The order issued in the name of Fleet Admiral Sengoku from Mary Geoise did not only throw the New World into turmoil.
At this very moment, Marine Headquarters was just as chaotic.
A warship had just docked at the harbor. A Marine Commodore stepped down the gangway with a broad smile, but when he took in the noisy, disorderly port, the smile faded, replaced by confusion. He grabbed the Marine clerk handling his registration and asked sharply, "What's going on? Did something go wrong with the war in the New World? Why does Headquarters feel like a complete mess? Everyone looks restless."
The clerk hurriedly replied, "Commodore Raiset, something huge happened. Early this morning, the Fleet Admiral was taken away by people from the Holy Land. Not long after that, a written order in the Fleet Admiral's name came down. It says Admiral Benn in the New World was involved in corruption, colluding with pirates, and attempting to split the Navy. Acting in the Fleet Admiral's name, Admiral Benn has been temporarily stripped of his Admiral rank and ordered to return to Marine Headquarters to cooperate with the investigation…"
The moment Raiset heard this, rage flared in his eyes. "Bullshit! How could an Admiral do something like that? Who's slandering the Admiral?"
"They say it was uncovered by the Criminal Investigation Bureau…" the clerk said hesitantly.
Raiset clenched his teeth. "I knew it. That damn Araki never had good intentions. Ever since he came to Headquarters, he's been looking for trouble with the Admiral. Has he really become this brazen now? Is no one at Headquarters going to stop him?"
It was obvious that this Commodore Raiset, who mentioned "the Admiral" every other sentence while openly cursing "that damn Araki," held the Admiral in the highest regard and showed not the slightest respect for Vice Admiral Araki, his superior. He was unmistakably a member of the New World Navy faction.
And in fact, that was exactly the case.
Furious, Raiset shoved the clerk aside and led a squad of his direct subordinates straight into the naval port.
The moment he entered, he saw a confrontation already erupting inside.
Two groups of Marines were shouting accusations at each other, looking ready to come to blows at any second.
"Vice Admiral Aramaki already has solid evidence!"
"That's an order from the Fleet Admiral! If Admiral Benn is innocent, then coming back to cooperate with the investigation should be no problem!"
"Admiral Benn doesn't seem like that kind of person, but the order came down from the Holy Land. We have to comply!"
"The World Government wouldn't accuse Admiral Benn for no reason, would they? If he really did nothing wrong, why would the World Government target him instead of someone else?"
Without question, most of these Marines were loyalists to Mary Geoise. As mentioned before, the World Government carried more than eight hundred years of authority, and among its methods of controlling the Marines was the deliberate cultivation of factions directly loyal to the World Government itself.
As for Marine Headquarters, Marineford… in Zephyr-sensei's words, this so-called "stronghold of justice" was actually very far from justice, yet far too close to the Holy Land.
Within Headquarters, there was no shortage of Mary Geoise loyalists. This was precisely why, after Araki's sudden transfer, he had been able to gather a large following so quickly.
And naturally, the ones standing in opposition and trading insults with those Mary Geoise loyalists were the members of the New World Navy faction.
"Fuck your dogshit nonsense, you animals. Do you have any idea how much the Admiral has done for the Navy all these years? You worthless bastards didn't die fighting Roger, Shiki, or Whitebeard because the Admiral stood firm back then and bore the pressure of the New World for all of us. And now you turn around and bite the hand that saved you. Ungrateful trash."
"I don't recognize Mary Geoise at all. Back when I was in the New World, my country was abandoned by the World Government just because we couldn't pay the Heavenly Tribute. Later, it was the Admiral who put down the chaos there, gave me food to survive, gave me a way out, and restored peace and prosperity to my homeland. And now you tell me to strip the Admiral of his position and drag him back here for questioning? Did you ever ask whether people like us would agree to that?"
"I say those scum like Aramaki are the real ones trying to split the Marines. Before he showed up, everything was fine. The moment he arrives, all this mess starts, and he still dares to claim he's not the culprit?"
Hearing the New World Marines shouting and cursing, the Mary Geoise loyalists were quickly enraged as well.
"What are you doing? Mary Geoise represents the World Government. It is the Holy Land. For centuries—"
"How dare you show such disrespect toward the Holy Land?"
"You're just a Captain, and you're openly cursing Vice Admiral Aramaki here. That's already a violation of discipline. Do you want to sit in confinement?"
"Trying to rebel, are you?"
No one knew which idiot shouted that last line, but the moment the word "rebel" came out, it completely set off the New World faction's officers.
"Rebel? You pieces of shit think we don't dare?"
