"Hey, hey, hey..."
Garp hadn't expected Akira to leave him behind and walk off. For a moment, he was too stunned to react. Then he shouted anxiously, "Don't go, Akira! I was careless just now—I didn't dodge. Come on, let's keep going. I can still fight!"
Akira acted as though he hadn't heard him and quickened his pace toward the mess hall. Along the way, every officer and soldier he met straightened up and called out, "Loyalty!" Their shouts continued all the way into the mess hall.
As soon as Akira left the square, Zephyr and Sengoku hurried over.
When they saw the shocking wound across Garp's chest, Sengoku quickly stepped forward to support him, while Zephyr turned and shouted, "Hurry! Get the medical team!"
"No need, no need~"
Garp quickly stopped him. "It's just a flesh wound. There's no need to make such a fuss... Ow! Sengoku, why are you touching my wound? That hurts like hell!"
"So now you know it hurts?" Sengoku shot Garp a glare and said irritably, "Why did you have to be so impulsive? The situation at Headquarters is already settled. So what if you could beat Akira? Don't forget, all Three Admirals have already made their choice. They won't just let you do whatever you want!"
"Give me my rice crackers~"
Garp pointed to his pocket, grimacing in pain. "That kid hit pretty hard."
Sengoku said nothing. He took the box of rice crackers out of Garp's bag, handed it to him, then pilfered two crackers for himself and tossed them into his mouth.
Seeing this, Garp forgot all about his wound and snapped, "Give me back my rice crackers!"
Sengoku ignored him, chewing with relish.
Just then, two nurses from the medical team came running over.
Looking at the shocking wound across Garp's chest, Zephyr narrowed his eyes, then raised his head toward the roof of the Headquarters Building.
Borsalino and Kuzan, who had been watching the fight from the roof, had vanished at some point, but Zephyr didn't look away.
When he and Sengoku first sensed the clash of Conqueror's Haki, they hadn't thought much of it. They'd only wanted to hurry over and stop Garp and Akira from fighting. Now that he'd calmed down, Zephyr understood why Akira hadn't gone after Kuzan, who had also returned only after the mutiny ended. Instead, he'd clashed with Garp in a battle of Conqueror's Haki.
The reason was simple. Although Akira now had complete control of Marine Headquarters, the Three Admirals and the other officers who hadn't taken part in the mutiny would still have some doubts about his strength.
After all, even with Akira's astonishing progress over the years, he was still only a Vice Admiral.
In these circumstances, if Akira wanted to take complete control of Marine Headquarters, he had to prove himself beyond all doubt.
Kuzan would have made a good test, but he wasn't the best choice.
As a legendary Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters, Garp had become an idol to countless Marines after repeatedly cornering the previous Pirate King, Roger. That made him the ideal opponent.
If Akira could defeat Garp, the officers and soldiers who hadn't taken part in last night's mutiny would be deeply shaken and wouldn't dare to harbor disloyal thoughts in the days to come. Most importantly, the Three Admirals, known as Headquarters' greatest fighting force, would see Akira in a new light—and might even recognize the young man as Marshal.
"Lord Akira!"
At the Marine Headquarters mess hall, two officers who were just about to leave hadn't expected Akira to suddenly appear. They'd been chatting and laughing a moment ago, but instantly turned serious and saluted.
As soon as they spoke, the mess hall fell silent. Every officer and soldier present stared at Akira with fervent admiration.
Although the mess hall was some distance from Marineford, everyone had watched the fight. When they saw Akira send the legendary Vice Admiral Garp flying with a single slash, the entire hall had erupted.
A small number of people had chosen to pledge their loyalty only because the tide had turned and they had no other choice. But after seeing the strength Akira had displayed, even they no longer had any doubts about following him.
Akira glanced around the mess hall. He showed no sign of fatigue after his fierce battle with Garp and smiled warmly. "It's mealtime. You don't need to be so formal."
"Loyalty!"
Everyone in the mess hall saluted at once.
