Chapter 181: I Will End This Era (Part 1)
Although Euleia's office had been cut down by Axel, that did not stop him from finding another private room.
He led Axel through the base corridors, pushed open the door to an empty room, and closed it behind them.
"Now you can tell me," Axel said.
Euleia nodded.
His manner of speaking was measured, neither too fast nor too slow. It was the kind of pace that kept the listener from losing interest, but also avoided dragging things out so long that impatience set in.
"I leaked your information to CP9's superior."
"Oh?"
Axel suddenly remembered something.
CP9's actions had been carried out under orders from above. He had been focused on why CP9 had come, not who had sent them, because in the end, they all answered to the World Government. Whether the order came from one office or another hardly seemed to matter.
But Euleia's words changed the weight of the matter.
Still, one sentence was not enough to convince him.
"How are you so sure?" Axel asked. "More importantly, how do you even know about CP9?"
Axel knew of CP9 because of memories from his previous life.
But Euleia?
He did not believe Euleia was the same as him. If Euleia had said that name, there had to be a reason. At the very least, there had to be some connection.
"Look at this."
Euleia took out a document and placed it before him.
"This was the proof they gave me to show they came from the World Government. The seal on it reads CP6, but the number doesn't match the surrounding font. If they truly came from CP6, why forge that part?"
Axel looked down at the document.
Euleia continued, "The seal itself and the contact method were genuine. They belonged to a World Government agency. I had a subordinate who once worked in the Inspection Department take a look at it. The connecting pattern on the seal was correct, but the number had been inverted."
He paused briefly.
"The known Cipher Pol agencies run from CP0 to CP8. If the number was inverted, then there may be a CP9. That last sentence was also meant to test your reaction."
"...You're sharp," Axel said honestly. "If your strength weren't lacking, you probably wouldn't be stuck in this position."
It was not flattery.
From Euleia's previous provocations, and from his ability to remain patient after being suppressed, Axel had known he was not a simple man. But he had not expected him to think this deeply.
What made Axel feel worse was that he had been tricked into confirming information simply because his mind was exhausted and he did not want to think too much.
This world was alive.
Every conversation could hide traps in places one did not expect.
Marines who survived in such a chaotic era, even without monstrous strength or dazzling talent, often possessed their own kind of wisdom.
It seemed he would have to stay alert whenever he spoke with others.
As for the fool who used such a careless method as flipping a number, if Axel had guessed correctly, it was probably Spandam.
That idiot really knew how to cause trouble.
"No, no," Euleia said modestly. "In this world, strength is what matters most. All schemes are fragile before overwhelming power."
Axel did not deny it.
The Marines claimed to uphold the justice that protected the world, but their highest positions were still occupied by powerful people. Even above the rank of Rear Admiral, strength was almost a requirement.
That was not an accident.
The weak could not protect justice.
Even Tsuru, known as the Great Staff Officer, and Sengoku, known as the Buddha and famed for his strategy, possessed formidable power.
"Why did you suddenly change your mind?" Axel asked. "From your previous actions, you seemed ready to become my enemy. Is it because of strength?"
"Yes."
Euleia admitted it without hesitation.
There was nothing shameful about bowing to strength. Not in the Marines. Not in this sea. Not in this era.
"What did you mean by leaking information?"
"I revealed some of your usual habits and movements to the person who wanted them," Euleia said. "Nothing more."
Axel looked at him.
Euleia was not stupid.
He had known the other party wanted to use him as a blade, and he had not been foolish enough to become a scapegoat. He had only offered symbolic cooperation, nothing that clearly violated Marine discipline.
The Marine system valued procedure.
Even an arrest required a reason.
"What an old fox," Axel muttered.
Euleia was not offended. Instead, he smiled.
"To me, that is the highest praise. Better to be a fox watching from the side than a wild beast like Barlow, subdued by an even stronger beast."
He was referring to Lieutenant Commander Barlow, the man Axel had thrown into prison.
It was obvious to Euleia that Axel had wanted to establish authority and make managing the base easier. Barlow had simply walked into the trap himself.
He could blame no one but his own stupidity.
The Marines operated under rules. Arrests required a reason. That might not matter much in remote waters, but San Faldo was close to Enies Lobby. There was no room for sloppiness here.
The Marines were still Marines because justice placed restraints on them.
If Barlow had obediently submitted to the arrest, pressure would eventually have forced Axel to release him. But Barlow had resisted. That had turned suspicion into guilt and given everyone else a reason to stay far away from him.
He had dug his own grave.
"I don't like people like you," Axel said bluntly.
"The feeling is mutual," Euleia replied.
He did not like this child either.
Axel had taken the position he had waited years for the moment he arrived. Worse, he was cunning, hard to read, and difficult to deal with.
But the moment Euleia finished speaking, the air in the room changed.
A cold killing intent seeped from Axel's small body.
"If you had told me sooner," Axel said, "perhaps I could have guessed CP9's plan. Perhaps the people on that warship could have been saved."
He used "perhaps" twice because he was not certain.
Planning and guessing were not the same thing.
His Calculation Power was astonishing, far beyond that of an ordinary person. It allowed him to deduce possibilities quickly and simulate likely outcomes in his mind.
But that did not mean he could read every person's thoughts or predict every plan.
Euleia accepted the accusation in silence.
Axel was right.
After a while, Euleia said, "People have to be a little selfish, don't they? Especially in this era of sin. Before you displayed your strength, I could not entrust my life to a child."
Axel did not interrupt him.
He listened quietly.
"After the Great Pirate Era began, Marineford assigned a Captain to our base to deal with the endless surge of pirates. But that Captain was completely unqualified. His way of handling problems was foolish. He charged straight into everything. It was less like subjugating pirates and more like sending our Marines to their deaths."
Euleia's voice remained calm, but the weight beneath it was unmistakable.
"To put it in terms you can understand, before the Great Pirate Era, only a few comrades died. After it began, and after that fool of a Captain arrived, more than ten years passed. Of the roughly one hundred Marines I once served with, fewer than ten are still alive."
He looked at Axel.
"A death rate of over ninety percent."
Axel fell silent.
That number was too cruel.
"Being selfish is just another way to survive," Euleia said. "No one wants to send their comrades to hell. But compared to placing your life in another person's hands, keeping it in your own is more reassuring, don't you think?"
.....
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