G-1

The Navy's G-1 Branch stood at the exit of the New World, right beside the Red Line. Together with Marine Headquarters at Marineford on the other side, it formed two barriers protecting the Celestial Dragons in the Holy Land Mary Geoise.

Apart from Fish-Man Island, Red Port was the only other route connecting the first and second halves of the Grand Line, and it fell under G-1 Branch's jurisdiction.

Yarukiman Mangroves grew here too, just as they did in the Sabaody Archipelago. Using the lift of their bubbles and the support of cables, the Navy and the World Government had built a passage called the Bubble Gondola.

Anyone who paid the World Government enough Beli could ride the Bubble Gondola between the two sides of the Red Line.

Its importance meant that neither the Navy nor the World Government could abandon it.

Even after the Navy and the World Government announced their withdrawal from the New World, G-1 Branch retained a large military force.

And after the Navy announced its special operation against the Sky Pirate Crew, Admiral Zephyr became G-1 Branch's highest-ranking officer.

Eight warships and twenty thousand marines made for a terrifying show of force, but supplying them was a major headache.

So even though Zephyr wanted nothing more than to fight pirates at sea every day, he still had to return to G-1 Branch periodically to rest and resupply.

Inside G-1 Branch's headquarters, Zephyr stood before a huge floor-to-ceiling window with his arms crossed. He watched the marines laughing and roughhousing in the square below as they celebrated the New Year, his brow furrowed.

Their merrymaking was not what troubled him. In fact, he was glad to see it.

Life at sea was normal for marines, but long voyages and constant fighting placed enormous mental and physical