The next morning.
Sunlight pierced the clouds, draping Marineford, the Marines' supreme sanctuary that had just undergone a seismic upheaval in power, in a solemn golden glow.
But today, the air over Marineford carried a complex atmosphere utterly unlike that of any other day, mingling fervor, tension, anticipation, and unease.
The Central Plaza.
The enormous plaza, large enough to hold a hundred thousand people, had already been cleared.
Over ten thousand elite officers and soldiers, carefully selected from every department at Marine Headquarters, stood in pristine white dress uniforms, arranged in perfectly aligned formations with regulation posture, utterly silent.
Their eyes were all fixed on the towering, enormous speaking platform at the very front of the plaza, erected specifically for the Admiral's inauguration ceremony.
At the front of the platform stood Fleet Admiral "Steel Bone" Kong, his expression grave, wearing the Justice Coat that symbolized the Marines' supreme commander.
Behind him, Marine Admiral "Non-Killing" Zephyr and Marine Chief Inspector Sentomaru stood to either side.
Below them, the rows of seats for officers were packed with high-ranking commanders!
Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino, the future Three Admirals who were still only Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals, were all among them!
"Hmph. What an absolute farce."
Sakazuki folded his arms across his chest, his perpetually grim, cold face now filled with undisguised contempt and disdain.
"Just for his contribution in a single battle, they're putting some inexperienced brat straight into an 'Admiral' position on equal footing with us? Did Rocks knock all sense out of the Five Elders and the Fleet Admiral?!"
His voice was not loud, but the Vice Admirals around him heard every word clearly, each falling silent and hardly daring to breathe.
"Well, you can't quite put it that way, Sakazuki."
Seated beside him, Borsalino spoke slowly in his usual lazy