Chapter 515: The Darkest Hour
Deep within the Sea Forest, a fresh grave stood quietly.
Vice Admiral Garp forcefully planted the hastily crafted tombstone before the grave.
Among the coral forest, the Marine Headquarters group who'd come to Fish-Man Island spread out before the grave.
This was Fleet Admiral Sengoku's funeral. Brett and Jinbei also attended.
Tesoro had little interest in dealing with Navy people, but Jinbei had actively proposed attending this funeral. According to him, though they'd once been enemies, he held several points of respect in his heart for this Fleet Admiral.
"Just wait for us in that world for now, Sengoku," Vice Admiral Tsuru stood before the grave, looking down at the text on the tombstone. She raised her sleeve and gently wiped the corner of her eye. "From now on, we'll lead the Navy down the path it should walk."
"Rest assured, Sengoku!"
Vice Admiral Chaton silently bowed his head. "No matter what, we'll definitely overthrow the World Government's rule completely. That bastard won't be able to lord it over anyone anymore!"
Brett simply watched calmly.
Who could have imagined that the illustrious Sengoku the Buddha would now lie here so quietly?
At least he could have a grave. What about the others at Marine Headquarters at the time? They'd been completely obliterated without a trace.
Human life was truly fragile.
The simple funeral quickly concluded.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku would sleep quietly here among this coral forest. Perhaps it would be somewhat cold, but at least the scenery was extraordinarily beautiful.
"Brett," on the way back, Vice Admiral Tsuru asked Brett, "what does Zephyr say?"
Brett had naturally already notified both partners about what happened at Mariejois. After learning what happened with the Navy, Zephyr had been extremely agitated. If not for being busy with NEO Navy reconstruction work, he probably would have charged over long ago.
"Later we'll hold a conference call. You should participate too after that."
Brett said this.
This was something both Zephyr and Dragon had agreed to. After all, the Navy was now undoubtedly the Government's enemy, which made them partners.
Though the Navy forces were now depleted.
However, the combination of Hero Garp plus three Admirals was already powerful enough by itself, right?
Not to mention that though Marine Headquarters was finished, the various G-series bases and branch bases across the sea were still there. There were still millions of Navy soldiers across the ocean.
From such manpower, even pulling over just a small portion would be considerable reinforcement.
Though now, the Government was surely rushing to handle these bases. Persuasion, usurpation, or destruction.
Vice Admiral Tsuru nodded lightly, then said, "I've already drafted the speech script you mentioned. I'll transcribe it for you shortly."
"The faster the better," Brett said. "The sooner we announce the truth of this matter to the world, the sooner the Government's conspiracy will be exposed."
If they delayed too long, Brett feared the other Navy soldiers across the sea would also meet with disaster.
"I know."
Vice Admiral Tsuru nodded lightly.
She naturally understood this clearly, so she was even more anxious than Brett.
"Whew—"
Brett said slowly, "Before the final war, there's still a battle of public opinion waiting for us."
Even that arrogant, contemptuous bastard Imu had erased an entire century of history to hide himself in that blank void, hadn't he?
He certainly didn't want his reputation ruined.
"Then we can't help much with that."
Vice Admiral Chaton smiled. "All Navy organizations have basically been cut off from us now."
"Leave it to us."
Brett said.
Or rather, leave it to Morgans.
That guy was a professional at verbal warfare.
Everyone soon returned to Dr. Vegapunk's research base. Brett took out his Den Den Mushi, preparing to contact Tesoro and Dragon for a conference call.
"Hm? Why did the sky get dark?"
Vice Admiral Chaton, leaning by the window, said somewhat puzzled, "Is it already night?"
"No way?"
Gion raised her hand to check the watch on her wrist. "The time now is 2 PM. My watch is set to Mariejois time, which should be completely synchronized with Fish-Man Island."
"Is it cloudy today then?"
Chaton looked out the window more curiously. "But that's not right. Fish-Man Island's sunlight comes from the Sunlight Tree Eve delivering it down from above the Red Line, from over ten thousand meters in the sky. Even a storm at sea shouldn't be able to affect that altitude, right?"
Brett's expression instantly went rigid.
He quickly walked to the window. The light outside had already become quite dim, and was rapidly growing darker at high speed.
"Jinbei!"
Brett turned around and shouted, "Contact Ryugu Palace immediately! Have King Neptune prepare to maintain order!"
"What?"
Jinbei's face still showed confusion.
Brett gritted his teeth. "The Government's made their move. Right off the bat, it's the worst possible greeting!"
"Made their move? What move?"
Vice Admiral Chaton asked in surprise.
"What you just mentioned," Vice Admiral Tsuru sighed. "The source of Fish-Man Island's sunlight."
"The Sunlight Tree Eve!!"
Admiral Ryokugyu was dumbfounded. "No way. Did the Government actually destroy that ancient tree that's been growing on the Red Line for who knows how many years?"
"I'm afraid that's exactly it."
Vice Admiral Tsuru's face was grave.
"..."
Vice Admiral Chaton pressed his lips together. "Then, Fish-Man Island—"
The reason Fish-Man Island could exist here was entirely thanks to Eve.
Without the light and warmth Eve brought, even Fish-Men couldn't survive in such cold, dark depths.
If Eve was destroyed, wouldn't Fish-Man Island be finished?
Light and heat would disappear. The foundation for survival would be eliminated.
Jinbei had already urgently contacted Ryugu Palace with his Den Den Mushi.
But at this moment, the sky had already completely darkened.
In an extremely short time, all light was stolen away. This deep sea within the great cavern had become pitch black.
Brett clenched his teeth.
Damn it, there was no time to dispatch people to maintain order.
His Observation Haki extended to its limit, allowing him to clearly hear sounds from Fish-Man Island.
Panic, fear, helplessness.
All kinds of emotions buzzed incessantly in Brett's ears.
He had to do something!