The makeup artist's eyes were filled with nervous tension, like they were facing a volcano ready to erupt.
Akainu sat in a specially made metal chair, anything else would've been instantly reduced to ash by his Mag-Mag Fruit powers.
A vein throbbed on his forehead as he squeezed the words through gritted teeth, "What a joke…"
Before he even finished speaking, the face powder on his skin evaporated into a puff of white smoke.
This whole thing was utterly absurd!
Even more absurd was the fact that he'd actually been persuaded by Sengoku to go along with filming a promotional video.
He had considered quitting the Marines altogether over this.
"Sakazuki, stop fussing already." Kizaru's voice drifted over lazily. He was leaning against a railing, casually scrolling through his phone. His brown-tinted sunglasses reflected the sunlight.
He glanced at Akainu's deadpan expression, a teasing smile forming at the corner of his lips. "If Teacher Zephyr can shoot one, what are you afraid of?"
Akainu shot him a glare, his expression mixed with irritation and helplessness. "You're always just watching from the sidelines, huh."
"Alright, alright, calm down, everyone," Sengoku's voice cut through the commotion. He stood at the center of the plaza, a rare look of seriousness on his face. "This is about the Marine's public image and influence. The rise of the Neo Marines has already caused serious damage to our reputation. We need to counter it."
Hearing that, the tech crew all nodded in agreement and returned to their busywork.
They understood the significance of this video. The Marines had to go all out to make a promotional piece that could rival the Neo Marines' recruitment clip.
"Admiral Akainu, does this expression work for you?" the makeup artist asked carefully as they adjusted Akainu's face, trying to make him look more "natural."
Akainu frowned but eventually gave a reluctant nod. Damn pirates. I'm going to wipe every last one of you out someday...
Not far off—
Aokiji was sprawled on an ice lounge chair, eyelids drooping as he lazily went over his lines. "Join the Marines… protect justice… Haaaah—" A long yawn derailed his rehearsal midway.
His adjutant frantically shook the cue card. "Admiral! The important part is right after that, where you explain the Navy Six Styles!"
Aokiji clutched his forehead like it was splitting. These lines were brutal. Since when did being an Admiral mean you had to memorize scripts? What a nightmare.
Meanwhile, Kizaru removed his signature brown sunglasses—a rare sight—and peered into a tall gold-framed mirror.
"So scary~" he muttered at his own wrinkled reflection, trying to force a "friendly" smile.
The smile was so unsettling it made a passing recruit trip over a water hose and almost fall into the fountain.
"Eighteen hundred a month and now I gotta shoot promotional videos too. No raise, no bonus, what am I even doing..." Kizaru grumbled just loud enough for Sengoku to hear.
Sengoku's temple twitched. This is what I get for trying to film something serious?
And then he saw Garp—and his temper exploded.
"Garp! Take off that dog-head hat!!"
Sengoku's shout echoed through the entire square.
He stomped over, a team of civilian staff trailing behind him with costume boxes in hand.
Garp had just shoved a senbei in his mouth and was startled so badly he sprayed crumbs everywhere.
"I've worn it for thirty years…" Garp mumbled defensively, holding onto his beloved hat.
But Sengoku had already snatched the iconic dog-head cap and replaced it with a crisp, official Marine military hat.
"Image! You need to care about image!" Sengoku growled as he angrily straightened Garp's crooked tie. "Do you even know how many more views the Neo Marines' video has than ours?!"
Garp stared at the hat in Sengoku's hand, reluctant, but in the end, he sighed and accepted the new look.
"Alright, alright, for the Marine's honor, I'll do it this once," he muttered with a long-suffering look.
Sengoku finally relaxed a bit and nodded. "This is how the Marines should be. We can't lose to the Neo Marines. We have to make our justice shine again."
Garp nodded… kind of.
At the center of the square.
The temporary special effects zone was undergoing its final adjustments.
Sunlight glinted off the gear, casting a chaotic, busy glow over the set.
The demolition team had flamethrowers set up fifty meters out. The props team had lined up dozens of miniature pirate ship models, each one painstakingly detailed.
The lead technician wiped sweat from his brow and nervously reported, "Fleet Admiral, according to the script, once Admiral Akainu activates 'Meteor Volcano,' these models will all detonate simultaneously..."
Sengoku looked over the messy setup, temples throbbing harder.
He sighed internally. The budget for these effects wasn't cheap—every single explosion meant more money down the drain.
Expenses, expenses everywhere...
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Garp had quietly snuck his dog-head hat back on.
He nearly fainted from rage but, in the end, just sighed and let it slide.
Forget it. He's hopeless. I don't have the energy to argue over this right now.
Finally, everything was in place.
"Action!" the director shouted, and red lights lit up across every camera around the square.
Akainu emerged from the smoke, face gloomy, his fists radiating bubbling magma from the Mag-Mag Fruit.
He awkwardly pulled at the corners of his mouth in a failed attempt at a "friendly" smile, scaring the nearest cameraman so badly he nearly fell into the sea.
"Ahem…" Akainu cleared his throat and casually snapped his fingers.
A few drops of magma flared out, and the special effects team quickly triggered the hidden charges.
BOOM!
In a massive fireball, twenty pirate ship models were vaporized. Unfortunately, the explosion also blew a hole clean through the outer wall of Marineford.
The camera quickly cut to Aokiji's scene.
He shuffled sleepily toward the ice sea model, muttering, "ICE…"
The breath he exhaled instantly frosted over the eyebrows of the cameraman nearby.
The special effects team scrambled to activate the cooling system—but they overdid it, and half the studio froze over into a glittering glacier.
Aokiji stared at the cue card now frozen inside a solid block of ice and scratched his head. "Arara… forgot my lines…"
"Cut! Cut!!" the director shouted, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. But he didn't dare scold anyone. The man just froze half the set—what was he supposed to say?
He turned desperately to the next scene. "Admiral Kizaru, you're up! Prepare!"
Kizaru entered with exaggerated swagger, striking an awkward "cool pose."
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?" he drawled in his usual lazy tone, then instantly transformed into golden light.
The light bounced around the studio wildly.
The trajectory hadn't been properly calculated, and the refraction ended up smashing the chandelier off the ceiling.
(To be continued.)
***
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