The Traitors Had Stepped Forward, and Zephyr Was One of Them

Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral's Office.

Hōshō and Doberman stood in front of Sengoku's desk, waiting for Sengoku to speak.

"..."

Sengoku stared at the two opened resignation letters in front of him, his head throbbing with pain.

There wasn't even a moment to grieve over Zephyr's departure; next to leave were two elite Vice Admiral!

This is an elite vice Vice Admiral, a high-ranking and backbone talent in the navy.

Let alone resigning, even if they just get a cut on their hand, Sengoku would personally visit them to offer his condolences.

He also knew why these two people resigned.

The only reasons for their dissatisfaction were Whitebeard Jr.. joining the Shichibukai, coupled with Zephyr's departure, which left them disheartened.

But it's not his fault!

It was clearly those five damned old men who made the brain-dead decision.

Why should the Fleet Admiral have to bear the consequences?

"Vice Admiral Hōshō, Vice Admiral Doberman, really can't you reconsider?"

Sengoku looked at the two of them and forced a smile.

"No, staying in the navy is boring. I want to go out and see the world."

Hōshō said with a sorrowful expression.

Beside him, Doberman nodded obediently, sharing the same attitude as Hōshō.

"Didn't you take two days off? I'll give you two extra weeks so you can go out and relax, okay?"

Sengoku looked at the two with hopeful eyes.

These two were also veterans of the navy, and could be considered his old subordinates.

He didn't want the two of them to leave, both out of personal feelings and out of the navy's best interests.

"There's no point in staying in this place of sorrow."

Hōshō sighed.

Me too.

Doberman nodded in agreement.

Sigh~

The Sengoku ended with a sigh.

What could he do?

Even if he forced them to stay, it wouldn't make a difference!

"Then you can leave." Sengoku reluctantly agreed, then said seriously, "If you want to come back, the Navy will always keep your positions open."

He thought that although the person had left, they would come back sooner or later.

Didn't your resignation letter say you wanted to go out and see the world?

Once they see the pirates wreaking havoc outside and realize that no one can do it better than the Navy, they'll probably think about returning to the Navy.

No, there's an outside force that does a better job, but it shouldn't be that bad...

Even if the two of them went, the Neo Marines would still have to worry about whether they were spies.

"Thank you for your understanding, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. We'll be taking our leave now."

Hōshō and Doberman gave a final salute, then turned and left the office.

They don't know what the Sengoku was thinking, but they probably won't be coming back.

Sigh~

Sengoku watched the two leave with a pained expression.

He couldn't help but reach out his right hand, trying to hold on in the air.

You two, don't go!

What will happen to the navy if you leave?

"Fuck you, go to hell with the Five Elders!"

Sengoku slammed his hand on the desk and cursed loudly.

After that, he continued to bury himself in the documents on the table, working while muttering curses.

"Knock knock!"

Less than two minutes later, a short knock sounded on the door.

"Enter."

"Just say what you need to say."

Without even looking up, Sengoku continued processing the documents.

As the heavy footsteps approached, a snow-white letter was handed to him.

The world is so big, I think...

They were taught by the same teacher; even their words were almost identical.

After reading just the beginning, Sengoku felt my blood pressure spike.

Another one resigning!

Sengoku suddenly looked up, exclaiming in shock, "You're here to resign too!?"

Standing before him was Rear Admiral Douglas, in his early thirties, a rising star in the Navy.

"I'm sorry, I've been feeling really irritable lately and don't want to stay in the Navy anymore."

Douglas smiled apologetically, but his tone was firm and unwavering.

"Give it some more thought; the navy is thriving..."

Sengoku spoke with deep emotion, repeating his words of persuasion to keep him there.

However...

With a 'click', Douglas resolutely left the Fleet Admiral's Office.

"No!"

Sengoku stretched out his right hand again and cried out in despair.

Damn it, another one's gone!

But that wasn't all; one after another, sailors came to Sengoku with their resignation letters.

There were more than ten people, with ranks ranging from colonel to Vice Admiral.

It's not that no one below the rank of colonel wanted to leave, but rather that their rank wasn't high enough to resign from the Sengoku.

"No approval, no approval, absolutely no approval!"

Sengoku angrily said that he would reject all of the dozen or so resignation requests.

But that's useless; resignation is a notice, not a request. People have legs; they can leave whenever they want.

If someone is determined to leave, he can't stop them.

Withholding half a month's salary to force them to comply?

Are you kidding me? What's half a month's salary? With these people's abilities, do they even care about something like that?