"A bunch of garbage who've barely even been to the New World. When we were fighting the most brutal pirates on the fiercest frontlines, you trash were still shaking under some dancer's skirt."
"So what if it's rebellion? Hit them!"
No one could say who made the first move. A brick suddenly flew out of the crowd, smacking into a Lieutenant on the opposite side with a sharp crack and knocking him flat to the ground.
That blow was like a signal. In an instant, the clash escalated from shouting to outright violence.
Marines draped in their coats of justice slammed into each other. Fortunately, there was still a sliver of restraint left. No one drew guns or blades. They fought barehanded, at most grabbing whatever they could find, sticks, bricks, anything that could be used as a weapon.
Commodore Raiset, who had just rushed over, took one look at the scene and didn't hesitate for a second. While loudly cursing Vice Admiral Aramaki's ancestors, he charged straight in, swinging his arms and dragging an opposing Commodore into a brutal brawl.
What had started as a fight between a few dozen people inside the naval port quickly spread throughout the entire area. Even some innocent members of the neutral faction were dragged into the chaos.
The New World Navy faction often gathered together for parties and celebrations. Whether they actually knew each other or had ever spoken before didn't matter. At the very least, they all recognized one another by sight.
The Mary Geoise loyalists were no different.
Right now, everyone was wearing Marine uniforms. Once fists started flying, there was no real way to tell friend from foe, so the rule became simple: if you didn't recognize them, you hit them.
That was why the neutral faction had it the worst. Both sides took one look at unfamiliar faces and thought, "Who cares which side they're on? They're not ours. Hit them."
As a result, the neutral faction ended up getting beaten by both sides at once.
With blows traded back and forth, the situation grew even more chaotic. The disorder spread rapidly, from the naval port into total mayhem, all the way to Justice Square, where group fights broke out everywhere. Once things spiraled out of control, the Marines stationed at the sentry posts had no idea what was happening, but they still followed procedure and immediately sounded the alarm.
In hindsight, sounding that alarm only made things worse.
The moment it rang out, large numbers of Marines rushed toward the scene. Everyone assumed something serious had happened, a pirate invasion or some other major incident. But when they arrived, they were met with the sight of Marines fighting Marines.
At first, they were stunned.
But who among them wasn't connected somehow?
The moment they saw their usual comrades being pinned to the ground and beaten, all other concerns went out the window. With a shout, they charged straight in.
As a result, after the alarm was sounded, not only did the situation fail to calm down, it escalated even further as more and more Marines flooded into the area.
Justice Square turned into a complete mess. In barely ten minutes, what had started as a brawl between a few dozen people exploded into a massive melee involving thousands.
At that scale, this was no longer a simple conflict. A full-blown camp riot had erupted.
Meanwhile, Sakazuki was sitting in his Admiral's office, drinking tea with Borsalino.
The two of them were discussing how Headquarters should proceed next, preparing to come up with a concrete plan.
Notably, they had not invited Aramaki to join them for tea, which in itself already carried a certain meaning.
Before they could finish their discussion, Sakazuki suddenly heard deafening shouts coming from outside the window. The alarm followed immediately after. His heart skipped a beat. He stood up, walked to the window, and looked out, only to freeze on the spot.
What the hell was going on?
On Justice Square, Marine officers wearing their coats of justice were actually fighting each other.
And it wasn't some small scuffle. It was a massive brawl involving thousands of people, and it was still spreading.
What kind of situation was this? Just half an hour ago, when he'd called Borsalino over for tea, everything outside had been perfectly fine.
"A camp riot?" Sakazuki snapped back to his senses. "Quick, Borsalino. You're fast. Get over there and suppress it immediately."
If this camp riot wasn't stopped in time, if it truly spread across the entire Headquarters, or if the conflict escalated further from barehanded brawls to blades, guns, or even artillery, then the consequences would be disastrous.
The entire Marine Headquarters could be dragged into it, leading to massive casualties.
As Borsalino transformed into a streak of golden light and shot out through the window, Sakazuki felt a surge of complicated emotions.
In all the years since he joined the Navy, Headquarters had never experienced a camp riot. And now, out of nowhere, such a conflict had erupted. Sakazuki immediately understood the underlying reason.
"Even without Ortoren making a single move, Headquarters has already erupted into a camp riot on its own. If he were to issue even one order directed at Headquarters…" Sakazuki muttered, his expression grim. "That would be civil war."
He had always known Ortoren's presence was overwhelming, his prestige immense. But with this camp riot, Sakazuki realized he had still underestimated just how much influence that man held over the Marines.