On the square of Marineford, Marine officers in cloaks of justice hurried from all directions, gathering towards the fortress.
Worry, confusion, and solemn expressions appeared on everyone's faces.
In the crowd, which was like a white tide, Rorschach, who had rushed up from the underground lab, spotted many familiar faces.
He led Hibari and Enel and quickened his pace, catching up with a tall Marine officer.
"Vice Admiral Momonga! What's going on? Vice Admiral Tsuru said that Shiki has declared war on us. When did this happen?"
The person he stopped was Vice Admiral Momonga, a veteran of Marine Headquarters.
Seeing Rorschach, Momonga first forced a stiff smile, greeting him. Then, he shook his head and said, "I don't know either. I just received an urgent meeting notice, so I rushed here from home. The name Shiki... if Vice Admiral Tsuru hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost thought he had died many years ago, just like Roger. Anyway, let's go inside first. Staff Officer Tsuru will explain everything."
Momonga's demeanor was relatively calm.
At least, after receiving the news that Shiki had declared war on the Marines, the expression on his face didn't look too panicked.
Some of the younger Marine officers were also not flustered.
Rorschach even saw a hint of eagerness on some of their faces.
For some bellicose Marine officers, war was undoubtedly the fastest way to gain military merit and a great opportunity to get a promotion.
Only some Marine officers over the age of thirty-five, who had witnessed Shiki's terror in the past, had extremely solemn expressions.
Rorschach and Momonga walked side by side and soon entered the first-floor conference hall of the Fortress of Justice with the main group.
The space here was huge, large enough to easily accommodate over ten thousand people for a meeting at the same time.
The layout was similar to the auction house on Sabaody Archipelago.
The higher the rank and the stronger the person, the closer they sat to the front and the center.
Rorschach had intended to sit in the seats for the Rear Admirals and Commodores on the left, but Momonga pulled him to the very front row.
Sitting around him were the strongest, most senior, and most powerful Vice Admirals of Marine Headquarters.
Onigumo, Dalmatian, Doberman, Momonga, and others were all present.
As soon as Rorschach sat down, Onigumo, who was smoking a cigar, offered him one, which Rorschach politely declined with a smile.
"This is good tobacco that I had Smoker buy for me. It costs over ten thousand Berries a stick. Don't you want to try it?"
Onigumo grinned.
He was a big, burly man, but his voice was very gentle.
"Thank you for the offer, Vice Admiral Onigumo. I don't smoke," Rorschach quickly waved his hand.
"That's a shame. There are three great pleasures in life: smoking a cigar, drinking hard liquor, and killing pirates. You've already experienced the latter two. You should try the former as well."
Rorschach's face was full of a bitter smile. Onigumo laughed and handed the cigar to Momonga, who took it but didn't light it, just sniffing it under his nose.
"It's okay. You'll smoke eventually, hahaha. When I was young, I didn't smoke or drink either. At most, I liked to go and hang out in the Pleasure District."
"Cough cough!"
Rorschach was choked by Onigumo's blunt words and coughed repeatedly.
Just then, Vice Admiral Tsuru, followed by Brandnew, strode into the conference hall.
With Vice Admiral Tsuru's arrival, the noisy sounds in the hall quickly subsided and eventually became completely silent.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Vice Admiral Tsuru, who was standing on the high platform in the hall.
Vice Admiral Tsuru scanned the Marine officers in the hall.
Due to the urgent mobilization, there were not many people here, only about five hundred.
However, the lowest rank of those who could enter here for the meeting was Commodore, so they could all be considered Marine elites.
"Since the situation is urgent, I'll keep it brief. Brandnew." Vice Admiral Tsuru looked at Brandnew.
Brandnew quickly stepped forward, opened a video Den Den Mushi, placed it on the table, and projected the news report from the New World directly onto the blackboard behind him.
The blurred light from the video Den Den Mushi's wide eyes soon showed a clear photo of four people sitting at a large round table on the blackboard.
In the photo, there were three men and one woman.
Two of them were as tall as Giants, and the other two were slightly shorter, but no less than three meters tall.
Upon seeing the four familiar faces in the image, all the Marine officers who had come to the meeting were stunned, as if they had been hit by the Pirate Empress's Devil Fruit ability. They all stood there with their eyes wide open.
"This... This is?"
Even the veteran Vice Admiral Onigumo couldn't help but clench the cigar in his mouth, his eyes filled with shock.
"This isn't 33 years ago. Why would these four arrogant people get together?" Doberman couldn't help but clench the long sword at his waist, his knuckles turning a little white from the force.
