Time passed quietly.
The storm after the fall of the two Emperors did not subside with the end of the war reports.
Instead, it began seeping into the very bones of the sea.
The Navy's prestige reached unprecedented heights.
The Four Seas Branches began patrolling proactively, pirates in the New World withdrew on a massive scale, and the Adventure Group System fully took shape.
More and more civilians began to believe that as long as a warship flying the seagull flag appeared, pirates would no longer be an unbeatable disaster.
But along with it came a question that had never truly been brought into the open before.
Who, exactly, did the Navy belong to?
Did it belong to the World Government?
Or did it belong to the people of these seas?
In the past, this question had needed no answer.
Because the World Government was order, and the Navy was merely the sharpest blade beneath that order.
But now, through one war after another, Rock had personally drawn that blade from the Holy Land's sheath.
By now, nearly all of the Navy's core leadership had grown accustomed to following Rock's policies.
Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, the Three Admirals, the Vice Admirals, the Adventure Group System, the Four Seas Branches.
Every line was ultimately converging in the same direction.
Protect civilians. Cleanse evil.
Crush the pirates' room to survive and reduce the World Government's interference in the Navy.
Marine Headquarters, internal core meeting.
Sengoku looked at the officers seated on both sides of the long table. After a long silence, he slowly spoke. "I'm getting old."
The meeting room fell silent at once.
Garp paused mid-nose-pick.
Zephyr folded his arms, his gaze darkening slightly.
Akainu, Aokiji, Kizaru, and the assembled Vice Admirals all looked up.
Sengoku continued, "The Navy has reached a