Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 293 Wilderness: A single thought of surrender can instantly open up a whole new world!

"This can't go on any longer." After venting his anger, Huang Mu quickly composed himself, sat down in his chair, and said with a furrowed brow.

The more he was surrounded and isolated, the greater his psychological pressure became.

A few days ago, I was still able to communicate with Mary Geoise. I can't say I got any real help, but at least I had some psychological comfort.

But that's no longer possible. After the CP personnel arrived at New Marineford, they took full control of all the communication channels at the Marine Headquarters. Even he, as the Fleet Admiral, could no longer freely use the channels to contact the outside world.

Now, if he wants to communicate with Mary Geoise, he has to get permission from the CP (Consortium) to grant him access.

How could this be allowed? It gave Aramaki an increasingly strong feeling that he had been kidnapped here, and that Mary Geoise was forcing him and the Marine Headquarters to become pawns.

In reality, Mary Geoise did not actually restrict Wilderness to that extent. Rather, it was Stussy who, after arriving, used Mary Geoise's name to restrict Wilderness.

But at this moment, Stussy was representing Mary Geoise's special envoy, and Aramaki had no way of verifying this.

He was a rather selfish person. Someone like him would never be loyal enough to the world government and to give his life for Mary Geoise.

"They said they could launch a counterattack in a while, but they wouldn't tell me a single word about the specific time, methods, or approaches."

"You want me to stall for time and buy some opportunities? Where are those opportunities?"

"Is the opportunity for me to make sacrifices so that you can calmly prepare for your retreat to the East China Sea and wait for the right moment?"

"Why? Why am I another abandoned option? Bane is building a new navy and didn't choose me. You're going to the East Blue, and you still didn't choose me. You all deserve to die!"

Huang Mu sat at his desk with a gloomy expression, muttering to himself, his eyes filled with increasingly intense murderous intent and extremism.

After a long while, he slowly picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of the tea that had long since gone cold, let out a long sigh, and a resolute look flashed in Huang Mu's eyes.

Now that things have come to this, the new navy can accept taking things slowly, and Mary Geoise even hopes to delay for a longer period of time, but Aramu is the only one who cannot accept it.

If this continues, with the people of Mary Geoise withdrawing to the East Blue, he will become a pawn, and on the new Navy's side, his image will gradually become that of a "stubborn and unyielding fighter."

No matter how you look at it, Huang Mu is the only one who can't delay any longer and must make a choice as soon as possible.

Now, there are only three choices in front of him. The first is to risk his life and fight a decisive battle with the large fleet led by Zephyr, Garp, Kuzan and others. If he can win, everything will be fine. He can then enjoy the freedom of the wild!

But this choice seems unreliable no matter how you look at it. Even if there's only a 30% chance of winning, let alone 100%, Huang Mu wouldn't have waited this long; he would have already drawn his knife and attacked.

No matter how you look at it, the advantage isn't in my hands!

So after the thought briefly crossed his mind, Huang Mu immediately rejected this somewhat crazy, even insane and unrealistic idea.

So, there are only two paths left.

The first option is still war, but this time it's not about winning, but about breaking the current stalemate and creating enough chaos. He doesn't know if others can escape, but as long as he, Huang Mu, can break out of the Marine Headquarters and escape to Mary Geoise, he can get a chance to catch his breath.

Even if all else fails, you can simply become an outlaw instead of going to Mary Geoise!

But the problem is, if he were to flee and go into hiding, wouldn't all his years of hard work have been for nothing? I've worked so hard to get to where I am now, and you want me to go back to two and a half years ago? Can he accept that? Can he accept it? Can he live with himself?

Therefore, this choice will ultimately lead to Mary Geoise.

If I abandon this Marine Headquarters and go to Mary Geoise as a defeated general, what will happen?

It won't be too good, but thinking about it carefully, it won't be too bad either. After all, Mary Geoise is in dire need of manpower right now, so it's impossible for them to really kill Aramu. That would be like cutting off their own arm. As long as he goes back, there is still hope. Even after retreating to the East China Sea, he might still be able to continue to command the branch navies in various parts of the East China Sea, or even become the 'Commander-in-Chief' of the world's government.

Thinking about it carefully, his actions might even lead to a promotion when he gets back, since the world's governments are currently facing a severe shortage of talent and have few capable leaders.

As for the current Commander-in-Chief of the entire army, Steel Bones?

I heard he's been placed under house arrest. As a veteran of the Navy, almost all the qualified and older members of the current rebel group were promoted by him. It's a miracle that the world's government can trust him.

Thinking about this, Huang Mu was a little excited.

But soon, his excitement subsided. Yes, he might escape back to Mary Geoise and retreat to the East China Sea with them. Maybe he could continue to rise in rank and make a fortune in the World Government and become something like the Commander-in-Chief of the Army.

But what happens after that?

Is there really a possibility that the world's ruling government can win?

Can the foundation that the Five Elders spoke of, which has stood for over eight hundred years, really turn the tide?

Huang Mu was unsure, and even said he didn't believe it.