The huge hall was deadly silent; you could hear a pin drop.
In the photo, the woman, who was bloated and fat like a mountain of flesh, and wearing a pink dress, was the strongest woman in the world today, the Queen of Whole Cake Island, the captain of the Big Mom Pirates, and one of the Four Emperors, Charlotte Linlin!
The wild giant of a man, with a muscular and terrifying physique and two horns on his head, was the World's Strongest Creature, the Governor of the Beast Pirates, and also one of the Four Emperors, Kaido of the Beasts!
The thin-faced old man, with a long white beard hanging down to his chest and wearing a blue robe, was the owner of Hachinosu Island in the Rocky Port waters, the most powerful contender for the Emperor of the Sea throne in the past, the great pirate Wang Zhi!
The last person, with a full head of golden hair, a ridiculous ship's rudder stuck on top of his head, and a defiant smile with a cigar in his mouth, was not very familiar to many of the younger officers present. But for the older Marine officers like Onigumo, Doberman, and Momonga, he was extremely familiar.
Most of them had even fought alongside Sengoku and Garp against this man many times.
The man's earth-shattering moves, even after more than twenty years, were still deeply etched in their minds and would not fade away.
Seeing the shock and confusion on many people's faces, Vice Admiral Tsuru reached out and pointed at Shiki's face.
"Many people here are still very young and probably don't know who this man is. Let me introduce him. This man is Shiki the Golden Lion, the admiral of the Flying Pirate Fleet, who competed with Whitebeard and Roger in the New World more than twenty years ago, once forcing the Roger Pirates to flee and igniting the world-famous Battle of Edd War!"
Looking at the shocked eyes in the audience, Vice Admiral Tsuru continued in a calm voice, "Twenty years ago, Shiki broke into Marineford and was defeated by the combined efforts of Sengoku and Garp and imprisoned in Impel Down. Three years later, he broke his own legs and escaped from Impel Down, becoming the first person in Impel Down's history to successfully escape."
"Gulp."
The sound of people swallowing their saliva echoed throughout the hall. One by one, the Marine officers looked horrified.
But at the same time, a younger Marine officer clenched his fists and said with admiration, "Such a terrifying pirate was defeated by Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp. Who cares about legends? Aren't Vice Admiral Garp, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and Teacher Zephyr all living legends?"
"That's right! Who cares about legends? He was defeated 20 years ago, and when he reappears 20 years later, he will fail again!"
The veteran Vice Admirals remained silent, their faces all solemn.
No matter how strong Shiki was alone, he couldn't cause too much trouble.
But in the image in front of them, there were still three more great pirates.
As expected, Vice Admiral Tsuru continued, "Just now, our intelligence officers in the New World sent a message. Shiki, who had disappeared for seventeen years without any news circulating about him on the sea, has reappeared with his Flying Pirate Fleet, showing up in Whole Cake Island's territory. He met with Charlotte Linlin, Kaido, and Wang Zhi and formed an unprecedented pirate alliance. Afterward, the four of them publicly announced at the tea party that they would declare war on us, the Marines, and the World Government. They will drive the Marines out of the New World in the shortest amount of time."
As soon as Vice Admiral Tsuru said this, the entire conference hall was first in a state of suppressed silence, and then it erupted into an uproar.
The Marine officers looked terrified, their eyes filled with disbelief.
"Hey, hey, hey, you're kidding, right? Why would Shiki be able to convince Charlotte Linlin and Kaido, two Emperors of the Sea? And Wang Zhi! Is this lineup meant to destroy the world? Is there anyone on this sea who can contend with a pirate alliance consisting of a legendary great pirate, two Emperors of the Sea, and a great pirate second only to the Emperors of the Sea? A pirate force of this magnitude has never appeared in history, has it?"
Some Marine officers' faces turned pale from extreme fear.
Vice Admiral Tsuru had been observing the expressions of everyone in the hall the entire time. At this moment, a hint of disappointment couldn't help but appear in the depths of her eyes.
However, she could also understand the officers' loss of composure.
After all, this opponent was simply too terrifying.
Let alone these officers, even Sengoku and she felt uneasy.
This war could be the largest-scale war the Marines had faced in more than twenty years.
If the data provided by the Marine General Staff was correct and all four pirate crews were to move out, the pirate coalition of Shiki, Kaido, and the others could number over two hundred thousand!
And they were all battle-hardened veterans who had gone through the cruel struggles of the New World, not rookies from the Grand Line and the four seas.
