A Joke
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One Piece: Desperate
🕑 Added 2021-09-22 02:09:00 +0000 UTCChapter 105: Dark Orders
***
After Max met with the Five Elders, almost a month passed. No one made any moves during that month and it was as if the world took a deep breath, getting ready for something big.
*
Akainu stared at the man who was the newest big thing on the World Government's list. Being on that piece of paper wasn’t good, as they will do almost anything they can to eliminate you out of society without the world even knowing about it.
As of lately he and Max have been cooperating.
The Fleet Admiral wouldn’t see that Max was his ally or even friend. After all, the new Admiral had a lot of secrets. Even Akainu had some of his own too, so he didn’t mind it too much. They still were cordial with each other and every now and then, one of them would help the other with no questions asked.
Akainu couldn’t go out there in the world anymore and just destroy things that he deems as a threat. So he has Max do it, and the latter also has the Fleet Admiral get him certain machine parts, Seastone weapons, and a part of Vegapunk’s research. He had no idea why Max needed those things but didn’t ask any questions about them.
“The Elders have decided on what to do to you.” Akainu finally said, looking Max straight in the eye. The young man didn’t seem too worried about it.
“Is that so? So what was their decision?”
“Assign you to the New World in the G-5 Base.” The Fleet Admiral muttered. Of course, that was just the surface of what they wanted to do and there were many hidden agendas. Akainu of course didn’t say anything about them, he didn’t want to warn his collaborator about it. He even hoped that Max could at least grow to become more manageable by the end of it.
“So they want to separate me from my Kingdoms in Paradise?” Max frowned, but it didn’t seem like he was worried even then.
Once again, Akainu was reminded that he wasn’t dealing with your average marine. The young man’s social intelligence showed and by now he predicted that Max had already deciphered what the Five Elders were going after.
“What are you going to do now?”
“Follow their orders. I am a dutiful marine, after all.” Max smirked, and Akainu now could sense the maliciousness coming out of him as the Admiral no longer tried to hide it.
“I don’t think I need to remind you, but if a war broke out. I won’t be on your side.” Akainu clarified, their partnership was one of giving and taking. Neither would risk anything too important for the other.
But the young man once again didn’t seem bothered by it. Seemingly having predicted such a thing. Now Max had his usual innocent smile. Even his previous maliciousness was gone. “Don’t worry, I won’t start a fight with anyone unless I am confident of winning.”
‘Yet you did not refute that you might end up in a war with the World Government.’ - thought Akainu. If it was anyone else he would have thought that the mad man had let such a clue accidentally slip. But this was Max, he didn’t make such mistakes.
To the Fleet Admiral, it sounded more like he was saying; ‘When the time comes, whose side will you be?’
Akainu knew Max was dangerous, but once again he had unconsciously underestimated him. His ambition and greed didn’t seem to have a limit.
“Gion has requested to transfer to your division and work under you. What’s that about?” Inquired the Fleet Admiral, trying to change the subject which earned a knowing smirk from the other man.
“Why would I know something like that? Her decisions are her own.” Max shrugged. Taking out a pack of gum and emptying the packet into his mouth. *munch* *munch*
“You don’t know?” Akainu asked sarcastically, not believing that even a bit. Once again the young man just shrugged, feigning ignorance.
“What is greater than God, more evil than the Devil, the World Government needs it, pirates have it and if you eat it you'll die?” Max asked suddenly. The riddle sounded strange but at the same time showed the grandiose thoughts of its creator in an almost innocent manner.
This intrigued Akainu and Max got up and was about to leave when he stopped at the doorway. Turning around the Fleet Admiral noticed that Max’s smile was gone and only a cold smirk stood in its place. “The answer will be quite liberating. Legacies fall on lies and giants stumble in the dark tunnel of time. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.”
With that he left the office, Akainu pondered the answer but couldn’t come up with anything. Yet he still took out a pen and paper and wrote down the question. “The answer will be liberating?” he pondered Max’s last words but couldn’t conclude with an evident answer.
**
Gion awaited Max’s arrival outside of the Fleet Admiral’s office and once he was outside she was shocked. Usually, she was confident in reading him and what he was feeling at the moment, but now she came up blank. He didn’t show anything any longer. It was as if a machine had taken off its human skin.
How long had he been like this? Suddenly she had a realization. “Were you messing with me?”
“What are you talking about?” Max feigned ignorance, but the hypnotic smirk that appeared on his face was all the answer she needed.
“How about that time on the balcony? You flinched when I mentioned Aokiji’s death. Was that your play too?” Gion was getting madder the more she understood that she had been manipulated by him.
“You seemed like someone very useful to have on my side.” Max openly admitted and this made her attack him in the face with a full-powered kick.
Baam!
The kick landed, he didn’t dodge or even raise his hands to block it. Max was uninjured by it. Gion noticed this and knew that she wasn’t a match for him.
“You are terrible,” she cursed at him. “You used an Admiral’s death to get me in your division.”
Max started walking and told her to walk along with him. She reluctantly did so, wanting more answers about the situation.
“Who knows, I might have still killed Aokiji so your investigation still stands strong,” he said, trying to incite her to keep investigating him.
But it had the opposite effect as now Gion was confident Max didn’t directly kill Aokiji, she doesn't know what happened in that cold mist. But she knew that he had to be connected to all of it somehow. She also came to another daunting realization, no matter what she discovered it wouldn’t be enough to even earn Max a demotion.
Now Gion knew that she had been played all along. Max didn’t kill Aokiji and had just been using the man’s death to get her under him. But the worst part was that if she wanted to leave a division she requested to be in, Gion would need her boss’ permission. This meant that as long as Max was her boss, she wouldn’t be able to leave his division any longer.
“Yeah~ That’s a shame,” Max said as if already reading her mind. “Anyways, ready to go to the New World?”
“New World? Why?” she inquired, unwilling to be manipulated into an unknown situation any longer.
“Obviously I am getting married,” Max sighed and looked at her like she was stupid.
“What? When? Who?”
“Geeez, can’t you just wait? And what’s with all the questions? Are you jealous?”
Gion pouted, wanting to know more but he wasn’t giving her anything. Still, though a dangerous glint was in his eyes and she wondered if this was an act too? By now she doubted what he showed was the truth or not.
While Max wasn’t someone evil to kill an Admiral. But he was still manipulative and would do a lot of morally dubious things to get his way. That was Gion’s conclusion on her new boss.
***
In a dark room, a dark figure stood with a transponder snail. The figure seemed to be in a tight compartment as it shifted around to find a better place to position himself.
“Max will go to the New World, that will be the best time to kill him,” a voice came from the Transponder Snail. It sounded calm and dominating.
“Yes,” said the dark figure looking at a vial of poison in its hand. It took a deep breath to calm down the nervousness it was feeling.
The person from the other side of the transponder snail noticed this and said. “That poison is untraceable. No human will ever be able to ever sense or taste the poison.”
“It better work, or else I will be killed. Is the poison fast? We don’t want him to have the chance and retaliate.” The dark figure seemed a little unsure, knowing that its target will never let it get away easily if the scheme was discovered.
“Don’t worry, within three seconds after ingestion it will kill him immediately. Plus he trusts you.”
The dark figure nodded and its eyes shone with resolution. “I will get it done then. Bear D Max’s assassination will commence.”
...
A/N: Reworote this chapter three times to give as little clues to who the assassin is.
