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Shin sat by the sea, eating roasted meat and smiling faintly as he glanced at Akainu.
Right now, Akainu was his cash cow.
Before, Shin hadn’t cared about Berries. But now, he had a large group of people to support.
With the addition of the Kuja Pirates—and Amazon Lily relying on the Kuja Pirates’ earnings to survive, he needed a steady income. Although Shin could create money, it was still fake. He didn’t feel comfortable using it.
“Akainu, aren’t you going to say something tough?” Shin asked Akainu.
“One day, I will capture you with my own hands.” Akainu glared at Shin with hatred. This time, he, Akainu, had truly been disgraced.
From now on, he’d never be able to hold his head high on these seas again. After all, as a Marine Admiral—the very face of the Marines—he had been captured.
“You’ve got ambition, I’ll give you that. But do you really think you can pull it off? If I wanted you dead, you’d already be in the ground. Want to test that theory?” Shin drew his sword and gestured at Akainu.
“….”
Akainu’s face turned ashen.
He didn’t continue to oppose Shin. Akainu was quite radical, but he wasn’t stupid. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have become the Fleet Admiral in the future.
Angering Shin Uzumaki would lead to death. Akainu wasn’t afraid of death, but he didn’t want to die in such a pathetic way. He would rather die in battle than be executed like this.
“Looks like you’ll be free soon.”
Shin suddenly sheathed his sword and stopped scaring Akainu—because a Marine warship was approaching.
Most importantly, Shin saw Aokiji and Kizaru. They should be here to pay the ransom. If not, well… then he’d just have to kill all three of them to send a message.
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“SO SCARY~ So that’s Shin Uzumaki… He looks so young.” Kizaru’s gaze was fixed on Shin.
“Haven’t you seen his picture before?” Aokiji didn’t know what Kizaru was so surprised about.
“It’s different. A picture can’t compare to the real person.”
Kizaru’s sleazy face rarely looked so serious.
From Shin, Kizaru could feel a threat, a fatal one. His senses were very sharp. This was what had saved him from disaster several times before. Kizaru still believed in it.
Soon, the warship arrived at the shore. The other Marines didn’t move. Kizaru and Aokiji got off the warship.
Aokiji glanced at Akainu, his brow slightly furrowed.
Akainu had many bruises on his body. These marks weren’t the injuries Shin had left him with before, but new ones. It wasn’t Shin who hit him—he wasn’t that petty. Beating up a prisoner meant nothing to him.
These were from the female warriors of the Kuja Pirates.
They had used Akainu as a punching bag, which was why he was like this…
Now that Akainu was captured and couldn’t use Armament Haki—even though his body was very tough, he was still beaten black and blue.
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Aokiji didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to start another conflict with Shin over this. His most important purpose now was to rescue Akainu.
Kizaru didn’t give a damn about Akainu’s wounds. The three Admirals were never close—just colleagues doing the same job.
In fact, there were many conflicts between Aokiji and Akainu. Their ideals clashed. As for Kizaru, he was a neutral party.
“Truly sleazy…”
This was the first time Shin had seen Kizaru. Though he knew Kizaru’s appearance was very sleazy, seeing him in person still amazed him.
This look was not just a little sleazy; it was too sleazy. Shin didn’t know how Kizaru could be born so sleazy.
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“I don’t know why, but I have a feeling I want to hit him.”
Hancock felt Kizaru’s appearance was particularly punchable.
This couldn’t be blamed on Kizaru. Being born with a punchable face, Kizaru probably didn’t want to look like this either.
“Did you bring the Berries?” Shin asked Kizaru and Aokiji.
“Shin Uzumaki… we brought the Berries. I wonder if this amount is enough?” Kizaru asked.
Akainu, hearing this, lowered his head, gritting his teeth. No one could see Akainu’s expression.
Akainu felt this was his shame.
“Drop every last Berry you brought. Akainu walks. But if even one’s missing… none of you are leaving.”
Shin looked at Kizaru calmly.
Shin didn’t know how many Berries Kizaru had brought, but Shin was sure it was definitely more than 3 billion Berries.
“This is a bit difficult for me. I need to report to the Fleet Admiral.”
Kizaru turned his back, took out a Den Den Mushi, and started contacting Sengoku.
Aokiji glanced at the unreliable Kizaru—sat down cross-legged, and waited. He estimated the Fleet Admiral would agree.
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After a brief exchange, Kizaru agreed without much resistance—Sengoku had already given the green light. Without that, the decision wouldn’t have been his to make.
“You’re not going to take my salary too, are you?”
Kizaru, as if remembering something, suddenly asked Shin.
“Oh, I’m very curious about your salary. If it’s too low, I welcome…”
Shin had originally wanted to recruit Kizaru, but then he thought better of it. He had promised Elder Nyon the Kuja Pirates wouldn’t take men.
And Kizaru’s appearance was sleazy. Looking at him made it a bit hard to eat.
“For the sake of you bringing me money, I’ll leave your salary. But the others are not so lucky.” Shin smiled faintly and said to Kizaru.
“Then thank you, Shin Uzumaki.”
5 billion Berries… it instantly made Shin and their Kuja Pirates rich. Of course, compared to the great pirates, their Kuja Pirates were not yet wealthy.
Just like Whitebeard, though he roamed the seas all day, his territories had to pay taxes. The Emperor of the Sea was not just a title; it wasn’t an empty name.
“You can take Akainu away.” Shin waved his hand at Kizaru and the others.
Kizaru nodded, reached out his hand—and a sword was held in his hand.
The Ama no Murakumo Sword, a light sword created by Kizaru with the Glint-Glint Fruit.
Then Kizaru slashed towards Akainu’s wrist.
CRACK!
The Seastone handcuffs on Akainu’s wrist were cut, and Akainu also broke free from his bonds, his power returning.
For someone like Akainu, who lived and breathed power, the feeling of being restrained by Seastone was worse than death.
As Akainu broke free, Aokiji stood beside him, his gaze fixed on Akainu. He was doing this to prevent Akainu from attacking again.
If Akainu attacked Shin Uzumaki again, then Aokiji would definitely do his best to stop him—absolutely not letting him succeed.
Actually, Akainu wasn’t that foolhardy. He didn’t act, just looked at Shin obediently. Shin could feel the hatred in Akainu’s eyes.
“You seem to hate me quite a bit, Akainu… should I just finish you off now—to save myself the trouble of leaving an enemy alive??”
Shin asked Akainu with a faint smile.
The moment Shin finished speaking, Aokiji’s expression shifted sharply. He eyed Shin warily, already bracing himself—just in case Shin decided to take the money and break the deal.
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