Marine Headquarters Admiral Nomination Meeting!

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

In the high-level conference room of the Fortress of Justice, all those at headquarters who could wear the epaulets of Vice Admiral or higher were having a meeting.

The Admiral Sengoku sat at the head of the meeting room, with Sakazuki and Ortolan on his left and right sides, respectively.

Next in line, Ortolan's next pick is Kuzan, Sakazuki's next pick is Borsalino.

Next are Garp, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru, Gion, and others.

Finally, there was a large group of Vice Admiral admirals from the Marine Headquarters.

The seating arrangement today made many Vice Admiral feel that something was unusual.

"If everyone is here, let's begin today's meeting." The Admiral Sengoku tapped the table, drawing everyone's attention.

Then, he glanced around the conference room and said, "I'm sure everyone is already aware of what happened in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. Yesterday's Kessler's memorial service for Fleet Admiral -Chief Kessler has ended. In accordance with the wishes of the Old Star, Commander Steel Bone will temporarily assume the duties of Commander-in-Chief and remain in Mary Geoise. He will not be able to participate in this meeting."

The meeting room was completely silent; no one made a sound.

After a slight pause, the Admiral Sengoku continued, "Although it's temporary, the higher-ups have made their decision. Three days later, Admiral Steel Bone will be formally sworn in as Fleet Admiral Marines Mary Geoise. Therefore, at the same time, he will also officially step down as Admiral. This change is quite significant for our Marines, because the vacancies in the Admiral positions in our Marines over the past will cause this change to have a comprehensive impact on the Admiral's positions..."

The Admiral Sengoku spoke calmly and unhurriedly as he recounted what he had to say.

The gist of it is that Admiral Abe is going to become Commander-in-Chief, and as the only active Marine Admiral, I will naturally become the next Marines Abe.

There's nothing to discuss here, and no need for a vote or anything like that, because it's already decided internally, and no one is competing with me!

Now, the topic for discussion is that since I became Admiral, the Three Admirals have become completely vacant. Therefore, I have gathered you, the pillars of the Marine Headquarters, to discuss which three of you are suitable to take over the Admiral positions!

"So, regarding the selection of the three new Admiral, please feel free to offer any suggestions." After saying this, the Admiral Sengoku once again looked around.

The atmosphere was no longer as quiet as before, and many Vice Admiral began to whisper among themselves and discuss the matter.

However, as early as the day the news of the commander-in-chief's death was released, the vice Vice Admiral at headquarters were already mentally prepared. No one who could rise to the rank of Vice Admiral was stupid, and they could sense that a major upheaval was about to begin within the Marines.

Therefore, the current discussion is merely a final briefing.

After a brief period of commotion, veteran Vice Admiral Grumir raised his hand. "Mr. Garp, he..."

Although everyone knows that Garp would never be willing to become Admiral, since he himself has attended this meeting, the necessary procedures still need to be followed. Therefore, the first person to speak up and recommend him is definitely Garp.

However, before Grumir could finish speaking, Garp immediately waved his hand and said, "Don't mention me, I will not serve as Admiral."

"That's a real shame..."

Some Vice Admiral took the opportunity to express their 'regret,' as if they still harbored a sliver of hope that Garp would become an Admiral.

After getting rid of Garp, the atmosphere became much more lively. Gion looked around and, seeing that no one wanted to be the first to step forward, she stopped trying.

He immediately raised his hand and proposed. "I propose that Vice Admiral Bann Ortolan, the Vice Admiral Marine Base Commander G-5, assume the responsibilities of a Marine Admiral!"

Gion finished speaking, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru immediately raised his hand in agreement. "I agree. Vice Admiral Vice Admiral Bane is exceptionally capable and has made outstanding contributions. Moreover, he made several mistakes in managing the G-5 base. In terms of ability, strength, and seniority, he is very much in line with the requirements for promotion to Admiral of the Marine Headquarters!"

After Chief Staff Officer Tsuru finished expressing his opinion, several more Vice Admiral raised their hands in favor of the proposal to promote Lieutenant Vice Admiral Bann Ortolan to the Admiral.

The Admiral Sengoku then spoke up at the opportune moment, "So, does anyone have any objections?"

As soon as he spoke, Ortolan looked at his colleagues in the conference room with a smile, wanting to see how well he was received and whether any of his colleagues would object.

If so, he would seriously consider what he might have done to offend this colleague.

If I have the chance in the future, I must make up for my relationship with this colleague!

"If there's anything I've done that displeases you, please point it out so I can correct it and improve. Don't be shy," Ortolan said with a smile.

However, it is clear that Ortolan has good interpersonal skills and is not a hothead who dares to stand up and express his opposition.

Seeing that no one raised any objections, the Admiral Sengoku continued, "Vice Admiral Bann Ortolan, the nomination of the Admiral is approved, and he is tentatively designated as one of the candidates for the new Admiral."

