In this crossover anime, many ruthless and powerful figures reside in my territory.

Upon seeing the figure flickering with firelight, Esdeath was so excited that every cell in her body trembled.

This was the first time she had ever felt this kind of fear, as if she had encountered a natural enemy.

No, she felt the same way the first time she hunted a rare and dangerous species. It was the kind of fear that only comes when the difference in strength is so great that it feels like an insurmountable chasm.

She didn't feel this way when facing Lister, Madara, or Aizen, but when facing the person in front of her...

wrong!

Esdeath looked at Liszt, her icy blue eyes reflecting his leisurely demeanor.

She wasn't affected by the surge of heat because of Lister's spiritual pressure.

Could it be... that the reason she didn't sense the suffocating power from Lister and the others was because they hadn't revealed their full strength?!

Liszt gently put the teacup down.

With a crisp clanging sound, Liszt slightly opened his mouth.

"Sakazuki, did you come here to refute what I said before with facts, or to shut me up with mere violence?"

"The justice you bear will not change because of any of our previous conversations or battles."

"It will only be changed by the facts."

The next second, the heat wave in the room vanished instantly, and everything returned to calm.

Sakazuki, now back in human form, sat down opposite Lister without hesitation, pulling down the Lieutenant General's "Justice Cloak" draped over his back and holding it in his hand.

"I will personally uphold the justice and dignity of the Navy!"

"Whether through words or violence!"

Chapter 125 What is the Navy? What is a Pirate?

Everything went as Liszt had predicted.

Although he was initially startled when Sakazuki was recruited to attack them, he immediately came up with the best course of action.

That would be to diminish the dignity of the navy and provoke Sakazuki's anger.

Because he couldn't think of anything that could attract Sakazuki's interests, Sakazuki would most likely ignore him in a normal conversation.

After all, in terms of combat power, Sakazuki, who is capable of destroying small islands and changing terrain, is a strongman of the same level as Madara and Aizen. Even if he is weaker than them, he wouldn't be much weaker.

In terms of resources, the world of One Piece is incredibly rich, and with technology and Vegapunk around, there's nothing in Red Maple Territory that can attract him.

In order to obtain resources from the pirate world, he had no choice but to create demand for Sakazuki.

Uphold the dignity of the navy.

As expected, Sakazuki, who highly values ​​the dignity of the navy, was angered by him and spent the past week silently thinking and preparing to persuade him to beat him into submission today in order to uphold the navy's justice and face.

Ever since being choked by Lister's words last time, Sakazuki had been thinking about how to vent his frustration on his way back to the Navy Headquarters.

As a result, he locked himself in his office for three days and three nights. After returning to the Navy Headquarters, he remained secluded and even declined many invitations to gatherings from his colleagues.

He needed to come up with a perfect rebuttal to List's views.

He wants to prove that the Navy is righteous and not some Celestial Dragon's lackey!

"boom!"

Sakazuki slammed his fist on the table, his sharp, menacing eyes beneath his navy cap.

"I will show you what the Navy is! What Navy justice is!"

Liszt smiled and gestured for them to proceed.

Esdeath and Michihae Aura, who were listening in, also held their breath and listened intently.

"The Navy is an organization directly under the World Government and is the world's largest military force!"

"We are all over the world, with troops stationed in the four great seas and along the great sea routes."

"In this era teeming with pirates, only our navy has truly protected the people of our member states. Only our navy truly cares about the vast majority of the population, not those great pirates and bounty hunters!"

"The world's order is maintained by our navy, and our justice extends throughout the world. Without us, the number of people persecuted by pirates would greatly increase."

"The people's property and lives will be threatened. We are their protector!"

"That's why people around the world cheer for us and thank us for our efforts."

"Isn't this justice?"

"Isn't it justice to kill all the pirates so that the majority of people don't have to worry about losing their lives and property?"

Liszt maintained his smile.

Esdeath was very familiar with this expression; Lister always wore this expression whenever she launched a fierce attack, as if everything was under control.