"With the situation so dire, if we have the power to turn things around, the means to rewrite this situation, why not use it now? Why wait until we withdraw from the East Blue to make plans? And what plans? I'm afraid... no, the fact that this situation has come to this already proves that the so-called 'foundation' and 'trump cards' of Mary Geoise are not really effective. Otherwise, with the arrogance of the Five Elders and the pride of the Celestial Dragons, why would they choose this path?" A ruthless glint flashed in Aramu's eyes as he spoke.

"Moreover, there's no guarantee that next time, I, Huang Mu, will still be treated as a pawn," Huang Mu thought to himself.

He wasn't a direct subordinate of the naval leaders, so when faced with such a major event, he was simply abandoned. No one had even told him about the new navy, and no one gave him a chance to make a choice.

But the navy people all thought he was a direct descendant of Mary Geoise. But what was the truth? Others didn't know, but did Huang Mu himself not know it?

He wasn't a direct subordinate of Mary Geoise at all; he was just a skilled fighter from the common people. Perhaps that's why he wasn't fully trusted, and why Mary Geoise treated him like a pawn, abandoning him in the Marine Headquarters!

If Mary Geoise is chosen, and appeasement is needed again later, will Huang Mu continue to play the same role?

Why? The reason is that he wasn't a direct subordinate, so he wasn't fully trusted!

After figuring out all these intricacies, Aramaki suddenly chuckled self-deprecatingly and murmured, "Perhaps I've been looked down upon ever since I sent Mr. Garp's grandson to Mary Geoise."

At this moment, he suddenly realized that the incident had not only failed to make him a trusted subordinate of the Five Elders, but had instead made them despise him even more, turning him from a human into a dog.

All of this can be attributed to his own actions.

It was at this moment that he realized there was no future in following Mary Geoise and the world's ruling government.

"Now, the only real choice I have left is to surrender," Huang Mu muttered to himself.

As a naval admiral, surrendering to the new navy would not mean being given important responsibilities, a fact that Aramaki was well aware of, but his treatment would certainly not be bad!

Even if it's just for show, if Aramaki surrenders as a naval admiral, the new navy will still treat him like a mascot to demonstrate their magnanimity and tolerance.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Moreover, in the end, Aramaki felt that apart from feeling sorry for Garp, he hadn't really done anything to harm the Navy or commit any heinous acts.

Perhaps I have thought about it, but you can't convict me just because I thought about it.

He is essentially innocent, so the new navy has no reason to persecute him.

In this way, even if he is no longer given important responsibilities or plays any significant roles, he can still become a noble and mascot, holding a high position but without real power, serving as a role model.

Isn't this better than being a pawn in Mary Geoise?

Even if we change our perspective, why is Aramaki working so hard to climb the ranks? Is it to become a Marine Admiral and fight ruthless pirates on the front lines? No way.

His ultimate goal was clearly to become a world noble, to be like a Celestial Dragon.

You don't have to do anything or think about anything all day long; you can just enjoy life.

So, if I surrender to the new Navy and become a mascot, wouldn't that directly achieve my goal? Perhaps I won't be as supreme as the World Nobles, but judging from the situation, the World Nobles will probably be eliminated soon, so what's the point of comparing?

Being a mascot means I don't have to worry about anything or think about anything all day. At most, I just have to obediently follow orders, sign and stamp documents, and then I can just enjoy the good life.

"Holy crap!" The thought actually excited Huang Mu. He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Looking at it this way, I have no choice but to surrender!"

"If I want to surrender, I first need to make contact with the fleet outside, but all of headquarters' communication channels are in the hands of the CP. In other words, I have to get rid of these damn lackeys. Stussy, kill her first, then wipe out all the CP at headquarters. That way, I can lead my men to surrender, climb out of this damn quagmire, and enjoy a wonderful life!" Aramaki thought excitedly.

With this in mind, Huang Mu made up his mind to pull off a big heist.

I never want to be trapped here, losing sleep and worrying myself sick again. You bastard government, go eat shit! I've done everything I could for you, and this is how you treat me?

I'm surrendering right now! You Mary Geoise think you can just run away? Without me here to hold off the new navy, let's see if you can still easily withdraw from the East China Sea.

Just as Huang Mu was thinking about these random things, Stussy pushed the door open and walked in again. This time, the way she looked at Huang Mu was a little strange.

Just now, he received a message from Boss Zephyr, asking her to find a way to persuade Aramaki to surrender, and strive to resolve this unnecessary battle at Marine Headquarters without bloodshed.

"Marshal Huangmu, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," Stussy greeted with a smile.

Huang Mu was now completely at ease, his brow furrowed with the bitterness that had been etched on his face for days, and a gentlemanly smile appeared on his face as he asked, "Nothing much. Any instructions from Mary Geoise?"

"Let's work together and keep going," Stussy blurted out.

"I see. Let's work together?" Aramaki stroked his chin, picked up the teapot from the table as if to refill Stussy's tea, and walked towards the coffee table, saying, "Speaking of which, I just thought of a way to break this deadlock, but I still need your help, Ms. Stussy."

"My help?" Stussy asked, slightly puzzled, "What do you need me to do?"

"I'll borrow your head!" Huang Mu suddenly slammed the teapot in his hand at Stusi, then numerous vines sprouted from his body and attacked Stusi, saying, "Sorry!"

(End of this chapter)