Marine Headquarters

Nova experienced firsthand the importance of strength for the first time, but this was still far from enough.

There were as many powerful people in this world as carp crossing a river. A moment of carelessness could bring about some unforeseen accident.

Looking at these many adorable citizens, Nova felt an inexplicable sense of pride from the bottom of his heart.

At the same time

Elsewhere, the area was packed with dense clusters of buildings. Especially the one at the very front, which looked at least a hundred meters tall, with the striking words "Marine" displayed on it and the Marine logo in the middle.

The logo depicted a seagull holding a set of scales in its beak, symbolizing absolute justice.

Watchtowers stood everywhere, while the coastline was lined with gigantic cannons.

This was a massive island by the sea, yet its interior was completely different from that of other islands.

Those living here were the Marine Headquarters, which would later be known as the strongest individual force among the three major powers of the One Piece World.

Everyone living here was either a Marine or their family member. Naturally, any Marine family that could live here had relatives holding very high positions within the Marines.

The entire Marine Headquarters looked like an impregnable iron fortress. A single glance was enough to make one shudder, its atmosphere solemn and imposing.

Yet at this moment, inside the central building, a group of people sat together with serious expressions, seemingly discussing something.

Everyone sat differently. Though it looked somewhat like a meeting, some picked their noses while others ate, completely lacking the proper decorum of one.

"Garp, you bastard, can't you stop eating?"

In the quiet room, the crisp sound of Garp biting into biscuits was far too obvious, utterly out of place in the otherwise solemn atmosphere.

Because of this, the middle-aged man seated at the head of the room, with a small braid and a pair of glasses, glared at Garp and roared furiously.

This man was Sengoku, the current Fleet Admiral, a man of tremendous strength.

A goat stood beside him. After hearing Sengoku's roar, it too gave Garp a reproachful look.

"Sengoku, go on with what you were saying. What does that have to do with me eating?" Garp said indifferently.

"You still have the nerve to say that? We're discussing business here. Can't you be a little more serious?"

Sengoku was so furious that he no longer knew what to say.

There were more than a dozen people in the room, all watching the spectacle. Yet every one of them wore an unconcerned expression.

"Can you two stop arguing over such trivial nonsense? Fleet Admiral Sengoku, hurry up on your side too. We all have things to do!" Tsuru said helplessly from the side.

Otherwise, the two of them looked like they would keep arguing for a while longer.

This sort of thing was nothing unusual.

Sengoku realized that as well and ignored Garp's behavior. In any case, it would not affect anything.

But Sengoku still asked, "Garp, take the position of Marine Admiral this time. No one in the Marines is more suitable than you right now, so don't decline again."

"Forget it. Admirals have too much to deal with. I think I'd be better off as a Vice Admiral. As for Admiral, you can let Tsuru do it!"

Garp said this with the same disdainful expression.

"Garp, you old bastard, can you stop dumping things on my head?" Tsuru roared angrily at Garp, then said to Sengoku, "Besides, aren't there several Admiral candidates right now? Vice Admiral Akainu, Vice Admiral Kizaru, and Vice Admiral Aokiji are all Admiral candidates. Are the three of them not enough for you?"

However, all three were seated in the room. Aside from Sakazuki, Vice Admiral Akainu, the other two looked utterly unconcerned.

"Forget it. We'll discuss the Admiral matter later. Let's talk about something else first."

Sengoku brushed past the subject, but then his expression changed and he became completely serious.

Behind Sengoku was a sheet of white paper displaying Nova's portrait, along with all his detailed information.

Seeing Sengoku's expression, everyone became somewhat more serious. At least they no longer looked as improper as before.

Garp also looked at Sengoku with interest.

Sengoku glanced around the room. Once everyone had quieted down, he slowly said, "Do you see the man behind me? Genji Chōno Nova, King of the Tru Kingdom in the South Blue. As a country in the South Blue, their nation and region should originally have been dirt poor, but in recent years, this country's king has forcibly changed that situation..."

"Sengoku, isn't it a good thing that his country has improved? It just means the kid is quite capable. Why bring this sort of thing up here?"

Garp spoke directly, giving Sengoku no face at all.

"Garp, you bastard, can't you let me finish?"

Sengoku immediately flared up again. Just looking at Garp made his anger rise.

"That's right, Garp. Since Fleet Admiral Sengoku brought it up, there must be something else hidden behind it!" Tsuru said as well.

"Let's stop arguing and let Fleet Admiral Sengoku finish. I have matters waiting to be handled, so don't delay them..."

The man sitting opposite Garp, who appeared to be in his thirties and wore a yellow suit, said this with his mouth crooked to one side.

The moment Kizaru spoke, everyone's attention shifted to him.

Sengoku stood up and looked helplessly at everyone present. Then his expression turned serious as he said, "What we need to care about is not the economic strength of his country, but their capabilities in other areas!"

After saying that, Sengoku took out a Den Den Mushi. Its eyes lit up and projected an image onto the wall, displaying the previous battle in Loguetown between Nova's soldiers and the pirates.

This kind of Den Den Mushi was used for projection. There were quite a few varieties of Den Den Mushi, but ones capable of projection were generally possessed only by major nations and certain powerful people.

Once the projection appeared, everyone seated there became unsettled. Even Garp, who had looked indifferent until now, watched seriously.

