The corridor leading to the Fleet Admiral's office was covered in a thick scarlet carpet.
Portraits of past Fleet Admirals hung on both walls. This was one of the centers of power in the world. The air itself felt heavy.
Creak.
The heavy mahogany door was pushed open.
The light inside the room was dim.
Only the huge "Justice" plaque in the center stood out. It gave off an authority that was hard to face directly. It was said Admiral Sengoku had written it himself as a gift when Kong became Fleet Admiral.
Several of the most powerful men on the sea were seated around a long conference table.
At the head of the table sat Fleet Admiral "Steel Bone" Kong.
He looked like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment. His thick arms were crossed over his chest. The muscles on them looked strong enough to tear through his uniform. He wore his signature beard shaped like the character for "mountain."
On his left sat Admiral Sengoku, wearing his seagull hat.
The round lenses of his glasses reflected the cold light.
On Kong's right was the legendary Marine hero, Vice Admiral Garp.
He ignored everyone around him and kept stuffing rice crackers into his mouth. The crunching sound was the only noise in the room.
Across from Sengoku sat a man in a red suit and a Marine cap.
His cap was pulled low, showing only his sharp and cold face. Heat seemed to roll off his body. The cigar between his fingers was still burning.
Vice Admiral Sakazuki.
Vice Admiral Tsuru led Aiden and Gion into the room.
The heavy door shut behind them with a loud bang.
In an instant, every eye in the room turned toward Gion and Aiden.
Most of all, they were looking at Aiden.
This was pressure from the highest powers in the world. Suspicion, curiosity, coldness, and weight all came together like an invisible net, trying to see through the young Warrant Officer.
Shiki the Golden Lion had escaped from prison.
That meant the age of pirates would become even more chaotic. The Marines' reputation had also taken another major blow.
At a time like this, when everyone was already on edge, the mess at G-17 had happened.
They had stepped straight into the center of the storm.
"So this is the newcomer?"
Fleet Admiral Kong spoke first.
His voice was deep and full of force. It echoed through the large office and made the teacups on the table shake.
His sharp eyes locked onto Aiden in the middle of the room.
There was no praise in that look. It was only a hard question.
"Aiden, I've read your file. You are an orphan raised by the Marines."
Kong leaned forward.
His huge shadow fell over Aiden, and his tone suddenly turned fierce. "Since you were raised by the Marines, you should understand the rules better than anyone! I want to know..."
He suddenly slammed his hand onto the table.
Bang!
"Three months ago, after the Ohara Buster Call, why did you disappear? You were gone for three whole months! Where did you go? What did you do? And why is it that the moment you come back, you're caught up in a disaster like G-17?!"
This was the most dangerous question.
A Marine who vanished for three months and came back with terrifying strength was far too suspicious.
Facing anger that would have made a normal officer collapse on the spot, Aiden simply stood at attention.
He did not panic, and he did not rush to defend himself.
He followed the story he had practiced in his mind many times and answered calmly.
"Reporting, Fleet Admiral."
Aiden's voice was steady.
At the right moment, he let a trace of pain and hatred appear in his eyes. "Three months ago, during the chaos at Ohara, Smoker and I ran into the wanted criminal Devil Arise, who carries a bounty of 500 million."
The moment that name was spoken, a light flashed across Sengoku's glasses.
Sakazuki crushed the cigar in his hand.
"We were too weak and got captured," Aiden continued.
His tone grew low. "Arise didn't kill us. He took us to a nameless desert island. There, he was carrying out human experiments... experiments involving Devil Fruits."
Aiden raised his eyes and looked straight ahead.
His gaze was open and steady. "Half a month ago, his experiment failed. Smoker and I used the chaos to steal a Devil Fruit. To survive, we took a gamble and ate it. Luck was on our side. I gained this power, blew up his lab, and escaped."
"We drifted at sea for several days before we ran into Commodore Gion's ship."
Sengoku pushed up his glasses.
His sharp eyes swept over Aiden. "What a coincidence."
"Too convenient. You escape and immediately find Gion's ship. You gain a Devil Fruit ability and then immediately kill a pirate worth 300 million."
Even if they called it a coincidence, Sengoku and Kong both knew that on this sea, a place full of monsters, such strange things were possible.
More importantly, they did not have time to dig into the details of some pirate right now.
The other report lying on the table, the destruction of G-17 and the scandal tied to the Seven Warlords of the Sea, was a political bomb that had to be dealt with immediately.
"Headquarters will investigate your story later."
Kong waved his hand and forced the conversation back to the main issue.
His eyes turned sharp again as he stared at Aiden. "Even if you were only trying to survive. But Aiden..."
Kong pointed at the report about the missing CP0 agents.
His voice turned ice-cold. "The investigation at G-17 shows that those two CP0 agents died from extremely sharp slashes. And they were killed inside the core area under Marine control."
Kong's voice rose higher.
"Victor is dead, and Nelson is dead. I can accept that. But those were CP0! They answer directly to the Celestial Dragons! They were beheaded inside our base. Now Saint Charlmark is making a scene at Mary Geoise, and the World Government wants an answer!"
"Tell me, who did it?!"
This was a question that could cost Aiden his life.
If he gave the wrong answer, he could be arrested on the spot.
Aiden remained calm.
"The battle was extremely chaotic. Victor Hugo had the power of the Crystal-Crystal Fruit. He could reflect light and attacks at will. Once he was cornered, he attacked everyone to destroy the evidence."
Aiden's tone sounded completely natural. "As for those two agents... they were standing with the pirates. In a fight at that level, I really didn't see how they died."
"You didn't see?"
Sengoku gave a cold laugh.
It was obvious he did not believe him.
Just as Sengoku was about to press harder, a sharp sound cut in.
Pa.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, who had stayed silent until now, suddenly slapped a stack of documents onto the center of the table.
She cut Sengoku off.
"Enough. Look at this first."
Tsuru's voice was not loud, but the moment she spoke, she took control of the room.
She pointed at the documents, a black ledger and several wax-sealed letters.
They were the evidence Aiden had taken from the basement.
"Compared to how they died, shouldn't the real question be why two CP0 agents were on a pirate ship in the first place?"
Tsuru looked around the room and tore away the cover.
"Victor and Nelson were working together. They kidnapped civilians along the golden trade routes and turned them into 'living statues' to sell to Saint Charlmark. Those two CP0 agents were the middlemen in charge of transport and checking the goods."
Garp, who had been eating rice crackers the whole time, suddenly stopped.
"Scum..." Garp cursed under his breath.
He crushed the rice cracker in his hand. "Treating civilians like cargo... I really want to punch those pieces of trash."
Fleet Admiral Kong's face darkened.
A trace of stiff embarrassment flashed across his face.
As Fleet Admiral, he was not completely unaware of these dirty deals.
To a certain extent, he had chosen to ignore them in order to keep the peace with Mary Geoise.
But now Tsuru had slammed the evidence onto the table in front of everyone.
What he felt was less shock and more anger and shame at being forced to face it openly.
"This is not just about human trafficking."
Kong tried to keep his voice firm, but Tsuru tapped the table.
"Kong, calm down."