Once this matter was settled, Vice Admiral Jonathan, the current commander of G-8 Marine Base, immediately raised his hand in the conference room and proposed. "I suggest that Vice Admiral Sakazuki, the current commander of G-1 Base, be appointed as the new Marine Admiral!"

When Jonathan Vice Admiral Jonathan spoke, even Sakazuki, who usually had a stern and unsmiling face, showed a slight smile.

Then, Ortolan raised his hand and said, "I agree. Vice Admiral Sakazuki is strong, capable, and has made outstanding contributions. His work on G-1 is evident to all. He is the only candidate in my mind to serve as Admiral!"

Sakazuki was somewhat surprised when Ortolan spoke up, as if he hadn't expected him to support him at this time. At the same time, he secretly regretted his earlier aloofness. He should have stood up and supported Ortolan as well!

Then, a group of Hawk Faction Marines raised their hands in support.

As is customary for Admiral Sengoku, he began by asking if anyone objected to Sakazuki's nomination as Admiral.

Upon hearing this, Ortolan looked at Kuzan sitting next to him. Kuzan was taken aback for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? You don't think I'm going to object, do you?"

"Didn't you always have a rather strained relationship with Sakazuki?" Ortolan chuckled and replied quietly.

"That's just a difference in ideology. In other respects, I, like you, highly approve of Sakazuki as the Admiral," Kuzan, glancing at Ortolan.

The conflict between Sakazuki and Kuzan was mostly a clash of ideologies, with nothing else to it. The Admiral Sengoku was well aware of this, so he generally didn't arrange for Sakazuki and Kuzan to fight each other at headquarters, to avoid escalating their conflict.

Furthermore, because of Ortolan, the Ohara Incident can be considered to have never happened. Therefore, Kuzan and Sakazuki did not have any further conflict due to the refugee ship or similar incident.

As usual, no one stood up to object, and the Admiral Sengoku readily approved Sakazuki's nomination as Admiral.

After Sakazuki's nomination was approved, Garp immediately raised his hand and said, "I propose Kuzan as the new Marine Admiral."

No sooner had Garp finished speaking than Borsalino, sitting next to Sakazuki, immediately raised his hand in support, saying, "I also support Vice Admiral Kuzan for the position of the new Marine Admiral. Vice Admiral Kuzan is incredibly strong, exceptionally capable, and has a distinguished record..."

Borsalino doesn't mince words at all. Kuzan, standing to the side, paused for a moment, then nudged Ortolan with his elbow and said, "You fucking told Borsalino something, didn't you?"

"We only exchanged opinions briefly before the meeting," Ortolan laughed.

Surprisingly, Sakazuki's thinking underwent a change, perhaps because of Ortolan's strong support for him, leading to new judgments and ideas.

After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and said, "I also agree with Vice Borsalino Vice Admiral Kuzan being appointed as the new Marine Admiral."

Kuzan was dumbfounded. He looked at Ortolan, then at Borsalino and Sakazuki. "You guys are all in cahoots. The one who's the worst at behaving is me!"

I, Kuzan, didn't raise my hand for Ortolan, nor did I support Sakazuki. You guys... you're really something else!

Therefore, after Admiral Sengoku went through the process again, Kuzan was the first to raise his hand and say, "I propose that Vice Admiral Borsalino be appointed as the new Marine Admiral!"

As soon as he finished speaking, no one followed up.

Kuzan????

Ortolan almost burst out laughing, nudging Kuzan in the stomach with his elbow and saying, "Didn't Borsalino tell you before the meeting? He said he would never take on the duties of Marine Admiral; he wants to be the next Mr. Garp..."

Hearing this, Kuzan glanced at the Neutral Faction generals in the conference room. Seeing their surprised expressions, his face twitched, and he lowered his voice, saying, "I just came back from Impel Down before this meeting, so I'm the only outsider, right? You guys are really something!"

However, since Kuzan had already been nominated, Sengoku could only go through the process again. As a result, although no one expressed support, no one would dare to voice opposition at such a time.

After all, the reason I'm not expressing support is because Borsalino informed everyone beforehand, which is understandable, and no one will feel ashamed of him. But if you stand up and say you disagree, I will object.

That's like rubbing Borsalino's face in the ground!

These are different in nature!

So, Borsalino also nominated as a candidate for Admiral. After that, no one else made any suggestions. After all, if these four were put first, any subsequent suggestions would just seem like Clown in comparison.

"Alright, since that's the case, I will hand over the list of the four candidates nominated this time to General Steel Bone." Admiral Sengoku tapped the table, ending the discussion.

As for why the power was given to Admiral Steel Bone, it's because Steel Bone is still the Admiral of the Marines. According to procedure, the final decision of the Admiral should be made by him. However, everyone on the scene knows that this is just a formality, and Admiral Steel Bone will definitely delay the process until he is promoted to Commander-in-Chief in three days, after which he will transfer this power to Sengoku.

In other words, the Admiral would only be able to take office after the Sengoku when he was truly appointed as the commander-in-chief!