Grand Line, Marine Headquarters,
After hearing Kizaru's report, Fleet Admiral Sengoku looked grave.
"You're saying..."
"That giant subdued you with a single move?"
Kizaru shrugged. The bloodstains still covered one side of his body.
"I'd rather not admit it, Fleet Admiral..."
"But that's exactly what happened..."
"A level of power we simply can't resist has appeared..."
As he spoke, even Kizaru, who was usually all smiles, wore a serious expression.
"Judging by his words..."
"He undoubtedly intends to wage an unprecedented war against the World Government."
"We may need to prepare ourselves."
Sengoku fell silent for a moment, seeming to weigh the matter carefully.
The Marines' Position
Sengoku kept turning over the words Nara Dan had asked Kizaru to pass along, understanding the implication behind them.
The Marines were supposed to have no position of their own—or rather, the World Government's position was the Marines' position.
But what Nara Dan had said—that the Marines should have a position of their own—was plainly a suggestion that they choose wisely whom to serve.
They needed to choose their side carefully in the coming war. They didn't necessarily have to fight to the death for the World Government.
If an ordinary person had said this, Sengoku would have spat in his face. The Marines were a subordinate branch of the World Government; they couldn't possibly oppose it.
Just as when Dragon had once defected from the Marines, Sengoku had told him:
"Justice requires a position. The World Government's position is the Marines' justice."
But things were different now. Sengoku knew who the man Kizaru had encountered was.
He was the attacker from the Holy Land incident—the powerful being who had fought Pluton head-on.
Someone like that truly had the right to challenge the World Government, which had ruled the world for eight hundred