"Not much time left, Admiral Sakazuki!"
After carefully listening to the constant reports coming through Transponder Snails, Elio slowly looked up at Sakazuki and said calmly,
"You have thirty seconds left to decide, to share this glory with me side by side, or to continue serving your so-called absolute justice for the rotten World Government."
"In my eyes, your so-called absolute justice is a massive joke, because you don't understand what true absolute justice is at all!"
"True absolute justice means treating even the Celestial Dragons equally, but you can't do that! Not only can't you do it, you also have to endure suppression and scolding from the Room of Authority!"
"Deep down, you loathe the Celestial Dragons, and you harbor resentment toward the Five Elders in the Room of Authority, but you don't dare to resist them, or maybe you just haven't found the right opportunity to do so!"
"Now, that opportunity is right in front of you."
At this point, Elio raised his wrist and glanced at his watch, shifting the tone, "You have ten seconds left."
As soon as Elio's words fell, all the officers around them took a synchronized step forward.
What came next caught Sakazuki completely off guard, each officer held a bucket filled with seawater, clearly prepared in advance to deal with him.
Although this amount of seawater wasn't enough to completely strip him of his combat ability, it was sufficient to restrict him. That would be all, Elio needed to take him down.
Keep in mind, though Elio was the youngest Admiral in the headquarters, his Armament and Observation Haki were superior to those of many other admirals. Most importantly, his swordsmanship was on a whole other level, even surpassing that of Admiral Candidate Gion.
Moreover, several other officers held iron hooks made of seastone, clearly ready to launch an attack should Sakazuki choose to stand against Elio.
"Three."
Elio spoke again, calm and unhurried, "Two…"
CLANG—
Suddenly, the iron gate of the prison burst open.
Immediately after, Momonga, Bastille, and Strawberry charged in, followed closely by over ten officers of various ranks, who quickly lined up in two rows upon entering.
"Vice Admiral Momonga?"
"Bastille? Strawberry?"
"How can this be? Even you're joining this rebellion?"
Looking at the three Vice Admirals now standing behind Elio, Sakazuki's eyes flashed with shock. After all, Momonga, Bastille, and Strawberry were all core forces of the Navy HQ, veteran Vice Admirals. Their interactions with Elio couldn't have exceeded more than six years!
He knew that the officers who rose through the ranks during Elio's six years in HQ might waver in their view of justice. But he couldn't fathom what had made even these veteran Vice Admirals defect to Elio's side and join this rebellion without hesitation.
"Lord Elio."
Upon arriving behind Elio, Momonga immediately took a step forward and bowed,
"May I have a few words with Admiral Sakazuki?"
"No need!"
Elio waved his hand dismissively, replying calmly,
"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki has already made his choice."
As the words left his lips, Elio's aura suddenly surged.
"Elio, do you intend to make me submit by force?"
Sensing the rapid spike in Elio's aura, Sakazuki's eyes flashed with cold light as he growled,
"Very well, then let me see whether you truly have what it takes to become Fleet Admiral!"
As he spoke, Sakazuki didn't hesitate anymore. Molten magma began dripping from his arms, melting the very earth below his feet. The air around him seemed to bend and break due to the immense amount of heat causing the air to break the light differently. He became a natural catastrophe as he began unleashing his powers, which could even burn fire.
At the same time, he lunged forward, his massive magma-coated fist shooting straight toward Elio's face at a terrifying speed.
"Hellhound!"
With a thunderous shout, the previously chilly prison instantly became blisteringly hot from Sakazuki's power. The enormous magma fist moved too fast to track with the naked eye, and it rapidly filled Elio's expanding pupils.
But despite the speed, Elio was ready.
In the instant the searing magma fist approached, Elio shed all bodily force and silently activated the Marine's Six Styles.
"Paper Art..."
With that calm, wind-like voice, Elio's body fluttered like paper, gracefully dodging the incoming fist.
At the same time, the surrounding officers poured their buckets of seawater at Sakazuki without hesitation.
Splashhhh~
In an instant, a downpour of seawater drenched the confined prison space, leaving Sakazuki with no room to escape.
"Fools!"
Seeing the seawater coming at him, Sakazuki scoffed coldly, fully unleashing the terrifying heat of his magma fruit. The moment the seawater touched him, it was instantly evaporated by the extreme temperature.
Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, Elio, who had dodged with 'Paper Art', flashed to Sakazuki's front. Using the 'Finger Gun' technique, he transformed his palm into a spear-like finger and struck directly at Sakazuki's chest.
As if anticipating this attack, Sakazuki sneered coldly,
"Pathetic little—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Elio shouted sharply,
"Armament!"
Buzz—
The moment the word sounded, the Finger Gun instantly hardened with Armament Haki and accelerated with a sudden burst of speed, piercing into Sakazuki's body with a squelch.
But Elio didn't stop there. He activated 'Shave', vanished infront front of Sakazuki, and reappeared behind him with a seastone hook in hand.
"Now!"
Without hesitation, Elio shouted,
"Everyone, attack together!"
Before his words even finished, his iron hook slashed toward Sakazuki like lightning.
At the same time, the surrounding officers threw their own seastone hooks at Sakazuki.
Momonga, Strawberry, and Bastille didn't stand idle either, drawing their weapons and remaining on high alert.
Faced with the hooks coming at him from all directions, Sakazuki's expression didn't change. He stood his ground, unmoving.
Just as the seastone hooks were about to bind him, his figure suddenly vanished into thin air.
"Don't forget, I am still an Admiral!"
As his body disappeared, Sakazuki's voice echoed from behind the crowd, filled with rage and murderous intent, "You really think cheap tricks like this could bring me down? How little do you think of me?"