Chapter 125: The Seven Warlords of the Sea, the Hero, the Fleet Admiral, and the Tom

As expected, Monet likely obtained an exceptionally rare Zoan-type Devil Fruit, a treasure even for Doflamingo. Yet, once given, it must be used—this kind of asset is precisely meant for critical moments.

To say Dressrosa is everything Doflamingo desires now might be an overstatement, but it’s close—perhaps eighty percent of what he seeks. Monet’s significance lies in this very fact, and Doflamingo himself places great trust in her actions.

During her time with the family, Monet’s outstanding abilities have been proven. More importantly, she is intelligent and quick-witted, making her reliability surpass that of Aokiji by a factor of ten thousand. Her lack of combat strength is a weakness but also an advantage—it allows Doflamingo to deem her harmless, which led to her swift appointment as his secretary and granted her access to core intelligence that even Aokiji couldn’t reach.

Trust is often a composite of many factors; length of service is not absolute. Aokiji, as an unstable element, is a prime example of the opposite—his thoughts are too complex and obscure to read.

While the intelligence operatives have already begun their activities, the combat team still requires further preparation.

No matter how reckless Doflamingo is with money and life, he would never actually swallow the “Celestial Gold.” His aim is to seize it as leverage to demand the Shichibukai title from the World Government.

The logic is simple: should Doflamingo consume the Celestial Gold, the Donquixote Pirates would bear the full brunt of the Celestial Dragons’ wrath.

However, if he only holds the Celestial Gold hostage, the pressure would shift directly onto the Navy and the World Government for their failure.

Therefore, if he can successfully hijack the Celestial Gold and hold on for a time, the World Government will inevitably capitulate—not to Doflamingo himself, but to the Celestial Dragons. This would allow Doflamingo to claim the coveted Shichibukai status.

Given Doflamingo’s strength and bounty, he should have received an invitation to the Shichibukai without these theatrics. But his identity is too special; the World Government absolutely does not want a former Celestial Dragon joining the ranks, as it could trigger a cascade of problems.

There are plenty of powerful pirates; why invite trouble? Hence, without proactive moves, the Shichibukai title is unattainable for Doflamingo.

At this moment, Aokiji strolls through the streets of the Gourmet City, searching for something worthy of being called a delicacy. In a daze, he seems to catch the cry of “XX lamb skewers” in the distance—Celestial Gold is a seasonal fruit, unavailable out of season. The Donquixote family will await it here, then intercept the tribute along its known route.

Ironically, he just escorted two pirate ladies onto a warship—as guests. Later, this ship will carry Ain and Monet through Fish-Man Island into the New World, where they will disembark in the nation called Dressrosa.

The Navy transporting pirates sounds incredible, but the officers bribed by Doflamingo likely have no idea who their clients really are, nor do they understand Ain and Monet’s true identities. They merely see them as ordinary civilians seeking Navy assistance or wealthy ladies needing safe passage.

For “Joker” Doflamingo, orchestrating such a scheme is no challenge at all.

Whether it’s hijacking the Celestial Gold or toppling Dressrosa afterward, both will be earth-shattering events, marking Doflamingo’s transformation from pirate to king.

Of course, this is no trivial matter. Even if he overthrows King Riku, Dressrosa will demand his full attention for a time to stabilize his rule. Thus, this period becomes Aokiji’s “safe zone.”

No matter what he does, Doflamingo will be too preoccupied to care—perhaps even if Aokiji were to betray him.

If Aokiji can seize what he desires, it would be the perfect moment to leave the pirate crew. Doflamingo harbors ambitions to find the “One Piece,” so some intelligence breakthroughs are inevitable.

While Aokiji stuffed unidentified meat into his mouth, expending large amounts of glucose to contemplate what could be called Doflamingo’s “Justice Plan”—a scheme that might damn him—an unexpected whistle from who knows where snapped his attention back to the bustling street.

His gaze casually flicked to something that caught his eye.

“Boss, one newspaper, please.”

He flicked a coin with perfect arc, landing it neatly in someone’s hand before casually picking up a newspaper.

He immediately knew he’d chosen wisely. The paper was packed with heavyweight news—not the sort of news like “Donquixote Pirates enter the Grand Line,” which wouldn’t even make the top stories.

From its perspective, the paper voiced the World Government’s stance, but that wasn’t important. What mattered was the facts reported.

