The Navy's Reform

Meanwhile, within the navy, an important meeting was taking place, but it hadn't started yet because someone was waiting for someone.

A golden light flashed across the distant horizon, returning to Marineford, the Marine Headquarters, and landing in front of the Marine Headquarters building, directly condensing into Borsalino's figure.

"It's Vice Admiral Borsalino." Upon seeing him, the marine who had initially intended to stop him exclaimed and saluted Borsalino.

Borsalino paid no attention and strode toward the conference room in the headquarters building.

The Marine Headquarters ordered him to return for a meeting as soon as possible, so he ignored the marines who had been released by the Night Pirates and came straight back.

Being on the battlefield, there were things he didn't know, so he needed to find out as soon as possible. He learned through the Den Den Mushi that the situation was extremely urgent, and he could hear the solemn expression on Admiral Sengoku.

He's still a law-abiding sailor, a bit lazy, but not to the point of "sitting in a thermos with goji berries" and retiring prematurely after becoming Admiral.

Borsalino looked rather disheveled, after all, he was surrounded by the Night Pirates' executives, but this was an important meeting, and everyone was waiting for him, so he had no choice but to hurry.

"Knock knock knock!" He knocked lightly on the door, then pushed it open and entered. He glanced around and saw that all the high-ranking officers of the Marine Headquarters were already there. Even "Black Arm" Zephyr, who was no longer involved in these matters and was now teaching students behind the scenes in the Navy, was already there.

Although Zephyr has resigned from his position as Admiral, he still retains the rights of Admiral, which Sengoku Kong left to him, unless a new Marine Admiral succeeds him.

Such an important matter could be said to concern the very survival of the navy; it was a major event, and Zephyr naturally had to attend.

"Since you're here, please have a seat." Sengoku nodded, and then he played the video, which was the scene of Rediat questioning Atchison. He had somehow managed to capture that video and played it again.

In this way, everyone understands what the Navy's topic is this time.

Even after watching it again, they were still filled with anger and a sense of panic. It was hard to imagine how the public would view the navy; without it, the navy would cease to be a navy.

Borsalino, who hadn't seen the footage, now understood. He hadn't expected that something like this would happen on another battlefield while he was fighting. This was quite serious. Looking at the scene again, he saw that a Marine Vice Admiral was indeed missing—the very same Vice Admiral Makudi, the mastermind behind the Mandra Island incident.

The Mandra Island incident is no longer a victory against pirates, but a disgrace to the Navy. Now that it has been exposed, coupled with Rediat's suggestive words, it will have a huge negative impact on the Navy.

Everyone knew they had to do something to restore the Navy's reputation among the public.

If the navy does nothing, it cannot represent the people or justice, and thus completely loses its meaning.

For those of them who consider the navy and justice their life's work, this is intolerable.

So right now, we have to resolve this matter first. As for the others, like the Night Pirates and the New World, those will have to wait.

Now, the Navy's reputation has suffered a severe blow, and countless eyes are on it, not only from the general public, but also from the forces that are laughing at them—the pirates.

Furthermore, there are the sailors within the Navy who fight for justice. As Teach said, this is definitely not an isolated incident; there are many others.

But has the navy truly degenerated? Is a degenerated navy truly a navy?

"Everyone is clear about the issues at hand. The first thing is that Vice Admiral Makudi —no, he's no longer Vice Admiral —needs to be publicly executed to quell public anger," Sengoku said, standing up.

The entire room fell silent; no one spoke, and the silence was so profound you could hear a pin drop. Vice Admiral Makudi had done this, and while it wasn't widely known initially, it had now been exposed, and the whole world knew.

Makudi brought this upon himself. Of course, some people might blame Vice Admiral Atchison, who is now deceased, for revealing the truth, but not many people care about that.

Now, Makudi has been stripped of his Vice Admiral rank, his entire body is frozen by Kuzan, with only his head sticking out, and he has no way to escape.

Among those present, there were quite a few who had a good relationship with Makudi, or even close relationships with him.

"Ahem! I think there might be a better way to handle this. Wouldn't it damage the Navy's reputation if we, the Navy, publicly executed a dignified Marine Vice Admiral?"

At this moment, a general stood up. He was a close friend of Makudi. "For example, it should be handled secretly, without public execution. Makudi has served in the Navy for many years. Even if he hasn't made any great contributions, he has certainly worked hard, and these merits cannot be erased."

"Hmph! Is this how you get all these credits? You pleaded for Makudi, so I have reason to believe you're no better. It's necessary to investigate you thoroughly." Kuzan snorted and glanced at him coldly, showing him no respect whatsoever.

"This isn't about Makudi's fault; that's not important at all. Given the current situation, he must be executed. Only then can the public see the Navy's resolve and salvage its reputation. If Makudi lives, the Navy will truly lose face," Sakazuki said in a deep voice. His justice was Absolute Justice, and the Navy's reputation was naturally included in it. In the current situation, sacrificing Makudi was absolutely necessary to salvage the Navy's reputation.

"If it were handled secretly, it wouldn't have the same effect; on the contrary, it would have aroused public suspicion. If his death could bring about all this, then it would have been entirely worthwhile."

Sakazuki's statement represented the prevailing opinion at the scene; the few naval personnel who tried to plead for Makudi were completely useless. He sighed.

This outcome was within their expectations. Makudi brought it upon himself; as a Marine, he did such a thing. It would have been better if he had kept the news hidden; now, there's no way to turn the tide.

Even if he survived, Makudi wouldn't be able to stay within the Navy, and if he were discovered outside, it would implicate the Navy.

They have done their part, said a word for Makudi, and that is enough.

