Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Nearly three weeks had passed since Zaraki disappeared beneath the storm-torn sea after his battle with Kaido, yet the strategy chamber still looked as though no one inside had slept properly since that day.
Ashtrays overflowed with cigarette butts.
Coffee had gone cold in half-empty cups, and the air was thick with smoke, salt carried in from the open windows, and the stale exhaustion of officers who had spent too many nights chasing reports that led nowhere.
Charts of the Grand Line covered the central table, marked with search routes extending from the New World back toward Paradise.
Every current, wreck, unidentified ship, and rumor of an injured swordsman had been investigated.
None had produced proof of death, but none had brought Zaraki home either.
Garp stood over the table with both hands planted against its edge.
A stack of useless intelligence reports lay scattered around him, several pages crumpled where his fingers had tightened.
"Read it again," he said.
The intelligence officer across from him swallowed.
"Vice Admiral Garp, we have already reviewed every report from the storm zone, the surrounding islands, and the major routes through the Red Line. There were no confirmed sightings."
"I didn't ask how many times you reviewed them. I told you to read them again."
Sengoku rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Garp, threatening the reports will not make them produce new information."
Garp turned on him, eyes bloodshot but voice steadier than it had been during the first days of the search.
"That brat survived Shiki, Jack, Doflamingo, and Kaido long enough to make the whole world watch. I'm not signing off on his death because a group of exhausted navigators couldn't find a body."
"No one has asked you to sign anything," Sengoku replied. "His status remains missing. The search has not been ended, but Headquarters cannot keep every available ship tied to one operation forever."
Sakazuki sat farther down the table with his arms folded across his chest.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku is right. Whether Zaraki is alive or dead, his active assignments have already been without a commander for nearly three weeks. We need to redistribute those operations, reinforce the branches he left exposed, and prepare for the possibility that he will not return."
Garp's jaw tightened.
"You sound eager."
"I sound practical." Sakazuki met his gaze without flinching. "If he is alive, preparation will not kill him. If he is dead, denial will not bring him back."
The atmosphere sharpened, but Sengoku raised one hand before either man could push the argument further.
"That is enough. We are here to discuss search priorities and the Warlord vacancy, not start another fight inside Headquarters."
The heavy doors opened before anyone could answer.
The officers around the table straightened almost as one.
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro entered wearing a white kimono and wooden sandals, one hand resting near the sword at his side.
Two masked CP0 agents followed several paces behind him and stopped at the doors. His presence inside Marineford's strategy chamber was no routine inspection.
The Five Elders had personally authorized the search for a replacement Warlord, and Nusjuro had come to ensure that Marine resources were no longer being consumed by an officer the Government had already begun treating as lost.
His eyes moved over the scattered charts before settling on Garp.
"Nearly three weeks," Nusjuro said. "Marine Headquarters has searched half the Grand Line and recovered nothing. At some point, persistence becomes waste."
Garp's right hand curled into a fist.
"Careful, old man."
Sengoku stepped slightly between them, though he kept his attention on Nusjuro.
"Zaraki remains an officer of Marine Headquarters and one of our most valuable field operatives. Until we possess proof of death, I will not declare him dead merely because the search has become inconvenient."
"Inconvenient?" Nusjuro repeated. "You have diverted ships from anti-piracy patrols, delayed operations in two seas, and allowed Garp to turn every rumor into a command-level investigation. The Government cannot organize its strategy around one troublesome subordinate."
Garp's fist hardened with Armament Haki.
"He's the brat I vouched for, and he has done more damage to the pirate world in a few years than most of your approved policies managed in decades. Call him troublesome again and I'll show you how inconvenient this room can become."
"Garp."
Sengoku's warning came quietly, but enough of his own presence entered the word to make the tableware tremble.
Nusjuro regarded Garp without visible concern, then drew a folded document from his sleeve.
"I did not come merely to discuss the missing officer. The evaluation mission involving Edward Weevil has produced irregular communications from Paradise. Chief Instructor Zephyr's training vessel issued an emergency request several hours ago near Hells Island."
Sengoku's expression changed.
"Several hours ago?"
"The initial broadcast was relayed through regional stations. G-9 reached the island afterward, but their preliminary notice was incomplete."
Garp reached for the document.
Nusjuro did not stop him.
The report contained only the first distress transmission, confirmation of cannon fire, and the name of the prospective Warlord candidate Zephyr had been ordered to observe.
Edward Weevil.
Garp's eyes hardened.
"You sent Zephyr to evaluate the same pirate he believed slaughtered his students and took his arm?"
Nusjuro's tone remained cold.
"He was instructed to observe, confirm identity, and wait for support. His personal feelings were considered irrelevant."
"To you, maybe."
Sengoku took the report from Garp before the paper could be crushed.
"Why did Marineford receive only the initial request?"
"Because the local command prioritized rescue traffic. A complete report is being routed through G-9's encrypted relay now."
As if summoned by the words, the secure command Den Den Mushi on Sengoku's desk began ringing.
Purupurupuru... Purupurupuru...
Every officer in the chamber turned toward it.
Sengoku lifted the receiver.
"This is Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Confirm security code."
Static crackled for several seconds before a hoarse voice answered.
"Code Z-74. G-9 relay verified."
Sengoku's shoulders eased by a fraction.
"Zephyr."
"It's me."
The voice sounded exhausted, but not weak.
Beneath the roughness lay tightly controlled anger and the unmistakable steadiness of a man who had survived something he intended to remember for the rest of his life.
Garp leaned closer to the receiver.
"Are the recruits alive?"
A pause followed.
"Some of them."
The answer drained every trace of movement from the room.
Zephyr continued before anyone could interrupt.
"Z-1 was attacked by Edward Weevil and forces under Miss Buckin's command. The town's population had been captured and loaded aboard two pirate ships. Anyone who resisted was killed. Weevil boarded the training vessel and murdered Marine recruits during the engagement."
Sengoku closed his eyes briefly.
"How many?"
"The final count is still being confirmed. G-9 has the bodies and the surviving wounded. Ain and Binz are alive."
Several Vice Admirals lowered their heads.
Some of the recruits aboard Z-1 had trained under them before entering Zephyr's final program.
Nusjuro remained silent, but the hand resting near his sword tightened slightly.
Sengoku's voice became harder.
"What is Weevil's current status?"
"Dead."
The word struck the strategy chamber with more force than a shouted announcement.
Garp stared at the Den Den Mushi. Sakazuki's folded arms loosened, while several officers exchanged looks of disbelief.
Nusjuro stepped closer.
"Explain."
Zephyr's answer carried neither hesitation nor satisfaction.
"Weevil's strength was extraordinary, but he attacked an official Marine vessel, killed recruits, and attempted to destroy the captured civilians when the battle turned against him. He was killed during the rescue operation. Miss Buckin is also dead, and her surviving crews are in custody."
Sengoku heard what Zephyr had not yet said.
"You did not defeat him alone."
"No."
Another pause followed, longer this time.
Then Zephyr spoke the name Marine Headquarters had been waiting nearly three weeks to hear.
"Zaraki did."