"Mr. Sakazuki, the Navy's contributions to the citizens of the World Government member states are undeniable."

"but……"

"Let's start by redefining the navy."

Lister casually placed his hands, fingers interlaced, on his knees.

"The Navy is an organization directly under the World Government, which means that the Navy is under the command of the World Government, right?"

Sakassky nodded hesitantly. He didn't know Lister's purpose, but he wasn't wrong about what he said.

"The duty of soldiers is to obey orders and maintain order, so the duty of the navy is to obey the orders of the World Government and maintain the interests and order of the World Government, right?"

This time, Sakazuki hesitated for half a second before nodding.

He felt as if Lister was leading him into some kind of trap.

"Then, let me ask one more question."

Who is the master of the World Government?

"They're Celestial Dragons, right? After all, the Five Elders are the highest authority in the World Government."

"so……"

"fart!!!"

Sakassky slammed his hand on the table, interrupting Lister.

With a blank expression, Liszt flicked his index finger, and the teacup and teapot that had been slapped into the air returned to the table unharmed.

"Your strong reaction proves one thing."

“You know very well that the Celestial Dragons do not represent universal justice; the justice of the World Government is actually the justice of the Celestial Dragons.”

"The absolute justice upheld by the Navy is also the justice of the Celestial Dragons."

"Your justice is fundamentally at odds with the justice of the common people."

"Although what you do is beneficial to the people, it is only a byproduct of maintaining world government order."

"Don't think this is shameful. The primary goal of the army of a feudal kingdom is always to protect the interests of the ruler and maintain the order of the country."

"In this respect, your navy has done a very good job."

"It is because of you that the Celestial Dragons can confidently collect expensive Celestial Gold from the member states, and that the Celestial Dragons can live very comfortably in the Sabaody Archipelago and buy and sell slaves everywhere."

click!

Esdeath keenly noticed Sakazuki's change.

If he was once dormant magma, he is now a volcano waiting to erupt.

"No! The Navy wasn't established to do these things!"

"Our navy's greatest role is to eliminate destabilizing factors at sea and to eliminate pirates who cause danger to people of all nations!"

Lister nodded.

"I am not denying the navy's contributions to the people, it's just that..."

He paused, then asked in a questioning tone.

"Mr. Sakazuki, then... what is a pirate?"

This time, Sakazuki answered very quickly.

"Of course they are villains who break the law, arbitrarily rob others of their property, and even commit murder and arson, and then roam freely at sea!"

"The safety of these kinds of people in this dangerous world is at stake. To uphold justice, we must completely eradicate them!"

Lister did not deny it.

"Alright, let's redefine the concept of pirates again."

"I'll just add a few more definitions to what you said—"

“Those who violate the laws of the World Government, do things that are detrimental to the World Government, and are regarded by the World Government as people who will disrupt order are also pirates.”

"For example... the scholars of Ohara."

Sakazuki stood up abruptly.

"Are you... trying to say that it was a mistake for the Navy to wipe out these scholars?"

"No, from the World Government's perspective, anyone or anything that could potentially affect its rule should be eliminated. The blank history they are researching will indeed have an immeasurable negative impact on the World Government."

"You did the right thing by focusing on the big picture and letting go of the small details in maintaining the face and order of the world government."

"But this has nothing to do with the sense of justice in the hearts of most people and the rank-and-file naval officers."

"clang!"

Sakazuki placed one foot on the table.

"All of this is for a more orderly world!"

"In a chaotic world, people will only live in greater misery! The navy's power has its limits!"

Lister also stood up, placing one foot on the table to confront Sakazuki.

"These two sentences alone are not wrong, but everything must be placed in the context of a specific standpoint and environment."

“Sakazuki, I’ve said before that your actions of hunting down pirates are like using a fly swatter to swat flies in a latrine and lamenting how many flies there are, but never thinking about repairing or changing the latrine environment to eliminate the conditions that breed flies.”