"Lieutenant General, didn't you read yesterday's newspaper?"
"He probably only saw it this morning. I heard the desk in the base commander's office was smashed to pieces."
"If it's the Lieutenant General, getting that angry makes sense. After all, he hates pirates more than anyone."
"And you don't?"
"Using the Lieutenant General's words, those bastards are nothing but the shit-stirrers of the seas!"
"So... does that make us the shit?"
At the G-5 training grounds, the Marines of Unit 03 were startled by the sudden crash. After hearing the cursing from the commander's office upstairs, they quietly began discussing it among themselves.
By now, nearly seventy percent of G-5's Marines were actually members of the Revolutionary Army, and most of the islands within its jurisdiction had become hidden Revolutionary bases.
As for the remaining thirty percent, they were just as disgusted by yesterday's newspaper.
Beside the training grounds, Smoker, who had just finished his daily training, glanced toward the base commander's office upstairs.
"Headquarters is probably in the same situation. Zephyr-sensei must be furious."
Hina frowned.
"Being angry won't change anything. Once the World Government issues an order, the Marines have no choice but to obey it. Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku can't make them revoke this system."
Smoker glanced sideways at her.
"You've become calmer and calmer lately. Though... thinking about it, you were always calmer than me."
"It's not calmness, Smoker."
Hina continued,
"Compared to Vice Admiral Tsuru and Fleet Admiral Sengoku, neither of us can match their experience or wisdom. If even we can see where the true sickness of this world lies, do you really think they don't know?"
Smoker fell silent.
It had been almost two years since they transferred from Headquarters to G-5 with the Lieutenant General.
What they had witnessed here far exceeded anything they had seen at Marine Headquarters.
The branch bases in the Four Blues had relatively simple responsibilities.
Because of distance and communication delays, corrupt base commanders could become local tyrants but compared to the New World the darkness and evil here were on an entirely different level.
Over the past two years, the Marines had established several additional bases farther into the New World.
Yet just like the original G-5.
Those Marines were more like pirates than soldiers.
Because they Looted non-member nations.
There were countless islands across the seas.
Many were recognized as kingdoms.
But among them, only around a hundred and seventy or so could actually afford to pay the Heavenly Tribute.
That number changed every year.
Some countries withdrew because they could no longer pay.
Others managed to continue only by slaughtering part of their own population to reduce expenses.
Some new nations joined.
Yet among those forced to withdraw half would eventually be destroyed.
Either neighboring countries invaded them or pirates looted them or even the Marines themselves plundered them.
Yes.
The Marines could legally plunder nations that were not affiliated with the World Government.
After massacres reduced a nation's population.
Its workforce declined.
Eventually only two paths remained.
Either invade someone else or become unable to pay the Heavenly Tribute themselves, lose their membership, and become the next victims.
The cycle repeated endlessly.
Suffering and despair passed from one nation to another.
Only places with vast territories like Dressrosa or Alabasta in the first half of the Grand Line...
Ruled by relatively decent kings had any real chance of surviving.
During these two years in the New World smoker and Hina had finally witnessed the true darkness of this world.
"...Yeah."
"They know."
Smoker sighed before lighting a cigar.
"Sometimes I wish I could keep things simple."
"I'm just a Marine."
"Wouldn't it be enough if I only did what a Marine is supposed to do?"
Hina glanced at him.
"Justice like Vice Admiral Garp's?"
"That's nothing but deceiving yourself."
After saying that Hina turned and walked toward the base commander's office.
In Hina's memory, the Lieutenant General had never been this furious before.
Even when he had first arrived at G-5 and executed batch after batch of the corrupt Marine scum, Fleet Admiral Sengoku had personally called to reprimand him from Headquarters.
The Lieutenant General had still argued right back.
Very rarely did he ever slam a desk.
Inside the base commander's office.
The moment Rowan saw Hina enter, he spoke immediately.
"Prepare the warship. We're returning to Headquarters."
Hina froze for a moment.
