Sengoku was not an idiot. He had simply come over in too much of a rush. In his haste, he really had not sent anyone to investigate what was going on before coming straight here.
Now, seeing how the people of Cocoyasi Village were acting, and looking at the way every one of Nezumi's remaining men had their heads lowered in panic, he very quickly realized something was wrong.
Sengoku turned his head sharply, his face stern as he barked at Nezumi's old subordinates, "What is going on? Speak honestly, now!"
These men already had guilty consciences. After being shouted at by Sengoku, they could no longer hold themselves up. One by one, they dropped to their knees.
"Fleet Admiral sir, it has nothing to do with us!"
"It was all under Major Nezumi's orders!"
"That is right, we only came here to follow instructions and go through the motions!"
Listening to them, Sengoku's face grew even darker. At this point, how could he still fail to understand what had really happened?
At once he canceled his Devil Fruit power and the great golden Buddha faded, leaving him back in his normal form.
"You, go contact Loguetown with the Den Den Mushi and investigate this at once."
He spoke as he ordered some of his subordinates to go and verify things.
When he finished, he turned to look at Amon, his expression a little awkward. He had to admit he had been rash this time.
Logically, he was not the type to act without thinking. Could it be his intelligence had been dragged down by Garp?
As he thought that, Sengoku glanced sideways at Garp, who was currently sitting off to the side with one leg crossed over the other.
Garp was teasing the little pet bird perched on Nojiko's hand.
"Garp! At a time like this, you still have the mood to play with birds?"
"Sengoku, you old bastard, mind how you talk. What do you mean playing with birds at a time like this! Did you not tell me to get lost and stay out of the way just now? Besides, this is called a hawk, not a bird. If this old man plays, he plays with big hawks. Unlike you, always playing with little birds! And anyway, before we even came here I told you that Amon was not the type who kills for fun. You just refused to believe me and insisted on coming personally. Look at how awkward you are now."
Nojiko, Bellemere and the other villagers watched the two suddenly start cursing at each other, feeling a bit dizzy.
If they had not known beforehand that these two were from Marine Headquarters, they would seriously have suspected that their identities were fake.
No matter how they looked at it, these two were like quarrelsome old men from the marketplace. Where was the heroic bearing of a living legend or the dignity of a Fleet Admiral?
Sengoku had not wanted it to turn out like this either, but if no one said anything, the atmosphere really was far too awkward.
So he could only argue back and forth with Garp a little. At least it kept things from being completely unbearable.
Fortunately, it was not long before the men Sengoku had sent out returned.
He took the report from them, glanced over it, discussed it with Garp, then nodded.
Then he spoke in a deep voice, "I have now understood the entire course of events."
"We have also contacted every Marine colonel of the East Blue branches, as well as the officers of Loguetown. According to the information they provided, this unit of Marines indeed had very serious problems."
"Most importantly, Marine Headquarters also received an anonymous report letter over ten days ago. The subject of that report was precisely the 16th Branch led by Nezumi. The letter stated that they were secretly colluding with Arlong's group to oppress the common people."
"In addition, the surviving members of Arlong's crew have confessed as well. This time, it is our Marines who have failed everyone here."
"For scum like this to emerge from within our own ranks, we are truly ashamed. Everyone, we are sorry. We have made you suffer."
After speaking, Sengoku bowed deeply to the people of Cocoyasi Village.
He was the kind of man who could shoulder things and also put them down. He did not care too much about whether the dignity of the Fleet Admiral would be damaged.
Besides, he felt that as the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, this was an apology he ought to make for failing to properly manage his subordinates.
The Marines who had followed Sengoku here also copied him, bowing deeply to the villagers.
"Ah, Fleet Admiral sir, we cannot accept that!"
"That is right, as long as the truth has been made clear, it is fine!"
"Yes, yes, as long as the investigation proves it has nothing to do with Mr. Amon, that is enough!"
...
Many villagers had never imagined the Fleet Admiral would bow to them, and they were completely flustered.
They were just simple folk, not here for Sengoku's apology, only to stand up for Amon so he would not suffer because of them.
But now it was clear Mr. Amon did not really need their help.
Amon, for his part, had not expected Sengoku's investigation to be so fast. In just a short while, he had completely dug up Nezumi's background.
He also had not expected Sengoku to bow personally and apologize to the people of Cocoyasi Village.
It seemed the Marines were not filled entirely with evil men after all.
After apologizing to everyone, Sengoku turned his gaze back to Amon.
He nudged Garp with his elbow.
Seeing that, Garp stepped forward. He cleared his throat, then spoke.
"Ahem, this matter has already been investigated clearly. And Sengoku has already reported the whole thing upwards. After learning all the details, the higher-ups expressed that although this Marine unit indeed had very serious issues, the fact that you, Amon, executed them on your own also poses a real problem."
"After all, you killed a Marine major just like that. If we do not impose any punishment on you and word of it gets out, it will hurt the reputation of the Marines."
"So, after receiving orders from above, Sengoku and I have come up with a solution."
"That is, to appoint you as a cadre in the Marine Inspection Unit, responsible for overseeing all Marines in the East Blue. Once you discover Marines abusing their authority and oppressing the people, you are allowed to act first and report later."
"In that case, the matters here in Cocoyasi Village will also be settled."
"Because you will be a cadre of our Marine Inspection Unit, doing something like this will be exactly what you are supposed to do. No one will be able to point fingers and gossip anymore."
As he spoke, Garp leaned in close to Amon,
"Come on Amon, the Marines welcome you. From now on, we are all one big family!"
"...Great."