Marine Headquarters – Admiral's Office
"Hey! Jinbe? Can you hear me? Hello?!" Before they could say much, the Den Den Mushi let out a "poi" sound and drooped its head, falling asleep.
This meant the call had been disconnected. But considering that final explosion just before, Rowen was more inclined to believe that Jinbe had come under attack, and the Den Den Mushi was damaged in the chaos.
"This is trouble…"
Frowning silently, Rowen turned around, grabbed the cloak off the hanger, and activated Heavenly Network to project his voice directly into Akainu's ear.
"Fleet Admiral, something serious has happened."
Akainu, who was busy handling paperwork in his office, paused and waved off the assisting soldiers before asking:
"What serious thing?"
"Jinbe found a Poneglyph, but someone got to it first. Then he encountered an unknown hostile force, and communication has now been cut off."
Shua!
A flash of electricity sparked in the air, and Rowen appeared before Akainu in a blink. His Thunder Dragon crescent-sided halberd was slung over his back, and as he adjusted the Seastone sleeve darts on his wrist, he relayed the situation.
"Give me Jinbe's Vivre Card, Fleet Admiral. I'm heading out to assess the situation."
"A Poneglyph... huh?" Akainu's tone paused for a moment, then he nodded. "I understand."
No matter how strained their relationship with the World Government, Poneglyphs were always a taboo.
Just then, the Den Den Mushi rang again. Rowen and Akainu exchanged glances, then Rowen reached into his coat and pulled out his private Den Den Mushi.
"Hey, Jinbe, is that you?"
"Cough cough... Admiral Soryu (Azure Dragon), it's bad, really bad!!"
"You already said that earlier! Stop panicking and spit it out clearly!"
A black vein popped on Rowen's forehead. Normally, Jinbe was a calm and dependable man, but why was he being so long-winded at a critical time?
"Apologies. That was my mistake."
Taking a deep breath, Jinbe, who was hiding behind a reef, barely peeking his head out, steadied his tone and continued:
"I encountered 'World Destroyer' Byrnndi World and 'Red the Aloof' Patrick Redfield. They're heading toward the Red Line."
"WHAT?!" Akainu's eyes widened, and he abruptly stood up.
"That's not all. Byrnndi World somehow got his hands on a giant ship, there's a cannon on board even more outrageous than your original Super Electromagnetic Cannon! If he combines that artillery with his Momo Momo no Mi powers… You can imagine the damage!"
Before Akainu could respond with the fury and shock boiling in his chest, Jinbe wiped away the blood trailing from the corner of his mouth and stared toward the barely visible silhouette of the massive ship in the distance.
"And... for some reason, Patrick Redfield has regained his youth. His strength now is exactly as I remember it, a perfect return to his peak state!"
Hssss-!!
Akainu took in a sharp breath and slammed his hands on the desk. Molten magma spread out from under his palms, scorching the table black and sizzling hot.
"Impossible! That monster... has regained his youth?!"
"So what? Redfield… is he really that strong?"
Rowen frowned slightly.
After all, this man never made an official appearance in the original canon, his only cameo was to serve as a stepping stone for the Straw Hats in a spin-off. Rowen knew Redfield was powerful, but not to the point of making Akainu lose his composure like this.
This was the same Akainu who dared shout and threaten even Whitebeard!
Akainu took a breath and steadied himself, then nodded solemnly.
"Yes... that guy is a monster."
"There's something I didn't learn until after I became an Admiral… Red the Aloof was defeated and imprisoned in Impel Down during the time when Fleet Admiral Kong was still in charge of the Marines. You knew that, right?"
"Yeah, I know." Rowen nodded.
That was many years ago. Although history places that era as part of Roger's time, after Rocks, it was actually before Roger, Golden Lion, and Whitebeard were hailed as the Three Great Legends.
If Redfield had not been defeated and erased from history, that time period might have been known as the era of the Four Great Legends.