Then she noticed Rowan's reddened eyes, the veins bulging across his clenched fists.
She instantly understood.
As the fourth Marine to earn the title of "Monster" in the training camp...
As a man who had become a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral and commander of G-5 while only in his twenties...
Rowan's past was well known throughout the Marines.
Born in the West Blue.
His family and entire village had been wiped out by pirates.
He alone had survived by sheer luck, buried beneath a pile of corpses.
After wandering and begging to survive...
He eventually enlisted in the Marines at Las Gap Town, beginning the legend of the "Executioner of the West Blue."
Because of those childhood years as a homeless orphan, he had climbed the ranks by any means necessary.
He obeyed the World Government without question.
While still in the training camp, he had openly declared that he was nothing more than a dog of Mary Geoise.
Yet because of his past from the very beginning in the West Blue, he had never shown pirates the slightest mercy.
Even Devil Fruit users who should have been sent to Impel Down according to regulations...
He would execute without hesitation.
So in the end had his hatred for pirates finally surpassed his loyalty to the World Government?
"Lieutenant General."
"...Hm."
On the way to G-5's harbor, Hina followed closely behind Rowan.
Finally, as though she had made up her mind, she spoke.
"Hina wants to go back with you."
Rowan shook his head slightly.
"Your current rank is only Headquarters Major. You won't be able to accomplish much by going."
Soon they reached the dock.
The Marines aboard the warship had already finished preparing for departure.
Hina stopped and looked at Rowan.
"But, Lieutenant General..."
"You won't be able to accomplish much by going either... will you?"
"The World Government's orders can't be changed, not even by Marine Headquarters."
"Wasn't that what you taught us back in the training camp?"
"...Yeah..."
Rowan forced a grin.
He had deliberately kept up this emotional act for quite a while now, even avoiding drinking water. Fortunately, today's blazing G-5 sunshine had done a decent job of making his eyes look naturally red.
"Hina..."
"There are some things that someone has to do."
"If no one stands up..."
"Then absurdities like this will eventually become normal."
"If one person's gains and losses can make everyone understand that someone resisted..."
"That someone fought desperately because the Seven Warlords system is wrong..."
"Then that alone gives the struggle meaning."
"Then Hina can help you!"
Hina's expression was resolute.
"You should know, Lieutenant General."
"Even after I transferred from Headquarters to G-5..."
"The number of letters I receive has never decreased."
That left Rowan speechless.
It really proved that this world's simps were something else.
And pink-haired girls really were popular.
Ever since the training camp, Hina had never lacked admirers.
Only Smoker that hopelessly straight-laced blockhead could somehow end up becoming drinking buddies with such a beautiful girl.
Then again...
If Smoker weren't such a straight arrow perhaps Hina never would have become such good friends with him in the first place.
Shaking those wandering thoughts away, Rowan considered it.
His reputation at Headquarters certainly wasn't great.
Having a crowd of admirers rallying around Hina would make the plan much more effective.
"Come on."
Rowan waved a hand before turning and boarding the warship.
The gloomy clouds immediately vanished from Hina's face.
She hurried after him.
Just as the warship began pulling away from the dock a figure carrying a suitcase burst out from the base.
It really was a burst.
Smoker had a cigar in his mouth, while everything below his head and even the hand carrying the suitcase was trailing thick white smoke.
"Wait for me!"
"Stop the ship!"
"Take me with you, you two bastards!"
A trail of white smoke shot onto the warship. Smoker dropped his suitcase and looked at Rowan and Hina.
"When we came here, we came together. Fine, I can understand going back to Headquarters separately to report in. But when you're going back to stir up trouble, you leave me behind? That's just cold!"
Hina rolled her eyes.
"Back in the training camp, all you ever did was rely on your Logia powers to challenge everyone. What exactly do you think you can help with? Do you have more connections at Headquarters than I do?"
That left Smoker speechless for a moment before he scratched his head.
"I'm really strong now, you know!"
Rowan glanced at him.
"This trip back to Headquarters, I'll leave Fleet Admiral Sengoku to you."
