The Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
The lights blazed throughout the base.
All Marines were abruptly awakened from their sleep.
The highest-ranking officers of the Marines had gathered in the conference room.
At the head of the table sat Sengoku, who had recently been promoted to Fleet Admiral. His expression was as dark as a storm.
Akainu and Aokiji, both of whom had been newly appointed as Admirals, entered the room. Kizaru, who was about to be promoted to Admiral as well, adopted a rare serious posture upon feeling Sengoku's brewing anger, refraining even from drinking his tea.
Only Garp remained unfazed.
Yawning, he entered the room and grumbled, "What's all this about in the middle of the night? Doesn't anyone care about sleep?"
Sengoku, not in the mood for Garp's usual antics, swept his eyes across the room.
Gathered before him were all the Marine officers of Vice Admiral rank and above.
"Everyone is here," Sengoku stated, his voice calm, but there was an undeniable tension in his tone, like a volcano about to erupt.
"Just moments ago, someone infiltrated the Holy Land of Mariejois, set fire to Pangaea Castle, and freed all the slaves."
His words crashed like thunder in the ears of the gathered officers, instantly dispelling any lingering drowsiness.
Everyone's faces showed shock and disbelief.
The sound of nervous swallowing filled the room.
"Hahaha! Those Celestial Dragons finally got what was coming to them! This is great news!" Garp laughed loudly, slapping his knee in delight.
Everyone admired Garp's boldness.
Only he had the guts to say such things aloud.
"Garp!!" Sengoku snapped.
"Alright, alright, maybe that was a bit rude. I'll try not to laugh," Garp said, covering his mouth with his hand.
With Garp's outburst over, the room once again fell into a hushed murmur.
"Who could have done such a thing? Who has the strength and the audacity?" one officer asked.
"In centuries, no one has ever accomplished something like this," another added, still in disbelief.
"This is more shocking than if a pirate had claimed the title of Pirate King," someone else muttered.
"Sengoku, who is the highest-ranking Marine stationed in the Holy Land?" Vice Admiral Tsuru asked, her gaze sharp. She had a personal interest in Gion, the Vice Admiral known as Momousagi (Pink Rabbit).
Tsuru had even considered taking Gion under her wing as a younger sister.
"The culprits were two individuals. We don't know the name of the ringleader, but this is his photograph," Sengoku said, distributing a picture.
Everyone looked down at it.
"He's so young… and he pulled off something this insane? The seas are becoming scarier by the day," Kizaru's trademark drawl broke the silence, voicing what everyone was thinking.
"The younger they are, the more dangerous they become. We must crush this criminal with overwhelming force to preserve the Government's and the Marines' honor," Akainu said, pounding his fist on the table.
"Does anyone recognize him?" Sengoku asked, scanning the room.
When he first saw the photograph sent by the World Government, he had the nagging feeling he had seen the young man before.
But he couldn't place it.
"That's… him?" Tsuru and Vice Admiral Chaton (Tea Pig) exclaimed in unison, their eyes wide with recognition.
Next to them, former Admiral Zephyr furrowed his brow.
"You know him?" Sengoku asked, his suspicions growing.
"I remember now. He's Gion's younger brother," Tsuru said with certainty. She had seen him before at Gion's home.
"Yes, that's him. I remember too. He's a real troublemaker," Chaton added, gritting his teeth.
Chaton had been pursuing Gion romantically but had been constantly thwarted by this young man. And to make matters worse, Gion cared deeply for her brother.
"I never got anywhere with Gion because of him. If it weren't for that brat, with my looks and talent, I would've won her over long ago," Chaton grumbled.
"Gion's brother?" Sengoku's heart sank.
Gion had been commanding the Marine forces in the Holy Land for months. Her brother had infiltrated Pangaea Castle, freed the slaves, and succeeded?
As the Marine strategist, Sengoku began to feel uneasy.
"That's impossible," Zephyr interjected, recalling the boy's presence in the Marine Recruit Camp. "He was weak. One of the worst recruits. There's no way he could have pulled this off."
"How did this happen? He was in the Recruit Camp. Why was he allowed to leave?" Sengoku demanded, glaring at Zephyr.
The idea that the mastermind behind the invasion of the Holy Land was a Marine recruit was unthinkable. The Marines couldn't afford such a scandal. Sengoku, having just taken on the role of Fleet Admiral, could already feel the weight of this looming disaster. How was he supposed to face the Five Elders?
"He's not a recruit anymore. He was expelled," Zephyr said, looking at the photograph of the young man with a mixture of disdain and regret.
The room went silent.
"Expelled?" Sengoku repeated.
A recruit who had pulled off this colossal act had been expelled?
"Why?" Sengoku demanded, slamming his fist on the table. If his expulsion was the cause of this rebellion, then Zephyr bore a great responsibility.
Zephyr sighed. "His progress was so slow that he couldn't keep up with the other recruits. His talent was abysmal. Even though he worked hard, he was at the bottom of the class."
Sengoku's face grew darker.
Talent or not, the fact that he was Gion's brother should have been enough to keep him around.
"Three years ago, when you visited the Recruit Camp, you saw him sparring with another recruit," Zephyr reminded Sengoku. "You asked why we were wasting resources on someone with no future. So, I expelled him."
"Did I say that?" Sengoku muttered. He couldn't recall such a trivial matter.
"Zephyr, regardless of that, you shouldn't have expelled him. I remember that he joined the camp not through Gion's influence but by paying his own way, isn't that right?" Tsuru said, knowing more about Gion's family than most.
She had always recognized that Gion's brother was more than what others perceived him to be—a parasite living off Gion's success.
Tsuru knew that without him, Gion wouldn't have become the Marine she was today.
At four years old, after their homeland was destroyed by pirates, Gion, then fourteen, and her younger brother had survived together, relying on each other to live. Gion provided the strength, while her brother used his brains. Without each other, neither would have made it through.
"...Yes, that's right," Zephyr confirmed with a nod.
The Marine Recruit Camp was usually reserved for the most talented youths from across the seas.
However, there were exceptions, like those who could pay their way in, such as wealthy nobles.
Gion's brother had refused to rely on her influence and instead paid several hundred million Berries to join the camp.
"And according to regulations, those who enter by paying or as nobles aren't considered official Marines. They can't be dismissed before their time is up. We took his money and then expelled him. Of course, he'd be furious," one officer noted, trying to offer a fair assessment.
Several Marines nodded in agreement.
In fact, many of the more justice-driven officers didn't believe freeing slaves was a crime at all.
Sengoku's face was as dark as coal. He didn't want to discuss it any further.
"We'll conceal his identity. From this point forward, he's a criminal. Hunt him down with everything we've got," Sengoku ordered. Nothing else mattered now. The Five Elders had given strict orders to capture both the mastermind, Gion's brother, and the accomplice, Fisher Tiger, dead or alive.
"What about Gion?" Tsuru asked, deeply concerned.
"We must trust Gion," Sengoku said firmly. "She's a Marine who upholds justice. She won't let family ties affect her duty. Besides, you all mentioned it before—he's not her real brother. They were only neighbors once."