Four months later...
Marineford, Marine Headquarters.
Large warships continuously cruised the waters around the island. Every vessel approaching the island had to be stopped and inspected, with the identity of every person aboard verified.
Once a suspicious vessel approached and refused to stop for inspection, the warships patrolling at sea would open fire directly and sink it beneath the waves.
A medium-sized warship slowly sailed in from the distant sea, entering the crescent-shaped naval harbor and docking at the pier.
Sephiroth, wearing a white coat of justice over a black suit, with two long swords at his waist, descended the gangplank with three field-grade officers.
Just then, Akainu Sakazuki, dressed in a red suit and accompanied by five field-grade officers, happened to pass by him.
"Hmph!"
With a cigar clenched between his teeth, Akainu suddenly shot the silver-haired young man a sidelong glance and let out a cold snort.
Watching the other man's retreating back, Sephiroth frowned slightly and muttered:
"Inexplicable!"
Normally, he had no dealings with Akainu. They had merely encountered each other from afar a few times at Marine Headquarters and had never spoken. They could not even be considered nodding acquaintances...
Yet...
Through his Observation Haki, Sephiroth could sense that Akainu held an unmistakable dislike for him...?
After leading the three field-grade officers into the Marine building, Sephiroth glanced back at them before saying:
"I'm going to a meeting. Take the ledgers to the Logistics Department yourselves and hand everything over to them. Once you're done, go straight back to base. Don't wait for me!"
"Yes!" ×3
With that, Sephiroth turned and headed toward a conference room.
This meeting had been convened by Steel Bone Kong as a Marine Headquarters conference. All flag officers stationed at Marine Headquarters were required to attend, while flag officers from the