"(#Д#)"
Smoker froze.
"We're... rebelling the moment we get back?"
"Smack!"
Hina immediately slapped him on the back of the head.
"What are you even thinking about? You just said you're very strong. If brute strength could solve this, then go deal with Fleet Admiral Sengoku yourself."
Finally understanding what Rowan meant, Smoker muttered under his breath, feeling like the two of them had deliberately excluded him.
Three days later.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
"Bang!"
Sengoku slammed the Den Den Mushi receiver down, his face dark with anger.
"What is that little brat trying to pull?! He just abandoned G-5 and came straight back to Marineford! Is he planning to stage a mutiny?"
Below him, Kuzan, who had just returned, brightened for a moment before immediately returning to his usual lazy expression.
"A mutiny? Probably not."
"Rowan isn't stupid."
"It's most likely about the Seven Warlords."
"Haven't a lot of Headquarters officers been rushing to finish their assignments and come back recently?"
As he spoke, Kuzan yawned.
"I've been working pretty hard lately, so I want a couple of days off."
"I'll use this month's leave here."
"I'm heading out now, Fleet Admiral."
Completely ignoring Sengoku's murderous glare, Kuzan stood up and casually walked out of the office.
Sengoku sank back into his chair and rubbed his forehead.
Of course he knew why Rowan had abandoned his post and rushed back.
He also knew why so many Headquarters officers had hurried back to Marineford after wrapping up their missions.
Even Kuzan, that bastard taking leave at a time like this was for exactly the same reason.
The Seven Warlords.
But what was he supposed to do?
There was absolutely nothing he could do.
The World Government hadn't consulted the Marines.
They had simply issued an order.
Lately, Sengoku found himself missing the days when he had still been an Admiral.
Back then, he occasionally had to go against his own convictions at Sabaody...
But the headaches were nowhere near as bad as they were now.
No wonder that old bastard Garp had always refused promotion.
He really was the smart one.
...Right.
Garp!
The veins on Sengoku's forehead began twitching violently as he picked up an ordinary intelligence report that had arrived earlier that day.
It was a routine report from the East Blue regarding the suppression of rookie pirates.
The report enthusiastically praised Marine Hero Garp for casually eliminating pirates throughout the East Blue over the past several years.
Whoever had written it clearly intended to sing Garp's praises.
But when Sengoku compared the timeline in this report with several others already in his possession...
An entirely different picture emerged.
"Bastard..."
"How dare he?!"
Then again there was probably nothing that old bastard wouldn't dare to do.
He'd cursed the Celestial Dragons more times than Sengoku could count.
If it weren't for the enormous influence carried by the title of Marine Hero...
That old bastard would've been thrown into Impel Down over ten years ago.
[Author's Note: In the original story, Ace was actually saved by Whitebeard. After setting sail and becoming one of that year's Super Rookies, Sengoku was preparing to make a move against him, but Whitebeard intervened. Also, Garp openly cursed the Celestial Dragons in front of Sabo's adoptive brother, Stelly. It was later explicitly stated that Garp's status as the "Hero of the Marines" was what protected him despite repeatedly behaving like that.]
"Crunch..."
Sengoku picked up three documents in succession and handed them to the goat with the bell hanging around its neck.
The goat quickly chewed them up and swallowed them.
Letting out a long sigh, Sengoku looked out the window.
"Just live your life quietly as an ordinary person."
"For you... that's the best possible ending."
The Pirate King's bloodline still existed somewhere in the world.
Back then, the incident in the South Blue had caused an enormous uproar.
Fortunately, the operation had been leaked beforehand.
Considering the potential fallout, the pregnant women had ultimately been released.
The resentment of the Marine middle ranks had instead been directed toward Rowan.
Only then had things gradually settled down.
If that child could simply live an ordinary life.
As long as he never became a pirate.
Sengoku intended to carry that secret to his grave.
But the moment he chose the path of piracy.
He would have to be eliminated before the truth was exposed.
