Inside the room, Sengoku and Garp were sharing Senbei when Akainu kicked the door open and barged in.
"Sakazuki, as the Fleet Admiral, don't you have even basic etiquette?" Sengoku said, feeling a bit of a headache.
"Yeah, watch out, or I'll break your legs!" Garp said while picking his nose.
"Etiquette?" Akainu stepped on the table in front of Sengoku, looking down at him.
"Do you have any idea how much fire is in me right now!?"
"..." Sengoku looked at Akainu. "When are you not fuming?"
"Just now, Kuzan—whom you placed high hopes on and saw as your successor—became a pirate. In the truest sense!" Akainu said.
"Wahahahahaha~"
Sengoku was still dazed, but Garp had already burst out laughing.
"Is that true? Sengoku, let's see how you have the nerve to talk about me again..."
"Shut up!" Sengoku snapped. "You raised two of them!"
"Sakazuki, what exactly is going on?"
Akainu recounted what Aokiji had said.
"Isn't that the Revolutionary Army's way?" Garp was sensitive to this.
"It's much more radical than the Revolutionary Army." Sengoku's expression was grave. "The key is that this method... might actually solve many problems quickly."
"Then why didn't anyone use it before?" Garp tossed a Senbei into his mouth.
"Because powerful people are 'whales' themselves. There are enough fish and shrimp to eat, so why kill each other?"
Sengoku said, "But now, an anomaly has appeared."
"Clown Buggy?" Garp said.
"Exactly. As a 'whale', he doesn't hunt fish and shrimp, but instead targets his own kind," Sengoku said.
"What's more terrifying is that he can attract other strong people to join this path. That is the most fearsome power on the sea!"
After hearing Akainu's description, Sengoku knew Aokiji had made up his mind and wouldn't return.
"Now is not the time for this!" Akainu said. "I'm going out for a while. You will act as the Fleet Admiral in my stead."
"I've already retired." Sengoku pointed to his white hair. "Stop making things difficult for an old man. Besides, the Gorosei won't agree."
"Ignore those five idiots! If they're so capable, let them fire me." Akainu glared at Sengoku.
"Once the news of Kuzan joining the Buggy Pirates spreads, do you know what kind of impact it will have on the Marines!?"
The Marines were divided into the Radical Faction, the Moderate Faction, and the Slacker Faction.
The Radical Faction originally looked to the former Fleet Admiral Kong as their spiritual leader, but Akainu gradually took his place.
The Moderate Faction's spiritual leader was Sengoku, and then it became Aokiji. After Aokiji left the Marines, most of them followed Fujitora.
Even though the Radical Faction was currently the mainstream, the power of the Moderate Faction was not to be underestimated.
"If Kuzan has the mind to, he could cause a split in the Marines at any time. Even if only one-tenth of the Moderate Faction choose to follow him, it would severely damage the Marines' vitality," Akainu said sharply.
He was actually more worried about Fujitora. What if that guy had a brain fart and stopped being a Marine, too? What then?
With Aokiji's addition, the Buggy Pirates' strength was already comparable to the Marines. If another one left, he might as well stop being Fleet Admiral.
"What do you want to do, Sakazuki?" Sengoku asked.
"You stay here to guard Marine Headquarters. I will lead the rest of the Marines to strike out and sweep away the pirates," Akainu said.
This was the only way to strengthen the Marines' cohesion now.
"I thought you were going to attack the Buggy Pirates," Garp said, sounding disappointed.
"Buggy was right about one thing: the era of pirates should end. Before the showdown with him, I will clear out all those small fry first."
"Wait..." Sengoku heard something wrong. "If you lead all the Marines out, who will be left at Marine Headquarters?"
"The Marines are short-handed; you'll have to rely on yourself," Akainu said. "Vice Admiral Garp, what about you?"
"Me? I'm going out too, of course. If you hadn't called for maximum alert, I'd still be tracking Edward Weevil." Garp didn't want to stay here.
"You're leaving me to guard Marine Headquarters alone? What if the Buggy Pirates attack?" Sengoku didn't expect Akainu to make such an irrational decision.
"I'll have people bury explosives under Marine Headquarters, and Black Horse will be on standby there. If the Buggy Pirates attack, he'll ignite them," Akainu said.
"Sakazuki!" Sengoku said through gritted teeth. "Thank you so much!"
"The Marines have reached their most dangerous moment. People's hearts are wavering, and they don't know what they're fighting for. I must use a war to tell the world that on this sea, only the Marines are true Justice!"
"This is my duty as Fleet Admiral. If you don't agree, then just leave an empty Marine Headquarters here."
After Akainu finished speaking, he turned and left without waiting for Sengoku's answer.
"I may not like Sakazuki, but he certainly has more guts than you, Sengoku." Garp was still crunching on Senbei.
"If I had that kind of 'guts', your bloodline would have ended long ago, Garp," Sengoku snorted.
"Are you really going to stay here, sitting on a mountain of explosives?" Garp felt a bit guilty.
"Sakazuki is right. The Marines urgently need a major war to stabilize people's hearts. He has fulfilled his duty as Admiral; I, as his senior, cannot lose face either."
Sengoku stood up. "And by staying here, I can also give an account to the Gorosei."
"Fine, I'll stay and help you then," Garp changed his mind.
"If the Buggy Pirates really attack, we might die together," Sengoku said.
"Back when we were chasing the Roger Pirates all over the world, Buggy was probably still crying on the ship with a runny nose!"
Garp laughed loudly. "Whitebeard isn't the only remnant of the old era!"
On Sabaody Archipelago, Buggy handed Mr. 3 and the others over to Rayleigh and was chatting with Shakky when he noticed the screen in the bar lit up.
"Didn't Morgans say that most of the transponder snails were lost? How can he still start a broadcast?" Buggy became interested.
Shakky looked at the transponder snail. "This isn't a signal from the World Economic Journal, it's from the Marines..."
Images appeared on the screen. In front of the towering Marine Headquarters, hundreds of warships were lined up neatly, ready to set sail.
"What a grand scene!" Buggy exclaimed. "The Marines still have money."
Although he had many strong people under him, he couldn't scrape together this many ships.
He still needed to make some more money and start a massive construction project.
On the leading warship, Akainu, dressed as Fleet Admiral, stood at the bow and announced to the world, "Since the death of Gol D. Roger, the pirate era that has lasted for over twenty years should end. Let us, the Marines, terminate this era!"
At Marine Headquarters, three old people were watching this scene.
"I worked so hard to build up that foundation, yet Sakazuki is the one showing off," Sengoku said. "It's a bit annoying!"
"Broadcasts weren't popular back then. Otherwise, if the Battle of God Valley had been recorded, it would have been much more exciting than fighting Blackbeard," Garp also lamented.
"Stop being so sour, you two." Tsuru rolled her eyes at them. "We're old now; it's the era of the young."
"Hmph, if the three of us join forces, even Buggy..."
Before Garp could finish, Sengoku covered his mouth. "Can you stop being such a jinx for once?"
Amidst Tsuru's laughter, the warships began to move, sailing in various directions...
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