Marine Headquarters Named

The golden letters on the Sky Screen slowly formed a name no one had expected.

[Ten Great War Criminals, ninth place: Marine Headquarters Colonel Koby]

In the Marine Headquarters cafeteria, a freshly served bowl of miso soup was knocked over.

"K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-Koby?"

Helmeppo pointed at the Sky Screen, stammering, completely dumbfounded.

Pink-haired Koby stood rooted to the spot, the tray in his hand clattering to the floor.

His mind went blank.

"Me? A war criminal? How could I be a war criminal?"

"Quiet."

Garp's voice came from behind him. Though considerably weaker than usual because of his punishment, it still carried an authority that could not be ignored.

"Watch the rest first."

Koby's lips trembled, and his whole body shook.

He was only a young officer who had just been promoted to colonel. The earlier questions and answers had already shown him how brutal the coming war would be, and now he was being told that he was one of the war criminals too.

A question appeared on the Sky Screen.

[Question: During the final stage of the Paramount War, Koby did something that could have changed the course of the battle. What was it?]

[A. Deserted in the face of battle]

[B. Openly disobeyed orders on the battlefield and called on Admiral Akainu to stop the war]

[C. Secretly released an important prisoner]

[D. Used his own body to block Akainu's attack]

The four options drew different reactions around the world.

The Marines were the first to erupt.

"Disobeyed orders? Called out to Admiral Akainu?"

"Was this Koby out of his mind? He was only a colonel. How dare he tell an Admiral to stop?"

Akainu stood at the edge of the plaza, staring as his name appeared on the Sky Screen again. The muscles at the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"Hmph."

That single sound was all he made, but the temperature around him seemed to rise by dozens of degrees.

Nearby Marines backed away several steps.

Looking at the question, Sengoku instead breathed a sigh of relief.

Of the four options, B didn't sound like much of a crime, at least far less serious than the mess Teach had made.

But then he realized something.

The livestream had listed Koby as a war criminal and said his action had been "enough to change the course of the battle."

How could a colonel's actions possibly change the course of a battle?

Unless his appeal had really played some crucial role.

He frowned and glanced in Akainu's direction.

If a Marine colonel openly called for an end to the fighting at a moment like that, the effect on morale would be devastating.

And Akainu was the one he would be confronting.

Given Akainu's temperament, he would kill Koby on the spot.

"Garp."

Sengoku spoke in a low voice.

"Koby's one of your men, isn't he?"

Garp was silent for a moment, looking at the pink-haired young man's name on the Sky Screen.

"That's right, I trained him."

"That kid has the courage to do something like that."

There was a hint of something complicated in Garp's voice. It was hard to tell whether it was pride or concern.

The countdown to answer began on the Sky Screen.

This time, the person who gave the correct answer surprised everyone.

Far away in the Sabaody Archipelago, a short, stout pirate wearing a white knit cap raised his hand.

The mob boss Capone Bege.

"I choose B."

He spoke lazily, a cigar clenched between his teeth.

"The reason's simple. Of the four options, A is too cowardly to warrant being listed as a war criminal. C and D are too heroic to have anything to do with the term 'war criminal.' Only B—openly disobeying orders on the battlefield and demanding an end to the war—could really throw things into chaos."

[Correct answer]

A bright light flashed across the Sky Screen.

An uproar broke out around the world.

"It's B? It really is B?"

Koby's legs gave out, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

Helmeppo caught him.

"Koby, are you all right?"

"How could I do something like that? I could never do that."

Koby's voice trembled.

He was a coward, at least that was what he had always believed. Though Garp's training had made him much stronger, calling for an end to the war in front of Akainu? He didn't even dare imagine it.

The Sky Screen began playing the explanation for the answer.

In the footage, Marineford had been reduced to scorched earth. The bodies of Marines and pirates alike covered the battlefield, and blood stained the white plaza red.

The war had entered its final stage, and the Whitebeard Pirates were retreating, but Akainu was still hunting them down relentlessly.

Fists of magma punched through one fleeing pirate after another. Some had even lost the ability to fight and were on their knees begging for mercy, yet they were still mercilessly killed.

Koby's eyes widened sharply as he watched.

He saw himself standing in the middle of the chaotic battlefield, covered in wounds, his legs trembling, but his eyes filled with tears.

"That's enough."

The future Koby's voice was faint, but every word trembled.

Akainu stopped in his tracks for an instant.

"Stop, please. Don't fight anymore."

The future Koby spread his arms, standing between Akainu and a group of retreating pirates. Tears and blood mingled as they ran down his face.

"People are dying every second. The wounded who could still be saved are dying one by one because they can't get treatment. We're chasing down people who have already given up fighting. How is that any different from the pirates we're trying to eliminate?"

"Every life is a life!"

Akainu looked down at the low-ranking soldier blocking his path, his face expressionless.

"Are you finished?"

Magma gathered and took shape around his fist.

Koby closed his eyes, but he didn't take a single step back.

The moment the magma fist came down toward Koby, a red sword blocked the fatal blow.

Red-Haired Shanks appeared in the footage.

"Well done, young Marine. The few seconds you gained with your brief act of courage saved many lives."

The explanation ended with Shanks's words.

The world fell silent for a long time.

It was a silence utterly different from the one that had followed Teach's incident.

There was no anger, no contempt.

Instead, there was a complicated feeling of being moved, hard to put into words.

A low-ranking soldier had put his life on the line to stop a massacre while the entire army was carrying out orders to pursue and kill.

Did that make him a war criminal?

Or a hero?

Lin Qi leaned back in his chair, watching the reactions in the "game," and raised an eyebrow.

"Interesting. I thought the audience would call him a coward afraid of dying, but the reaction went completely the other way. Looks like these AIs' moral judgment modules are pretty good."

He took a sip of beer, his gaze sweeping over the constantly changing data on the system interface.

"But this is only ninth place. The real main event is still to come."

His fingers hovered over the keyboard as he considered whose name to enter for eighth place.

The system's voice suddenly rang out again from the Sky Screen.

[In view of the controversial nature of ninth-place war criminal Koby's actions, the system will make a special judgment]

[This person is not a war criminal in the traditional sense, but a hero who used his personal will to stand against an unjust war]

[Judgment: No punishment will be imposed. The title "Hero's Heart" will be granted as an additional reward]

A warm white light fell upon Koby, far softer than either Garp's gray light or Teach's black light.

Koby froze, feeling warmth well up in his chest. It dispelled all his fear and confusion.

His fists clenched of their own accord, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Garp watched, and a glimmer finally returned to his eyes, which had remained dim since his punishment.

"Good boy."

He said the words softly.

Akainu turned and left. It was impossible to tell from his retreating figure whether he had been angered or moved. Two slightly melted footprints remained on the stone tiles beneath his feet.

As the whole world watched, a new teaser appeared on the Sky Screen.

[Ten Great War Criminals, eighth place, to be revealed shortly]

[Hint: This person is one of the Shichibukai. His very existence is a lie]

Lin Qi finished typing the line and stretched.

"A fraud among the Shichibukai? Isn't that obviously talking about that birdman?"

He grinned and entered Doflamingo's name.

Far away in the royal palace of Dressrosa, Donquixote Doflamingo sat on his throne with his legs crossed, his pink feather coat trailing on the floor.

He looked at the hint on the Sky Screen, and his trademark smile cracked.

"Fuffuffuffuffu, looks like it's my turn."