Chapter 183: Strategy One
The morning sunlight was bright enough to make the whole base look clean.
Unfortunately, the mood in the air was anything but.
"What a rare guest," Axel said, his voice cool. "Shouldn't you be resting at Enies Lobby? What brings you here before your injuries have even healed?"
Standing in front of him was Spandam, whom Axel had not seen in a month.
The burns on Spandam's face had mostly healed, but several fresh wounds had appeared on his body. Where they had come from, Axel neither knew nor cared. It was enough to make the mockery land.
Spandam should have flown into a rage.
Normally, he would have.
But this time, he only grinned. In his hand was a stamped document, and the sight of it seemed to make him so delighted that he even forgot to be angry.
"This is a summons from the World Government," Spandam said smugly. "You are to make a trip to the Holy Land, Mary Geoise."
From the look on his face, there was no need to question its authenticity.
Axel's eyes narrowed slightly.
If he truly went to Mary Geoise, leaving would not be so simple.
The World Government would never allow someone who might possess knowledge of the Pluton blueprints to walk away freely. Even if the possibility was less than one percent, it would be enough for them.
Better to kill by mistake than let a threat escape.
That was how they operated.
Axel might become a powerful combatant in the future. He might even reach the level of an Admiral one day. But a person who had not yet fully matured could not compare to Pluton's blueprints in their eyes. If that weapon fell into the wrong hands, the threat to their rule would be far too great.
Even if Axel compromised and handed over the blueprints preserved in his memory, the matter likely would not end there.
More importantly, he had no intention of doing so.
That left him with only two choices.
Accept or refuse.
The answer was obvious.
"I decline."
"Huh?"
Spandam froze. His mouth hung open in disbelief.
"You're refusing? This is a summons issued by the World Government! You're refusing?"
It sounded ridiculous.
Almost laughable.
The World Government stood above the entire world. Even the Marines operated under its authority. A mere Marine Captain should have rushed to obey the moment he received such a summons.
This method had never failed before.
Whether civilian, Marine, or noble, everyone instinctively lowered their head when the World Government's name appeared.
Spandam was used to that.
And now, he had run straight into a wall.
Compared to Spandam's shock, Axel remained calm. Since there was only one possible answer, there was no need to make a grand performance of it.
He shrugged.
"I'm refusing. If someone wants to see me, they can come here themselves."
"But that's a summons from the World Government!" Spandam snapped. "You can't refuse! No, you don't have the right to refuse!"
In his mind, the logic was simple.
The World Government ruled the world. Anyone under its authority should answer when called. What reason could there be to hesitate?
"Not going."
"What?!"
"Because it's troublesome," Axel said. "Why should I go just because someone summoned me?"
The completely childish answer left Spandam speechless.
Only then did he remember that the person in front of him was still a child.
But why did this brat only act like a child at times like this?
It was obviously intentional.
Even Spandam could see that much.
"If you refuse to go, I'll use this document to have you arrested."
"Oh?" Axel glanced at the paper in his hand. "Which document?"
"This one!"
Spandam raised the stamped summons.
"Like I said," Axel replied, tilting his head, "which one?"
"This one! This one!"
Spandam shook the document in his hand, his face tense as he tried to make Axel look at it clearly. Or perhaps he only wanted to show it off.
Then his expression changed.
The arrogance on his face vanished.
The document in his hand suddenly fell apart.
At first, Spandam thought he had torn it himself. But when he saw the amusement in Axel's eyes, he immediately remembered the intelligence reports about the boy's strange ability.
He opened his mouth, ready to accuse Axel of destroying a World Government document.
Axel spoke first.
"You actually tore up a document from the World Government," he said with sincere admiration. "Impressive."
"You're lying!" Spandam shrieked. "It was clearly you!"
Axel spread his hands, his expression innocent.
He had indeed used his ability to destroy it.
But his face was so convincing that it was almost insulting.
More importantly, in front of the Marines, Axel had only ever shown himself as a swordsman. No matter how one looked at it, Spandam had no way to shift the blame.
Sure enough, the nearby San Faldo Marines all looked at Spandam with open disgust.
Even if he had accidentally destroyed the document, blaming someone else for it was too shameless.
Spandam felt the contempt around him immediately.
This was a trick he had used countless times before.
He had never imagined the day would come when someone used it against him.
Even his own subordinates, who had not been told the truth about Axel's ability, were looking at him with suspicion.
The feeling nearly choked him with anger.
No longer caring where he was, Spandam roared, "I won't let you get away with this!"
The atmosphere in the room changed at once.
For Spandam to openly threaten someone else's superior officer inside a Marine base was something no soldier could tolerate.
Before, this had still been official business. The Marines had no place to interfere.
Now, it was different.
This was practically a declaration of war.
And it was aimed at the commanding officer they admired.
Spandam realized he had misspoken.
Remembering Axel's strength, he quickly shut his mouth and stepped back.
He had come here thinking that with the summons in hand, no Marine would dare resist. Everything should have gone smoothly.
Reality had slapped him across the face.
Now that the document was gone, there was no reason to remain.
His safety came first.
"Well... that's enough for today," Spandam said stiffly. "I just remembered I have urgent business to attend to."
"What a busy man," Axel said. "Since you're so busy, I should see you off properly."
"No... that won't be necessary."
Spandam's voice shook.
He saw the smile on Axel's face.
It was not the smile of a child.
With those blood-red eyes, he looked less like a Marine officer and more like a little grim reaper who had suddenly developed a sense of humor.
"Don't be polite."
Axel waved at several Marines nearby.
"See Spandam off."
Then he paused.
"From the cliff at Lude Coast."
The Marines immediately broke into meaningful grins.
They understood their captain's meaning perfectly.
Throw him into the sea from there.
They had been irritated by Spandam from the moment he walked in with that arrogant face. After he openly threatened their captain, none of them were willing to pass up such a perfectly justified act of retaliation.
A few Marines stepped forward at once and dragged the stunned Spandam away.
"Wait! What are you doing? Let go of me! Do you know who I am?! I'm from the World Government! I said let go!"
His shouts grew farther and farther away.
Once Axel was the only person left in the room, the expression on his face vanished.
Only a solemn look remained.
"A summons, huh?"
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]