Marine Headquarters.
Inside an office marked with the sign "Admiral Aokiji," Renn Hawk sat across from the admiral himself. The entire room carried a lazy, lingering chill, the kind of cold that seemed to seep into one's bones.
"Admiral Aokiji..."
Renn broke the silence first. "You wanted to see me?"
Aokiji lounged back on the sofa, hands behind his head, speaking in his slow, unhurried drawl.
"Well... Hawk-kun."
"Sakazuki's report mentioned your justice."
"Slaughter Justice."
"But from what I've heard..."
"In the East Blue, you spent a great deal of time and effort."
"Returning the seized Beli and treasure directly back to the villagers."
"So when Smoker led a team to patrol your waters..."
"He ended up surrounded by angry villagers who mistook him for the bad guy."
"Ha ha..."
Aokiji chuckled at the memory, a rare flash of amusement on his usually indifferent face. "That must've been a sight."
"But Hawk..."
"To me, that doesn't sound like pure slaughter."
Renn smiled calmly.
"Admiral Aokiji, 'Slaughter Justice'..."
"Is actually two words."
"Slaughter, and Justice."
"Slaughter, directed at evil."
"For those pirates who plunder, burn, and trample human life as if it were nothing, I will never hesitate. They will all be eradicated."
"Justice, directed toward the people."
"For the oppressed and the powerless, I listen to their pleas and uphold what is right."
"Together, that is my justice."
"Slaughter Justice."
"..."
Aokiji studied him in silence.
So that was it?
He thought of Sakazuki Akainu. That man's justice was like an all-consuming flame, burning away every sprout of evil without mercy.
Then he thought of himself. After Ohara, the fire in his heart had frozen over. He chose idleness, detachment, and resignation.
But this young man, Renn Hawk, seemed to have found another path.
His justice carried the same fire, relentless in eradicating evil. Yet also the calm of ice, able to rebuild order and sow hope after the flames.
Could this... be the true answer?
A justice that was neither blindly extreme, nor apathetically detached?
Aokiji's thoughts wandered, until at last he sat upright, his lazy demeanor stripped away.
He asked the question that had haunted him for years. A nightmare rooted in Ohara.
"Brigadier General Hawk, suppose there's a ship filled with innocent civilians..."
"But hidden among them might be someone who threatens world justice."
"What would you do?"
Renn knew exactly what Aokiji was asking.
The Ohara Incident.
Back then, both Akainu and Aokiji then still vice admirals had played central roles in the Buster Call.
Akainu had ordered the evacuation ship destroyed, to eliminate even the slightest chance that a scholar might escape.
Aokiji had frozen his own friend, Vice Admiral Jaguar D. Saul, with his own hands. Yet in the end, because of Saul's words, he spared a single survivor: the child Nico Robin.
Was Akainu wrong?
From a soldier's standpoint, obedience to orders was his duty. From his view of justice, cutting evil at its root, he wasn't wrong.
Was Aokiji wrong?
For questioning orders, for preserving a spark of humanity in the cracks of the rules, he wasn't wrong either.
The truth was clear: the true wrong was the World Government itself the Elders who had given the order.
But now wasn't the time to debate that outright with an admiral.
Instead, Renn chose to guide.
"Admiral Aokiji, before I answer, may I pose a question?"
"Oh?"
"Two islands are struck by plague at the same time."
"One has five million people. The other has one million."
"But there's only one relief ship, and only one dose of medicine."
"You can't save both."
"No matter what you choose, people will die."
"Would you save the many, or the few?"
Aokiji froze.
The question stabbed into him like two blades at once.
There was no perfect answer.
Either choice meant abandoning millions to death.
"..."
After a long silence, Aokiji's voice came hoarse.
"I..."
He couldn't answer.
To him, any choice was wrong.
"And you, Hawk?" Aokiji asked, his eyes locking onto Renn's. "What would your choice be?"
"My choice doesn't matter." Renn shook his head. "What matters is why does this choice exist in the first place?"
"Just like the evacuation ship. Whether you sink it or let it go, both are flawed answers."
"Following orders is justice as a soldier."
"Preserving humanity is justice as a person."
"When those two forms of justice clash so violently that either choice is wrong..."
Renn leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice.
"Admiral Aokiji."
"Have you considered... maybe the real problem lies with the one who gave the order?"
"...!"
The words struck Aokiji like thunder.
Yes...
Why had he been trapped for so many years in that dilemma?
Why had the nightmare of Ohara never left him?
He had always struggled between "sink" or "let go," never questioning whether the question itself was wrong.
"..."
Renn glanced at the fading light outside the window and rose from his seat.
He knew his words had taken root. Any more would be overkill.
"Admiral Aokiji, it's late. I should return. Tomorrow morning, I need to report to logistics."
"...Mm."
Aokiji lifted his head slowly, still dazed, still drowning in the weight of Renn's words. He nodded absently.
Renn turned and left the office, footsteps fading down the hall.
Only Aokiji remained, staring blankly at the sofa, chewing again and again on that phrase.
"Maybe the real problem lies with the one who gave the order..."
And once more, his thoughts drifted back to that island twenty years ago, engulfed in flames.
If the question was wrong...
Then during the Ohara Incident, the true wrong...
"Was the order itself?"
...
Robin.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————
Already drawn into the tides of this story? Share what pulled you in your words and reviews keep the fire burning. And every 300 Power Stones will unlock a bonus chapter, pushing the voyage forward even faster!
Renn Hawk's journey is only beginning, and the evolution of justice is far from over. Stay with Unbound Evolution and keep sailing ahead of the horizon!
[email protected]/_tey
Change @ to a.