Chapter 288: The Wager
Ivankov watched the beam of light plunge after him, his pupils contracting.
This was bad.
He had never been confident that he could survive a fall from the summit of the Red Line in the first place.
Now an Admiral capable of moving freely through the air was pursuing him.
One disaster had piled on top of another.
He barely had time to think before Kizaru appeared beside him.
"You've caused quite a bit of trouble."
The Admiral's lazy voice drifted through the rushing wind.
"So I can't exactly let you leave."
Golden light gathered around his leg.
Another Light Speed Kick shot toward Ivankov.
This time, however, Kizaru deliberately aimed away from the Red Line.
He had no intention of accidentally damaging Mary Geoise.
If that happened, there would be explanations to give and reports to write.
Far too troublesome.
Ivankov reacted immediately.
He stimulated his body with hormones, causing his already enormous hair to swell outward.
Its volume increased dramatically, expanding his surface area and slowing his descent just enough for him to twist aside.
The kick streaked past him and vanished into the distance.
Cold sweat covered Ivankov's forehead.
If that attack had landed cleanly, even with his body enhanced by hormones, the best possible outcome would have been capture.
The worst needed no explanation.
Death.
He had not even recovered from the close call when Kizaru pulled his leg back and prepared another attack.
Ivankov sensed the danger and snapped his head upward.
A blazing foot of golden light hung above him.
The force contained within it made his expression tighten.
This time, there was nowhere left to dodge.
The sky rushed past him as he fell, but Ivankov's attention remained fixed entirely on the glowing leg above.
It felt like standing beneath a guillotine, waiting for the blade to fall.
Then the kick stopped.
A wave of weakness suddenly washed through Ivankov's body.
His strength drained away.
His Devil Fruit power felt suppressed.
He knew that sensation.
It was the same helplessness an Ability User experienced after falling into the sea.
And Kizaru felt it too.
The Admiral immediately pulled away and abandoned the attack.
His eyes shifted toward the faint gray powder drifting through the air.
"This feeling..."
Kizaru's expression became more alert.
"Sea Stone?"
The gray particles clung lightly to the air around them.
Who could grind Sea Stone into powder?
Sea Stone was exceptionally hard, tougher than ordinary steel. Even the World Government had only been able to make practical use of it because of Vegapunk's research.
If the Revolutionary Army had also discovered a method for processing Sea Stone like this, the implications were serious.
No matter how tightly the Marines controlled its supply, some amount would always leak out.
And if enemies learned to weaponize Sea Stone powder, Marines who relied on Devil Fruits could face devastating attacks in future battles.
Kizaru briefly considered continuing the pursuit.
Then he dismissed the idea.
Who knew what other preparations were waiting below?
The enemy had already scattered powdered Sea Stone through the air.
There was no telling what else might have been prepared.
Kizaru had no interest in finding out.
Too troublesome.
Having made his decision, his body transformed into light and shot back toward Mary Geoise.
Ivankov did not understand what had just happened.
All he knew was that the weakness spreading through his body made the situation seem hopeless.
Then his fall stopped.
The violent momentum vanished without warning.
One moment, he had been plunging toward the darkness below.
The next, his body hung motionless in midair.
It was so abrupt that everything he had just experienced almost felt unreal.
Then a familiar voice broke the silence.
"Can you still speak?"
Ivankov's eyes widened.
"You!"
Axel stood nearby.
"Well?"
His expression remained unchanged.
"I told you I hoped you would survive."
He glanced around.
"But it seems you were the only one who made it this far."
Ivankov stared at him.
"Was all of this part of your plan?"
"Yes."
Axel nodded.
"I told you before. You were pieces on my chessboard."
He looked at Ivankov.
"So, do you hate me?"
"No."
Ivankov answered without hesitation.
"We chose to investigate Mary Geoise ourselves."
"What happened afterward, whether we lived or died, had nothing to do with you."
"What you wanted from all this is your own business."
He paused.
"If anything, I should probably thank you."
"You did something the Revolutionary Army wanted to do but couldn't."
There was no need to explain what he meant.
Killing Celestial Dragons.
The Revolutionary Army despised what the World Nobles represented, yet they also understood how dangerous it was to strike at them directly.
Axel had done exactly that.
Not once.
Seven times.
Even while hiding within Mary Geoise, Ivankov had heard about the deaths.
Still, one question remained.
"If I was only a chess piece, why save me?"
Axel was silent for a moment.
"I don't know."
"But I said it before."
"I didn't want you to die."
His voice remained flat.
"Once you entered the board, however, your fate was no longer entirely under your control."
"And when we separated, I told you this."
"Good luck."
Ivankov's eyes widened.
"You predicted this?"
His tone sharpened with disbelief.
"You knew I might escape through this route?"
"You even accounted for whoever came after me?"
"Yes."
Axel answered simply.
In retrospect, those words had meant more than Ivankov realized.
Axel had known where the operation would lead.
He had been waiting here for anyone who managed to escape.
In the end, only Ivankov had reached him.
"You saved yourself," Axel continued.
"If you couldn't make it this far, I wouldn't have been able to save you."
"So there is no need to thank me."
"I used you."
"At the same time, I waited here because I did not want to owe you a favor."
Ivankov gave a bitter smile.
Even experienced revolutionaries would have struggled to decipher such layered reasoning.
And among the people who had infiltrated Mary Geoise, Ivankov was probably the only one capable of breaking through the Marine encirclement and reaching this point.
He shook away the melancholy and forced his usual energy back into his voice.
"Hee-haw!"
"At least we learned quite a lot this time."
"The information we gathered will be extremely useful to the Revolutionary Army."
"Mutual benefit," Axel replied.
Ivankov did not fully understand what he meant.
He also chose not to pursue it.
That did not stop him from extending an invitation.
Someone with Axel's strength, intelligence, and potential was exactly the kind of person the Revolutionary Army would want on its side.
"Then why not join us?"
Ivankov looked directly at him.
"You were willing to risk killing Celestial Dragons."
"You must despise them too."
"You've seen how rotten this world is."
"So why not help us change it?"
Axel shook his head.
"No."
"I'm not interested."
"As I said, this was simply mutual benefit."
Ivankov frowned.
"I still don't understand what benefit you gained from killing Celestial Dragons."
Axel's answer made his expression change completely.
"A wager."
Ivankov stared at him.
Even delivered in Axel's usual emotionless tone, those two words sent a chill down his back.
A wager involving the lives of Celestial Dragons could never be ordinary.
"A wager?"
"Yes."
Axel's red eyes remained calm.
"A wager with a scientific madman."
"He schemed against me."
"I schemed against him."
"And that is how we ended up here."
Ivankov fell silent.
With only a few words, Axel had revealed the shadow of a far larger scheme.
One whose full shape remained hidden.
....
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