In the blink of an eye, three months had passed.
The effects of the Paramount War gradually beca apparent.
The Great Pirate Era was officially declared over. Pirates no longer road the seas; the few small-ti stragglers still alive had already been scared out of their wits, fleeing in panic in every direction—only to ultimately end up arrested and thrown into prison.
Only a tiny handful of lucky ones managed to hide their identities and settle down sowhere quietly.
And without the rule of the forr Emperors of the Sea, the Marine advanced freely across the New World, rapidly expanding its power. This lawless territory, which had been in turmoil for decades, was finally brought back under the control of the World Governnt.
A new order was quickly taking shape. Turmoil, chaos… endless battles—these words seed destined to be swept into the dustbin of history.
However—
Beneath this seemingly bright and promising future, those with sharp eyes could already sense an undercurrent… slowly swelling.
…
The beginning of the fourth month after the Paramount War.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Inside the highest-level conference room, the atmosphere was suffocatingly heavy. Nearly all high-ranking officers—including Akainu and Aokiji—wore grim expressions, puffing clouds of smoke.
Bang!
A thick stack of docunts was slamd onto the table by Sengoku, seated at the head. His voice was low:
"This is last month's monthly summary report. Pass it around and take a look."
"What's there to look at?"
Garp picked his nose and snorted.
"Anyone with a few brain cells can guess—it's the sa crap as the last two months."
Everyone present knew exactly what he ant, and their expressions grew even darker.
Marine Headquarters had always kept the tradition of monthly summary etings.
Three months earlier, at another monthly summary—in this very room—the atmosphere had been completely different.
The Paramount War had just ended. The pirate alliance had vanished like smoke. The Marines were pressing forward relentlessly, reclaiming territory one after another. Good news poured in from the front like falling snow.
Wherever the fleet arrived, civilians welcod them with open arms. Morale was sky-high—it truly felt like a new age of prosperity had arrived.
Yet less than a month later, everything began to change.
First ca a demobilization order from the World Governnt, demanding that Marine Headquarters cut one-third of its forces, and that all branches outside the New World reduce manpower by half.
This was within expectations; Sengoku and the others had already anticipated it.
After all, the Marine had expanded year after year because pirates were rampant. Now that the Great Pirate Era was over, reducing military spending was reasonable.
At most, the order simply felt too rushed—only one month of buffer ti, which made it seem overly hasty. But otherwise, there wasn't much to complain about.
What ca afterward, however, was sothing the high-ranking officers found far harder to accept.
Perhaps because the pirate threat had been completely wiped out, and the seas were now far safer and more stable than before—
Soone, sowhere, started a trend.
The Celestial Dragons—the Tenryuubito who lived in Mary Geoise—suddenly beca interested in "touring" the four seas. The younger generation especially began traveling in groups, dragging along their friends, eager to roam around.
The pressure on the Marines was unimaginable.
They had to allocate large numbers of elite soldiers to escort these World Nobles, protecting them along the way. And whenever a Celestial Dragon caused so massive disaster, the Marines had to clean up the ss behind them.
Kidnapping beautiful young girls to turn them into slaves;
Ordering Marine fleets to fire upon each other for entertainnt;
Riding beasts straight into ancient royal palaces, smashing everything to pieces, then forcing the king and queen to crawl naked through the ruins while they laughed…
And countless other atrocities.
—Of course, to the Celestial Dragons, these probably weren't "disasters" at all, but simply the natural order of things.
After all, whether in the past, present, or future, this was how they had always behaved.
But—
The era has truly changed.
When the primary conflict disappears, the secondary conflicts inevitably rise to the surface imdiately, becoming the focus of the world.
With pirates no longer running rampant, and the age of chaos finally ended, the long-standing tensions between the World Nobles and the people of various nations could no longer be concealed or smoothed over.
The spotlight also shifted to the Marines.
To the public, the Marines had once been the guardians who protected peace—naturally trusted and respected.
But now?
It seed their only remaining duty… was to play the obedient dogs of the Celestial Dragons.
With so many negative incidents erupting one after another in quick succession, public resentnt boiled over—and even the Marines themselves could hardly stand it.
You have to understand—
The Marines of today had been shaped by Nao's influence for more than ten years. Especially the younger generation: many had joined the Marine precisely because they admired and idolized Nao. Their overall ideology had shifted drastically, far more radical than the previous generation.
And so—
In just two or three months, thousands of Marine soldiers resigned or retired!
Among them were many Warrant Officers… and even a few Rear Admirals.
Every high-ranking officer present in the room now carried a belly full of anger!
