One Piece: I am the Fleet Admiral?

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To be honest, Akira said he asked Shyarly to perform a divination just on a whim, curious about what the future might hold.

After all, Shyarly's predictions are said to be 100% accurate.

But he never expected the future she revealed to be so shocking.

One of the Marine's strongest figures, a Logia user with the power of the Magma-Magma Fruit—Admiral Sakazuki—had died tragically on the battlefield.

"There's no betrayal of the Marines, and there are soldiers' bodies around, which…"

Akira's gaze fell on a corner of the image displayed by the crystal ball.

Amid the sea of flames, the bodies of ordinary officers and soldiers, clearly dressed in Marine uniforms, were burning in the fire.

And Sakazuki was still wearing his cloak of justice, making it clear.

As a Marine Admiral, he led his subordinates into battle and was ultimately killed.

Then the question arises: who in the world could do this now?

Kaido of the Beasts? Big Mom?

Impossible.

Whitebeard?

Even if he were in his prime, it's possible, but Sakazuki isn't a fool—he could have escaped if he wanted to.

After recent interactions, Akira was sure Whitebeard wouldn't go this far.

As a father figure, even if Whitebeard doesn't care for himself, he would think about Marco and the others.

What would be the consequence of killing a Marine Admiral in plain sight?

Akira asked himself, as a Fleet Admiral, if he received this news, he would personally lead Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr, and all the top combat forces straight to the second half of the Grand Line to face the Whitebeard Pirates.

Not for any other reason, but to protect the Marine's honor, he would have no choice.

Whitebeard surely understands this, so at most, he might injure Akainu severely but wouldn't kill him.

If we exclude the pirates, the only ones left capable of such an act are "our own people."

Perhaps the World Government, the Five Elders!

Or... Akira himself.

"Which side will he stand on in the future?" Akira's eyes grew more complicated.

If Sakazuki sides with the Five Elders, then he's definitely deserving of the harsh criticism he gets.

But if he stands with Akira, it means he's a trustworthy and reliable comrade-in-arms.

Even so, putting your life on the line doesn't guarantee trustworthiness.

Akira couldn't help but recall his interactions with Sakazuki over the past year.

The balance in his mind gradually shifted.

When it comes to dealing with pirates and crime, Sakazuki is indeed extreme.

But from Akira's perspective, he's a true soldier—a Marine at heart, with absolute justice as his guiding principle, and a mission to eradicate evil.

Someone like that is far more likely to stand by Akira's side in the future, rather than align with the Five Elders, who treat civilians like pests.

"It seems that beyond the people I've cultivated, there are many comrades within the Marines that can be recruited."

Akira thought to himself.

After all, one person alone cannot achieve great things.

Throughout history, even the emperors who succeeded in rebellion—or the heroes who failed—understood that they needed a team that recognized their vision and was willing to risk their lives to follow.

"Fleet Admiral-sama, the screen is about to disappear," Shyarly's reminder interrupted Akira's thoughts, snapping him back to reality.

In the crystal ball, the last image that appeared showed Sakazuki missing his left arm.

"Can you continue the divination?" Akira asked.

"Yeah, I can keep going," Shyarly nodded.

"Then continue. Either divinate the future of the Marines or the major events happening at sea."

"Understood."

Shyarly didn't hesitate and immediately began chanting her spell again.

She had come here to use her divination abilities to assist Akira.

Akira had been a great benefactor to her people, the merfolk.

Even though she had stayed in Marineford and never ventured out, she maintained contact with Princess Otohime through Den Den Mushi.

From Queen Otohime, she had learned that the situation for the Fish-Men at sea had greatly improved.

While discrimination and the threat of criminals still existed, there was a noticeable increase in goodwill.

It was said that recently, a small island had been saved by Fish-Men from pirates, and the residents had warmly invited the merfolk as guests.

Many human towns were no longer surprised by the appearance of Fish-Men and had begun to accept them.

Shyarly felt deep gratitude to Akira for this.

Queen Otohime had always urged her to follow the orders of the Fleet Admiral for the sake of their entire race.

