Mariejois, the Holy Land.
Fleet Admiral Kong and Admiral Sengoku were walking through the headquarters of the World Government. Both of their expressions were noticeably grim, as this visit to Mariejois was for anything but a pleasant reason—the Gorosei had personally summoned them for a reprimand.
As Cancer and Momonga had said, the Marines are a tightly-knit unit. Even though Fleet Admiral Kong had not been involved in any of the arrangements, entrusting everything to Admiral Sengoku, he still had to step up and take the blame for the fallout.
Entering the building's elevator, they quickly ascended to the top floor. The Gorosei's office was located right at the summit of the World Government headquarters.
Stepping out of the elevator, they immediately spotted a man walking out of the Gorosei's office in the distance. He was rather thin and remarkably tall, like a walking pole. His hair was gray, and he looked to be well into his sixties, with a chilling aura that suggested he was not a good person. He wore a black suit and had rare green eyes, giving him a ghostly presence. His expression was clearly displeased; he had evidently just had a dressing down from the Gorosei.
Neither Sengoku nor Kong gave this man a second glance. They simply walked past him, one on each side, ignoring him completely.
Just then, the man spoke up, "You Marines are truly undisciplined. Don't you know how to greet your superiors?"
"Say another word, and I'll personally send you downstairs," Kong growled. "Through the window, of course." He treated this guy with utter contempt.
"Kong, you scoundrel! Are you trying to get me to cut next year's Marine budget?" the man asked, enraged.
"Pask, if you dare, go ahead and try," Kong retorted, standing his ground. "I'll be looking forward to you not providing the Marine's funding next year!"
Pask, the former Head of the CP agencies, was now the Commander-in-Chief of all military forces. Ever since he took this role, the Marines have been at odds with him due to his past with the CP agencies.
Pask was certainly competent; otherwise, he wouldn't have been promoted from CP Head to Commander-in-Chief. However, he had significant flaws.
Perhaps because of his background as a secret agent, his methods were radical, his mindset was narrow, and he often resorted to unscrupulous means.
Over the years, his actions have only intensified the conflict between the Marines and the CP agencies. From this perspective, he was undoubtedly unqualified to be the Commander-in-Chief.
He had failed to align himself properly. As the Commander-in-Chief, he should have overseen the entire military, balancing both sides. Competition was acceptable, but not malicious rivalry.
Later, Kong would handle this position much better, but at this point, Pask was clearly inferior.
"Such sharp tongues for a bunch of losers who lost a battle," Pask taunted.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Sengoku seized him by the collar, lifting him up with a furious expression. While Pask was tall and thin, Sengoku was also a large, towering man.
"Sengoku," Kong called out softly.
Sengoku let out a cold huff and released Pask's collar. "Pask... no, Commander-in-Chief," he said. "Watch your mouth next time."
With that, Sengoku and Kong turned and walked away without another word.
Pask seemed stunned. A mere Marine Admiral dared to treat him with such disrespect? 'I'm the Commander-in-Chief! How dare you lay a hand on me?'
But he found himself at a loss for what to do. Sengoku's actions, while insulting, were carefully measured. Pask couldn't go to the Gorosei and complain about his collar being grabbed; that would be beneath him, and the Gorosei would likely be more disappointed in him than Sengoku.
Yet, punishing the Marines for this... they were already at each other's throats, and this one incident wouldn't change much.
Pask knew his campaign against the Marines had reached its limit. If he went any further, he wouldn't need Kong to intervene; the Gorosei themselves would step in to "educate" him.
After all, while he held the title of Commander-in-Chief, his CP background meant he had no real authority, unlike the Marines. He was, in essence, just a watchdog for the Gorosei.
Standing there with a dark, indecisive expression, Pask finally huffed, turned, and got into the elevator, leaving the floor.
On the other side, Kong glanced at Sengoku. "You're in a bad mood today, aren't you?"
Sengoku was usually known for his calm and rational demeanor, but today he was uncharacteristically agitated. Sengoku didn't hide it. "It's not just today. I've been in a bad mood recently."
"That's not like you," Kong said with a chuckle.
Sengoku responded with a meaningful look. "I'm not a machine that can stay calm and rational forever..."
"Perhaps," Kong said softly. "Being a bit hot-tempered at a time like this might be more beneficial for the Marines."
"You're really not going to do anything about Pask?" Sengoku asked.
