Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Inside the conference room, some of Marine Headquarters' officers had gathered.
Everyone looked solemn, and some even looked grim.
"I'm sure you all know about the Revolutionary Army's attack on the Affiliated Nation of Phil. As expected, the World Government has dumped the mess on us Marines again."
"If anyone has any ideas, feel free to propose them."
At the head of the table, Sengoku looked at the intelligence in his hand and the repeated calls from the Kingdom of Phil urging them to act. His expression was as grim as could be.
This was not just the Revolutionary Army causing trouble in an Affiliated Nation; it was also the World Government passing the mess off to the Marines.
Moreover, the Marines' intelligence department had long known about the situation in the Affiliated Nation of Phil.
Its king was utterly incompetent. He was capable of even giving his own relatives to the Celestial Dragons, let alone exploiting commoners.
As a result, the officers were extremely reluctant to go to the Affiliated Nation's aid.
But their superiors in the World Government demanded that the Marines handle the matter, so they had no choice but to accept it.
Yet after Sengoku finished speaking, every officer present knew better than to wade into these muddy waters. No one spoke first.
This troubled Sengoku even more. Leading this lot was far too difficult.
Amid the silence, the middle-aged man in a red suit seated immediately to Sengoku's right finally spoke, his voice low and cold.
"Hmph. That bastard Dragon betrayed justice. To think he used to be a Marine. How despicable."
"Whatever his Revolutionary Army wants with the Affiliated Nation of Phil, with Kizaru deployed, a mere rabble like them is nothing worth mentioning!"
Everyone turned toward the speaker.
He was Sakazuki, Admiral Akainu, one of Marine Headquarters' Three Admirals.
He loathed pirates, and whenever he could kill one during an arrest, he never left them alive.
He was an admiral who upheld the Marines' absolute, iron-fisted justice.
His words carried tremendous weight, and even Sengoku treated him with the utmost caution.
Seeing no response, Sakazuki sneered. "Come to think of it, Dragon of the Revolutionary Army is the son of a certain Navy Hero. Don't you find that strange?"
"That so-called Navy Hero's son founded the Revolutionary Army himself, becoming an enemy of our Marines and the World Government."
He took a deep breath and swept his gaze toward Garp, whose expression had changed drastically, finally revealing his true intent. "In my opinion, why don't we take this opportunity to have me lead our forces into action again..."
"I'll personally wipe out that damned Revolutionary Army, and while I'm at it, deal with the Navy Hero, Gar-"
Before he could finish, two furious roars cut him off.
"Sakazuki! Dragon has indeed done many things wrong, but don't pin the blame on someone else! If you keep this up, don't blame me for getting rough!"
"Sengoku is right! Sakazuki, I know you don't get along with Kuzan and Garp, but you can't hold Garp, a Navy Hero, responsible for Dragon's actions! Otherwise, you're insulting a Navy Hero!"
Those voices came from Sengoku and Staff Officer Tsuru in their extreme anger.
They had not expected Sakazuki to dredge up old grievances over a single incident, even trying to use Dragon and Garp's relationship as father and son to come down hard on Garp.
But Garp was not only their comrade in arms; he was also a Navy Hero.
They would never allow Sakazuki to slander him like this.
Otherwise, if the matter really reached the World Government, they would never be able to clear it up.
However.
Faced with such accusations, Sakazuki refused to back down either, his imposing aura surging continuously.
"Heh. Don't talk to me about some Navy Hero! Others might not know, but surely everyone here, and Sengoku and Staff Officer Tsuru, Garp's closest friends, must know!"
"A Navy Hero? If you ask me, that's nothing but self-deception! And what about that bastard Kuzan?"
"Never mind what happened back then. During the recent Impel Down incident, his carelessness let Roy escape. He's lucky he wasn't held accountable."
"I don't understand. I merely mentioned Garp, and you brought up how Kuzan and I don't get along."
Ignoring everyone's shocked expressions, he sneered:
"I just want to ask, was I wrong to bring this up? Or is this meeting itself a joke?"
"Heh. If that's really the case, then I, Sakazuki, might as well sit it out!"
"You're the ones who decide everything anyway, so why should I say another word?"
With that, Sakazuki made to leave, looking as though they could do whatever they pleased.
He had long since seen that at Marine Headquarters, Sengoku and his lot called all the shots.
There was simply no place for him.
He had been dissatisfied with this for a long time.
Why was it that he killed pirates more ruthlessly than anyone, yet received criticism instead of recognition?
Why did that hypocrite Kuzan keep hounding him day after day when all he had done was carry out Sengoku's orders?
Why did Kuzan, as Garp's disciple, keep making trouble for him when that old bastard Garp's own son had founded the Revolutionary Army?
At these thoughts, he could not help clenching his fists, fury churning in his chest.
These Marines were simply impossible to lead.
They were all putting on an act, while he alone took his work seriously.
With Sakazuki taking the lead, Onigumo and the other vice admirals in his Hawk Faction exchanged looks and made up their minds as well.
The moment their admiral left the conference room, they would follow without hesitation.
They, too, could not tolerate the admiral they served being treated so unfairly.
The other officers were all stunned, not daring to interrupt.
Whether he was targeting Garp and Kuzan or talking back to Sengoku, Sakazuki had now brought everything out into the open.
