"First, let's rule out a few people within the Navy," Redyat said calmly, stroking his chin as if lost in thought. "Fleet Admiral Kong. Admiral Sengoku the Buddha. Vice Admiral Garp the Hero. And former Admiral Zephyr."
"Any one of them would have been more than capable of dealing with a pirate of that level alone."
"The remaining candidates, then, must be high-ranking officers beneath them."
Redyat stood directly before Atchison, his gaze seemingly boring straight into his heart.
Atchison's body stiffened.
Under Redyat's stare, he felt completely exposed, as if every secret he had ever buried was being dragged into the light. In front of this man, it felt as though there was nowhere to hide.
Suddenly, a long-buried rumor surfaced in his mind.
A rumor only Sengoku, Garp, and a handful of top Marine officials knew.
"Red the Aloof" Patrick Redfield.
A monster beyond reason. A man who, if encountered, almost certainly meant death.
Atchison did not know the full truth, but he had heard fragments. Redfield was said to possess a terrifying power, one that allowed him to see straight through a person's heart.
Just like this.
Redyat's identity had already been confirmed in Atchison's mind. Even without evidence, he was now almost certain of it.
Redyat had inherited Redfield's ability.
If that was the case, then the truth Atchison was trying to hide had already been laid bare.
He looked up sharply.
His pupils constricted.
Where the cameras could not see, Redyat smiled at him.
It was a strange smile, eerie and knowing, one that sent a cold shiver down Atchison's spine.
He wanted to speak.
He could not.
Atchison had never trained to resist Seastone. His Devil Fruit was sealed, his physical strength drained. He could not even muster Haki, which required immense bodily energy.
From the shadows beneath his feet, thin shadow tendrils had already slipped through his wounds, infiltrating his body and quietly taking control of his muscles.
He could not even move his mouth.
This was a minor technique Redyat had developed. It was useless in real combat, but against someone this weakened, it was more than enough.
The stage was now entirely Redyat's.
"Kuzan," Redyat continued casually, "it's not him. He only joined the Navy eight years ago."
"Borsalino isn't the culprit either. I rather like his way of doing things. That so-called 'ambiguous justice' of his."
Ambiguous did not mean careless.
Borsalino's justice existed somewhere between Sakazuki's absolute justice and Kuzan's more flexible ideals. It was a form of balance.
Because of this, in the future, after suppressing the Supernovas, Borsalino would let them go and instead arrest a group of insignificant pirates. That was enough to appease the Celestial Dragons without destabilizing the world.
If it were Sakazuki, not a single pirate would have been spared.
As for Kuzan, he believed that some pirates were little more than adventurers. People like the future Straw Hat Pirates were worth letting go. Truly evil pirates, however, would not escape his judgment.
Under Borsalino's ambiguous justice, pirates were allowed to exist. They needed to exist.
Without them, the World Government would only grow more arrogant, and the Celestial Dragons more tyrannical.
"Sakazuki," Redyat said next, "this kind of operation fits his absolute justice perfectly. It is something he could do."
The moment those words were spoken, Sakazuki's face darkened at Marine Headquarters.
Was this about to be pinned on him?
However, Redyat continued.
"But he would not act like this unless absolutely necessary. With his power, even eight years ago, there were far more efficient methods that would have caused less damage."
"He would not casually resort to something so crude. If he did, no matter how strong he was, he would already be rotting in a prison cell."
"As the most qualified soldier in the Navy today, if Sakazuki were involved at all, it would only have been under direct orders from above."
Sakazuki's expression eased slightly.
He straightened his posture and shot a disdainful glance at the frozen Vice Admiral.
Redyat was right.
How could he have used such a low-level method?
And that phrase, "the most qualified soldier in the Navy," pleased him more than he cared to admit.
Sengoku and Tsuru exchanged glances.
They were surprised.
Redyat knew far too much about the Navy. Too much about their internal structure, their personnel, their histories.
For a moment, they even wondered if the Nightfall Pirates had planted a spy within Marine Headquarters.
One by one, Redyat named Marine Vice Admirals, offering brief evaluations before calmly ruling them out.
Some of those evaluations made people grit their teeth.
"Average."
"Ordinary."
"Acceptable."
"Not bad."
Since when had Marine Vice Admirals become so unimpressive?
Then Redyat stopped.
"Vice Admiral Makudi."
The name rang out clearly.
"His strength is average. Among Vice Admirals, very ordinary."
"He looks unremarkable. Even a bit ugly. Lacks the aura of a strong man. Slightly lewd."
