321st Branch of the North Blue.
Base Commander's Office.
Standing before the vast floor-to-ceiling window, Sengoku clasped his hands behind his back, silently watching the distant naval port where the warships of the North Blue Fleet were slowly returning to harbor. A strange gleam flickered in his deep-set eyes.
The North Blue Fleet... the sky-dominating force... the strategic airborne navy... disciplined elite soldiers... compact missiles... advanced technological weapons...
One phrase after another flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but imagine the future possibilities.
"Darren, that little bastard... his ambition runs deep," Sengoku muttered, narrowing his eyes.
A light knock came at the door.
As Sengoku withdrew his gaze and turned, his expression returned to calm. The door opened, and in walked Lieutenant Commander Momonga.
Wearing his Marine cap with his usual composed demeanor, Momonga stepped forward and saluted crisply.
"Admiral Sengoku. You asked for me?"
Sengoku looked him up and down, quite pleased with the cool-headed aura exuded by Darren's right-hand man—the Deputy Commander of the 321st Branch.
"I imagine my presence here must've caused quite a bit of disruption for your team," Sengoku said with a rare smile.
Though Byrnndi World was dead, the aftermath of the Ward Pirates Campaign still needed to be handled. With supplies in mind, Sengoku had decided to stay at the 321st Branch for a few days before returning to Marine Headquarters at Marineford.
Naturally, that meant the Base Commander's Office had been taken over by him.
Momonga shook his head calmly.
"Quite the opposite, Admiral. The North Blue Fleet was immensely encouraged by your arrival. Without your planning, I doubt the campaign against the Ward Pirates would've ended in such a resounding victory."
Sengoku rolled his eyes.
"Don't get cute with me. That kind of flattery doesn't suit you. Don't start learning Darren's bad habits."
Momonga scratched his head awkwardly. He wasn't the type for smooth talk.
Speaking of that little bastard...
"How is Darren's condition?" Sengoku asked.
Momonga paused, a serious look taking over his face.
"According to the medical report, Base Commander Darren sustained extremely severe injuries during the operation. Over thirty bones fractured or shattered, internal bleeding, massive external blood loss... the situation is far from optimistic."
Sengoku fell silent, a sigh rising within him.
That brat... Ambitious to a fault. Without informing HQ, he'd quietly constructed a powerful private fleet. Sengoku, with his sharp eye and broad experience, could tell at a glance that the ten warships deployed in the Ward Pirates Campaign were all modified.
Not only that, the heavy weapons mounted on the ships and the advanced tech used by the Marines from the 321st Branch... all unmistakably originated from Germa 66.
Sengoku was reminded of another recent incident—when the North Blue Marines intervened in the war between the Germa Kingdom and the Kingdom of Yadis, and somehow, mysteriously, signed a cooperative agreement with Germa 66.
So that's when it started... Darren's collaboration with Vinsmoke Judge?
Sengoku didn't like it. Not the secrecy, not the private deals. But after seeing what Darren had sacrificed to bring down Byrnndi World—the grotesque wounds, the blood-drenched uniform—he found it hard to pursue disciplinary action.
Because this wasn't just any pirate.
This was Byrnndi World.
A pirate dangerous enough to threaten Marine Headquarters and the World Government itself.
"I've never seen Base Commander Darren so gravely wounded," Momonga continued, unaware of Sengoku's internal struggle. "According to the doctor, if it had been anyone else, they'd be dead. Even if they lived, they'd be left crippled for life."
Sengoku winced. A pang of guilt twisted in his chest.
Darren had nearly given his life to bring down World. And yet here he was, already entertaining the idea of absorbing Darren's fleet and tech into HQ's arsenal.
Sengoku, you bastard... how can you even think like that? After everything that kid did?
"...As per the doctors' estimates," Momonga said with a sorrowful sigh, "Commander Darren will need at least two or three days of bedrest before he makes a full recovery."
Sengoku nodded solemnly. "That kid's been through hell. Leaving him here in the North Blue all these years... it's been a waste of talent. I'll see to it he's properly compensated. Let him rest, and once he's fully healed—"
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, eyes wide.
"...Wait, what did you say!?"
He stared at Momonga in disbelief.
"Two or three days!? Darren will recover fully in two or three days!?"
Momonga blinked, slightly puzzled. "That's correct."
"But didn't you just say he was critically injured? Thirty bones broken! Massive internal bleeding! Fatal wounds!"
"And didn't you say anyone else would've died or ended up a cripple!?"
"And didn't you just say you've never seen him this badly injured before!?"
Sengoku was practically shouting now. "Then how!?"
Momonga, completely serious, replied:
"I haven't seen him this badly injured before."
"Normally, he gets slashed by blades, hit by artillery, burned by fire, riddled with bullets... and the wounds crust over in under thirty minutes."
He added as if it were the most natural thing in the world:
"But this time, he'll be lying in the hospital for three entire days. That's... very serious."
The sheer earnestness on his face made Sengoku want to scream.
He opened his mouth but couldn't find the words. At last, he simply buried his face in his hands.
"...Fine. Fine! I get it. Leave me alone. I need to think."
Momonga saluted again. "Yes, Admiral. Call if you need me."
He turned and left the office.
"...Wait," Sengoku called after him.
"Where are Tokikake and Gion? Bring them to me."
Momonga hesitated for a moment. "...Admiral, both Lieutenant Commander Gion and Lieutenant Commander Tokikake are off-base."
"...Where did those two run off to?"
"Well... according to them, Lieutenant Commander Tokikake and Rear Admiral Borsalino have gone out to... survey the civil conditions in the North Blue."
Momonga pursed his lips carefully.
Sengoku's brow twitched.
"Lieutenant Commander Gion... went to go arrest them."