A brief internal Marine meeting had pushed Tsugikuni Yoriichi into the position of Fleet Admiral.
Everything had gone very smoothly, but the reason was clear: it was simply impossible to take control of Marine Headquarters just like that. What came next was the true priority.
He needed to thoroughly divide the original forces of Marine Headquarters, eliminate the "diehards" among them, then let fresh blood reshuffle the existing officer structure. Only then could he truly bring this force under his control.
This would be a long process—four or five years at the shortest, more than a decade at the longest.
Tsugikuni Yoriichi had shown considerable patience in this regard.
Marine Headquarters had suffered devastating losses in its campaign into the New World. The large fleet transporting the soldiers had been utterly destroyed by the tsunami, with fewer than one ship in ten remaining. Although the rank-and-file Marines of Marine Headquarters had not suffered major casualties, the destruction of their vessels would inevitably weaken Marine Headquarters' influence.
Marine Headquarters needed time to recover and rebuild its strength. Likewise, Tsugikuni Yoriichi needed time to carefully reform Marine Headquarters, allowing him to fully integrate the New Marines with Marine Headquarters and forge a force that truly belonged to him.
Three days later.
Tsugikuni Yoriichi's warship, the Dawn, carried a full load of Headquarters officers toward Marineford. The remaining soldiers stayed behind on Starting Island. Over the coming period, the New Marines would send the Headquarters Marines stranded on the island to the Four Blues in batches.
Tsugikuni Yoriichi had not disrupted the existing units, nor did he intend to hastily mix the members of Marine Headquarters and the New Marines together. At this stage, he needed to preserve the purity and loyalty of the New Marines. Rashly combining them would only make management