Sengoku in a Panic

The successive tremors had already left the entire Marineford on edge, with every rustle of grass or movement of trees perceived as an enemy ambush.

Especially after some marine shouted, "The Whitebeard Pirates are attacking!"

The commotion spiraled into even greater chaos.

From ordinary marines to naval officers, and finally, even the captains of the naval warships—those colonels, rear admirals, and vice admirals—all took the report as truth and scrambled into combat readiness.

It was not until Aokiji appeared to personally calm the situation that they realized it had all been a misunderstanding.

Well, a series of misunderstandings, to be precise.

If it hadn't been Admiral Aokiji who stepped forward, these naval officers likely wouldn't have believed it.

Inside the Fleet Admiral's office.

Sengoku slammed his hand on the desk and stood up, swiftly pulling out a Den Den Mushi to make several consecutive calls.

"Sakazuki, forget about whatever you're doing there! Whitebeard is attacking! Get back here, now, immediately!"

"Borsalino, let Sentomaru bring the Pacifista himself. You return to Marine Headquarters at your top speed right now! Whitebeard is attacking!!!"

"Garp, you damn fool, get back here at once..."

After the calls connected, he didn't wait for a response, shouting his orders before hanging up on them all.

Then, without even taking the time to put on his cape, he kicked the door open and charged out.

He, too, assumed these continuous tremors were caused by Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

His expression was grave, and his heart sank to the bottom of his chest.

Because the current Marine Headquarters was, to put it mildly, dangerously empty!

Although the roughly one hundred thousand elite marines conscripted from around the world had largely assembled, and the ordinary civilians residing in Marineford had been evacuated, the majority of their top-tier combat power was missing.

Of the Navy's trump cards—the three Admirals—only Aokiji was present in Marineford.

Yesterday, while preparing for the war, Akainu claimed to have discovered something interesting; he filed a report and left Marineford, saying only that he would return as soon as he finished the task.

Kizaru had gone to Egghead. For this war against the Whitebeard Pirates, the World Government had obtained several Pacifista from the research unit on Egghead and allocated them to the Navy, to be led by Sentomaru.

Kizaru had gone to receive this shipment of Pacifista.

He had only received word at noon today that Kizaru had just passed the Holy Land of Mary Geoise; he likely wouldn't arrive until tomorrow morning.

Of course, with the situation now critical, Kizaru could use his Glint-Glint Fruit ability to rush back after receiving his call.

As for that man Garp, because Portgas D. Ace, who was about to be executed, was his adopted grandson, he had abandoned his duties at Marine Headquarters to head to the underwater prison, Impel Down, to see his grandson one last time and personally escort him to Marineford.

As an old friend, Sengoku could somewhat understand Garp's complex state of mind.

He had originally hoped Garp wouldn't do anything foolish.

But now, he just wanted Garp back as soon as possible.

The Navy needed Garp's combat strength right now!

As for the Vice Admirals, aside from those who had to guard various locations, dozens had already gathered at Marineford.

While the average Vice Admiral could only compare to the lower-ranking division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates or the captains of their subordinate pirate crews, their presence meant there was little need to worry about mid-to-high-level combat power.

As for that old man Whitebeard...

Sengoku's gaze turned icy.

Although he had had fewer opportunities to fight since becoming Fleet Admiral, as a monster of the old era, he was confident he wouldn't be much worse than Whitebeard!

Moreover, he and Whitebeard were old rivals.

In his youth, just as Garp was always chasing Roger, he had always been the one chasing Whitebeard!

"Let me measure you myself and see how much combat power you have left compared to your youth, and by what right you are called the 'World's Strongest' by these youngsters among us old relics of the past!"

Sengoku tore off his suit jacket, revealing muscles that, while aged, remained robust. His body hunched slightly, a golden Buddha-like radiance erupted from him, and he prepared to launch himself into the sky to reach the coastline and organize the defense at top speed.

However, at that very moment.

"I say, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, even if you want to welcome me, there's no need to strip, is there? I'm not particularly interested in old men—pfft, I'm not interested in men at all."

A strange voice reached Sengoku's ears.

Sengoku's movements came to an abrupt halt.

He turned his head, and upon seeing the two people standing before him, his entire body froze in a state of rigid stagnation.

Vice Admiral Tsuru covered her eyes with one hand, looking as if she couldn't bear to watch.

"Ah, Tsuru? And... who is this young man?"

Seeing Vice Admiral Tsuru standing there calmly with a young man, and recalling that he had recently asked her to take Aokiji to the port to welcome the Shichibukai and give them a show of force, the quick-witted Sengoku already knew that the truth of the matter was likely quite different from what he had imagined.

Otherwise, Tsuru would not have appeared here.

"Alright, hurry up and go change your clothes. You're making me lose face in front of the youngsters, Sengoku-onii," Vice Admiral Tsuru waved her hand dismissively.

Sengoku's old face couldn't hold its composure, and he fled in a panic.

A while later, a properly dressed Sengoku reappeared before the two of them.

This legendary marine, born in the South Blue, had not yet stepped down from his position as Fleet Admiral, and he maintained a considerable amount of dignity in front of others most of the time.

He wore a pair of frog-shaped glasses, his chin sported a long beard braided into a twist, and the military cap atop his head featured a seagull symbolizing the "Marines," while beneath the hat was a head of jet-black afro hair.

Entering the Fleet Admiral's office, one could see a piece of calligraphy hanging on the wall.

Justice Reigning Over the World!

This was a hallmark of the Marines.

The Fleet Admiral and the three Admirals all possessed such a piece of calligraphy, representing their respective stances.

Looking at it from this perspective, Sengoku actually leaned more toward the hawk faction, much like Akainu.

It was just that he had basically retreated behind the scenes, so there wasn't much plot in the original story to showcase this side of him.

Moreover, his "Justice Reigning Over the World" was likely inclined toward eradicating all pirates, allowing "Justice" to reign over the world.

Whereas Akainu's "Absolute Justice" was even more extreme.

But regardless, for the Five Elders above, this kind of hawkish justice was the best.

Because what the World Government needed was "a dog that would bite," not "a dog that wagged its tail at people."

Therefore, it was not hard to understand why, in the original plot, Sengoku was able to stand out among the older generation of Admirals to become the Fleet Admiral.

And why, after the Summit War ended, Sengoku stepped down and was succeeded by Akainu.

Don't talk to me about Aokiji losing the duel to Akainu.

Could the supreme commander of one of the World Government's three great institutions really be decided by a private brawl?

Believing that would be far too naive.

Perhaps it was precisely because he realized this that Aokiji left the Marines after that, turning instead to join the Blackbeard Pirates.