"He's a useless man," Kong replied, waving his hand dismissively. "He's lost the fundamental principles of a Commander-in-Chief. The only reason the Gorosei are protecting him is for now. Just you wait; once the situation changes and their priorities shift, he'll be the first to fall. He's just a walking corpse; there's no need to pay him any mind. I'm just curious to see how much longer he can act so arrogant."
"That's true," Sengoku said with a small smile.
After a brief pause, Sengoku asked, "Kong, are you not going to do anything about the previous matters either?"
Kong's footsteps slowed slightly, then he let out a light laugh. "Originally, I was going to let them stew a bit. Swallowing this humiliation would have united the Marines and made things easier for you later. But that kid Diarmuid is so proactive, and he even managed to get Sakazuki on his side... Didn't he go to the East Blue with Garp not long ago? I'm sure that kid has a plan. So let's just see what he can do. We won't interfere; we'll let them stir up some trouble. If things get out of hand, we'll just be there to clean up their mess."
"Heh, I had a feeling that's what you were thinking," Sengoku chuckled.
It was clear that both Sengoku and Kong understood the situation perfectly: the CP agencies meddling in the promotion of Marine Admirals and the World Government's deliberate suppression of elite Marine officers' futures.
Unlike Stussy's perspective, who thought the CP agencies were the ones acting, Kong and his allies knew the CP agencies didn't have the real power to change the unspoken rules. This time, the CP agencies could influence the World Government's interference because Pask was the Commander-in-Chief, making him the conduit.
But in Kong's eyes, Pask was a walking corpse who wouldn't last long, so why should he care?
If Diarmuid hadn't taken the lead, Kong's original plan was to feign a defeat and accept the humiliation. This would have helped unite the high-ranking Marine officers, using their resentment against the World Government's interference to further weaken their influence over the Marines.
He was even willing to wait years for the World Government to give up or for the situation to change, allowing him to naturally take over as Commander-in-Chief. Once Kong became Commander-in-Chief and Pask was ousted, the problems currently plaguing the Marines would be easily solved, and the years of accumulated resentment could finally be vented.
At that point, the World Government would likely refrain from excessively pressuring the Marines to avoid something worse happening.
Because of this, Sengoku's promotion to Fleet Admiral would have given him free rein to work, and Kong had full faith in Sengoku's talent, believing he would bring new opportunities and change to the Marines.
In fact, that's exactly what happened. During Sengoku's tenure as Fleet Admiral, the Marines' strength grew by leaps and bounds, and the World Government's interference was significantly reduced.
The reasons were complex: the influence of the Great Pirate Era, the strategies of Sengoku and Kong, and the Revolutionary Army's disruptions.
The result was that the Marines had a great deal of autonomy during that period and were almost never forced to do anything by the World Government.
It was only after the Marineford War, which, despite being a victory, ended with a sour note by destroying Impel Down and making the seas even more chaotic, that Sengoku stepped down as Fleet Admiral.
Akainu was promoted, and the World Government seized this opening, using the internal factional split and the Fleet Admiral dispute to support Akainu's ascension and reimpose certain restraints on the Marines.
Even so, during Akainu's time as Fleet Admiral, the Marines still possessed strong resistance, even managing to completely abolish the Warlord system. This shows how much groundwork Sengoku had laid to build up the Marines' strength.
Different positions offer different perspectives.
Diarmuid, as an Admiral candidate, naturally wanted to become an Admiral as soon as possible.
Fleet Admiral Kong and Admiral Sengoku, who were already at the pinnacle of the Marines, were focused on the long-term future of the organization.
Stussy's willingness to help was partly because she wasn't in the Marine system and partly because she wanted to see Diarmuid grow faster.
No one was wrong.
At this moment, Kong, as the leader of the Marines and an elder, was willing to give Diarmuid and the others a stage to showcase their abilities, even at the cost of his original plan.
Why?
The reason was simple: what the current Fleet Admiral and Admiral sought was the future of the Marines.
And Diarmuid, Sakazuki, and the others represented that very future.
This wasn't a contradictory issue. If Diarmuid and Sakazuki proved themselves and displayed sufficient skill and ability, then there was nothing wrong with letting their ideas guide the Marines, right?
After all, the future belongs to the younger generation. The job of the seniors and top brass was simply to be there to support the young ones when it mattered, ensuring they didn't completely mess up.
"That's why I need to act a bit short-tempered," Sengoku said with a smile. "Otherwise, how can I draw attention and pressure away from them?"
He then followed Kong to the door of the Gorosei's office. The two knocked on the door, and after hearing a response, they pushed the door open and walked inside.
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanFiction [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are over 100 advance chapters available for you!