"Then, that's settled. Makudi will be publicly executed at Marine Headquarters. The exact time is tentatively set." Sengoku nodded, making the decision immediately. Makudi's fate was sealed; even the Navy itself wouldn't let him off the hook.

Its only purpose was to drag it out to quell public anger.

"But that alone isn't enough to salvage the Navy's reputation. Rediat's words were too harsh, striking at the very foundation of the Navy," a Navy officer said, gritting his teeth. "That despicable pirate."

"So, the second thing is to think about how to salvage the Navy's reputation. Executing Makudi is a necessary step. I hope everyone can calm down and think carefully about what methods we can use." Makudi's execution had already been decided before the meeting began, so this second matter was the main topic of this meeting.

Even Sengoku was somewhat troubled. "This isn't like usual, where you can just capture some Great Pirate and demonstrate the navy's power."

The others also understood that this was not an ordinary matter; in the past, the Navy represented justice, and capturing Great Pirate was equivalent to upholding justice.

Now, without a real solution, the navy no longer represents justice, but instead arouses public resentment.

"How about we admit our mistake?" Borsalino spoke up when everyone fell silent. Everyone's eyes fell on him, but Borsalino didn't get nervous. Instead, he thought for a moment and stroked his slightly stubbled chin.

"Admitting a mistake is necessary; after all, it was the navy's fault, wasn't it? However, simply admitting the mistake verbally isn't very effective. Without any concrete actions, it will only make people think our navy is hypocritical, and it might even backfire."

Borsalino didn't want this either, and felt somewhat helpless. Being a naval officer was a good job, but if the navy collapsed—saying it collapsed was an exaggeration, but if it couldn't represent justice, the navy's strength would weaken. Without concrete actions to show the navy's resolve, not to mention whether anyone would join the navy in the future, the navy's morale would be low. When justice is no longer justice, it's only a matter of time before the navy's members leave.

In that case, he would have to consider whether to change jobs, leave the navy, and go to some country to become a royal guard.

Borsalino shared his thoughts, surprising the others. The usually lazy Borsalino was the first to speak up, and his idea was quite good.

Sengoku nodded to his staff officer Tsuru, then turned his head slightly to signal with his eyes. A naval recorder standing behind him quickly took action and wrote down Borsalino's words.

"Just as Rediat said, the navy has fallen into depravity. This kind of accident is a problem within the navy, so what we need to solve is definitely an internal problem." Tsuru crossed her arms and quietly looked at the Marine General present.

"First of all, it's impossible to restore the Navy's reputation overnight. This incident has had a huge impact. However, it must be said that Rediat is a smart man, and what he said is not wrong. Although it may be an exaggeration, it does represent a part of the Navy. These are the cancers within the Navy, and we need to clean them out."

"Therefore, the solution I need to find is how to clean up the cancers within the navy, identify them, and then eliminate them, making the navy cleaner, purer, and stronger. In that case, it won't be long before we regain the public's confidence."

"Moreover, we haven't lost the public's trust in us. They are now watching our next actions, so don't think of the situation as too dire. As long as we do well, they will see it."

"If we do nothing, we will completely lose the public's trust in us, and it may take ten years to recover."

Vice Admiral Tsuru said a lot, and she was well aware that the situation within the Navy was actually very serious. This was both a test and an opportunity for the Navy.

After all, there were some things she knew about in the Navy, and in most cases, these high-ranking officials would turn a blind eye, but not now.

As she said, the Navy needs to clean up its internal cancers. Although there will be some losses, it will make the Navy cleaner and enable them to better uphold justice.

The others also understood the meaning expressed in the crane's language, but that's precisely what makes it troublesome—how to do it? It's not that easy.

"He, you should already have a solution, right?" Sengoku's tone relaxed, somewhat pleased. Based on his years of understanding with He, he knew that He must already have a way to deal with it.

Marshal Kong also breathed a sigh of relief and sat in the main seat. Although he was about to step down as Marshal, he could not confidently promote himself and truly hand over the position to Sengoku if this matter was not resolved quickly. Nor could he allow Sakazuki and the others to become Admiral. This kind of thing was to be broadcast live in the world to enhance the Navy's prestige. In the current situation, it would only become a joke.

Although he wants to leave as soon as possible and leave the mess of this Great Pirate Era to Sengoku, the World Government does not want to give up such a powerful force and has promised him the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

The others' eyes lit up. This situation was beyond their ability to solve. They racked their brains but couldn't come up with a good solution. Instead, they became increasingly agitated and unable to calm down.

"There is a method, but we need to consult the World Government and obtain their approval. Take a look at this first." With that, Tsuru took out some documents and distributed them to everyone present.

"This is information on the overall structure of the West Blue Dark Council. What you need to see is the Dark Arbitration Court. As the military force of the Dark Council, the Dark Arbitration Court actually has three powers: one is to wage wars abroad, one is to deal with the criminals tried by the Dark Court, and the last one is to handle internal affairs."

"They have a dedicated intelligence organization that monitors the entire Dark Council. Once a problem arises and is discovered, the Dark Arbitration Court will take action to clean it up. It is precisely because of this that the Dark Council develops in an orderly and very rapid manner. No matter how chaotic the underground dark forces in the West Blue are, it will not affect the progress of the Dark Council. The Dark Council is the overlord of the entire West Blue Underworld."

"What I'm talking about isn't the Dark Council, but rather what we should learn from the Dark Court." Tsuru raised her wine glass and took a sip of tea. "Within the Navy, we need to establish a dedicated internal law enforcement agency, formulate rigorous internal laws, and strictly enforce them to eliminate those scourges within the Navy."

"However, this would be suspected of infringing on the rights of Judicial Island, so I said we need to consult the World Government."