"What do you take the Marines for?" Garp's veins stood out as his iron fist clenched.
"The Marines?" The square-faced Elder's look soured. "You are merely an agency under the World Government. Without the World Government, there would be no Marines. Without the World Government, who would guarantee the people's safety? From your mouth, the Government sounds so contemptible?"
"Garp." Kong frowned and tugged lightly at Garp's sleeve. However dissatisfied he was with the Elders, he still forced it down.
"The World Government? If not for the common folk, who would lift a finger for you?" Garp ripped off his gloves, kicked the doors open, and strode out in fury.
"Stop, fool!" The Elder with the two drooping whiskers shot to his feet and barked after him.
Garp did not spare him a glance.
Zephyr and Sengoku both went pale.
The sudden flare-up left the hall heavy and still.
Sengoku bowed his head a fraction. "My lords, Garp was rash. I will bring him back at once."
"No need." The sword-bearing Elder's eyes were ice. A hard light slid across his face. "Anyone who dares defy his superiors is useless to us. Kong, dismiss him and expel him from Marine Headquarters."
"Dismissed, expelled?" Kong stiffened. They truly meant to drive Garp out.
"That is unwise." Before Kong could plead, the only Elder who had not spoken yet knit his brows. "One of ours is missing, the Deadwarden is dead, and the sudden appearance of Rakuya and 'Liuyun' is extremely troublesome. Rakuya also has a mysterious clan at his back. If we expel a man with admiral-level strength on top of this, morale will waver."
"Waver?"
The sword-bearing Elder and the square-faced Elder fell silent.
Garp did possess admiral-class power. He was a pillar of Marine Headquarters. Driving him out would leave a gaping hole in their strength, reputation aside.
Not worth the cost.
"Then what? Let him run wild?" The sword-bearer's tone was still sour.
"Kong, what is Garp's current rank?" the square-faced Elder asked after a beat.
"Vice Admiral."
"Vice Admiral? Good. Let him remain a Vice Admiral for life. No promotions, ever. That will serve as punishment."
The words dropped and the room went dead quiet.
The Elders all nodded together.
Kong, Zephyr and Sengoku exchanged looks. Their faces tightened.
Vice admiral. For life.
For Garp, it was strangling a future in its cradle.
People climb upward like water runs downhill. Who does not want a better life and a broader road? In any organization, an employee paid pennies dreams of becoming a director, a CEO.
This world was no different.
With one sentence, the Five Elders erased a lifetime. For a Marine with dreams, nothing cut deeper. A soldier who does not aim to be a general is no good soldier.
Even a salted fish has dreams. How much more a man.
"No." The three spoke after a beat, at once.
"Garp cannot be shackled to vice admiral for life. His seniority is enough, his strength is enough. He can be an admiral, even a fleet admiral. Is this how you repay a lifetime given to the Government and Headquarters? I do not agree," Kong said flatly.
"Nor do I," Zephyr said.
"Nor I," Sengoku added.
"Do not agree? Who holds supreme authority, you or us? Are you Marines planning rebellion?" The sword-bearing Elder bared cold steel. The air dropped a few degrees.
"Enough. The decision stands." The square-faced Elder cut it off. "Kong, inform Garp. If he accepts, he stays. If not, he takes off the uniform and leaves Marine Headquarters."
"This…" Kong was caught in the middle and at a loss for words before the four old men.
"Hmph." Sengoku shot the Elders a glare. "You will regret this. You absolutely will."
He turned on his heel and left without hesitation.
"Kong, are these the men you trained? Is this the attitude you allow?" the Elders kept up their scolding as Kong and Zephyr stood stiffly and listened.
Outside the tower, Sengoku found two guards. "Did Vice Admiral Garp pass through? Which way?"
"Garp? He went that way," one pointed.
Sengoku said nothing more and strode off.
A wind-swept hillside. The air was cool and easy. One man stood alone on the peak, Justice cloak snapping in the breeze, eyes on the endless sea, face shadowed.
"Garp."
The voice behind him did not draw a glance. Sengoku gave a helpless smile, used Moonwalk to alight at his side, and dropped two clay jugs into the grass with a thump.
"Garp, I have news."
"Say it. I am ready. Expelled from Headquarters?" Garp's expression did not shift. He even smiled.
"No. They did not go that far. But they sentenced you to remain a Vice Admiral for life."
"I see." Garp's calm made him unreadable.
"What then? Thinking of leaving?" Sengoku murmured. He tore the seal off a jug and took a long pull. The burn ran from throat to chest and heat flushed through him.
"Leave? Why would I leave? I joined the Marines to uphold justice. Who cares what those old fossils think. I am here for the people. As for rank, let it fall where it will."
Garp's tone was careless. Then he glanced at the jug and scowled. "Sengoku, Marines are prohibited from drinking. You not only drink, you dare do it in the Holy Land."
"So what. Worst case they strip me of rank. I would welcome it."
"Hahaha. You rascal." Garp thumped Sengoku in the chest, snatched the jug, and took a deep swallow. The fierce burn spread across his tongue and down his throat, and with it the bottled-up anger and gloom burned away for a moment.
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