The Great Age of Pirates continued to grow more turbulent.
Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King executed in Loguetown, had already become a mythic figure in every pirate's heart.
If his bloodline also became a pirate and that secret were revealed.
The influence and rallying power that child would possess would be unimaginably terrifying.
As Fleet Admiral Sengoku's greatest responsibility was maintaining peace across the seas.
Yet now whether it was Garp or that troublesome brat Rowan.
Both were doing things that would only throw the world into greater chaos.
Not a single one of those bastards ever spared a thought for him.
Every last one of them was a headache.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Come in."
Hearing the knock, Sengoku glanced at the goat.
The documents had already been completely eaten.
"What is it?"
"Um... Fleet Admiral..."
"Vice Admiral Rowan from G-5..."
"...has returned."
The Marine reporting the news hesitated awkwardly.
Sengoku frowned.
"That little brat abandoned his post. Since he's already back at Headquarters, have him report to my office."
"Did something happen?"
The Marine scratched his head, clearly unsure how to explain.
"...Fleet Admiral... I think... you should go see for yourself."
"Vice Admiral Rowan... probably can't come over right now."
"...?"
What was that supposed to mean?
Was he, the Fleet Admiral of the Marines expected to personally go greet that little brat?
After thinking for a moment, Sengoku walked to the opposite window.
The instant he pushed it open...
He froze.
At Marineford's harbor a certain bastard wearing a Marine Justice coat.
Was standing beside another brat, the two of them holding up a giant banner while countless Headquarters Marines crowded around to watch.
"THE MARINES HAVE NOT FALLEN SO LOW THAT PIRATES MUST ENFORCE JUSTICE FOR US! WE OPPOSE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SEVEN WARLORDS SYSTEM!"
The bright red banner looked utterly ridiculous.
Even the oversized lettering was comically exaggerated.
Yet that absurd display had completely cornered Marine Headquarters' officers.
Not a single young Marine was willing to admit the Marines had become weak.
Nor would any of them admit that justice now required pirates to enforce it.
Just one ridiculous sentence.
Yet it exposed the essence of the Seven Warlords system.
During the Great Age of Pirates.
The Marines no longer possessed enough manpower.
Using pirates to deter other pirates was, in essence having pirates carry out justice in the Marines' name.
"...Smack."
Sengoku planted a palm squarely on his forehead.
The veins on the back of his hand bulged even harder than before.
Worthy of his reputation as the "Strategist."
From that single sentence alone...
He instantly understood the kind of storm that little bastard downstairs was about to unleash.
And when exactly had the Headquarters Major Tsuru assigned to keep an eye on that troublesome brat defected?
Such a huge stunt and Headquarters hadn't received even a single warning.
If he'd known in advance...
Even if he had to Sky Walk all the way to G-5...
He would've pinned Rowan to the base and never let him return to Marineford to cause trouble.
Just then Vice Admiral Tsuru entered the office.
She gestured for the reporting Marine to leave before walking to the window herself and looking toward the harbor.
"Arresting him right now isn't the best choice."
Sengoku sighed.
"It would be easy enough to rush down there, pin that little brat to the ground, and lock him up."
"But if we do..."
"We'll be admitting that we senior officers agree with what that banner says."
"...And if we simply ignore him..."
Sengoku stopped halfway through the sentence.
A thought suddenly occurred to him.
Standing behind him, Tsuru glanced over.
"If you ignore him..."
"Nothing much will actually happen, will it?"
"That boy is smart."
"He wouldn't dare lead a crowd to storm Mary Geoise."
"No one would be willing to follow him."
"The Headquarters officers are certainly dissatisfied with the Seven Warlords system."
"But by the time they've reached Headquarters rank..."
"They all understand exactly what the World Government means to the Marines."
"Even Zephyr..."
"Do you think he'd follow Rowan in causing a scene?"
"Or those two lazy fellows who cling to their own versions of 'unclear justice'..."
"Kuzan and Borsalino would either of them follow him to Mary Geoise to stage a protest?"
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