The whole army receives a year's salary? Long live Marshal!

"Ngh..."

Akira was caught off guard when Akira threw him aside and left. Garp shouted anxiously, "Don't go, Akira! I was careless just now and didn't dodge. Come on, let's continue! I can still fight!"

Akira acted as if he hadn't heard, quickening his pace towards the cafeteria. Along the way, all the officers and soldiers he encountered straightened their bodies, and the shouts of "Loyalty!" continued all the way to the cafeteria hall.

As soon as Akira left the plaza, Zephyr and Sengoku rushed over.

When they saw the shocking wound on Garp's chest, Sengoku quickly stepped forward to support Garp, while Zephyr turned and shouted, "Quick, call the medical team!"

"No, no, no~"

Garp stopped them in time, "It's just a superficial wound, no need to make such a fuss... Ouch, Sengoku, why are you touching my wound? It hurts so much!"

"You know it hurts?" Sengoku glared at Garp and said irritably, "Why are you so impulsive? The situation at Headquarters is settled now. Even if you could defeat Akira, so what? Don't forget, the three Admirals have already made their choices. They won't let you mess around!"

"Give me senbei~"

Garp pointed to his pocket, baring his teeth. "The brat hit pretty hard."

Sengoku didn't say anything. He took out the box of senbei from Garp's bag and, while handing it to Garp, snatched two pieces and popped them into his mouth.

Seeing this, Garp forgot about his wound and exclaimed in exasperation, "Give me back my senbei!"

Sengoku ignored him, chewing with enjoyment.

Just then, two nurses from the medical team ran over.

Looking at the shocking wound on Garp's chest, Zephyr narrowed his eyes and then looked up at the roof of the Headquarters building.

Although Borsalino and Kuzan, who had been watching from the rooftop, had disappeared at some point, Zephyr did not avert his gaze.

When he and Sengoku had first detected the clash of Conqueror's Haki, they hadn't thought much of it, only wanting to stop Garp and Akira from continuing their fight. Now that he had calmed down, he began to understand why Akira hadn't attacked Kuzan, who had also returned after the mutiny, but had instead chosen to clash with Garp using Conqueror's Haki.

The reason was simple. Although Marine Headquarters was now completely under Akira's control, the three Admirals and other officers who hadn't participated in the mutiny still had doubts about Akira's strength.

After all, despite Akira's rapid progress over the years, he was still only a Vice Admiral in terms of strength.

In such a situation, for Akira to gain complete control of Marine Headquarters, he had to overcome all opposition with sheer power.

Kuzan would have been a good whetstone, but he wasn't the most suitable.

Garp, on the other hand, as a legendary Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters and a hero who had repeatedly pushed the previous Pirate King, Roger, to the brink, was an idol in the hearts of countless Marines and clearly the most suitable candidate.

As long as Garp was defeated, the officers and soldiers who hadn't participated in the mutiny last night would undoubtedly be greatly shocked, and would not dare to harbor any disloyalty in the future. Most importantly, the three Admirals, known as the highest combat power of Headquarters, would also look at Akira with newfound respect, and even acknowledge Akira as the young Marshal.

"Lord Akira!"

At the Marine Headquarters cafeteria, two officers who were about to leave were surprised by Akira's sudden appearance. The previous moment they were chatting and laughing, but now they instantly became serious and saluted.

As their voices fell, the cafeteria hall fell silent in an instant. All the officers and soldiers present looked at Akira with fervent expressions.

Although the cafeteria was some distance from Marineford, they had all seen the battle just now. When they saw Akira send the legendary Vice Admiral Garp flying with a single sword strike, everyone in the cafeteria erupted.

Although there were a few who had chosen to pledge allegiance out of necessity due to the changed circumstances, their resolve to follow Akira was no longer shaken after witnessing Akira's displayed power.

Akira surveyed the cafeteria hall, showing no signs of fatigue from his battle with Garp. He smiled warmly and said, "It's mealtime, everyone. No need to be so formal."

"Loyalty!"

Everyone in the cafeteria hall saluted simultaneously.