And Steel Bone Kong remained Fleet Admiral of the Marines until Roger became the Pirate King, at which point Kong resigned in disgrace.
But the World Government rejected Kong's resignation proposal. Unwilling to admit failure, they instead took advantage of Roger's surrender the following year, treated it as a political win, and promoted Kong to Supreme Commander of all armed forces, while Sengoku succeeded him as Fleet Admiral.
"But what does that have to do with Redfield?"
"Naturally, everything!"
Akainu took a deep breath, his expression turning grave.
"In fact, ever since that battle, Commander-in-Chief Kong has been plagued by internal injuries that never fully healed, his strength drastically declined."
"Because of the chaos caused by Roger, Golden Lion, and the others, the Marines needed a central figure to hold the line. That's the only reason he didn't step down right away."
Seeing the shift in Rowen's expression, Akainu looked up and said with solemn gravity:
"If you investigate carefully, you'll find that after that battle, there has been no record of Kong engaging in any fights."
"Even when Golden Lion later invaded Marine Headquarters, it was Garp and Sengoku who stepped up to fight him."
"You're the Fleet Admiral, do you really believe he just wasn't around at Headquarters?"
Fleet Admiral not stationed at HQ?
Look at the Summit War, or even Akainu now, how absurd! Rowen's face suddenly changed. He remembered something:
Red the Aloof, in that legendary fight, had actually defeated "Steel Bone" Kong one-on-one, Kong was only ultimately beaten because Garp ambushed him while he was weakened, allowing them to imprison him in Impel Down with bitter resentment.
"Being promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the entire military sounds like a rise in position, but it's no longer a front-line combat role. Compared to the Marines, it's more of a bureaucratic figurehead. He was promoted, sure, but it meant leaving behind combat and turning into a political clerk."
Thinking of that elderly man currently stationed in Holy Land Mary Geoise, Akainu pressed his lips together tightly.
"He knew he could no longer recklessly wield strength like before, so he stayed in the Holy Land and found another way to contribute."
"Over the years, he's blocked countless problems for the Marines and continued to fight for Justice, just in a different way."
"And all of this was the result of that one battle with that monster!"
As these long-buried Marine secrets unfolded, Rowen and Jinbe on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, held their breath.
Only now did they truly understand the kind of monster "Red the Aloof" really was.
Put simply: He crippled the then-strongest force in the Marines, perhaps even stronger than Garp at the time, "Steel Bone" Kong, in a one-on-one duel.
"Most of the Impel Down escapees have already been recaptured, with only a few still at large. But as long as Redfield is still out there, we must not let our guard down."
"Back then, Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and Roger all fought against him. It took the entire strength of their pirate crews just to match him in battle… and even when they couldn't win, Redfield could always retreat safely, no one could stop him. Proud and terrifying to the extreme!"
"And now, that kind of man has regained his youth. I don't believe for a second it's a coincidence he's teaming up with the World Destroyer."
So…
"Are they… here for revenge?"
Rowen slowly opened his eyes, his battle intent surging.
Since the breakout, both World and Redfield had remained quiet, clearly to recover and prepare.
And both of them had deep grudges from their past defeats:
One lost after a brutal fight, only to be finished off by Garp's sneak attack.
The other betrayed by his own crew and stabbed in the back.
Sengoku, the "Resourceful General" who later took command, undoubtedly inherited the command policy of "Steel Bone" Kong.
"That's right. But what worries me most isn't just that…"
Akainu paused, steadied his breathing, and then gave a loud order:
"Call a meeting of all Marine Headquarters officers immediately, we cannot allow them to get close to the Red Line!"
Upon hearing this, Rowen's eyes widened in shock.
"Wait… you mean…?!!"
"Yeah, exactly what you're thinking."
Akainu's sharp gaze locked forward, his fists clenched tightly.
"I absolutely do not believe that if they're out for Marine revenge, they'll just 'pass by' Mary Geoise peacefully!"
(End of Chapter)
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