"!!!"
CRASH!
Garp shot to his feet so abruptly that his chair flew backward, clattering loudly in the otherwise silent conference room.
His eyes were wide, staring in disbelief first at Zephyr, then whipping his head around to lock onto Mike.
His lips quivered, his voice cracking with an emotion he rarely showed.
"Are you… sure?"
"Positive, Sensei," Kuzan spoke, his voice calm and steady, like an anchor in Garp's emotional storm.
"I accompanied Mike to Fish-Man Island for the handover. His relationship with Whitebeard is rock solid."
Garp looked at this disciple, the one he had trained by punching warships, then at the composed young Captain beside him.
The last trace of doubt in his heart evaporated completely.
"Pfft— HAHAHAHAHA!"
A wild, uproarious laugh burst from Garp's chest, tears of sheer, unadulterated joy streaming from his eyes.
Still laughing, he snatched up the pen and, without a moment's hesitation, signed his name with a flourish: Monkey D. Garp.
The strokes were so forceful they nearly tore through the paper, as if he were pouring all his pent-up anxiety and newfound relief into that single signature.
"When that brat Ace gets back safely, I'm going to give him a proper taste of my Fist of Love!" Garp growled, his fists clenching so hard they creaked.
But the smile on his face was unstoppable, the crow's feet at his eyes crinkling with delight.
That damn kid, always insisting on becoming a Pirate, so different from the outstanding Marine Garp had wanted him to be.
And now, getting himself captured and thrown into Impel Down, about to be publicly executed!
Garp had pretended to be calm, but inside, he'd been burning with anxiety, countless times considering whether to just burn the world down and break Ace out himself.
But he couldn't.
He was the "Hero of the Marines," a symbol of Justice.
But now? Now, Mike had created the New Marine, and the Whitebeard Pirates were being absorbed into it.
Ace wouldn't just be saved; he'd be joining the New Marine!
'Heh, I'll have to swallow my pride and beg Mike to assign that brat to my unit…'
Garp was already lost in a beautiful daydream.
'Petty chief officer Portgas D. Ace, stand at attention! No lunch for you today! Run a thousand laps for me!'
"Pffft— HAHAHAHAHA—"
The thought was too beautiful, and Garp burst into another fit of roaring laughter.
"..."
Beside him, Sengoku was stunned.
'Mike reached an agreement with Whitebeard?'
This meant the New Marine didn't just have the old guard and most of the Warlords; they now had an Emperor's crew.
Marco the Phoenix, Diamond Jozu, Flower Sword Vista… all of them.
The power Mike had assembled was terrifying.
The entire sea would tremble.
His gaze shifted to Mike, who was leisurely smoking a cigar, chatting and laughing with Akainu and Zephyr as if he owned the place.
'How did he do it? In such a short time, how did he complete such an earth-shattering scheme?'
Sengoku's heart was a whirlwind of emotions.
He recalled Mike's unique charisma, the mountains of Belly, the inspiring ideals of "liberation."
But deep down, he knew the real reason: the world had suffered under the World Government for far too long.
The people yearned for freedom, for a new world.
And the New Marine had given them that hope.
He thought back to his own youth, to his own ideals.
Hadn't he joined the Marines to protect the peace? And what had they become? Lapdogs for the Celestial Dragons.
He glanced at Garp, Tsuru, and Zephyr—his oldest comrades.
They had all made their choice.
They had all chosen to follow Mike.
'Enough…' Sengoku let out a long sigh, the confusion in his heart finally settling.
'Perhaps it's time to embrace this new era. Perhaps… this is true Justice.'
His hand trembled slightly as he picked up the pen, ready to bind his fate to the New Marine.
"Brrr brrr… Brrr brrr…"
Just then, the urgent, shrill ringing of a Den Den Mushi shattered the silence.
Frowning, Sengoku pulled out the special device—the direct line to the Five Elders.
"SENGOKU!"
The moment the call connected, the grating voice of Saint Saturn erupted from the receiver.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! A CELESTIAL DRAGON HAS BEEN ATTACKED ON SABAODY! WHY HAVEN'T ADMIRALS BEEN DEPLOYED?!"
Saturn shrieked on, ranting about how the Straw Hat crew had attacked, how they'd tried to take Nami and Robin as slaves, and how the dignity of the "gods" had been trampled.
"SENGOKU!" he screeched. "IMMEDIATELY, RIGHT NOW, SEND AN ADMIRAL TO SABAODY AND ARREST THE ENTIRE STRAW HAT CREW! OTHERWISE, YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT NEXT QUARTER'S MILITARY BUDGET!"
"Hahaha…" Hearing that, Sengoku could no longer contain himself.
He burst into a fit of angry laughter.
'Military budget? Again with the budget! Is that the only threat these high-and-mighty bastards have?!'
"Saturn…" Sengoku sneered, his voice dripping with a lifetime of suppressed sarcasm and rage.
"GO FUCK YOURSELF!!!"
SMACK!
He slammed the Den Den Mushi down onto the table with all his strength, shattering the golden snail into a hundred pieces.
"Crack!"
"Haa—" Sengoku exhaled deeply, as if expelling decades of frustration from his very soul.
He looked around at the shocked, bewildered faces of his comrades and felt an indescribable sense of catharsis.
To hell with the Five Elders!
To hell with the World Government!
To hell with the Celestial Dragons!
He'd had enough of all of them!
The room was stunned into silence. And then…
"Clap—"
Mike stood up and began to clap, slowly, rhythmically.
The sound echoed in the silent room.
"Clap—"
"Clap—"
"Clap—"
The applause grew louder, more intense, like the beating of a war drum.
One by one, the other officers—Garp, Zephyr, Akainu, Kuzan, Kizaru, Tsuru—rose to their feet, their eyes burning with a new fire as they joined in.
The echoes of Sengoku's defiant act still hung in the air.
"The World Government?" Mike's voice cut through, a morning bell awakening their souls.
"Right! To hell with it!"