Brannew, his face flushed red, took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. There was no helping it—as the "Conference King" at Marine Headquarters, whenever Brannew presided over a meeting, he had a knack for stirring up the atmosphere to its peak.
His secret?
Of course—it was to first rouse his own emotions!
Loosening his tie slightly, Brannew pressed his hands down to signal quiet.
"Silence! Fleet Admiral-sama will now speak!"
Boom—!
The meeting hall, which had just quieted down, erupted once again. If not for the limited number of participants—many senior officers still being deployed across the New World to stabilize the situation—Brannew would seriously have worried that the very ceiling of the hall might be blown off.
This is the prestige of Fleet Admiral-sama...
With him, how could the seas not be pacified!
Wright stepped onto the podium. Brannew gave a slight bow and stepped aside. Wright nodded at him before turning to face the officers, who were staring at him with eager, expectant eyes. He gently pressed his hands down.
"Everyone, calm yourselves—"
Wright's voice wasn't loud, but it carried with crystal clarity, as if a soft, radiant golden light washed over the room. Accompanied by a faint crackling sound, the emotions of the impassioned officers quickly settled.
It's Fleet Admiral-sama's Conqueror's Haki!
To wield Conqueror's Haki like this… truly worthy of being Fleet Admiral-sama!
Wright smiled lightly and raised his voice:
"Just now, Commodore Brannew already laid out the full situation clearly."
"The balance among the New World's 'Four Emperors'—after two years of fierce competition—has finally shifted. 'Phoenix' Marco has successfully risen to the top."
"Although, for all those in the world who long for justice—and for us, the Marines—this may not exactly be good news, at this point in time, it is by no means bad news either."
The gathered officers exchanged confused looks, while Sengoku and Tsuru allowed faint smiles to form, nodding slightly.
"According to classified intelligence gathered over these two years of conflict among the 'Four Emperors,' the number of civilian casualties caused by pirate battles, territorial struggles, and turf wars has exceeded the total from the previous five years combined."
As the officers' faces registered shock, Wright's voice sank slightly:
"Shocking, isn't it? But think carefully—it's not so difficult to understand."
"'The Four Emperors' need civilians to produce resources. They levy goods from their territories, offering their banners as protection against other pirates' plundering."
"In other words, unless one happens to live at the borders between different Emperors' territories, civilians living under their dominion were, relatively speaking, somewhat protected."
"But after two years of relentless warfare, the situation deteriorated—civilians lived in constant fear. Territory lines shifted by the day. It was not unheard of for an island to belong to Big Mom in the morning, Kaido by noon, and Marco by the afternoon!"
Wright clenched his fist tightly, his voice calm yet carrying an edge as sharp as a blade:
"So then, is the restoration of a new 'Four Emperors' balance... truly a good thing?"
"No. Pirates are pirates—chaotic, lawless, and willful. Their very existence is the greatest threat to innocent civilians!"
"Whether they are oppressed by common pirates or by a 'Four Emperor'—to the civilians, there is no fundamental difference. They are still forced to feed those who should not be fed, and to live lives teetering on the edge of survival!"
"And this—"
Wright's golden eyes shone brightly—
"—is something justice will not tolerate!"
"Exactly!"
The officers roared in unison. Wright signaled with a wave, and Brannew quickly stepped forward to hand him what looked like a large illustration.
Turning back to the blackboard, Wright unfolded it—and the officers leaned in, confused—
It was a full-color illustration of a Lightforged Beacon!
Although the Lightforged Beacon was classified as one of Marine Headquarters' highest-level secrets, every officer present, being of captain rank or above, was intimately familiar with this revolutionary piece of equipment.
The Lightforged Beacon was so powerful that even the World Government dared not allow the Marines to widely deploy it.
Could it be that now—
"Officers, tell me. What kind of justice... is least worthy of being called justice?"
Wright's sudden question cast a hush over the room.
Justice... that isn't truly justice?
"There are many kinds, aren't there?"
Wright's voice drew involuntary nods from the thinking officers. They had all encountered hypocrites flaunting "justice" for selfish ends. There were even rotten elements within the Marines themselves.
And then there were those CP agents—doing the dirtiest work imaginable while still loudly proclaiming "justice."
Indeed, examples of "injustice in the name of justice" were far too many.
But among them, which was the worst?
Every gaze in the room focused on Wright. Only Sengoku and Tsuru appeared to already have an inkling.
"I believe—"
"—'Justice that arrives too late' is the least worthy of the name."
Wright's voice was powerful and resonant, like a great bell tolling, striking deep into the hearts of the officers—
Justice… that arrives too late?
Yes… even if you proclaim justice all you want, if you fail to save the helpless in time, what good is it?
No matter how mighty your strength, if you cannot catch up to evil's rampage, how can you uphold justice?
To be late... it is the harshest and most helpless reality.
...
Wright clapped his hand against the blackboard, snapping the officers out of their daze:
"It seems you've realized something. Good."
"Saving the weak, punishing the wicked—both depend on timeliness!"
"The tragedies caused by arriving even a moment too late are countless—leaving both the victims and the rescuers trapped in agony and regret."
"But—"
Wright raised his hand and pointed at the full-color diagram:
"Thanks to Dr. Vegapunk, we now have hope.
"The latest upgrade to the Lightforged Beacon has realized the ability I have long yearned for ever since its creation—
"Mass teleportation!"
The officers—and even Sengoku and Tsuru—stared wide-eyed in disbelief as Wright proudly announced:
"The new Lightforged Beacon can teleport up to one thousand personnel at a time—the standard complement of a warship!
And the cooldown time is only three minutes!"
"With this, our Marine forces can respond instantly to any location, mobilize complex troop movements, and deploy our limited forces into unlimited operations!"
"Each and every branch base will no longer stand isolated overseas—but will instead be tightly connected to Marine Headquarters!"
Wright swung his arm powerfully:
"Headquarters, branch bases, the entire Grand Line—every Marine fortress will be woven into a single great net!
"Personnel deployments, supply chains, battle coordination—everything will multiply in speed and efficiency!"
"Within half a month, every base along the Grand Line will be fully outfitted with Lightforged Beacons."
"And this—"
Wright's golden gaze burned—
"—is the confidence with which we will wage war against the 'Four Emperors' and bring true peace to the New World!"
The meeting hall erupted.
Every Marine officer present knew full well the miracle that the Lightforged Beacon had already wrought—Fleet Admiral Wright himself had used it to save countless ships from destruction.
And the Admirals had relied on it to maintain an invincible, mobile defense, holding the New World's frontline firm even under near-constant attacks from the 'Four Emperors.'
"From this day forward—"
Wright declared:
"Justice will no longer be late!"
"Justice will prevail!"
—————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanPiece [remove the parentheses ( )]
Note: This fanfic has been completely translated and is available on my Patreon.