Marine Headquarters, Marineford—the top floor of the Fortress of Justice, inside the Fleet Admiral's office.
Standing by the window, Fleet Admiral Kong looked out toward Justice Harbor at the island's edge and said, "Garp's ship has docked."
Inside the room were two other high-ranking officers of the Navy: Chief Staff Officer Tsuru and Admiral Zephyr.
Zephyr held a folder he had just received from the Fleet Admiral. Inside was a detailed intelligence report on Benn Ortoren.
It was clear this intel ca from the Chief Staff Officer herself.
"Overall, it lines up with what he told Garp. At the very least, he didn't hide anything from him," Zephyr said, eyes on the file.
"Now imagine this—if you were the child of a pirate and wanted to join the Marines, would you really tell Garp the whole truth when he asked?" Kong's tone was sharp.
Zephyr paused, his gaze toward the Fleet Admiral turning a bit uncertain.
Yeah, just a kid who'd barely turned eighteen. He knew full well he carried the blood of a pirate, yet still ca forward, openly admitting it as he sought to join the Marines. Wasn't that... a little too composed?
Honesty was good. But being that honest—couldn't it also seem a bit unnatural?
Just then, Tsuru set down her teacup and said calmly, "When you're suspicious of soone, everything they do seems wrong. When you trust them, everything can be explained. That's arrogance and prejudice, Fleet Admiral."
Kong smiled. The sharpness in his expression faded as he nodded. "As expected of you, Tsuru. Are all intel officers as wise as you?"
Zephyr seed to pick up on sothing too. He laughed and said, "Exactly. From a skeptical angle, he seems overly rational—like he's scheming. But if you view it from a place of trust, maybe it just ans he truly wants to join with a clean slate. He probably played it all out in his head many tis beforehand, which just makes him thoughtful."
Scheming and thoughtful—they described the sa behavior, yet with just a slight change in wording, the whole aning flipped.
It was the sa with words. And with people too.
"If I go on, I'll just end up sounding like a petty, narrow-minded Fleet Admiral," Kong said with a chuckle. "Still, there's sothing I need to say—especially to you, Zephyr. As a teacher, you'd better train these new recruits properly. If they go down the wrong path, it's sothing you'll regret for the rest of your life."
"Relax, Fleet Admiral," Zephyr said with a confident wave. "Even if they're crooked seedlings now, they're still just eighteen. A military camp is the best place to shape them."
"A crucible," Tsuru said with a faint smile in her eyes.
"Exactly. A crucible. Even if there are impurities, they'll be lted down over the years. Nothing to worry about!" Zephyr replied, glancing at Tsuru with satisfaction.
Kong looked down as Garp and the unfamiliar figure walked up to the base of the Fortress of Justice. He turned and said, "They're coming up. Get back to work, both of you."
He too had other matters to deal with. As for Ortoren—just a glimpse from the window was enough. He was the Fleet Admiral, after all. No need to personally greet a new recruit, even a special one.
Still, since Garp thought highly of him and was introducing him as a disciple to Zephyr, there would surely be plenty of chances to see the boy again in the future.
Zephyr stood up and said, "Then I'll go see for myself if that recruit Garp's so proud of is really as impressive as he says!"
Chief Staff Officer Tsuru replied, "I still have so matters to handle, so I'll take my leave."
Just as Zephyr stepped out of the office, Garp's Den Den Mushi rang.
"Hello? Zephyr? You in your office? I'm back at Marineford. I brought the kid I ntioned to you—figured you should et him in person..." Garp said casually.
Zephyr smiled at Tsuru, then responded into the Den Den Mushi, "I just ca from the Fleet Admiral's office. I'm heading back now. Just co to my office."
"Got it," Garp replied, then hung up.
...
Not long after, Garp arrived at the Fortress of Justice with Ortoren in tow. Marine Headquarters was the heart of the entire Marine system, and the Fortress of Justice was its very core. Only officers could freely enter and exit this building— even the sentries at the entrance held at least the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Marines rushed through the lobby, arms full of docunts. Most of them were Captains or higher. Commodores and Rear Admirals were a common sight, and every now and then, a Vice Admiral could be seen giving instructions to a group of officers.
Garp still carried a lot of clout. No one stopped them or asked questions as he walked in with Ortoren. Every Marine they passed greeted Garp with respect before moving on.
Clearly, while many high-ranking officers thought Garp was a troubleso old man who stirred up chaos wherever he went, the word "hero" still carried trendous weight in the Navy.
The Fortress of Justice had nine floors. The lower three were always bustling—ho to public offices like the liaison departnt, logistics, support, and security. That's where the core support systems of the Marines operated.
Ortoren learned this from the signs in the corridors. The middle three floors housed higher-level offices—intelligence, strategic command, the criminal investigation bureau, and nurous eting rooms. The higher you went, the quieter it beca. The sixth floor, in particular, was a massive conference hall, currently shut down.
According to Garp, whenever a major incident occurred, all officers ranked Commodore or above who were present at headquarters would be summoned there for an ergency eting.
As for what counted as a "major incident," Garp said it depended on the situation—in other words, there was no strict definition. If everyone agreed it was serious, then it was.
The top three floors were private offices. The seventh floor was for Rear Admirals, the eighth for Vice Admirals, and the ninth for the three Admirals and the Fleet Admiral.
And those below Rear Admiral?
Too bad. Officers under that rank weren't entitled to private offices here. If they were lucky, they might score a departnt head role on the lower or middle floors and get a bit of privacy. If not, they'd have to work out of one of the other Marine buildings in Marineford. The Fortress of Justice wasn't the only facility around.
Technically, Garp's office should have been on the eighth floor since he was a Vice Admiral. But he was also a Marine hero, and his seniority wasn't far off from the Admirals or even the Fleet Admiral. He'd also repeatedly refused promotion to Admiral.
For whatever reason, the vacant Admiral office on the ninth floor was now his.
"I wasn't kidding when I said being a Marine cos with great perks," Garp said as they walked. "Especially for headquarters officers. Once you make Lieutenant Commander, you get your own dorm room. Beco a Commodore, and you get a private residence. From Vice Admiral up, like , you get your own detached house with a garden out back. But the yard's too big, and it feels empty living there alone, so most of the ti, I just crash at the office."
And that wasn't all. Garp had said the Marine Headquarters basically provided free food and lodging—unless you had so fancy requests, like needing to eat so regional delicacy every al. As long as your tastes were normal, you didn't pay a thing.
Of course, there were special perks too. Bigwigs like Garp could ask for extras—he drank high-quality green tea and ate only the best senbei every day... though Ortoren wasn't entirely sure what made a senbei "the best."
Admiral Zephyr was said to be a cigar lover. Ortoren privately suspected that's what caused his asthma.
As for Admiral Sengoku, Ortoren didn't know much, but Garp had ntioned that he liked keeping goats in his office—goats that either ate rare dicinal herbs or special Marine docunts, both of which were absurdly expensive.
The ssage was clear: once you beca a Vice Admiral, you got access to privileges most people could only dream of. If you beca an Admiral candidate—or an Admiral—you were living better than most kings, aside from those with noble status.
And if you beca Fleet Admiral? Then you'd be right at the top of the ladder. Only the Five Elders at Mary Geoise, the Commander-in-Chief, or a few elite Celestial Dragons would outrank you in terms of privilege.
In short, becoming a Marine was a career with a future!
...
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