The makeup artist's eyes held a hint of nervousness, as if facing a volcano that could erupt at any moment.
Akainu sat on a specially made metal chair; his Mag-Mag Fruit ability instantly turned ordinary seats into ash.
A vein pulsed on his forehead, and he squeezed out from between his teeth, "What a joke..."
Before he finished speaking, the facial powder on his face was evaporated into white smoke.
This behavior was utterly absurd!
Even more absurd was that he had actually been persuaded by Sengoku to cooperate with filming a promotional video!
He couldn't refuse; he had even considered leaving the Marine at one point.
"Sakazuki, stop messing around." Kizaru's voice came from not far away. He was leaning against the railing, leisurely scrolling on his phone, his brown sunglasses reflecting the sunlight.
He looked at Akainu's reluctant expression, the corner of his mouth slightly raised with a hint of teasing, "Teacher Zephyr can even film, what are you afraid of?"
Akainu glared at Kizaru, his eyes showing a touch of helplessness, "You guy, you just know how to gloat."
"Alright, alright, everyone calm down." Sengoku's voice came from the crowd. He stood in the center, his eyes showing a hint of seriousness, "We are doing this for the reputation and influence of the Marine. The rise of the New Navy has caused a huge impact on the Marine; we must take measures to restore the Marine's reputation."
Upon hearing Sengoku's words, the technical soldiers nodded in agreement and continued to busy themselves.
They knew that this filming was of great significance to the Marine.
They had to go all out to make the Marine's promotional video able to compete with the New Navy's video.
"Admiral Akainu, do you think this is acceptable?" The makeup artist carefully adjusted Akainu's expression, trying to make him look more natural.
Akainu frowned slightly, but finally nodded. Those hateful Pirates, I will kill all of you sooner or later!
Not far away,
Aokiji was sprawled on an ice-made lounge chair, his eyelids half-drooping as he recited his lines, "Join the Marine... protect justice... Haaah—" A long yawn interrupted his practice.
His adjutant anxiously shook the cue card, "Admiral! The important part is the section about the Navy Six Styles after that!"
Aokiji clutched his head in pain. These lines were too difficult to memorize. Since when did being an Admiral require memorizing lines? What a terrible day!
Kizaru averted his gaze and carefully took off the brown sunglasses he never removed, looking into a full-length mirror with a gold frame.
"How scary~" He mumbled to his wrinkled eyes in the mirror, trying to force a "friendly" smile, which ended up scaring a passing recruit so much he almost fell into the fountain.
"Eighteen hundred a month and I still have to film videos, and no raise in salary, I'm really..." Kizaru grumbled, his voice just loud enough for Sengoku nearby to hear.
Sengoku's mouth twitched. Was this what he wanted to film?
Then, seeing Garp made him even angrier, "Garp! Take off that dog-head hat!"
Sengoku's roar suddenly echoed throughout the entire square.
He rushed over impetuously, followed by a group of civilian staff carrying costume boxes.
Garp was secretly stuffing senbei into his mouth and was so startled by the shout that he sprayed crumbs everywhere.
"I've worn it for thirty years..." Garp mumbled, protecting his hat, but Sengoku had already snatched the iconic dog-head sleep cap and roughly put a brand new Marine standard military cap on him.
"Image! Pay attention to your image!" Sengoku gritted his teeth as he straightened Garp's crooked tie, "Do you know how many times more views the New Navy's recruitment video has than ours right now?"
Garp looked at the dog-head hat in Sengoku's hand, a hint of reluctance flashing in his eyes, but he ultimately accepted the new attire helplessly.
He sighed, his eyes showing a touch of helplessness, "Alright, alright, for the honor of the Marine, I'll reluctantly do it this once."
Sengoku nodded, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes, "This is how the Marine should be. We cannot lose to the New Navy; we must make the justice of the Marine shine again."
Garp nodded "..."
In the center of the square,
The temporarily erected special effects area was undergoing final adjustments.
The sunlight shone on the square, reflecting a scene of bustling activity.
The demolition team set up flamethrowers fifty meters away, and the props team prepared dozens of scaled-down Pirate ship models. These models looked exceptionally realistic in the sunlight.
The technical lead wiped his sweat and nervously reported, "Marshal, according to the script, when Admiral Akainu releases 'Meteor Volcano', these models will explode simultaneously..."
Sengoku looked at the chaotic filming scene, his temples throbbing.
He sighed inwardly, the cost of these special effects was not low; each explosion meant a considerable expense.
Ah, it's all cost!
However, at this moment, Sengoku suddenly noticed that Garp had secretly put the dog-head hat back on.
He was so angry he almost fainted, but ultimately shook his head and decided to let him be.
He knew that Garp's personality was difficult to change, and in such a tense filming environment, he no longer had the energy to deal with such trivial matters.
"Forget it, forget it." Let him be, there's no managing him.
Soon, everything was ready,
"Action!" The director's shout echoed throughout the Marine square, and all the cameras' red lights lit up simultaneously.
Akainu walked out from the smoke with a gloomy face, activating his Mag-Mag Fruit ability, dark red magma churning and boiling on his fists.
He unnaturally pulled at the corners of his mouth, trying to force a "friendly" smile, which ended up scaring the nearest cameraman so much he almost fell into the sea.
"Cough..." Akainu cleared his throat and casually snapped his fingers.
A few drops of magma splattered out, and the special effects team quickly detonated the pre-buried explosives.
With a "boom" and a loud noise, twenty Pirate ship models were reduced to ash in a sea of fire, although they accidentally blew a hole in the outer wall of Marineford.
The camera switched to Aokiji's side.
He walked with a yawn to the frozen sea model, mumbling sleepily, "ICE..."
The cold air he exhaled frosted the eyebrows of the Marine soldier filming nearby.
The special effects team fumbled to start the cooling device, but the power was set too high, directly freezing half of the studio into a world of ice sculptures.
Aokiji looked at the cue card frozen into a block of ice and scratched his head, "Ara la... I forgot my lines..."
"Cut! Cut!" The director yelled, wiping cold sweat, but didn't dare to scold the Admiral, as the other party's status was higher than his. He could only proceed to the next scene, "Admiral Kizaru, prepare!"
Kizaru entered with exaggerated steps, striking an extremely awkward "cool pose."
"Have you ever been kicked by the speed of light?" He elongated his tone and suddenly transformed into a golden light.
The refracting light trails bounced back and forth in the studio, but the angle wasn't calculated correctly, smashing the ceiling chandelier.
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