"Oh, right~"
Akira suddenly seemed to remember something. He waved for everyone to quiet down and said calmly, "We still have plenty of hard battles ahead, but we can't send our brothers into battle on empty stomachs! Gion, go to the finance office later and raise the pay for all the officers and soldiers. Then pay everyone a full year's salary in advance!"
Before Gion could respond, the officers and soldiers in the mess hall erupted again.
"Long live Lord Akira!"
"Haha, fantastic! We're getting a whole year's salary again!"
"Waaah, long live Lord Akira! With this money, I won't have to worry about my younger brother's wedding anymore. Lord Akira, you have to come to the wedding!"
Amid the excited crowd, some of the soldiers who hadn't taken part in last night's mutiny were thrilled too, but some still couldn't believe it was true. After all, if they hadn't been stuck in their dormitories, they might have followed their superiors' orders and fought the soldiers who had joined Akira's mutiny.
One young man in a Commodore's uniform was especially uncertain. He looked this way and that from within the crowd, then finally worked up the courage to squeeze out and hurry over to Akira. "Marshal, those of us who didn't take part last night... can we still get a full year's salary?"
"Of course!"
Akira smiled and nodded. "The situation at Headquarters is settled now. Whether or not you took part last night won't affect your pay!"
"That's wonderful~" The young Commodore's eyes reddened with emotion, and his voice caught in his throat. "Thank you, Marshal. This money means so much to me... I... I... I..."
The young Commodore was clearly so overwhelmed that he couldn't find the words. After stammering "I" three times, he suddenly stood straight, raised his hand, faced Akira, and shouted from the heart, "Loyalty!"
He had once served under Vice Admiral Onigumo. His younger sister had been bedridden with an illness for a long time, and her life depended on outrageously expensive medical bills. At first, he'd been able to manage, but he soon ran out of money. He borrowed from every colleague around him, until they started taking detours to avoid him.
With no other options, he'd gone to ask Vice Admiral Onigumo for help, only to be given a merciless, utterly heartless scolding.
Fortunately, there was always a way out. Akira, who had launched the mutiny and become the new Marshal of Headquarters, was actually paying every officer and soldier a full year's salary in advance.
At that moment, he finally understood why so many officers and soldiers had pledged their loyalty to Akira. It wasn't just because Akira was strong enough to defeat the legendary Vice Admiral Garp with a single slash. It was because the way Akira cared for his subordinates was plain for all to see.
With another year's salary in their pockets, the mood in the mess hall grew even livelier.
Still, neither the officers nor the soldiers came over to bother Akira.
After Gion brought him his meal, Akira sat by the window, picked up his chopsticks, and began wolfing down his food.
It wasn't that he didn't care about appearances. He simply hadn't had a proper meal in ages—first while cooperating with the investigation team, then while locked up in prison. On top of that, after the system had raised all his abilities to max, his stomach had been in open revolt, and his appetite had grown accordingly.
Gion didn't pick up her chopsticks. Resting her chin in one hand, she watched the man before her—the youngest Marshal in Marine history, and the first to become one through a mutiny. Before her eyes, she saw an image of Akira when he'd first entered officer training.
Back then, Akira had just turned eighteen. He was still a little boy, curious about everything.
From her time with him at officer training, she'd been certain that Akira would eventually amaze everyone. But she hadn't expected him to burst onto the scene this way.
"Oh, right~"
Akira suddenly put down his chopsticks and looked at Gion. "Can Headquarters still pay everyone?"
Gion nodded. "It should be enough. But if Headquarters breaks with the World Government, we won't be able to pay everyone next year!"
"Don't worry." Hearing that they could afford a year's salary, Akira relaxed. "The Holy Land may not fly into a rage and break with us. To them, it doesn't matter who serves as Marshal of Headquarters, as long as the Marines remain part of the World Government. They might be willing to compromise. When that happens, we'll make sure to get the best deal possible."
Gion didn't relax. Instead, she looked worried. "I'm not concerned about Headquarters. We have everything here under control. I'm worried about the bases in the Four Blues and across the Grand Line. Not a single one of them has sent us a message yet."
Before you continue