The Navy's Response

Night.

Stars blazed overhead, and the Milky Way stretched across the sky. A massive warship plowed through the waves.

On deck, Garp stood in his Marine coat, the sea breeze blowing against him. He gazed at the distant lights of Marine Headquarters, let out a quiet breath, and headed below.

"How are Kizaru's injuries?"

Garp pushed open Kizaru's door and glanced at him lying unconscious in bed, fine beads of sweat covering his forehead. Then he turned to the military doctor beside him.

"Vice Admiral Garp!"

The doctor rose and saluted before looking back at Kizaru. "The outlook isn't good. Admiral Kizaru suffered no fatal wounds, but a strange energy in them keeps preventing them from healing. And according to what he said while he was conscious, the enemy's attack harmed him mentally as well."

"We can try to treat his physical injuries, but even Marine Headquarters has no effective treatment for damage to the mind."

"I understand." Garp turned and pulled down the brim of his dog-head cap. As he opened the door, he said quietly, "Do everything you can."

Then he left the room, the doctor respectfully seeing him off.

At Marine Headquarters, the Navy's top brass had gathered in the fleet admiral's office.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Chief of Staff Tsuru, Admiral Akainu, former admiral Zephyr—recalled urgently from the New World—and admiral candidates Momousagi and Chaton.

In fact, if the Navy had not already been gathering its forces to face the Whitebeard Pirates in the New World, getting all of them into one room would have been no easy feat.

A heavy silence filled the office as everyone read the documents they had been given. It lasted until Garp and Aokiji pushed open the door.

"Haha! Sengoku dragged you in too, Zephyr, even though you stay out of