As he spoke, T-Bone looked at Jake standing before him, the light in his eyes growing increasingly bright.
"Jake, in the future, you will almost certainly be at least at the level of a Vice Admiral or higher! And I've also learned who the officer investigating the Aston Kingdom incident is. Good news—it's Vice Admiral Sakazuki. He's a Marine who upholds Absolute Justice and the one who guided me into the Marines. Don't worry, when Vice Admiral Sakazuki arrives, I'll explain everything to him."
"Also, when Vice Admiral Sakazuki comes, I hope you can demonstrate the full value of your Devil Fruit ability—including your companion who ate the Logia-type fruit. If both of you can prove your worth, the protection and resources you receive will increase. That way, you'll soon become powerful Marines capable of protecting civilians!"
Listening to T-Bone's increasingly excited voice, a smile involuntarily appeared on Jake's face.
If everything went as T-Bone said, his future would indeed be bright.
But as he looked at T-Bone, who was sincerely planning for his future, a faint shadow flickered in Jake's eyes.
In the story after timeskip, T-Bone would be given a bounty by Cross Guild and die at the hands of the very civilians he had spent his life trying to protect.
Jake didn't understand how a civilian who could barely afford food could defeat a Marine Vice Admiral.
Was it an ambush? Unlikely.
Even if T-Bone was a weak Vice admiral who rose through the ranks primarily due to Sakazuki's promotion to Fleet Admiral, his most basic Observation Haki shouldn't have failed to detect an attack from a civilians.
More likely, he simply couldn't bring himself to strike civilians—or perhaps he believed that only his death would allow those civilians to claim his bounty and survive a little longer.
A little thought would reveal many inconsistencies.
A Vice admiral of the headquarters wouldn't be without at least one adjutant or soldier nearby.
How could a civilian kill T-Bone and then carry his body to claim the bounty without any soldiers intervening? It defies logic.
So, who bears the blame?
The desperate civilians who abandoned their morals and ambushed their savior?
Or T-Bone himself, whose sense of justice was so pure it bordered on naivety and foolishness?
No.
The true culprits behind the scenes were the Cross Guild… and the inaction of the Marine higher-ups!
When Tsuru and Sengoku discussed T-Bone's death afterward, not a flicker of emotion crossed their faces.
If their prolonged battles had left them numb, Jake might have understood.
But when later reports revealed that Tsuru's granddaughter, Kujaku and Garp had led SWORD Marines to Hachinosu to rescue Koby, why did they react so differently?
While discussing T-Bone's death, Sengoku even had the leisure to ask for an extra serving of dessert.
As the years passed, Jake's fondness for Luffy plummeted.
In their early days, the Straw Hat Pirates might not have committed outright evil.
But from the moment Luffy freed the prisoners of Impel Down, he ceased to be an adventurer and became a full-fledged pirate.
Whether he liked it or not, the pirates he released went on to wreak havoc—and their victims?
No one spoke of them.
They were mere ripples in the Great Pirate Era, vanishing unnoticed in forgotten corners.
Everyone likes to imagine themselves as heroes in the world of One Piece, but few consider that they might be the civilians slaughtered by ordinary pirates.
Had Sengoku and Tsuru taken even the slightest action against the Cross Guild—even a symbolic strike against a few of their forces—it would have reassured Marines at risk of being hunted.
The death of a high-ranking headquarters officer was so fragile and insignificant in the eyes of higher-ups who shared no blood ties.
This weighed heavily on Jake's mind.
Initially, Sakazuki hadn't left a good impression on Jake.
Whether it was Ohara or the Summit War, he had always come across as ruthlessly extreme.
But upon closer reflection, Sakazuki was indeed the best choice for Marine Fleet Admiral.
After his duel with Kuzan, he spared Kuzan's life.
Even after Kuzan left the Marines, Sakazuki didn't pursue further retribution.
If it had been Jake, he wouldn't have let Kuzan walk away alive the moment he expressed a desire to leave.
After nearly breaking ties with Garp and being publicly reprimanded by Koby before the world, even after becoming Fleet Admiral, he still held no grudges or practiced favoritism.
Koby's promotion in rank would have been impossible without the approval of the then-Fleet Admiral.
During the Summit War, he was the only admiral who wholeheartedly devoted himself to eradicating pirates.
Whitebeard's charisma was so overwhelming that people forgot his crew might not all be as heroic as him—some among them were undoubtedly those who slaughtered civilians.
When dealing with deserters, he didn't casually execute them but gave them repeated chances.
Yet how many commanders on a real battlefield would have the patience to counsel such deserters? At least Jake couldn't—he'd choose to cut them down immediately.
When facing Kizaru's furious reprimand over a failed mission, Sakazuki bowed his head.
To his old friend, he apologized sincerely.
During the Egghead Island incident, Akainu had only one reliable choice—Kizaru.
Fujitora leaned toward the Straw Hats and his own brand of justice, making him a potential turncoat if sent.
Ryokugyu acted erratically and lacked the strength for the situation.
As Fleet Admiral, he personally had to deal with Kuma at Mary Geoise.
Despite his position, he micromanaged—he simply had no other options.
Did he not know about Kizaru's friendship with the Egghead Island group?
Akainu knew, but he had no alternatives.
For someone so dutiful, forgiving, meritocratic, hands-on and incorruptible—at least in this world, for Jake who had just escaped slavery—this Marine was currently his best choice.
Seeing Jake lost in thought, T-Bone guessed he was intimidated by Sakazuki's reputation.
His terrifying face twisted into an awkward smile as he spoke to Jake in a child-coaxing tone.
"Don't worry, little Jake! I'll handle Vice Admiral Sakazuki!"
Jake looked up at T-Bone's skeletal face and nodded firmly.
No matter what, as long as he lived, he wouldn't let T-Bone suffer the tragic fate from the original story.