From top to bottom, whether it was in terms of top-tier combat power, mid-tier combat power, or military strength, they would not be inferior to the current total military strength of the Marines.
And the most crucial thing was that this sudden pirate alliance would not give the Marines a chance or time to assemble their forces.
What Vice Admiral Tsuru didn't say was that the moment they received this shocking intelligence, the Marine General Staff immediately contacted the major Marine branches in the New World to prepare their defenses.
And three of the communication lines they dialed could no longer be connected.
This meant that in just two short days, three Marine branches in the New World had been breached by pirates.
Among them was G-5, which had a garrison size no smaller than G-1.
If she were to announce the news of the destruction of the three Marine branches, including G-5, the Marine officers here would probably feel even more despair.
Suddenly, Vice Admiral Tsuru's expression changed. She saw Rorschach sitting in the front row.
At this moment, while most of the Marine officers in the entire hall, including several veteran Vice Admirals, were unable to remain calm, this young Marine, who had predicted what would happen today without a single error just two nights ago, was sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed and a blank expression on his face. There was no hint of panic.
His youth and composure formed a huge contrast to the panic of many of the officers in the hall, causing a hint of surprise to appear in Vice Admiral Tsuru's heart.
Was Rorschach not afraid of this?
One must know that this war could very well be the most intense in over twenty years.
Who knows how many people would die in the upcoming war?
"Rorschach, do you have anything to say?"
Suddenly, amidst the clamor, Vice Admiral Tsuru asked abruptly.
Rorschach?
The clamoring Marine officers all looked up, their gazes gathering on the tall figure sitting in the front row.
The name Rorschach had been at its peak in recent months.
Whether it was within the Marines, in the Grand Line, the four seas, or even the New World, he had gained a great deal of fame.
His fame came from his young age, his rapid promotion speed, and the fact that he had killed several powerful pirates in the Grand Line.
Just over a dozen days ago, he had saved the Alabasta Kingdom from the hands of the insane Shichibukai Crocodile, allowing hundreds of thousands of civilians to survive the impending war that would have destroyed the country.
Today, in Spring Queen Island, Water Seven, and all over the Alabasta Kingdom, the legend of the Qilin was being spread.
And the Qilin was this young Marine, who was still not yet fifteen years old.
But in reality, some Marine officers at Headquarters were still a little uncomfortable with Rorschach's rapid promotion.
Rorschach's promotion from Lieutenant Commander to Captain could be explained by his capture of several pirates with bounties over 100 million Berries at Sabaody Archipelago.
But his promotion from Captain to Commodore was inexplicably done without any reason.
The incident in Impel Down was not made public due to confidentiality reasons.
Therefore, many Marine officers who had been stuck at the Commodore rank for a long time inevitably questioned Rorschach's sudden promotion.
In addition, aside from a few Marine officers who had seen Rorschach fight against Vice Admirals and Admirals at Headquarters, there were still many Marine officers who had not personally witnessed how powerful Rorschach was.
In their minds, no matter how powerful Rorschach was, his age was a factor.
Even if he had started training in the womb, it would be impossible for him to achieve a series of accomplishments that sounded like a dream at an age under fifteen.
Therefore, many people who couldn't achieve it themselves, or even dared to think about it, would subconsciously attribute Rorschach's achievements to the PR of Marine higher-ups like Sengoku and Zephyr.
After all, this kind of operation had happened before.
Getting a gold star, it's not shameful.
Who knows if Rorschach is the descendant of some Marine big shot?
In the front row, Rorschach, who had been called out by Vice Admiral Tsuru, stood up.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, I do have something to say."
Vice Admiral Tsuru's eyes lit up, and a kind smile appeared on her old face. She beckoned him forward. "Then come up and share your thoughts."
Rorschach nodded, and under the gaze of every Marine officer, he calmly walked up to the high platform and stood beside Vice Admiral Tsuru.
His height of two meters and eighty centimeters, his tall and straight posture, his well-proportioned and powerful body, his long silver hair, his sky-blue eyes, and the calm composure on his face instantly attracted everyone's attention.
Facing all those scrutinizing eyes, Rorschach raised his hand and pointed at the four faces in the image, which were like those of demons.
"I know what you are all worried about, but I want to tell you that this war is a war that we will definitely win!"
(End of Chapter)
────────────────────────────────────
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Naruto: Starting with Tsunade-san]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Battle Through the Heavens: Heavenly comprehension]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Soul Land 2: Golden Dragon King]."
"If you want early access to nearly 35+ chapters, join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"