outward appeared on the sea in the distance!

Perospero barely blocked the whistling wind.

When the surrounding noise subsided, Big Mom had already summoned the thundercloud Zeus and rushed away to the distance along the sea surface.

"Mama!"

"Where are you going?!"

Perospero hurriedly dissuaded her: "Even if you want to take revenge on Golden Lion, you must first find the other party's location!"

But at this moment, how could Big Mom, who was almost out of her mind due to rage, listen to Perospero's words?!

Her figure disappeared at the end of the sky in the blink of an eye.

Only Perospero was left standing on the deserted island, a little confused for a while.

He looked around, and what emerged in his mind was still the huge fleet that was anchored here a few days ago, which was enough to help the Big Mom Pirate conquer any enemy, as well as his several brothers and sisters.

But now he is all alone.

The sea breeze swirled, bringing coolness that pierced deep into his bones.

Perospero had only unspeakable regret in his heart.

"If only I hadn't been so eager to show off, and if only I hadn't tried to compete with Katakuri, would everything have been different?!"

The surroundings were silent; only the howling wind could be heard.

Perospero's question was destined to go unanswered. What he knew more clearly was that he had no time to hesitate anymore.

"Right, the Vivre Cards!"

He reached into his chest and took out a small booklet, flipping it open.

Pages of Vivre Cards appeared before Perospero.

Each page in the booklet was the Vivre Card of one of his younger brothers or sisters.

At this moment, nearly half of the Vivre Cards in the booklet had vanished. Those people either died in the explosion caused by Gawain or were eaten by Big Mom.

Perospero quickly flipped through the pages, soon finding his target.

A Vivre Card that was nearly burned away, with the name of the person it pointed to written above: Katakuri.

"He is still alive?!"

Perospero let out a sigh of relief: "Mama has our Vivre Cards, too. She should be able to find Katakuri by following the directions on the Vivre Cards."

"With her strength, even if she's not a match for Golden Lion, escaping shouldn't be a problem."

Thinking of this, Perospero's gaze fell on Flampe's Vivre Card.

The scene of the explosion flashed through his mind, countless brothers and sisters struggling and crying out while he himself was only focused on escaping.

He fell silent for a moment, filled with indescribable self-hatred.

"This time... I must do what I am supposed to do."

"I am the eldest son of the Charlotte family!"

His murmurs fell to the ground.

Perospero waved his scepter, and with a surge of power, he quickly formed a massive manatee that floated on the sea's surface.

He leaped onto the manatee, heading in the direction indicated by the Vivre Card.

... ... ...

On the other side, the enormous fleet led by Akainu had already departed from Marine Headquarters over ten days ago, heading towards Water 7.

But this time, their orders were not to save but to destroy.

They were to wipe out Water 7 completely, along with the hundreds of thousands of civilians on the island.

Even those with hard and cold hearts among the hawks in the fleet were beginning to find this mission hard to accept.

"What is the World Government thinking? Are we executioners or enforcers of justice?!"

"A mission like this... A mission like this... I will never accept it!"

"Those are living people, children, fathers, husbands, wives..."

"Waaaaahhh!"

A Marine officer cried out, holding his head with both hands.

He had once been a hawk within the Marines, firmly believing in absolute justice, but at this moment, his mind was nearly breaking down.

This officer was originally an orphan from Water 7.

He had grown up eating meals from kind neighbors, and his initial goal in joining the Marines was to protect the Water 7.

But now, what he wanted to protect was being ordered to be destroyed by the very justice he believed in.

He was caught in a dilemma, his heart torn apart, his mind on the verge of collapse.

"Admiral Akainu, this Buster Call is absolutely wrong!"

But the officer's cries were met only with Akainu's indifferent gaze: "Take him away."

"Let him calm down alone."

"Temporarily relieve him of his duties, cut off all communication."

"Do not let him have any contact with the outside world until this mission is completed."

As the voice fell, two marines dragged the officer away, regardless of his struggles, and his cries gradually faded from the deck.

Not a single person spoke up for him.

Because such things had happened too many times in the past few days, enough that those present had become numb to it.

Everyone looked at the tall and upright figure on the deck, like looking at some inanimate object.

Sakazuki was one of the three admirals of the Marines and very likely the strongest of the three.

He was known as Akainu because of his Mag-Mag Fruit powers, uncompromising nature, and a style that tore apart all evil like a vicious dog.

He could be ice, iron, or a bullet piercing an opponent's chest, but he was never a living person.

Absolute justice, with no tolerance for even a trace of evil, was Akainu's creed.

Such iron-blooded and almost fanatical justice naturally earned him many complaints within the Marines, even causing him to be somewhat isolated. But he also gained a large number of loyal supporters.

But this time, even those marines who had once followed him found themselves feeling confused.

After all, we're talking about hundreds of thousands of lives!

But when facing Akainu's question, they had no answer.

If they showed mercy here and let the Pluton blueprint fall into the hands of the pirates, how many more people would die in the future?

In the end, everyone remained silent.

If Sengoku had faced the trolley problem, he might have hesitated, sacrificing a few to save more.

But Akainu would not hesitate even a little. If necessary, he would do it himself.

The fleet continued to sail steadily.

Like a silent iron beast, it had the power to shred everything in its path.

This fleet, representing the Marines or, rather, the highest deterrent force of the World Government, the Buster Call, had never faced any potential threat since its departure.

The sea was never lacking in reckless men, but they knew when to be brave and when to court death.

Even Jack was stunned when he saw the lineup on that ship.

But accidents always come in ways no one expects.