Marine Headquarters — Marineford!
A massive fortress standing tall on the Grand Line, occupying the entire island. It radiates overwhelming might, suppressing pirates across the four seas.
Upholding absolute justice to maintain peace on the seas!
At this very moment, the vast crescent-shaped harbor bustled with activity as countless warships came and went—some returning from completed missions, others preparing to set out on new ones.
Enormous fortress cannons lined the towering harbor walls, like ferocious beasts lying in wait. Yet, their purpose was largely symbolic. Weak pirates posed no threat; powerful ones wouldn't be stopped by them either.
In the center of the fortress stood a towering structure, rising high above the base. Two bold characters were inscribed on it in grand strokes:
Marine!
Each floor buzzed with urgency as officers rushed about. Any matter that reached headquarters demanded immediate attention. No one here had the luxury of rest; every moment was spent handling critical affairs.
At the very top floor was the office of Fleet Admiral Sengoku—the highest authority in the Marines.
But instead of the solemn silence one might expect, the room was filled with chaotic, almost comedic noise.
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"Puhahaha! Sengoku, I found your donuts again! Trying to hide them from me? How petty!"
"Garp! That was my last bag of snacks! How did you even find them?!" Sengoku's furious voice rang out from inside the office.
The guards outside didn't even flinch. They were far too used to this.
"Aww, come on, Sengoku. Don't be so stingy—it's just a bag of snacks." Garp sat comfortably on the sofa, happily munching on a donut from the stolen bag.
Across from him, Sengoku sat beneath a plaque inscribed with the words "Absolute Justice," letting out a long sigh before returning to his mountain of paperwork.
"Arara… Vice Admiral Garp, still as carefree as ever."
It was Aokiji, Admiral of the Marines. Leaning lazily against the armrest, he had one eye covered by a sleep mask, already halfway to slumping on the couch. Today, there had been no crises requiring an Admiral's deployment, and he was enjoying this rare moment of peace.
"You're the last one who should talk," Garp replied, mouth full of donut. "You're always riding around with penguins on that bike of yours."
Knock knock knock!
"Report for Fleet Admiral Sengoku! New intelligence incoming!" came a voice from behind the door.
"Enter." Sengoku didn't even lift his head. His desk was already piled high with pressing matters.
A marine soldier stepped in and saluted, handing over several documents. "This intelligence report was sent by Rear Admiral Rigs during his pursuit of the pirate 'Mad Beast' Doran."
"Mad Beast Doran? That Zoan-type user of the Black Bear fruit? The one with an 80 million bounty?" Sengoku frowned. "Why is this being passed all the way up to me? Has the chain of command become so careless that even small fry like this require my attention?"
He remembered Doran and his infamous subordinate well—they had a reputation for brutally torturing captives, including marines. Otherwise, Sengoku wouldn't even recall them.
But as he examined the two photographs attached to the report, his frown deepened. Was this really Doran and his sadistic subordinate?
Their bodies were covered in blood, disfigured beyond recognition in places. No doubt the result of being slashed over a thousand times.
"Did they offend someone powerful? Why such a tragic end?" Sengoku looked up at the soldier. "I've seen worse deaths across the sea—why report this one?"
"Because, sir," the soldier replied, "these two were killed by that swordsman from the East Blue you had us keep tabs on—Weiss."
At that, Garp popped his head up behind Sengoku, still chewing. "Hoh? How'd those two provoke that brat? Got themselves shredded."
"Didn't look nearly that vicious when he sparred with Bogard last time."
"Garp! You're too close! You got donut crumbs on my face!" Sengoku leaned away in disgust and tossed the photos to him.
"Here's what happened," the soldier continued. "Apparently, Weiss's ship ran out of food, so they dropped anchor to fish. They happened to run into Doran's pirate crew."
"Since the Chris only has a few people aboard, their sniper—some guy named Jack—fired a shot that hit Doran's ammunition stockpile. Only Doran and his officer survived the blast."
"Puhahahaha! That's just bad luck!" Garp burst out laughing mid-bite, spraying Sengoku with crumbs again.
"GARP—GET OUT IF YOU'RE GOING TO MESS AROUND!" Sengoku roared.
The messenger soldier sighed slightly but pressed on. "The two survivors boarded the Chris and began torturing the crew. Then Weiss emerged from the sea and slaughtered them both."
"A marine patrol found them afterward—Weiss's injured companions are currently being treated aboard the warship."
"And since you ordered any updates regarding Weiss to be reported immediately, Rear Admiral Rigs passed the intel straight up."
Sengoku waved his hand dismissively, allowing the messenger to leave. This had been his order after all—because Garp had once claimed Weiss's swordplay reminded him of someone.
At the time, Sengoku thought it was just the dual-sword style. But he didn't dismiss it entirely. After all, if Weiss really was the successor of the legendary Golden Lion…
…Then maybe, just maybe, they could use him to track the whereabouts of Shiki himself.
A pirate of that scale—vanished for nearly twenty years—wouldn't sit idle. Someone with ambition like his was bound to be plotting something earth-shattering.
After tracing Weiss's sailing route, it had taken them over half a month to locate Twin Swallow Island. Despite investigating via merchant ships and covert operations, they'd found no clear answers.
Only one fact stood out: Weiss trained alone by the seaside, often diving underwater to practice swordsmanship. No one had ever seen him being taught.
"Someone like that… could be recruited into the Marines," Sengoku muttered to himself. "First, he'd greatly strengthen our forces. An eighteen-year-old swordsman of that level is terrifying. If he continues to grow, who knows what heights he might reach?"
The Marines had a fleet admiral, three powerful admirals, and a legendary hero in Garp. But none of that changed the fact that their younger generation was fractured—there was no one yet able to carry the torch.
"Second, we can keep a close eye on him. No matter how skilled he is, once he's under our watch, even if he is Shiki's successor, so what? It's not like he could turn Marineford upside down."
With that thought solidified, Sengoku gave a firm order—have Rear Admiral Rigs reach out and test the waters.
After all, extending an invitation wouldn't cost them anything.
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