They could hardly believe what they were seeing.

The main reason was that the Tru Kingdom's King's Guard was using the Marine Six Styles?

For the current Marines, this technique had only begun to be widely taught two years ago. Yet now, the Marine Six Styles had appeared in another country's National Army. How could that not shock them?

"Was it Zephyr?"

Garp asked Sengoku with a serious gaze. This was one of the Marines' trump cards. If it spread outside, who knew how much impact it would have in the future?

The reason Garp asked whether it was Zephyr was that the man had previously been a Marine Admiral, and the Marine Six Styles had all been created by him.

Yet before the Marines as a whole had even mastered these techniques, another country was already using them in actual combat. How could that not be surprising?

Sengoku slowly sat down. After thinking for a while, he slowly said, "It probably wasn't Zephyr. These techniques began to be taught throughout the Marine forces two years ago, but the other side's familiarity with them likely goes back much further than two years. That is precisely why we convened this emergency meeting today: to discuss who should go over and investigate what exactly is happening."

"There's no need to say more about the Marine Six Styles. These people are definitely using them. Whether it's Finger Pistol or Geppo, it is plainly obvious that these techniques are exactly the same as the Marine Six Styles. But most of them seem to know more than just one technique. How exactly were these people trained? We truly need to investigate this thoroughly."

Vice Admiral Tsuru spoke objectively. After all, the other side was already so familiar with the Marines' training trump card. If they did not investigate further, a crisis for the Marines might very well emerge.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, no matter where these people got these techniques, my suggestion is to eliminate everyone who knows about them. If they are allowed to develop freely, who knows what they might become in the future?"

Sakazuki said directly with a fierce gaze. This was almost always his attitude toward handling matters.

"We should investigate first. We still do not know what the situation is on their side. We have all witnessed the Tru Kingdom's development over the past few years. Who is willing to take this mission and see what exactly is going on in that country?"

Sengoku asked directly.

No one spoke, including Garp.

Garp had indeed met Nova once. At the time, he had already sensed that something was off, but only now that the matter had been raised did he realize what exactly had felt wrong.

The key was that it had happened two years ago. If they had noticed these things back then, they might not be in such a passive position now.

"Garp, you should be rather familiar with the South Blue. Why don't you go over there and see what exactly happened?"

The moment Sengoku finished speaking, Garp immediately stood up and shouted with an unhappy expression, "No! I'm taking a break next week. How could I possibly go somewhere that far away? No one is watching over my adorable, well-behaved grandson either. Let someone else go!"

Garp's refusal seemed perfectly normal to everyone. Moreover, this involved the affairs of a nation rather than pirates, so even if they sent someone, they could not openly use force.

Sengoku looked helpless. He knew Garp would not go, yet still asked. But after scanning the room, he truly could not find anyone more suitable.

The meeting hall fell silent for a while before Akainu suddenly slammed the table and said, "If no one is going, I'll go take a look. I want to know just what this King of Tru is capable of."

"No. This is not directed at pirates. If we interfere with another country's internal affairs, those old men of the World Government will come looking for trouble."

Sengoku refused directly.

Everyone here knew perfectly well what Sakazuki was like. His heart held nothing but justice, and he simply would not care whether others lived or died.

Yet throughout the entire Marine base, Sakazuki was indeed the only man who possessed absolute justice.

It was precisely because of that absolute justice that he often twisted the justice in his heart. That was why Sengoku did not want to send him.

Of the more than ten people in the room, not one answered. In the end, everyone's eyes turned toward one person, who was still leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, as though he did not care about this matter in the slightest.

"Aokiji, everyone else seems to have something to do, but you seem free, right? I'll leave this matter to you. Don't act rashly when you go. First, get a clear understanding of the country's situation!" Sengoku said.

"Hey, hey, hey... Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I have things to do too, you know. Don't hand such a boring matter to me."

Aokiji hurriedly opened his eyes and looked at everyone.

"If you handle this matter well, one of the reserved Admiral positions will be yours..."

Sengoku had no other choice and could only say this.

There was not even a single Marine Admiral at Marine Headquarters now. The only one, Zephyr, had already left two months ago. They truly could not find a suitable candidate. Aokiji was already on the list of Admiral candidates and was the most promising among them, so using this matter to make it official was not a bad idea.

Hearing Sengoku say this, Aokiji did not know what else he could say. He could only helplessly exhale a breath of cold air and say lazily, "Fine. For the sake of Marine Headquarters, I'll make the trip."

The most dissatisfied person among them was probably Sakazuki. He too was one of the Admiral candidates, yet he had not expected such a minor matter to decide one of the Admiral positions.

No one else said anything. In any case, the matter had already been settled.

"Aokiji, information returned yesterday from the Tru Kingdom says that the neighboring Roa Kingdom is attacking them. No matter what the situation is when you get there, you must not get involved in a war between nations. You are only going to learn what is happening. You are not allowed to act."

Sengoku gave the instruction once again.

He could not allow his Marines to become embroiled in another country's war. Otherwise, who knew what trouble might arise.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, they already have the Marine Six Styles. What if someone with Haki appears too? What am I supposed to do then? Wouldn't I be in great danger?"

Aokiji spoke the most cowardly words in the most casual tone, but everyone knew his strength well.