This internal trial within the Navy was not publicly disclosed.
Externally, it was simply announced in the newspaper that Vice-Admiral Garp needed to recuperate at Marineford for an extended period due to declining health.
Within the Navy, aside from the highest-ranking officials, lower-ranking officers and regular enlisted personnel weren't qualified to know the truth of the matter.
Fleet Admiral Kong had shown considerable leniency for Garp—even after officially stripping him of his command position and his "Hero" title, the old man wasn't imprisoned in Impel Down.
He was merely confined to the island and prevented from taking any action.
After this incident, Garp's spirit suffered a heavy blow.
His hair turned completely white overnight!
...
Grand Line, Calm Belt waters.
Combat had already begun on the sea surface.
Advanced, metal-plated Marine warships were pursuing and intercepting a weathered, wooden civilian vessel.
Cannons fired heavy volleys, shells exploding into tall sprays of water around the fleeing wooden ship.
Boom!
Successive explosions and crashing waves made progress difficult for the civilian ship, allowing the Navy to close the distance.
Finally, amidst the rain of iron, one cannon shell struck directly at the bottom of the ship's hull, blasting a large hole through which seawater came rushing in.
On the lead warship, the commanding officer, Jaguar D. Saul, watched with a deep frown.
He didn't understand why he had received such a brutal mission.
Did pursuing a group of unarmed scholars exploring history really require using heavy cannons and rifles?
"Cease fire," Saul ordered, raising a massive hand. "They are powerless to resist any longer."
When Saul first received the mission dossier, he assumed they were dealing with evil, dangerous scholars trying to build weapons.
But as he chased them across the sea, he grew increasingly confused about his task.
They were merely a group of unarmed archaeologists.
As the mission progressed over the months, destroying one historical exploration ship after another, his bewilderment grew day by day.
He couldn't understand what actual crime these scholars had committed to warrant a kill-on-sight order from the World Government.
The soldiers on the deck exchanged nervous glances when they saw Saul's troubled expression.
Although Vice-Admiral Saul had ordered them not to attack the sinking ship further, Navy Headquarters had personally issued the command to leave no survivors and no trace of the expedition.
Fortunately for the soldiers, the enemy ship was already taking on massive amounts of water and would soon sink into the sea regardless.
There was no need for them to provoke their giant superior officer.
Both sides remained silent, and the atmosphere on the deck grew heavy.
Until a naval soldier shouted from a retrieval boat. "Vice-Admiral Saul! We've captured a woman from the wreckage!"
Saul stood up from his massive seat. "What?"
He turned and saw a soaking wet, white-haired woman being escorted aboard by several soldiers.
"Bastards! Why won't you let us go?! We are unarmed! You could have just arrested us, why attack us with cannons?!" The woman's tears fell as she shouted in raw grief for her drowned colleagues.
Seeing the tears on the woman's face, Saul felt a tremor in his heart, but he maintained a stern, professional exterior as he directed the soldiers.
"Take her down to my office. I need to interrogate her."
...
Ten minutes later, the unarmed woman was brought to the ship's large office, her hands and feet bound in heavy iron shackles.
Sitting in his custom-built chair, Saul waved his hand, signaling the Marine guards to leave and lock the door.
After the soldiers departed, Saul leaned forward to ask the question that had been troubling him for months.
"Are you really evil scholars trying to awaken the Ancient Weapons?" he asked. He needed to know the truth.
Upon hearing this accusation, the white-haired woman's tears welled up again.
She spoke with immense, tired pain. "Because of that ridiculous reason?"
"The Ancient Weapons have been gone for eight hundred years. How could a few dozen powerless historians like us possibly awaken them?" She glared at the giant. "The World Government is just afraid their past misdeeds will be exposed to the world."
"Everyone knows about the Void Century, but no one is allowed to know what truly happened during those hundred years. As scholars, it is our sacred duty to investigate the truth of the past." The woman let out a bitter laugh.
"We thought the Navy stood for justice... but how laughable."
"Afraid of your masters' misdeeds being exposed, you murder innocent people. The Navy is just the World Government's lapdog! How dare you talk about upholding justice?!"
Saul remained silent.
His mind was in turmoil.
Much of what the woman said was one-sided, yet these raw words plunged Saul into deeper moral confusion.
For the first time in his long life, the "Justice" he had steadfastly believed in felt cold and unfamiliar.
The World Government's lapdog?
It sounded harsh, but looking at the chained, grieving woman, Saul had to admit she might be right.
He took a deep breath, opened his mouth to speak, but then lowered his head dejectedly, saying nothing.
He called his subordinates back in to take her to the brig.
...
In the Fleet Admiral's office at Marineford, Kong sat in his chair massaging his temples, trying to relieve a pounding headache.
The world's landscape had undergone massive changes recently.
Following Roger's death, an increasing number of people were choosing to become pirates, causing severe manpower shortages across the Four Blues and the Grand Line.
Meanwhile, for unknown reasons, the mortality rate of corrupt Marine officers at branch bases across the Four Blues had been steadily rising.
Fleet Admiral Kong suspected it might be due to neglected local training, so he decided to convene senior officials to discuss how to enhance the Navy's combat effectiveness.
Soon, heavy footsteps accompanied by a crisp knock echoed from outside the door.
"Enter."
Kong lowered his hand and looked toward the entrance.
Admiral Sengoku, dressed in his pristine white uniform, entered the room.
"Fleet Admiral, you requested my presence?"
Sengoku had been spending much of his time recently counseling a depressed Garp and felt mentally drained.
He wondered what urgent matter Kong needed to discuss now.
"How is Garp doing lately?" Kong asked.
He remained concerned about Garp, as the old man represented one of the Navy's few top-tier combat assets.
With Garp currently confined to Marineford and Admiral Zephyr refusing sea missions due to his severe psychological trauma, only Sengoku—as the sole active Admiral—could maintain high-level order across the seas.
Sengoku sighed. "Garp feels a severe conflict between his personal beliefs and his duties, but you know how resilient he is. He'll probably recover soon. What did you need to discuss, Fleet Admiral?"
Seeing Sengoku's stable professional demeanor, Kong's worry-lined face relaxed slightly.
Though the Navy was full of disobedient troublemakers, his designated successor, Sengoku, proved exceptionally capable.
Kong felt reassured leaving the Navy's future in Sengoku's hands.
Of course, Kong held a particular fondness for the rapidly rising Christian Raleigh, though the ruthless officer remained too young and politically polarizing for the Fleet Admiral seat right now.
Having served as Admiral for years, Sengoku possessed sufficient supporters, prestige, and seniority.
Raleigh still needed time to mature his political base.
Yet Kong maintained high expectations for Raleigh—if he survived this chaotic era, he would undoubtedly become the next Fleet Admiral after Sengoku.
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