And now, it was already the fourth month.
Similar tensions around the world not only show no sign of easing—they've been escalating even more intensely.
Intelligence reports indicate that the revolutionaries, led by Dragon, have also resud frequent activities after years of lying low.
The patience of Marine Headquarters is already nearing its absolute limit.
"Even though the trouble caused by the Celestial Dragons has doubled again this month…"
Sengoku glanced at Garp and spoke expressionlessly. "If these were the only problems, it would actually be a relief."
Garp frowned, pulled out a folder, and began skimming through it.
The other high-ranking officers paused for a mont, then all began passing around the remaining docunts.
After only a short ti, everyone's faces changed.
"Absurd!"
Akainu was the first to finish reading. He slamd the table in fury. "What is the World Governnt thinking?! How could they approve such personnel transfers?!"
"Agatha Gutt is being appointed Chief of Staff of Marine Headquarters. Durvis is being transferred in as Chief Advisor… In total there are more than a dozen transfer orders, and they're all those Word Governnt bureaucrats. anwhile, many of our own senior officers—including several people right here—are being reassigned to other departnts."
Aokiji pushed up the visor on his forehead and spoke calmly:
"It seems that even after a major round of downsizing, the higher-ups still don't trust us very much."
The others exchanged looks; every face was extrely grim.
Even though the Marines were now being cursed by the public as the "dogs of the Celestial Dragons," their core beliefs still stood firmly on the side of Justice.
But once this wave of transfers is implented—and so many "nails" are driven into Marine Headquarters—anyone can imagine what the Marines' reputation will beco in the years ahead.
"To replace this many people at once, and this is only the first wave…"
Garp flicked away a booger and snorted. "At this rate, they might as well replace the Fleet Admiral while they're at it."
"They already did." Sengoku suddenly said.
"...Huh?!"
Everyone turned to him in shock.
"After the war at Marineford, the Marines reached unprecedented strength and prestige."
Sengoku's voice was calm. "In the second month after the war ended, once the New World had stabilized, I submitted my resignation to the World Governnt and recomnded Nao as the next Fleet Admiral."
The group nodded slightly—this was not surprising. Nao's prestige was now unmatched within the Marines.
If Sengoku were to step down, then in the eyes of the entire organization, Nao was the only rightful candidate for the next Fleet Admiral.
There was no second choice—not even among the current Admirals like Akainu or Aokiji.
"So what was the result?" Kizaru raised an eyebrow.
"They kept evading the resignation issue," Sengoku said with a cold smile. "But Nao's nomination was rejected the very next day. The reason they gave was simple: he's too inexperienced to be qualified."
Too inexperienced?
Everyone fell silent. With Nao's long history of being a "troublemaker" in the eyes of the World Governnt, none of them were fools—they all understood exactly what the governnt was wary of… or afraid of.
"Speaking of which, where is Admiral Nao?" Momonga asked suddenly. "He didn't co to this eting either. He hasn't shown up much these past few months—is he still in seclusion?"
When they heard this, everyone—including Sengoku—instinctively turned to look at Gion.
This was sothing they had all been wondering about for a long ti.
After the Paramount War, Nao's prestige had reached its peak. He beca the subject of discussion in practically every corner of the world.
Yet the man at the center of global attention had instead beco increasingly low-key. Just a few days after the war ended, he entered closed-door training and hadn't participated in a single Marine operation or eting. He refused all visitors as well.
Everyone knew Nao was a training fanatic.
But now, even the so-called strongest man in the world—Whitebeard—had been personally defeated by him. Nao had already beco the universally acknowledged strongest in existence. So why would he still need such relentless training?
Above that ceiling… could there really be a new realm to pursue?
Maybe there really was.
But with no worthy opponents left, was there any need for such urgency?
"It's funny—you're asking at the perfect ti. He just finished this morning."
Gion smiled lightly. "When I left ho, he was in the shower. So he might actually show up for today's eting."
Oh, the usual answer again—"still in seclusion, can't co."
Everyone nodded reflexively… then suddenly froze, eyes widening as they stared at her.
"Eh??"
He's coming?!
His closed-door training of more than three months… is finally over?!
The news brought genuine excitent to the room, lifting the heavy atmosphere for the first ti.
However, it didn't last long. The eting continued, and the mont the next topic was brought up, the conference room sank back into gloom.
"The compensation funds still haven't been approved?"
Doberman stared at the last docunt in his hand, a cigar hanging from his lips.
"You're kidding . Didn't we submit the request imdiately after the war ended?"
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