First, the front-page headline:

“Criminal Fisher Tiger Dead”

“The death of the Sun Pirates’ captain, Fish-Man Fisher Tiger, has been confirmed. Navy Rear Admiral Stoughbery killed him on Folchard Island. Tiger was a criminal who invaded Mariejois years ago and freed countless slaves. According to reports...”

The Navy’s image was painted as heroic, but Aokiji’s hazy memories told of a despicable and cowardly campaign against Tiger. Furthermore, Tiger didn’t die directly at their hands but from excessive blood loss after refusing a human blood transfusion.

Though regarded as a liberator and hero who championed equality among races, advocated peaceful coexistence between humans and fish-men, and sought to halt discrimination, Tiger’s feelings were another matter. Having witnessed humanity’s basest, most vile, and shameless aspects time and again, he could never truly like humans.

He could have survived by accepting human blood but chose to refuse it, walking tearfully to his death.

Thus ended the life of a hero and fish-man leader.

To protect his reputation, his followers—whether the rational Shimpai faction or the violent Arlong faction—chose to conceal the truth. At least Tiger was deeply loved by his fish-man brethren and subordinates.

For Aokiji, viewing this from a holistic perspective might seem arrogant, but he still acknowledged Tiger as an outstanding leader, one with greatness and selfishness alike—making him realistic and vivid, a normal human or fish-man with genuine emotions.

Yet, heroes, especially unprecedented pioneers, often meet such fates—be it Tiger or the soon-to-follow Princess Otohime.

Though acknowledging this, Aokiji would take no action. First, it’s not his story; he has no intent to be a liberator.

At heart, Aokiji is a pessimist. To sum it up: he believes humanity is beyond redemption. To him, the Revolutionary Army is no different from the Celestial Dragons. Perhaps in the past, the Celestial Dragons were “revolutionaries,” or if the Revolutionary Army ever defeats the World Government, they will merely give rise to new Celestial Dragons.

Is this a biased view? Yes. But from history’s and human systems’ perspectives, is there fault in his thinking?

Is Aokiji detached? No, he is narrow-minded. Is he narrow-minded? No, he is detached. Perhaps these ideas explain some of the irrational parts of his second life’s personality and actions.

He is not neurotic for the sake of it.

Secondly, he is human and cannot gain real trust. Among fish-men and mermaids, only a few visionaries like Princess Otohime and Tiger exist, and even they are powerless against the “greater tide.”

Thirdly, to treat pioneers or liberators with a redemptive mindset is truly arrogant. Those who dare to lead always bear a spirit of sacrifice—it is a matter of resolve.

Of course, after all this, it could simply be said that he is indifferent.

On the second page, the coveted status Doflamingo desperately seeks was handed to someone else:

Boa Hancock, nineteen-year-old captain of the Kuja Pirates, Empress of the Amazons, and pirate with an 80 million Beli bounty earned from a single devastating expedition, officially agreed to the World Government’s invitation to become a Shichibukai.

Also vying for the Shichibukai title and rulership, Doflamingo and Hancock—one a former Celestial Dragon, the other a former slave—show just how vast the chasm between people can be.

This news alone was enough to make Doflamingo question his existence.

Thirdly, another major headline: The World Government appears ready to promote Fleet Admiral Sengoku to Commander-in-Chief of the Three Forces. If true, Sengoku would become the highest-ranking figure under the Five Elders.

Sengoku’s promotion would leave his Fleet Admiral position vacant, almost certainly to be filled by current Admiral Sakazuki.

But then, who will replace Sakazuki as Admiral? Leaving the position empty is unthinkable. The Navy Headquarters is undergoing notable changes—some expected, others yet unknown.

Since this remains unconfirmed, it was relegated to page three.

Finally, on page four: Tom, the world-renowned craftsman who built the Sea Train and revolutionized traditional transport, has been officially sentenced to death by the World Government’s Recycling Court in Water 7 and has already been executed. His crime: constructing the Pirate King Gol D. Roger’s ship, the Oro Jackson.

Aokiji glanced up at the sky and understood where the whistle he’d heard came from.

The “Steam Tom” was now racing through Water 7 and surrounding islands, yet its creator was dead—a perfect illustration of the phrase “burning bridges and discarding the dog once the rabbit is caught.”