Just as the fleet finished turning around to return to Branch 133, something unexpected occurred.
News of what had happened at sea had somehow reached the ears of the Marines stationed back at the branch.
And now—just as the returning ships approached the harbor—they were greeted not with signals, but with cannon fire.
An internal war within Branch 133 had become nearly unavoidable.
"Fire! Fire!"
"Sink those traitors!"
"Fire!!"
On the docks of Marine Branch 133, a lieutenant commander draped in a "Justice" coat slashed his saber through the air and shouted orders at the gunners. At his command, the harbor cannons roared, vomiting flames as black cannonballs streaked toward the incoming fleet.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Shells splashed into the sea, erupting into geysers of white spray.
Others struck the ships directly, exploding within their hulls.
Two of the smaller patrol ships were unlucky. After taking several hits, they lost all mobility and stalled in the open sea—becoming sitting ducks.
Fires broke out from the explosions, spreading rapidly.
The sailors aboard tried desperately to put out the flames, but the blaze advanced far too quickly. Dozens of Marines had no choice but to abandon ship, boarding lifeboats and fleeing before the vessels sank.
On the flagship, Yoriichi stood at the bow, brows slightly furrowed as he stared at the burning harbor in the distance.
He now realized that the corruption within Branch 133 ran far deeper than he'd initially expected.
The highest authority of Branch 133 had been Colonel Caine.
And he—along with the commanders of every ship sent to intercept Yoriichi and Kyros—was already unconscious and locked up aboard the fleet.
Yet despite this, the news had still reached the branch.
That alone wasn't surprising.
But what was surprising… was that instead of cooperating with Yoriichi's actions, the Marines at the branch had chosen to fire on their own returning ships.
Judging from their actions, they intended to sink every vessel—killing not only Yoriichi and Kyros, but even the branch's own personnel.
When they fired, they didn't even care that many officers were still aboard those ships—including Caine himself.
"…I underestimated how deep the rot goes, didn't I?" Yoriichi murmured.
"There are more 'problematic' people than I thought."
With a quiet exhale, he drew his sword and unleashed several flying slashes, detonating the incoming shells mid-air.
Then his voice rang across the deck:
"Notify the other ships—stay behind the flagship."
"The flagship will accelerate into the harbor. Do not return fire. Once we dock, no one is to disembark until I give the order."
"Kyros. Guard the prisoners. Don't let anyone get near them."
Kyros nodded immediately and sprinted into the cabin.
The Marines aboard the flagship moved without hesitation, rushing into the bridge to relay Yoriichi's orders to the rest of the fleet through Den Den Mushi.
A young sergeant stepped up beside Yoriichi.
"Major Tsugikuni… what are our instructions once we reach the harbor?"
The sergeant's name was Berch.
After Yoriichi swiftly subdued Caine and the others, Berch had personally contacted Headquarters via Den Den Mushi to verify Yoriichi's claims.
Headquarters confirmed everything.
Not only that—they told Berch that Tsugikuni Yoriichi was not a Private Third Class at all, but a Major from Headquarters, who had come for the explicit purpose of auditing Branch 133's officers.
Yoriichi himself had been stunned to hear this—he didn't even know when he'd become a Major.
But after thinking for a moment, he understood.
It must have been Zephyr's doing—a hasty wartime promotion to grant him the authority to arrest officers.
After all, a Private trying to detain an entire branch's command staff would have no credibility whatsoever.
And why a Major? The explanation was simple:
The highest rank in the branch was Colonel.
By naval convention, an officer from Headquarters automatically outranked their branch counterpart by two levels.
Thus, Major from HQ outranked Colonel of a branch.
Jumping from Private Third Class to Major seemed absurd—but at Headquarters, it barely caused a ripple.
Why?
Because when Zephyr approached Sengoku to explain what Yoriichi had discovered… Garp happened to be there as well.
Sengoku initially opposed both the sudden promotion and Yoriichi's actions—acting on suspicion alone to detain an entire branch.
But then Garp casually revealed something.
"That brat—back in the Kingdom of Neil—killed a 200 million bounty pirate in a single stroke. Nuk, captain of the Nuk Pirates.
That man was a Logia user."
"Kuzan saw it happen himself. He told me."
After hearing that, Sengoku's attitude flipped instantly.
Not only did he personally approve Tsugikuni Yoriichi's promotion to Major, he also formally endorsed every one of Yoriichi's actions in Branch 133.
From this moment on, all of Yoriichi's decisions were considered direct orders from Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
All because of one phone call.
All because of Yoriichi's suspicions.
Navy Headquarters had bent over backward to pave the way for him—making every action of his fully legitimate and unquestionable.
The scene shifted back to the West Sea.
Under Tsugikuni Yoriichi's command, the warships accompanying the flagship quickly pulled in behind it, forming a long, snake-like single file as they sped toward the naval port.
The cannons stationed along the port thundered without pause. Countless shells screamed toward the rapidly approaching fleet—yet every one of them detonated mid-air, burst apart by an invisible force. Not a single shell managed to land on a warship.
Before long, the flagship reached the harbor. The moment the ship came to a stop, a white figure shot off the deck, descending onto the port with blinding speed.
The instant Yoriichi touched down, the marines stationed there raised their rifles and surrounded him on all sides. A quick glance revealed there were hundreds of them.
"I am Major Tsugikuni Yoriichi of Marine Headquarters."
"By order, I am here to investigate all officers of the 133rd Marine Branch."
"All personnel—drop your weapons."
Even with hundreds of gun barrels aimed squarely at him, Yoriichi remained utterly calm. His gaze settled on the lieutenant commander leading the group, and he spoke clearly and without hesitation.
(End of Chapter)
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