The Great Purge Within the Navy Begins!

East Blue, Marine Base in Loguetown.

Smoker, a Marine Headquarters Captain who had recently taken office as the highest-ranking officer in Loguetown, scowled at the mountain of documents piled before him.

As a Marine Headquarters Captain and a user of the natural-type Smoke-Smoke Fruit, being transferred to the East Blue to manage a base had already left him deeply dissatisfied. Seeing the mess left behind by his predecessor only made his mood worse.

"Captain Smoker... A top-secret dispatch from Headquarters!"

Just then, the office door was suddenly pushed open. A girl, who looked about seventeen or eighteen, rushed in, holding a confidential document, and approached the desk in a flustered manner.

"A top-secret dispatch from Headquarters?" Smoker blinked in surprise and took the document, tearing it open.

Seeing this, the girl quickly turned her head away.

"Tashigi? What are you doing!" Smoker looked up at the girl and said sternly, "You're my subordinate, are you expecting me to handle these documents?"

"Huh?" The girl named Tashigi blinked slowly, her expression blank and cute. "This is a confidential document, I... I can't look."

"I wasn't talking about the one in my hand!" Smoker's forehead broke out in a sweat as he pointed to the mountain of documents before him. "You have half an hour to find the useful ones!"

With that, Smoker stopped wasting words and began reading the confidential document he had just received.

After reading the first few paragraphs, Smoker suddenly stood up, staring at the contents of the document in disbelief. "Marshal Sengoku is unwell, and Vice Admiral Akira is temporarily acting as Fleet Admiral?"

"Report!"

Before Smoker could react, a shout came from outside the door. A messenger officer then rushed into the office in a panic, stammering, "We just received news that Captain Rat of Branch 16 was executed on the spot by the newly appointed Captain! The reason given was colluding with pirates and oppressing the people! And... and there's also been a change at Branch 153, the new Captain there is an officer named Morgan."

Hearing this, Smoker abruptly turned his head, staring intently at the messenger. "What's the name of the new Captain at Branch 16?"

"It seems... it seems his name is Stock, he was sent from Headquarters!"

"Damn it!" Hearing the name Stock, Smoker couldn't help but curse. "I know this Stock, he's Akira's confidant. And that Morgan at Branch 153, he's Akira's man too!"

He paused for a moment, put down the document in his hand, and said with a grave expression, "Something big has happened at Headquarters! This confidential document wasn't sent voluntarily by Marshal Sengoku; Headquarters has likely fallen into Akira's hands! If I'm not mistaken, at the same time I received this document, personnel changes have occurred in many branch bases across the Four Seas and the Grand Line. These people are all Akira's absolute loyalists!"

"What... what do you mean?" Tashigi was still slow to react, looking bewildered. "Isn't Lord Akira a Vice Admiral? How can he be temporarily acting as Fleet Admiral on behalf of Marshal Sengoku!"

Smoker looked up at Tashigi, his words shocking. "A mutiny! Akira must have launched a mutiny and forcibly seized the position of Fleet Admiral."

"Ah?" Smoker's sudden statement nearly made Tashigi's glasses fall off. After fumbling to adjust them, she asked with a blank expression, "How is that possible? Vice Admiral Akira is a good person. I've heard many stories about him; many officers and soldiers with difficult family situations at Headquarters have received his help!"

Smoker slammed his fist on the desk. "That's just his way of winning people over!"

"Burururu~"

Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi on the desk rang.

Before Smoker could react, a booming voice came from the Den Den Mushi. "Is Captain Smoker there? This is the office of the Fleet Admiral of the Holy Land. Lord Kong has an order to deliver!"

Hearing this, Smoker didn't dare to delay. He immediately stood at attention and respectfully called out, "Lord Kong."

"Smoker, that's great! It's Kong!"

Kong's voice, sounding somewhat anxious, came from the Den Den Mushi. "To make a long story short, Headquarters has completely lost contact with the Holy Land. It's likely fallen entirely into Akira's hands. Not only Headquarters, but many Den Den Mushi in the East Blue bases are not being answered. If my guess is correct, these unanswered bases have all been taken over by Akira's confidants! What you need to do now is to contact as many branch bases as possible that haven't been controlled yet and stabilize the situation in the East Blue!"

Before Smoker could reply, the call quietly ended.

Tashigi's head buzzed. She was clearly stunned by the sudden turn of events. "Lord Smoker, how... how could this happen? Vice Admiral Akira, why would he launch a mutiny?"

Smoker didn't speak, his gaze fixed on the now silent Den Den Mushi.

Before, it was just a guess, but after hearing Lord Kong's personal call, his guess had become a reality.

But that wasn't important.

What was important was that he couldn't quite comprehend how Akira, as a Vice Admiral, had accomplished such a massive feat, firmly controlling Marine Headquarters and directly cutting off contact with the Holy Land!

After all, Marine Headquarters not only had Sengoku overseeing it but also the Three Admirals, the strongest combatants, and several Vice Admirals. Even if Akira had won over many people over the years, as long as the Three Admirals didn't defect, Headquarters wouldn't have fallen into Akira's hands so quickly.

Not only that, Akira might have been eliminated by the Three Admirals!

Yet, the reality was that in just one night, Marine Headquarters had fallen into Akira's hands, and Marshal Sengoku had even signed a document allowing him to temporarily act as Fleet Admiral.

"Tashigi, Headquarters' fate is sealed!"

After a period of calm thought, Smoker slumped back into his chair, looking somewhat dejected. "The fact that Akira could control Headquarters so quickly is enough to show that at least two of the Three Admirals have defected and are supporting him. And Vice Admiral Gion has been close to Akira in recent years. Many Vice Admirals led by her must have participated in this mutiny!"

Tashigi listened, completely confused. "Wh-what do we do?"

Smoker slightly raised his head to look out the window, his expression complicated. "Akira sent Stock to eliminate Captain Rat and made Morgan the Captain of Branch 153, yet the Loguetown base remains peaceful... Clearly, this is our new Fleet Admiral giving us a chance to choose!"

Tashigi remained bewildered, repeating, "Lord Smoker, what do we do?"

"Wait!"

As if having made a major decision, Smoker's energy was instantly restored, and his expression became firm. "If Akira launched this mutiny solely for his own selfish desires, I will fight him to the end, betting on Marine justice! If he continues to uphold Marine justice after taking charge of the Navy, I will stay in Loguetown and do my duty. I have no interest in power struggles and don't want to be involved."

Just as Smoker had surmised.

At the same time he received the document, In the West Blue, North Blue, and South Blue, over half of the original base commanders in the major branch bases were rapidly replaced.

A top-down internal purge of the Navy had begun.