Translator: PapaSmurf0700
"Those people don't want power. They just want to live with a little dignity!!"
The main chamber of the Navy's G1 branch was a room cleaved in two. One half felt as though it had been plunged into an arctic abyss, the other as if it were submerged in magma. The air was so thick with tension that it seemed a war between Admiral Aokiji and Admiral Akainu was moments from erupting.
But a voice like thunder cut through the hostility.
"That is enough!" Sengoku's voice boomed, his body swelling into the colossal golden form of the Daibutsu. He physically forced himself between the two admirals. "Do you want this place to become a second Marineford? Do you want the Navy to become the laughingstock of the seas?!"
He fixed his gaze on Akainu. "Sakazuki, do not forget that I am still the Fleet Admiral."
Akainu's brow furrowed, his dissatisfaction clear. He was about to retort, to push back with force, but a flash of yellow light intercepted him. Kizaru appeared, his hands casually tucked in his pockets.
"Ooooh, my. Sakazuki, you're running a bit hot," Kizaru drawled, his usual lazy tone surprisingly lacking its typical exaggeration. He knew Akainu was truly enraged.
"You too, Borsalino?" Akainu growled, his voice a low rumble. "Will you stand aside and let that man walk away?" He couldn't imagine Kizaru abandoning the Navy, so his interference was genuinely puzzling.
"Ah, hehe, I just wanted to offer a gentle reminder, Sakazuki," Kizaru said, smoothly sidestepping the question. He pointed to the heart of the matter. "With your power, if a real fight breaks out here, very few of the marines on this island will leave alive. And without them… the pirates of the world will throw a grand festival."
It had to be said: Kizaru's cold pragmatism was far more effective at cooling Akainu's fury than Sengoku's authority.
Staring at the two men blocking his path, Akainu had no choice but to relent. He let out a sharp, frustrated snort and sat back down. Seeing this, Kuzan said nothing more, simply turning and walking out of the room. A catastrophic schism had been narrowly averted.
After a moment of silence, Akainu spoke again. "I expect the ceremony to transfer command of the fleet to be completed as soon as possible." He was clearly still incensed by Sengoku's reminder. "Only then can the Navy properly enforce justice."
Sengoku heard the unspoken challenge in Akainu's words, and a conflicted expression crossed his face.
The Navy had always been split between two major factions: the Doves and the Hawks. Aokiji was the face of the Doves, while Akainu was the very embodiment of the Hawks. Sengoku, however, belonged to neither. Or perhaps, he belonged to both.
This was a secret known only to his closest confidants: former Fleet Admiral Kong, Garp, Tsuru, and Zephyr. Sengoku's vision, his ultimate ambition, was never just about eliminating pirates. It was about the entire world.
He was painfully aware of the World Government's crimes. To say that Gol D. Roger alone had created the Great Pirate Era was a half-truth. It was more accurate to say the World Government had spent centuries piling up the dynamite, and Roger had merely lit the fuse.
In Sengoku's view, to truly end piracy, one first had to deal with the rot at the very top—the World Government. But he knew that overthrowing them was no simple task. It required, at a minimum, complete and total control of the Navy.
The justice Sengoku believed in was a justice that would govern the world itself. As a wielder of Conqueror's Haki, he had never once considered himself a subordinate. Throughout his tenure as Fleet Admiral, he had deliberately supported the Doves, as their ideology was more open to the idea of separating from the World Government.
But his grand plan had been shattered. He had intended to use the execution of Ace and the destruction of the Whitebeard Pirates to cement his authority, allowing him to take the next step. No one could have predicted that one small crew, the Straw Hats, would upend everything, leaving the Navy crippled and giving the World Government the opening it needed to reassert its control.
As Steel-Bone Kong had told him, his plan had failed. It was too late for explanations.
"Of course, I will not linger," Sengoku said slowly, regaining his composure. "But before I step down, I must convey several directives from the World Government. They are to be implemented immediately upon your appointment."
"First: The Navy must conduct a global draft. Loosen the recruitment conditions and bring in as many mid- and low-level combatants as possible. We are to build a force capable of launching an all-out assault on the Spark Alliance at a moment's notice."
"Second: All Navy operations in the New World are to be temporarily suspended. The Government has other plans for that region. The Navy's focus must be shifted to the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line, maintaining a full defensive posture against the Spark Alliance."
"Third: With Marineford destroyed, a new Navy Headquarters must be quickly established within the Grand Line's first half, preferably in a location that allows for total surveillance of the Spark Alliance."
"Fourth: To prevent a repeat of the incidents involving Saint Rosward and Saint Shalria, one Navy Admiral is to be permanently stationed at Mary Geoise, on call at all times."
As Sengoku finished, Kizaru crossed his legs and tilted his head down, obscuring his expression.
Akainu simply scoffed. "Four directives, and three of them revolve around the Spark Alliance. Have the old fools in the World Government lost their nerve?" His contempt was palpable.
"The Navy will conduct a draft, but the Spark Alliance is not our priority. They are a mere collection of non-member nations huddled together for warmth. So long as they remain passive, we will not act."
"The New World plan will be implemented. For too long, the Navy has been distracted. Now that the world's scum has gathered in one place, it is the perfect time for a great cleansing."
"After I take command, this G1 Branch will be the new Marine Headquarters."
"And finally, the Admirals are the Navy's greatest weapon against evil. They will not be wasted as permanent bodyguards. The World Government may be the Celestial Dragons' dogs, but the Navy is not."
With a few short, brutal sentences, Akainu had torn down the World Government's orders one by one. The absolute resolve in his voice even surprised Sengoku. He had expected dissatisfaction, but this was outright defiance.
"Ooooh, well now," Kizaru spoke up, a hint of genuine amusement in his eyes as he looked at Akainu. "If you put it that way, it certainly saves me a lot of trouble, Sakazuki."
"The Navy has no place for lazy men like you," Akainu shot back, glancing at him. "You would do well to get serious, Borsalino. Otherwise, you might find yourself dead in the New World."
"My, what terrifying words," Kizaru replied, though his untroubled expression didn't change in the slightest. He even seemed a bit proud. "But I am light itself. I cannot die."