If Sakazuki really left the meeting today, this would become a major incident.
Rumors that Sengoku and the others were openly shutting Sakazuki out might spread the moment the meeting ended.
If that happened, the factional tensions already present within the Marines would only intensify.
Sure enough...
"Sakazuki! What are you doing?! Are you openly leaving the conference room because you have no respect for me as Fleet Admiral? I order you to stop!"
Sengoku was utterly dumbfounded.
He did not understand. Hadn't he merely criticized Sakazuki a little?
Why had the man simply thrown in the towel?
Once he recovered, he was furious. His finger trembled with rage as he pointed straight at Sakazuki.
For Sakazuki to make such ambiguous remarks and then openly leave was clearly intended to embarrass him.
"Hmph. Fleet Admiral Sengoku is far too important for someone like me to approach. I'll stop being an eyesore to you!"
But Sakazuki did not even turn around as he walked straight out, paying no heed to Sengoku's reaction and taking none of his furious shouts to heart.
This made Sengoku even angrier, yet there was nothing he could do.
If Sakazuki really walked out over this matter, the Marines truly would be finished.
Fortunately, Staff Officer Tsuru, who had also been stunned by Sakazuki's actions, finally spoke. Her tone was not forceful, but held a measure of conciliation.
"Enough, Sakazuki. We were all a little impulsive just now. Let's try to understand one another."
"I imagine you don't want to split the Marines apart completely and give those with ulterior motives an opening, either?"
At these words, Sakazuki paused slightly.
In the end, he did not leave.
Sengoku, Staff Officer Tsuru, and indeed every officer present breathed a sigh of relief.
Private arguments on ordinary days were entirely different from openly falling out and walking away during a major meeting.
After this interlude, the meeting continued.
"Aside from the matter of the Kingdom of Phil, the Marines' intelligence department also seems to have discovered that the Revolutionary Army leader appeared in the Holy Land, Mary Geoise. What are your thoughts?"
But after the incident with Sakazuki, the officers were even more reluctant to speak freely, afraid of offending either side.
Sakazuki did not even lift his eyelids, taking the attitude that Sengoku could decide.
Sengoku sighed helplessly and could only continue chairing the meeting.
Half an hour later, the meeting finally finished addressing the Holy Land matter and returned to the main topic.
"After several days of investigation at Impel Down, Kuzan has uncovered quite a few clues. That Roy should be hiding somewhere out of sight."
At these words, the previously unenthusiastic officers, Sakazuki included, all turned their eyes toward Sengoku.
Without hesitation, Sengoku relayed every piece of intelligence Kuzan had sent.
As it turned out, during the searches of the past few days, Kuzan and Garp had once again screened all the criminals in Impel Down, from Level One through Level Six.
Determined to find clues this time, Kuzan no longer showed mercy and directly ordered the jailers to use torture.
Many of the criminals selected suffered through no fault of their own.
Finally, after most of them had been screened, three criminals revealed something suspicious.
Their accounts were almost identical. All said they had seen prisoners fleeing who had inexplicably run to a certain spot and then vanished without leaving a trace.
With Impel Down going through such a sensitive period, even one person saying this had been enough to arouse Kuzan's suspicions.
With three people saying it, Kuzan had no choice but to believe it.
Impel Down did indeed harbor a peculiar secret, one that none of its chief wardens over the past hundred years had known.
Criminals were hiding there, and Roy was one of them.
"Gasp... Sengoku, are you saying you suspect Impel Down might have a Seventh Level, or even an Eighth Level?"
"Otherwise, how could those criminals have vanished inexplicably? No wonder we couldn't find their bodies either!"
After hearing the report, every officer present was stunned.
Even Staff Officer Tsuru's voice trembled slightly as she spoke.
They had never expected that Impel Down, with its history stretching back hundreds of years, might actually have a Seventh Level.
It was simply unbelievable.
"As things stand, only the existence of a Seventh Level can explain where those criminals went and where Roy is hiding."
Sengoku wore a complicated expression, equally shocked, but still puzzled. "It's just that, aside from its above-water section, Impel Down has only six underground levels. That hasn't changed in a hundred years."
"But I can't figure out where this Seventh Level came from. Kuzan also asked Magellan about the Seventh Level, and he clearly knew nothing about it.
"Even the previous chief warden knew nothing about it, which means there must be something wrong with this Seventh Level of Impel Down."
With that, the discussion reached an impasse.
Yet just as the officers found themselves at a loss, Sakazuki suddenly spoke.
"Then tell me, is it possible that some special space exists between the levels?"
"For instance, one created by a Devil Fruit ability?"
"Otherwise, how do you explain what those three criminals said, that someone vanished on Level Two, someone on Level Four, and someone else on Level Five?"
At these words, every gaze turned toward Sakazuki.
Good heavens, when had Sakazuki become so smart?
"..."
Meanwhile, as Marine Headquarters held its meeting, Haki and cursed energy intertwined continuously inside a cave on Impel Down's Level 5.5.
When his aura reached the critical point, Roy's cursed energy recovered completely.
Before him, black-and-blue cursed energy condensed into two strange black fingers.
At that moment, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Heh. After six days, my cursed energy has fully recovered, and Ryomen Sukuna's Fingers have formed as well."
Before you continue