Return to Marine Headquarters
The port of Marineford, where the steel docks that used to always fly naval flags and echo with the sounds of drills, is eerily quiet today.
The sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy smell, swept by, swirling up scraps of paper from the ground, which then landed on the rusty railway tracks.
Finally, at the edge of the horizon, the wrecked Vice Admiral Level warship came into view.
The gaping hole in the hull, torn by the Wood Release, was big enough to fit a gun carriage. The edges of the numerous laser scorch marks were still charred black. The broken mainmast lay Crooked on the deck. The once pristine white naval ensign was reduced to half a tattered piece of cloth embroidered with seagulls, swaying weakly in the wind.
The warship slowly approached the shore. The soldiers on the deck all hung their heads, their faces pale with the aftermath of the disaster and lingering fear.
Someone raised their hand to salute, but their arm trembled so badly that it fell down halfway through the salute.
Gion walked at the very front.
Her long black hair was disheveled and draped over her shoulders. Her once crisp uniform was now stained with dried blood and black sand from the West Blue. Her left arm was wrapped in thick bandages, and crimson blood was slowly seeping out from the gaps in the bandages.
She gripped the Kompira tightly in her hand, her knuckles turning white to almost transparent. With each step, she subconsciously held her breath—the spot where Susanoo had struck her ribs was excruciatingly painful even with the slightest force.
She didn't stop and walked straight toward the Fleet Admiral's office building. The marines along the way all stopped in their tracks, lowered their heads and pressed themselves against the walls, not daring to even breathe loudly.
Everyone in Marineford knew the truth. The navy had been utterly defeated on this voyage to the West Blue.
As soon as she pushed open the heavy wooden door to the Fleet Admiral's Office, all eyes were instantly fixed on her.
Sengoku sat behind his desk, his hands crossed and chin resting on his hands, his face so gloomy it could drip water.
The battle report in front of him was crumpled at the edges, and the casualty figures on it were glaringly red.
The Staff Officer Tsuru, stood beside her, holding a cup of hot tea. The rising steam blurred her features, and although the tea had long since gone cold, she hadn't touched it.
On the sofa to the left, Akainu Sakazuki, sat ramrod straight, the air around him trembling with heat.
He stared intently at the doorway, his eyes as cold as lava. Unconsciously, he burned a charred hole in the sofa armrest, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
On the sofa to the right, Kizaru Borsalino was still leaning back in his chair, hands in his pockets, looking nonchalant.
But the weariness in his eyes was undeniable, the smile on his lips was almost invisible, and his fingertips tapped the sofa armrest unconsciously, the rhythm completely disordered.
In the corner, Chaton stood ramrod straight, his notebook crumpled in his hand. See?
Arriving in Gion in such a disheveled state, he instinctively took half a step forward, then abruptly stopped.
"Fleet Admiral."
Gion walked to the desk and gave a standard military salute.
Her left arm, wrapped in bandages, blotted out a dark red bloodstain from the exertion, instantly spreading into a crimson flower. Her voice was terribly hoarse, but without the slightest hesitation. "Gion, mission failed. Requesting punishment."
The office was deathly silent.
Sengoku didn't speak, but gave her a deep look. There was no blame in his eyes, only a heavy pressure that made it hard to breathe.
He raised his hand to rub his throbbing temples, his voice deep and hoarse from days of sleeplessness. "Sit down first. Tell me the whole story, from beginning to end."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
Gion's tense shoulders finally relaxed a little, and she let out a long breath that she had been holding in all the way.
She pulled over a chair and sat down, her movements slow and somewhat stiff. The sharp pain in her ribs made her gasp and furrow her brow.
After a two-second pause, she raised her head and recounted everything that had happened on Origin Island, from Onigumo's sudden attack and conflict with the Uchiha Clan, to CP0's sudden intervention in the Five Elders ' demand for the Uchiha Clan to send a hostage, to the outbreak of conflict, to CP0's failed infiltration, to the Uchiha Clan's complete rage and the full-blown conflict, and finally to the earth-shattering battle after Admiral Kizaru arrived.
After hearing Gion's report, Sengoku's brows furrowed deeply.
First, there was dissatisfaction with Onigumo, since his orders were for Gion, as the supreme commander, to contact the other party and determine whether they were friend or foe.
As a result, Onigumo's unauthorized intervention directly pushed the opponent into a hostile state.
Secondly, the sudden appearance of CP0 confirmed his long-held suspicion that there were people planted by the World Government in the upper echelons of the Marine Headquarters.