"He likely abuses his authority and has connections."
"He only became a Vice Admiral in his forties, a late bloomer."
"The Mandela Island incident was probably his turning point."
As Redyat spoke, the image of a man gradually took shape in everyone's minds.
Then laughter broke out.
Some people could not hold it back.
Compared to Redyat's brief dismissals of others, Makudi had received an almost painfully detailed description.
At Marine Headquarters, countless gazes turned toward Vice Admiral Makudi.
The earlier laughter faded.
Looking at him now, many realized something unsettling.
He really did look lewd.
Makudi's face darkened. No one could feel good being publicly dissected like this.
More importantly, Redyat's words had drawn a clear line.
Mandela Island.
Promotion.
Connections.
Could it really be him?
"It's you, isn't it, Vice Admiral Makudi?" Redyat asked with a smile.
It sounded like a question.
It was not.
"And now comes the choice," Redyat continued, turning back to Atchison. "Five hundred lives. Whether they live or die is up to you."
Atchison closed his eyes.
He had known this moment would come the instant he realized what Redyat truly was.
Hiding was meaningless.
Redyat only wanted him to say the name himself.
Inside Marine Headquarters, Makudi screamed in his heart.
Don't say it.
His lower body was frozen solid. Escape was impossible.
His face was pale, drenched in fear.
If Atchison stayed silent, Makudi might still live. He would be purged internally, stripped of rank, cast aside. Even Kuzan might spare his life if he paid the price.
He could disappear and survive quietly.
But if his name was spoken, it would be over.
Public execution.
Abandonment.
Death.
The fear rolling off him was unmistakable. Any Marine with competent Observation Haki could sense it.
Disdain filled their eyes.
Why had he not acted differently back then?
"It's Makudi," Atchison said quietly, his eyes still closed.
Makudi's mind went blank.
His strength vanished. If not for the ice, he would have collapsed on the spot.
Sengoku and Tsuru felt a deep, weary helplessness.
Atchison had been completely dragged into Redyat's tempo. From the moment this began, he had never regained control.
"What a sight," Redyat said mockingly. "Has the Navy truly fallen this far?"
"Even someone like this can become a Vice Admiral."
"So the Navy represents justice?"
He shook his head.
"Before I became a pirate, I even considered becoming a Marine Admiral. Who knows how many so-called Vice Admirals are secretly colluding with pirates behind closed doors?"
The sea erupted.
If the earlier revelations were cracks, this was the hammer blow.
The Navy does not represent justice.
That was no longer implied. It was stated outright.
Justice was the Navy's banner. Its foundation. The reason countless people joined.
If justice was false, then what was the Navy?
The suggestion of collusion with pirates sent chills through civilians everywhere.
A savior wearing the mask of justice, but hiding the face of a criminal.
At Marine Headquarters, expressions were grim.
Redyat was not just attacking individuals. He was tearing at the Navy's very core.
They understood his goal clearly now.
Chaos.
Distrust.
A world that no longer believed in Marine justice.
This had to be resolved.
"So tell me," Redyat said lightly, smiling at Atchison, "if the Navy is rotten inside, how can it enforce justice?"
"I once heard someone say that some Marines are nothing more than pirates wearing the uniform of justice."
"Don't you agree?"
"The Navy is justice!" Atchison roared.
His eyes were bloodshot. His teeth were stained red as he glared at Redyat, his body trembling violently with rage.
All around the world, countless Marines felt the same fury.
This pirate was trampling on their faith.
Atchison regretted it.
He should have died earlier. If he had ended his own life before this moment, none of this would have happened.
But now, even that was impossible.
Shadow threads controlled his every movement.
"What justice?" Redyat replied coldly. "Hypocritical justice?"
This era needed chaos.
The seas needed to boil.
Stability only strengthened the Navy. Stability only benefited the World Government.
That was the last thing the Nightfall Pirates wanted.
Only in turbulence could they grow.
Only in disorder could they catch up to the monsters ruling the New World.
This was not an accident. It was an open conspiracy.
Even if Atchison had never spoken, Redyat had countless other ways to shatter the Navy's reputation.
The Nightfall Pirates needed time.
They were far behind the giants of the New World.
Chaos was their ladder.
After today, the Navy might target them with renewed fury.
It did not matter.
They were no longer pawns that could be crushed at will.
Even if elite forces were mobilized to hunt them down, they would hear of it in advance and vanish.
They were already in the first half of the Grand Line.
The New World awaited.
Dangerous.
Unforgiving.
But limitless.