"Oh, right~"

Akira suddenly remembered something. He waved his hand, signaling everyone to quiet down, and said calmly, "Although we still have many tough battles ahead, we can't let our brothers fight on an empty stomach! Gion, go to the finance department later. Increase the salaries of all officers and soldiers, and pay out a year's salary to everyone at once!"

Before Gion could react, everyone in the cafeteria erupted again.

"Long live Lord Akira!"

"Haha, that's great! We get to collect a year's salary again!"

"Wuwuwu, long live Lord Akira! With this money, my brother's wedding won't be a problem anymore. Lord Akira, you must come to my brother's wedding!"

Amidst the excited crowd, some soldiers who hadn't participated in the mutiny last night were also extremely excited, but some still couldn't believe it was real! After all, if they hadn't been confined to their dorms last night, they might have followed their superiors' orders and fought against the soldiers who followed Akira in the mutiny.

Especially a young man in a Commodore's uniform. Standing in the crowd, he looked around and then, gathering his courage, squeezed out of the crowd and quickly approached Akira. "Marshal, last night... those of us who didn't participate... can we also receive a year's salary?"

"Of course!"

Akira smiled and nodded. "The situation at Headquarters is settled now. Whether you participated last night or not, your salary will not change!"

"That's great~" The young Commodore's eyes welled up with tears, and he choked out, "Thank you, Marshal. This money is too important to me... I... I... I..."

The young Commodore was clearly too emotional to speak. After saying "I" three times, he suddenly stood up straight, raised his hand, and facing Akira, shouted with all his heart, "Loyalty!"

He was originally a subordinate of Vice Admiral Onigumo. Because his younger sister had been ill for a long time and required exorbitant medical fees each month to stay alive, he could initially afford it, but soon he couldn't keep up. He had borrowed money from all his colleagues, and eventually, his colleagues started avoiding him.

In desperation, he had to seek help from Vice Admiral Onigumo, but all he received was a heartless scolding.

Fortunately, fate had not abandoned him. Akira, who had launched the mutiny and become the new Marshal of Headquarters, surprisingly issued a year's salary to every officer and soldier at once.

At this moment, he finally understood why Akira had gained the loyalty of so many officers and soldiers. It wasn't just because Akira's strength was so great that he could defeat the legendary Vice Admiral Garp with a single blow, but because Akira's kindness to his subordinates was visible.

With the additional year's salary, the atmosphere in the cafeteria became even more lively.

However, neither the officers nor the soldiers disturbed Akira again.

After Gion brought the food, Akira, sitting by the window, picked up his chopsticks and began to devour his meal.

It wasn't that he disregarded his image; it was simply that he hadn't eaten his fill during the period of cooperating with the investigation team and then being imprisoned. Furthermore, after all the abilities he possessed were maxed out by the system, his stomach had started to rebel, and his appetite had soared accordingly.

Gion hadn't touched her chopsticks. Resting her chin on one hand, she watched the youngest man in Navy history, and the first to incite a mutiny to become Marshal, and the image of Akira when he first entered the officer training camp couldn't help but appear before her eyes.

At that time, Akira had just turned eighteen, still with a touch of childishness, and curious about everything.

Although through their interactions at the officer training camp, she was very certain that Akira would astound everyone in the future, she hadn't expected him to emerge in such a manner.

"Oh, right~"

Suddenly, Akira put down his chopsticks and looked at Gion. "Can Headquarters still issue salaries?"

Gion nodded. "It should be enough. However, if Headquarters breaks ties with the World Government, we won't be able to issue salaries next year!"

"Don't worry." Hearing that they could still issue salaries for one year, Akira relaxed. "The Holy Land might not necessarily fly into a rage and break ties with us. To them, it doesn't matter who becomes the Marshal of Headquarters, as long as the Navy remains subordinate to the World Government, they might compromise! At that time, we'll maximize our gains."

Upon hearing this, Gion didn't relax at all. Instead, a worried expression appeared on her face. "Headquarters is now under control, I'm not worried. I'm worried about the Four Seas and the major branch bases in the Grand Line, because not a single branch base has sent any news yet."