The Navy: I Didn't Do It!

"Good morning, Grandpa Allison."

"Good morning, our little newspaper boy from No. 24."

Allison replied with a chuckle.

Of course he recognized the little newspaper boy in front of him, who was only eight or nine years old. His eyes were too cloudy to see clearly, though, so he couldn't tell whether this was Secco or Lange.

There were lots of little newspaper boys like him.

"Would you like to buy a newspaper? Today's paper is selling especially well!"

"More stories about pirates? I don't want to read that."

Allison shook his head. At his age, with his hair gone white, he'd long since lost interest in pirate stories. He simply went on arranging his little stall for the day and laying out the wild fruit he'd picked before dawn.

He hoped he'd earn a little money.

He couldn't gather enough wild fruit to sell every day.

"Nope!"

The paperboy was beaming. "It's about the island! The Navy says they're going to free the slaves!"

"What!"

Allison's hunched figure straightened in an instant, and his cloudy eyes grew misty despite himself.

He hurriedly took the still-warm newspaper from the paperboy, then stuffed several fruits into the boy's arms.

His eyes weren't good enough to make out the tiny, ant-like print beneath the headline.

But he could read the headline.

"A Response in the Name of Justice: The Navy Announces the Liberation of the Slaves!"

It was true!

It was really true!

A tremor of excitement ran through Allison's whole body. In a panic, he rummaged through his cloth bag for a magnifying glass, its surface badly worn.

He read the article carefully, one word at a time.

"The Navy... led by Major Arrow..."

"The Human Auction House... completely burned down..."

"It's true! It really is!"

"My Perini can finally come home! I've finally lived to see this day!"

Tears streamed down his face, tracing the furrows in his cheeks like gullies across a mountainside.

Allison didn't know how to describe what he was feeling.

Perini was his daughter.

She'd been kidnapped and sold in this area when she was fourteen.

After that, the little home he'd spent half his life building had collapsed overnight.

No one had spoken up for them. No one had sought justice for them.

The Navy—the white-clad Navy—

When he'd tried to fight back, they'd arrested him instead.

He'd thought he'd never see his daughter again in his lifetime.

Now he saw hope.

Major Arrow. Allison committed the name to memory.

And he wasn't the only one.

The World Economic News paper fluttered down over the whole island like snowflakes in winter.

On nearly every street and in every human settlement, people could be seen weeping openly or pounding the ground in grief.

They'd waited far too long for justice!

Some even raised the Navy's seagull flag, hoisting it atop the highest rooftops as if to declare the island their territory.

"A response in the name of justice? How wonderful."

Sengoku hadn't expected a single newspaper to leave him feeling so conflicted.

Did he not know what was happening in the Sabaody Archipelago?

Of course he did.

But what could he do?

"Nonsense!"

Someone at the conference table in front of him slammed a hand down and shouted.

"The Navy has never responded in any way to the issue of slavery!"

"Someone as reckless as Arrow should be kicked out of the Navy!"

"Fleet Admiral, we can't keep discussing this! We have to deal with the Sabaody Archipelago incident at once!"

This was a meeting of the Marine Higher-ups.

Everyone attending held the rank of Vice Admiral or higher, and several World Government officials were present as well.

Clearly, they'd all seen the same newspaper.

Sengoku lightly rubbed his nose and put all his feelings away.

As Fleet Admiral, he'd long since learned not to show what was on his mind in front of his subordinates or World Government officials.

"I understand, but the World Government has declared slavery illegal, after all. At least from our perspective, what Arrow did—"

But this was a beautiful dream, and Sengoku wanted to let it last a little longer.

"The CP Organization won't tolerate it either."

At his side, Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Navy's white-haired chief of staff, reminded him.

She was warning Sengoku.

If the Navy didn't deal with this promptly,

the CP Organization would handle it in an even more brutal way.

It seemed the newspaper headline had made him too hesitant.

Sengoku shook his head and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Then he spoke in a tone that brooked no argument:

"Notify the World Economic News and tell them to stop reporting this story. Then confiscate every copy of the paper across the island!"

"Also suppress the news about the Human Auction House. Don't give our enemies a single opening."

"As for Arrow..."

He pulled a file from the table. Arrow's somewhat youthful face was attached to it.

"There were irregularities in his promotion. I recommend recalling him to Headquarters for questioning."

Of course, there were problems with Arrow's promotion.

A Marine who'd barely killed any pirates had been rapidly promoted to the rank of major in just two or three years.

He was almost on the level of the Navy's King.

But as long as the higher-ups didn't make an issue of it, it wasn't a problem.

Once they did, every little thing became evidence against him.

"I disagree."

A government official in a black suit stood up.

"This is no longer an internal Navy matter."

"The major is suspected of murdering a Confederate Nation Noble and plundering the noble's lawful property. His actions are no different from a pirate's!"

"You have no place speaking here!"

Sengoku didn't hold back either. He was the Fleet Admiral, after all. Was he supposed to change his mind just because some official told him to?

"This is the Gorosei's position."

The official replied coolly.

Was it really the Gorosei's position?

Not necessarily.

They weren't likely to concern themselves with something like this.

But they wouldn't oppose such a decision, either.

Sengoku's expression didn't change, but he felt a little disappointed inside.

Justice that ruled from above...

With the Navy under the World Government's control, it was impossible to achieve.

Recalling Arrow to Headquarters was, in itself, a way of protecting him.

"Then suspend him for now, pending an investigation."

Tsuru offered a comparatively lenient proposal.

"Today's meeting has one more topic: how to deal with the pirate Ace..."

Sicily had slept poorly that night.

The calls from the Navy and World Government higher-ups, along with Buggy's painfully blunt words,

had left him utterly exhausted.

And on top of that, there was a racket outside the base so early in the morning.

"Why is it so noisy out there? Have we been invaded by pirates?!"

He glowered, in a terrible mood.

The noble was dead, and so was his future.

Forget about getting ahead—he'd have to thank his lucky stars if he could keep his current position.

"Rear Admiral!"

Diouf hurried over from the entrance to the base, holding a crumpled newspaper.

"Sir, they say the Navy is going to free the slaves. Is that true?"

"Free the slaves?!"

Sicily snapped fully awake.

The last person who'd gone around talking about freeing slaves had ended up reduced to dust and bones!

He blurted out, "It wasn't me! I didn't do it!"