Sengoku wasn't surprised by this, since the Navy was essentially a violent institution under the World Government, and it wasn't unexpected to have a few people planted there.
But what angered him was that the Five Elders made enemies without consulting him, which was something Sengoku could not tolerate!
Before him, the Navy was essentially a sword in the hands of the World Government, doing whatever they were told.
However, ever since Garp rose to fame and became a naval hero in the God Valley Incident, Sengoku's subsequent collaboration with Garp to capture Golden Lion further solidified their prestige.
Relying on Garp's prestige, Sengoku's shrewdness, and the large number of elite and high-ranking naval personnel cultivated by his old friend Zephyr, the Navy has gradually shown a trend of breaking away from the World Government.
The most obvious manifestation of this is that the Five Elders will take into account Sengoku and Garp's intentions when issuing most orders. Although Sengoku cannot oppose them in most cases, he is no longer willing to let them give orders at will as he used to.
In contrast, the Five Elders ' fear of the Navy and their subsequent efforts to win over and infiltrate the Marine Headquarters were also noteworthy.
The Warring Sengoku always turned a blind eye to this.
However, this time, the other side directly interfered with the orders the navy was carrying out through this intelligence, and even directly caused a force comparable to the Yonko Level to become hostile to the navy, which was an unbearable anger for Sengoku.
Even Sakazuki, who was usually extreme, turned somewhat gloomy after hearing Gion's report.
"Fleet Admiral..." He had just started to speak when Sengoku Teuchi.
"I know what you want to say." Sengoku took a deep breath, suppressing his anger. "We'll deal with this later."
Sakazuki snorted coldly, crossed his arms, and leaned back on the sofa, his body temperature dropping even further.
His conviction in Absolute Justice made him, in a sense, seem to be the World Government's most loyal henchman.
However, this is on the premise that it does not affect the interests of the navy itself!
He didn't care what methods the World Government used to deal with pirates, because in his view, pirates deserved to die! Killing them by any means was righteous.
However, this doesn't mean he wouldn't care if the World Government arbitrarily created enemies for the Navy, especially since it bypassed the Navy and directly ordered the elite Marine Headquarters who were on a mission!
I know there will definitely be many people who say things like "whitewash Akainu" or "Akainu wouldn't dare to be angry with the Five Elders all."
But I understand one thing even better: many people hate Akainu because he killed Ace.
From a subjective perspective, Akainu's initial actions did indeed resemble those of a dog of the World Government. However, overall, whether it was killing Ace or executing civilian ships, Akainu's actions were always guided by the same principle: sacrificing a portion of darkness in exchange for absolute peace.
The death of Ace, the son of the One Piece, would dampen the arrogance of pirates and better curb their activities. While firing on civilian ships might seem ruthless, it actually prevented the outbreak of the Second Buster Call.
The scholars of Ohara may be right, but it cannot be denied that the disasters brought about by researching things that are explicitly prohibited when one lacks the necessary resources are unavoidable.
The shelling of civilian ships may seem cold-blooded and even repulsive, but what if there were scholars among them?
What if, after escaping, the other party not only fails to reflect on their actions but also continues their investigation?
Could this lead to another Buster Call like the one in Ohara?
From our perspective, Akainu is simply incomprehensible. But from another angle, if someone really went to an innocent island to conduct further research, was discovered, and triggered the Buster Call, then how innocent were the civilians on that island?
Wasn't the Enies Lobby arc a lesson in itself? Robin's existence and Pluton's existence indirectly led to the Buster Call. Who should the innocent victims blame?
Before the ability to completely overthrow the World Government is established, isn't this sacrifice, in a sense, a case of sacrificing the lesser for the greater good?
The newly released Egghead Island arc, along with Akainu's handling of Bonney, also proves to some extent that Akainu has a peaceful side.
However, anyone would become extreme if they experienced the murder of their parents when they were young. As for Luffy, he is ultimately just a character depicted in a manga and cannot be considered a real person.
From a soldier's perspective, Akainu has always upheld the justice and ideals of the Navy. Absolute Justice may be extreme, but it cannot be completely denied.
However, from my personal perspective, I wouldn't arbitrarily deny anyone's character. Everyone is flesh and blood, and everything they do has a reason (except for Oden and Coby).
In a sense, I also admire Blackbeard's ruthlessness and shamelessness; isn't that a kind of charm in itself?
To this day, I still remember Blackbeard, "A man's dream never ends," which has left a very deep impression on me regarding this character.