As everyone left, the Fleet Admiral's Office finally quieted down, but Sengoku felt a chill run through him.

More than a dozen high-ranking officers resigned en masse, resulting in heavy losses for the navy; it was almost an entire Buster Call unit wiped out.

The departure of these individuals will cause widespread anxiety within the navy, with far-reaching consequences.

"More than a dozen people came all at once, that's not right!"

Sengoku frowned as he thought to himself.

He knew that Whitebeard joining the Shichibukai and Zephyr leaving the Navy would cause resentment among many Marines.

But after all, they had served in the navy for many years. Emotionally speaking, they should have felt like they had eaten shit, but they should have just endured the disgust and stayed.

He knew this so clearly because that was his own thought.

These people were fine just two days ago, which confirms his suspicions.

The sudden mass resignations today must be orchestrated by someone behind the scenes.

Sengoku didn't suspect Zephyr at all; he had seen Zephyr say goodbye the day before yesterday, and he was very well-behaved!

Given Zephyr's personality and his affection for the Navy, he probably wouldn't do something like this.

So, who exactly is it?

The Sengoku was marked by a furrowed brow, deep in thought.

Besides Zephyr, who else wields such influence that they could persuade over a dozen high-ranking generals to resign simultaneously?

While Sengoku was pondering, there was another knock on the office door.

Before Sengoku could respond, a figure opened the door and entered.

"Tsuru, are you resigning too?"

Looking at the crane in front of him, Sengoku asked in astonishment.

"What are you thinking, Sengoku?" Crane said, somewhat speechless. He explained, "Besides the high-ranking officers who come to you, I also have many mid-level officers who are demanding to resign."

"This situation is too serious; we must hold a meeting to discuss it and stop this trend!"

Upon hearing this, Sengoku finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If the Chief of Naval Staff, Tsuru, who was his close comrade-in-arms, were to resign, he would truly break down.

However, he's not far from a breakdown right now.

"Tsuru, you're right." Sengoku nodded and said, "I'll call a meeting immediately and find out who's behind this and stop this trend!"

Due to the seriousness of the situation, everyone in the conference room arrived within ten minutes.

Apart from Akainu, who was out suppressing pirates, all the high-ranking Marines, including Aokiji, Kizaru, Chaton Tokikake, and Momonga, were present.

However, there were clearly some empty seats in the conference room, which were the seats that belonged to Hōshō, Doberman and others.

Major Brannew, who had been in charge of convening the meetings, was also absent, and he had submitted his resignation to Sengoku.

Without Brannew, the meetings seem to lack a certain something.

Everyone knew the seriousness of the matter, and they all stood up straight and were very serious, even the usually lazy Aokiji and Kizaru.

"The reason I'm calling this meeting urgently is because of the large number of resignations today. The situation is urgent, and I hope everyone can find clues quickly."

Sengoku placed his hands on the conference table and said in a deep voice.

The many generals on the stage looked at each other, none of them speaking.

These people were either those whom Zephyr hadn't called yet, or those who were still hesitating.

Those who weren't contacted by Zephyr naturally didn't know the situation.

Those who are still hesitating will not betray their teachers.

For a moment, the conference room fell silent, locked in a stalemate.

Sengoku looked at the deathly silent conference room and felt an immense headache coming on.

"Brubrub!"

In the silence, the Otonashi of the Transponder Snail) was incredibly jarring.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Vice Admiral Momonga awkwardly covering his pocket.

"Just answer the call if there's anything you need."

Sengoku forced a smile.

Normally, he would definitely reprimand such behavior.

With so many high-ranking generals gone, he became more tolerant of elite Vice Admiral like the flying Momonga.

You can do whatever you want as long as you don't leave.

"..."

The Momonga wanted to hang up the Transponder Snail, but Sengoku's encouraging look made it impossible for him to refuse.

With a 'click,' the Momonga answered the Transponder Snail.

"Momonga, is it convenient for you to talk on your end?"

Zephyr's strong, resonant voice echoed in the silent conference room.

Instantly, Sengoku's face darkened.

Seeing the dark expression on Sengoku's face, cold sweat beaded on the Momonga's forehead.

Is it convenient for him or not right now?

"Ahem, I'm speaking now, since Fleet Admiral Sengoku isn't with me!"

The Momonga coughed, deciding to cover for the teacher.

"..."

The Sengoku period gazes at the dying Momonga.

The treacherous officials have revealed themselves; Zephyr is one, and the Momonga is another!