16-The Price of Loyalty

The old woman suddenly seemed to regain her memory and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, my son is called Sakazuki, but… he was only eight years old, no, wait, he should be grown up by now. Otherwise, how would I have a grandson?"

As she spoke, her eyes became dazed once again. She turned her head to look at Momonga and asked curiously, "Who is my grandson again? I… I think I've forgotten! Wuwuwu, I forgot who my grandson is~"

Saying this, she hurriedly stood up and ran toward the bedroom.

Momonga didn't stop her. Instead, he silently turned to face Sakazuki, his expression serious.

Taking the opportunity, Sakazuki set down his bowl and looked up at Momonga. "Has Elio been the one taking care of my Mother all these years?"

Momonga nodded. "When he's away on missions, Vice Admiral Elio always asks Vice Admiral Gion for help. But usually, he stays by her side constantly, because often, all it takes is for him to turn around for a second, and she forgets who he is and mistakes him for a bad person, trying to kick him out."

Upon hearing this, Sakazuki turned his head to look at her, searching the house for her grandson, and his gaze gradually hardened with resolve.

He didn't believe that Elio had done this with ulterior motives.

He had read the investigation reports. He already saved and started taking care of her before getting to learn of her connection to him.

This meant Elio had cared for her without any hidden agenda.

With this thought, Sakazuki no longer hesitated. "Is your transponder snail working? Contact Elio for me!"

Momonga took out the transponder snail and dialed.

Soon, the line connected.

Before the person on the other end could speak, Momonga went straight to the point, "Put on Vice Admiral Elio!"

After a few short seconds, Elio's voice came through the transponder snail. "Momonga, you have ten minutes. No matter what decision Sakazuki makes, return immediately and come with me to see Sengoku."

Sakazuki took the transponder snail in front of him and said in a low voice, "This is Sakazuki. I'll ask just one thing. If your answer is what I hope to hear, I will help you become Fleet Admiral."

Before Elio could respond, Sakazuki suddenly shifted the topic, "Since you already knew the identity of my mother, why didn't you use it to make a deal with me? You should know very well that she's my only weakness!"

"No reason,"

Elio's voice came calmly from the transponder snail. "I believe that once you learned her identity, you would definitely compromise because of what happened tonight, even if it was unwilling. Because for anyone, a mother is never a multiple-choice question."

"That's why I won't treat her that way. To me, she's not a bargaining chip."

Meanwhile...

On the road to Marine Headquarters, Elio tossed the transponder snail to Bastille beside him. He looked up at the towering HQ building ahead, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Although he hadn't said much to Sakazuki, the fact that Sakazuki had taken the initiative to contact him already spoke volumes about his stance.

As for Sakazuki, Elio didn't expect him to stand beside him right now. As long as he chose not to intervene, tonight's grand plan could succeed.

Bang-

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. A bullet tore through the air, heading straight for Elio's face.

Before Elio could react, Bastille, who had been silently at his side, drew his massive shark-slicing blade. With a swift arc, he cleanly bisected the incoming bullet mid-air.

Immediately after, Bastille stepped forward. His blade erupted with a terrifying aura as he unleashed a powerful slash toward the direction the bullet had come from.

Slash-

The air shook as a terrifying wave of force surged forward, instantly cutting the rooftop of a building several hundred meters away in two.

A shrill scream echoed from the building. As the severed rooftop collapsed and smashed into the ground with a deafening crash, clouds of dust rose into the air.

Elio didn't even pause for this little interruption. As Bastille's blade finished its arc, Elio stepped forward once more, surrounded by Hound, several Vice Admirals, Rear Admirals, officers of various ranks, and hundreds of soldiers. Together, they marched straight toward the HQ building.

"You disgrace to the Marines, Elio!"

Just as Elio entered the lobby through the front doors, a furious roar rang out.

From the group of soldiers guarding the first floor, a figure suddenly burst out and lunged at Elio like lightning.

"Finger Gun!"

Just as the man was about to reach Elio, Hound flickered forward and executed one of the Marine Rokushiki techniques, Finger Gun, driving his fingers with precise accuracy into the attacker's chest.

"Damn it!"

The Marine officer caught by Hound's blow widened his eyes in rage. "Hound! Why? You were once the hero who chased down the Sun Pirates! You were Admiral Borsalino's most trusted subordinate! Why would you betray us and follow a disgrace like Elio?"

Hound grabbed him by the neck and said coldly, "Talking about right or wrong means nothing now. Anyone who stands in Elio's way… is our enemy. So you can die."

With those words, Hound decisively snapped the man's neck and quickly rejoined Elio, who was heading toward the elevators.

This was Hound, ruthless, merciless, and swift in judgment.

In many ways, he was the same type of person as Admiral Sakazuki. But somehow, he had ended up under Admiral Borsalino's command.

Although Hound trusted him deeply, Borsalino's ambiguous sense of justice always left him conflicted. He found it difficult to truly integrate with the rest of Borsalino's unit, which troubled him deeply, though he never voiced it, burying the frustration in his heart.

Until one day, he was assigned a mission with Elio, who had just been promoted to Vice Admiral. During that mission in the New World, he witnessed how Elio dealt with pirates, and in that moment, he felt he had found a kindred spirit.

After that, he broke precedent and approached Elio of his own accord.

After a few encounters, he was fully convinced by the young Vice Admiral's charisma and considered him a close confidant, a friend with whom he shared everything.

Most importantly, he discovered that Elio not only possessed immense strength but also had ambitions so vast that even he couldn't fathom them.

Once he fully understood what Elio sought, he secretly made up his mind to become one of Elio's most powerful and loyal allies.

Still, he had underestimated the scale of Elio's ambition.

Elio didn't just want to become the youngest Fleet Admiral in Marine history.

But that didn't matter anymore.

What mattered was, no matter what Elio chose to do, he would walk beside him. A warrior dies for one who understands him.