It was nearly ten in the morning.
The grand auditorium of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces was already packed.
More than twenty thousand officers from various branches had taken their places, and the hall had fallen completely silent.
Everyone was staring at the entrance doors near the podium.
Army and Marine Rear Admirals, draped respectively in black and white Coats of Justice, stood on either side with their chests out, heads high, and eyes fixed ahead.
Then there were the front-row seats below the stage.
From left to right sat Kuzan, Borsalino, Shiki, Arbel, and Kaido from Marine Headquarters.
Sakazuki, Douglas Bullet, Aramaki, Edward Newgate, and Crocodile from Army Headquarters.
Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, and Old A from Sea Ninja Village.
Only in the second row behind them sat Onigumo, Charlotte Daifuku, Capone Bege, Charlotte Oven, and Charlotte Cracker.
George, Vista, Momonga, Yamakaji, Onoki, Hyuga Masato, Rasa, and Fugaku Uchiha—figures holding the rank of General.
Enel was still a Vice Admiral, so he remained seated in the third row.
[Woooooo—]
Suddenly, an uplifting piece of music filled the auditorium, instantly rousing everyone as their eyes flickered.
[Boom!]
The entrance doors were pulled open by two Rear Admirals.
At once, the military's highest-ranking figures, led by Saint Zambalong V. Nusjuro, strode toward the radiant podium with heroic bearing.
Gareth Marick, President of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces.
Steel Bone Kong, Minister of High Command; Zephyr, Minister of the Military Affairs Department and acting Marine Marshal; and Tsuru, Minister of the General Staff.
Army Marshal Raymond, the Second Sea Shadow Tengen Uzui, and Astral Legion Marshal Nikolai Zhukov.
Although Nikolai Zhukov was called a Marshal,
his current rank was actually equivalent to that of a Headquarters Admiral.
Strictly speaking, he was not qualified to take the stage. However,