"Hound, you've gone too far!"
After glancing at Bass Trio lying on the ground, Sengoku ignored the guns pointed at him and strode over to Hound, gritting his teeth. "You murdered the Chief Judge of Enies Lobby. There's no turning back from this rebellion now. But I can give you my word: if you stop in time, I'll negotiate with the Holy Land on your behalf..."
Before Sengoku could finish, Hound immediately cut him off. "Marshal Sengoku, this is a war, not a drill. Lord Akira said that it's only a rebellion if we lose! We haven't lost—in fact, we've nearly secured control of the situation. We've taken control with minimal casualties. Oh, and Admiral Borsalino is already in our custody. If you were hoping to stall for time until the Three Admirals stepped in, I'm afraid the outcome may disappoint you!"
"What did you say?"
Hearing that Admiral Borsalino had actually been taken prisoner, Sengoku's pupils contracted slightly.
He had indeed been trying to stall for time, hoping to give the Headquarters Admirals and the other officers and soldiers who had not yet thrown in their lot with Akira a chance to turn things around. In his view, the officers at every level who had joined this rebellion had gained the upper hand so quickly only because the officers and soldiers loyal to Akira had struck swiftly and decisively. On top of that, they had launched their rebellion in the early hours of the morning, catching many people completely off guard.
Once the Headquarters Admirals or the others had time to react, the rebellion would be put down quickly.
After a brief silence, Sengoku sighed to himself. Then he turned to look toward Marineford Square, where alarm bells rang beneath the cover of night, and said gravely, "Borsalino, even now, are you still clinging to that vague, half-hearted justice of yours?"
As Headquarters Marshal, he would never believe that Vice Admiral Hound and a few hundred Marines alone could have taken Borsalino prisoner. After all, Borsalino was a Logia user with the Goro Goro no Mi. If he got even a little serious, Vice Admiral Hound and the several hundred rebels who had entered Headquarters' main building could all be on the ground in an instant.
The fact that Borsalino had allowed himself to be taken prisoner meant that he had chosen to stand by and watch, or was waiting to see how the rebellion turned out. The conflict unfolding in Marineford was not a battle between justice and evil, but a power struggle within Marine Headquarters.
"What about Sakazuki?"
Suddenly, Sengoku turned back toward Hound, unwilling to give up. "Has he chosen to remain silent too?"
Vice Admiral Hound shook his head. "I was only responsible for taking Admiral Kizaru into custody and staying here to await Lord Marshal. But judging by the situation, Admiral Sakazuki has probably been taken prisoner too!"
"Enough, enough." Sengoku waved a hand, looking exasperated. "You think you can take two Admirals prisoner? You can say something that childish once, and that's enough!"
Hound smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying it.
There was no denying that if both Admirals struck at once, their rebellion would be doomed. Neither he nor the other Vice Admirals—even if they all joined forces—would be any match for two Admirals.
But things were not as simple as they appeared. If strength alone could accomplish anything one wanted, there would be no need to call Marshal Sengoku the Strategist. The world would have no need for schemes or stratagems; people could simply overwhelm their opponents with brute force.
After a brief pause, Sengoku said gravely, "Is Akira expecting his old superior to stand here and wait for him?"
Hound turned aside and answered plainly, "Lord Marshal can go to your office."
"Hmph."
Sengoku snorted, swung his sleeve, and strode past Hound.
Hound did not dare let his guard down. He followed close behind and stepped into the elevator with him.
As the two entered the elevator, the soldiers left behind in the first-floor lobby hurried forward and carried Bass Trio's bodies away. Then the soldiers assigned to clean up efficiently scrubbed away the blood on the floor and quickly laid down a red carpet.
"Lord Sengoku! Lord Sengoku!"
Just then, an officer rushed into the lobby and shouted toward Sengoku, who had already entered the elevator. "Something terrible has happened!"
Unexpectedly, the soldiers taking part in the rebellion did not stop him. They let him rush right up to the elevator doors.
Glancing at his adjutant as he reached the elevator, Sengoku shook his head with a wry smile. "Could anything be worse than the situation we're already in?"
The officer glanced at Hound and said, his voice trembling, "All communications at Headquarters have been cut off. Marineford has completely lost contact with the outside world!"
Sengoku was not surprised. He said calmly, "It seems Akira has been preparing for this day for many years. Even without this trial, he would have started his rebellion when the time was right."
Meanwhile.
Marine Headquarters, female officers' dormitory.
The entire building was surrounded by densely packed Marines. Leading this "rebel force" was none other than Headquarters Vice Admiral Gion, a Famous Sword called Kompira at her hip.
Gion, tall and slender, stood at the head of the troops, her cape fluttering in the wind as she watched the dormitory entrance with a conflicted expression.
Although she had joined the rebellion, she did not want it to cause too much bloodshed. In particular, she hoped none of the female officers in the Headquarters dormitory would come out through those doors.
"Gion, why are you doing this?"
Just then, a voice filled with despair rang out.
Turning toward it, they saw a middle-aged man in a Headquarters Vice Admiral's coat, his hands cuffed, being pushed toward Gion by two soldiers.
The man was none other than Vice Admiral Kaki, a fellow Admiral candidate alongside Gion.
Kaki had just as much influence at Headquarters as Akira. Nearly everyone there knew he was in love with Gion. Even after she had turned him down dozens of times, he never gave up. Whenever he got the chance, he would show up in front of her with a bouquet, trying a different way to confess his feelings.
Tonight marked the ninetieth time his confession had failed.
But he had never expected not only to fail again, but to run into Gion taking part in the rebellion.
Determined to stop Gion from going further down the wrong path, he had immediately tried to intervene.
However, even with his considerable strength, he had quickly been taken into custody by Gion and the officers accompanying her. Gion herself had even put the handcuffs on him.
Pushed in front of Gion by the two soldiers, Kaki looked utterly dejected. He stared at her blankly, as if the most important thing in his life had been ripped away.
Meanwhile, in Room 201 on the third floor of the female officers' dormitory.
A female officer in a Navy lieutenant commander's coat stood by the window, a cigarette between her fingers. Her lovely eyes remained fixed on Gion, who was leading several hundred soldiers in taking control of the entire dormitory.
Behind her, seven or eight female officers stood in the dorm room, panic-stricken. The sudden turn of events had clearly frightened them.
"Hina, what... what's going on?"
A female officer in a nightgown moved over to the lieutenant commander and asked in a trembling voice, "Why has Vice Admiral Gion surrounded the dormitory with troops? Could she be..."
Before the female officer could finish, Hina, the lieutenant commander, shifted slightly. She took a drag from her cigarette and shook her head. "Hina doesn't know either. But the alarm bells are ringing throughout Headquarters, so something major has clearly happened."
After a brief pause, Hina suddenly turned around and asked gravely, "Have you gotten in touch with Mr. Garp?"
Before you continue