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“I believe congratulations are in order, Fleet Admiral. ”
Sakazuki gritted his teeth with a growl at the slimy voice worming its way through his ears. The silver tongue was more akin to some cold-blooded reptile than a bird, in his opinion. All of the Warlords were their own brand of nasty and despicable pirates, but Donquixote Doflamingo took it to a whole other level. The air started to shimmer over Sakazuki’s skin as he looked at the man who had sauntered into his office as if he owned it. He could already imagine feeling the plastic of those stupid glasses melting under his hand, hearing the choked gurgle as the air grew too hot to breathe… oh well. Eventually. He didn’t bother saying anything; the man would provide the words unprompted anyway.
“Quite the promotion. Finally, the highest seat in the land, just like you wanted, hmm?” Doflamingo chuckled as he walked up to the large desk and rested his hip against it to grin at Sakazuki. “I wonder how long before you feel this collar starting to chafe as well?”
“What are you blabbering about?” Sakazuki said, only keeping his Logia in check because he didn’t want to burn the paperwork stacked across the desk.
“Poor Akainu,” the man somehow made the epithet sound like an insult, “thinking he escaped one, only to find someone else holding his leash.” Doflamingo shrugged, ruffling those ridiculous feathers. “So much talk of justice, splattering it across your back, only to find there is no such thing. All you are doing is serving the will of your betters. But, call it justice if that makes you sleep at night.”
Sakazuki snarled and stood up suddenly, his hands slamming on his desk and filling the air with the scent of scorching wood. “I’ll show you justice-!”
“It’s useless preaching about it, dog.” Doflamingo leaned closer unperturbed, his smile turning even nastier. “Justice, mercy, kindness… not a single molecule of them exists in reality. They’re all the same thing. Lies that humans came up with to make themselves feel better.” He paused his monologue when a feather that brushed against Sakazuki’s hand instantly caught fire and was turned to ashes. Finally, he backed away. “Enjoy being the figurehead of a fantasy, Fleet Admiral,” he tried to get a last stab in with another chuckle that at least had a hint of nervousness to it.
Sakazuki growled again and he watched the pirate pretend to saunter away while hiding that he was running away with his tail between his legs. At least they both realised that Akainu’s temper ran hot enough that he could let politics be damned and reduce the bastard to ashes right here and now. It was something he was working on, now that he was the Fleet Admiral. But he wouldn’t exactly lose sleep over Doflamingo, no one would. Sakazuki gave a little chuckle of his own as he settled back in his chair and lit a cigar on his finger.
No such thing as justice, huh? Just because Doflamingo was too caught up in his own little world where the brat thought he had it all figured out, didn’t mean there was no justice. Justice had meaning because humanity gave it meaning. Creating order and true, ever-lasting peace through the pursuit of justice, was what elevated man above the animal. And if that was true, then he was the most human of all. Sakazuki would continue to strive to be the embodiment of that ideal, as he always had. He would be a guiding beacon as an example for the rest of humanity to follow and be their bulwark against chaos.
Sakazuki would show all of them the true meaning of justice.