Marine Headquarters, the Fleet Admiral's Office.
The new headquarters building stood at the entrance to the New World side of the Red Line. Unlike Marineford's Japanese-style castle, its architecture favored a stone fortress design, with two enormous arches rising behind it that resembled the Marines' seagull emblem.
The Fleet Admiral's Office still had a Japanese-style interior: tatami mats, sliding paper doors, wooden cornices, and a deep crimson coffered ceiling.
Unlike in Sengoku's time, Akainu's office was larger and situated along the building's outer edge. Opening the sliding paper doors at the front revealed a partially open-air corridor overlooking the sea.
Akainu sat on the leather sofa behind his red hardwood desk, his hands clasped before his nose and his elbows braced on the desktop. His expression was even darker than usual.
On the wall behind him hung a piece of calligraphy, its strokes bold and powerful-absolute justice.
His gaze rested on the report about the Hachinosu incident before him. His grip had curled the edges of the paper.
"So."
Akainu spoke in a low voice.
"Hachinosu sank, Bondrewd escaped with the Sage's Stone, and televisions all over the world broadcast that lunatic's speech about 'human instrumentality.'"
He raised his head and surveyed the three admirals present, his gaze settling on Kizaru.
"Is that correct?"
Kizaru sat on the long purple sofa to the left, his legs crossed and his arms folded across his chest.
"That's right."
Kizaru's tone remained steady as he answered.
"But we did rescue the hostages from D'Elena."
Akainu's temples throbbed. Angry as he was, he understood that his old classmate had genuinely done everything he could. The incident had come without warning, and they had been dealing with Bondrewd, after all.
Chaton sat on the sofa to the right, a little farther away, with his brown