So, she was doing everything she could to follow Akira's commands.

Soon, the once-darkened crystal ball lit up again, and a new image appeared.

This time, the location was clear—it was the port of Marineford.

A warship, having just returned from a mission, docked at the port.

But an inexplicable sea wind suddenly blew across the water, causing the ship to shift.

The warship veered and crashed into another warship parked beside it.

"Fleet Admiral-sama, I think we should take precautions," Shyarly suggested.

Akira nodded. It was clear that the warship berths at the port needed redesigning to prevent situations like this from happening again.

After all, repairing two warships would cost a lot of berries.

Plus, this provided a good opportunity to test something—if they could foresee such incidents through divination and then prevent them, it might prove that the future can be altered.

"Alright, I'll give orders to the soldiers later..."

But before Akira could finish, a loud bang echoed from the port, followed by the startled shouts of Marines coming in through the window.

Akira walked over and glanced toward the port.

"Fleet Admiral-sama, what happened?" Shyarly asked, curiously flicking her tail.

"It's nothing major—just your divination coming true."

Akira returned to her, rubbing her head gently with his eyes half-closed. "Continue with the divination."

"Oh, alright."

Shyarly, already accustomed to such things, wasn't fazed. Back on Fish-Man Island, she'd often witnessed events moments before they occurred.

Without much of a reaction, she refocused on the crystal ball.

"Fleet Admiral-sama, this tiger is eating wounded soldiers."

"Continue!"

"Fleet Admiral-sama, there are more pirates on the sea."

"Continue!"

"Fleet Admiral-sama!"

"Continue!"

For the next stretch of time, Shyarly continued her divinations.

However, none of the images were as shocking as Sakazuki's tragic death. Most were either minor incidents or foreseeable events.

Akira patiently watched each one unfold.

But after about half an hour, the crystal ball stopped responding. Despite Shyarly waving her small hands and reciting her spells with devotion, nothing more appeared.

It simply became an ordinary, inert crystal ball.

"Fleet Admiral-sama, I can't perform any more divinations today," Shyarly said, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her tiny hand. She explained, "There's a limit to how many divinations I can do in a day. Once it's used up, I have to wait until tomorrow to continue."

"And it's not guaranteed to show big events every time—it's a very random process."

Akira nodded thoughtfully. Even though Shyarly didn't elaborate, he understood the limitations of her divination ability.

It made sense. If someone could infinitely predict the future with 100% accuracy, that power would be terrifyingly unstoppable.

Still, even with these restrictions, the ability was far from ordinary.

After standing there deep in thought for a moment, Akira suddenly turned and walked back to his desk, busying himself with some papers.

Soon, he returned to Shyarly, handing her a thick notebook and a stack of others.

"Starting tomorrow, you'll stay in my mansion, and don't let anyone know about your ability to divine the future.

If anyone asks, just make up a convincing lie."

"While you're in the mansion, use your daily divinations to their full limit, then record any special findings in these notebooks. I'll review them once a month.

These leaves are for your protection. In case someone tries to take advantage of your abilities, you'll be able to defend yourself."

"Don't worry, I'll ensure you have people to fight for you and others to help you escape if needed."

Hearing Akira's words, Shyarly's face turned serious. She accepted the notebook and the deformed leaves with a heavy sense of responsibility.

"Fleet Admiral-sama, rest assured. Shyarly will follow your orders."

"Good. I appreciate your hard work."

Akira smiled warmly and patted her head.

Tap, tap.

Just then, hurried footsteps could be heard approaching from outside.

A moment later, there was a knock at the door.

"Fleet Admiral-sama, I'll open the door and head back afterward," Shyarly said, flicking her tail in understanding before quickly opening the door.

In an instant, a group of people rushed in, cheering.

Leading the group were Sengoku, the three Admirals, and several other high-ranking officcers.

The expressions on their faces were a mix of confusion, disbelief, urgency, and puzzlement.

"What's going on?" Akira asked calmly, adjusting his glasses as he observed their reactions.