Power Comes from Strength! (Combined Chapter)

The sun rose over the horizon, and the morning light painted Marineford's harbor gold.

There were no such things as holidays in the Marines. When there were missions, they were busier; when there were none, aside from training, the rest of the time was their own.

The Marines stationed in the Four Blues had relatively fewer training and combat duties, so they had more personal time. However, the training pressure on the Marines at Marineford was far greater. Moreover, because Headquarters Marines often had to put to sea to hunt down powerful pirates that branch bases could not handle, Marineford's Naval Port had always been extremely busy.

Yet for some unknown reason, the Naval Port was unusually quiet today.

Neither the near seas nor the distant waters were filled with ships coming and going as they normally were. All warships were docked at the Naval Port, and not a single vessel had departed from Marine Headquarters.

The Marines guarding the Naval Port all wore solemn expressions. Compared to usual, there was an additional trace of worry between their brows.

The unease among the higher-ups had ultimately affected the ordinary Marines on duty below. Though these regular Marines had no idea what had happened at the Holy Land, the anxiety displayed by the senior commanders after learning the news had trickled down through every level. By now, it had affected all Marines at Headquarters.

Inside one of Headquarters' large conference rooms.

All officers of Marine Headquarters at the rank of vice admiral and above had gathered together. Although some vice admirals had been deployed elsewhere on missions, the situation was urgent, and Sengoku had no time to wait for their return.

At the center of the conference room stood a large oval table. Only admirals and some highly senior vice admirals