Marine Headquarters — Marineford.
Communications Department.
"Tell Kuzan!"
"What I saw is the truth!"
Crack.
The Transponder Snail was slammed down hard.
The communications soldier held the receiver, beads of sweat prickling his forehead.
Colonel Smoker's report was completely at odds with the contents previously relayed by the emergency Transponder Snail.
One said a lieutenant colonel defied his superior and murdered him.
One said the superior colluded with pirates, they fought over dirty money, and the lieutenant colonel cleaned up the mess and turned the tide.
Which one was real?
Forget it. Send it straight to the top.
Let the Fleet Admiral and those big shots have the headache.
…
In the high-level conference room, the atmosphere was heavy.
Sengoku sat at the head, his face dark.
Vice Admiral Tsuru sat beside him, calm as ever.
Admiral Akainu, Sakazuki, and Admiral Aokiji, Kuzan, took their seats.
Sengoku swept his gaze over the Marine brass present, his voice tight with anger.
"You all know the situation."
"East Blue 16th Branch Lieutenant Colonel Rayne Hawk openly killed his direct superior."
"Nezumi's corruption, collusion with pirates, and oppression of civilians are ironclad facts."
"A parasite like that must be removed."
"But the method was wrong."
"The Marines have regulations and an Inspectorate."
"Since when is it the place of a branch lieutenant colonel to overstep and mete out private punishment?"
"If this goes on, where is Marine discipline?"
Sakazuki, who had been silently reviewing the reports, slowly raised his head.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
His voice was cold and hard, like congealed lava.
"I do not believe this young man named Hawk did anything wrong."
"A Marine like Nezumi, who wallows with pirates, has long defiled the name of Justice and deserves to die."
"Hawk used the most direct and effective means to purge internal evil."
"That itself is the embodiment of justice."
Sakazuki's eyes burned, his tone unequivocal.
"Absolute Justice is to burn all evil to ash, whether it comes from outside or within."
"I appreciate Hawk's approach."
"This is the decisiveness the Marines should possess."
"Sakazuki!"
Sengoku glared straight at Akainu. "You would indulge insubordination?"
"If everyone does as he pleases, where is the chain of command?"
"Hmph."
Sakazuki met Sengoku's gaze without yielding. "If the chain of command is riddled with parasites like Nezumi…"
"Then such a system is not worth having."
"Sakazuki…"
Sengoku's anger flared. "You are too extreme."
The two clashed point for point. The air in the room seemed to ignite, the temperature rising.
Tap, tap.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, who had been sitting quietly, rapped the table lightly.
The crisp sound cut off the heated argument.
"Enough. Both of you, a few words less."
Her eyes did not linger on the quarreling men, but slowly shifted to the other end of the table.
There, an exceptionally tall figure was slouched askew against the chair back.
Admiral Aokiji
His eyes were shut as if dozing, his breathing steady and long, as though he had already drifted into sleep.
Admiral Kuzan, Aokiji.
Kuzan felt Tsuru's gaze.
His head moved the slightest bit, his eyelids trembled once.
Asleep?
What a joke.
He wasn't that guy Borsalino who slackened off in plain view at work.
He simply didn't want to wade into it.
The Ohara incident had changed too many things,
including the "Burning Justice" he once upheld.
This "Lazy Justice" suited him just fine now.
At that moment—
Thud.
The conference room door was knocked gently and a soldier from Communications hurried in.
"Report!"
The soldier saluted. "Regarding the death of East Blue 16th Branch Colonel Nezumi…"
"Headquarters Colonel Smoker has just sent his on-site investigation report."
Sengoku's voice was low. "Speak."
The soldier dared not dawdle and rattled it off at speed. "Colonel Smoker reports that when he arrived on scene,"
"he discovered Colonel Nezumi had engaged in a fierce firefight with the pirate Arlong over the division of illicit funds."
"In the end, Nezumi and Arlong died together."
"16th Branch Lieutenant Colonel Rayne Hawk arrived promptly with his men, eliminated the remnants of the pirate crew, protected the civilians, and upheld justice."
"Report concluded."
When his voice fell, the room lapsed into a brief, eerie silence.
…
A vein throbbed sharply at Fleet Admiral Sengoku's temple.
Smoker.
That bastard.
To fabricate facts so brazenly.
"Hmph."
The hard lines of Sakazuki's face softened for the briefest instant.
A faint, nearly imperceptible smile touched the corner of his mouth and vanished.
"Hmm?"
Kuzan, who had kept his eyes closed, slowly opened them.
He fixed his gaze on the communications soldier, plainly intrigued by what Smoker had said.
"Admiral Aokiji…"
Feeling Kuzan's eyes, the soldier recalled Smoker's final words and hesitated.
Kuzan saw his difficulty and motioned for him to continue.
The soldier steeled himself and repeated crisply, "Colonel Smoker's last words were: 'Tell Kuzan, what I saw is the truth.'"
"Ha."
Kuzan's mouth quirked into a low chuckle. "Smoker, that guy."
Interesting.
Rayne Hawk, was it?
What had a branch lieutenant colonel done to make Smoker go so far as to send him a message?
His old friend was proud and rarely spoke up.
Since Smoker had spoken, then he
would help.
…
Tsuru lifted her teacup, the corner of her eye flicking toward Kuzan.
Everyone in Marine high command knew Smoker had been Kuzan's friend for years.
The reason Smoker could repeatedly talk back to his superiors, stir up trouble, and in the end merely get "relegated" to the East Blue's gateway, Loguetown, was not without Kuzan's subtle influence.
This obviously partial report was very likely to sway Kuzan's attitude.
Sure enough—
Kuzan stood and looked at Sengoku at the head. "Well, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, it sounds like this matter isn't so simple."
"That guy Smoker may be a pain, but his eye for a situation isn't bad."
"He says Lieutenant Colonel Hawk arrived later to clean up. Perhaps that is the truth."
"Kuzan!"
Sengoku stared at the always unmotivated admiral, now actually speaking in support, the vein on his forehead throbbing harder.
One Sakazuki was headache enough. Now Kuzan was wading in too.
He looked around the room. Sakazuki's appreciation was explicit, Kuzan was clearly inclined, and even Tsuru leaned toward clarifying the facts rather than convicting at once.
Even as Fleet Admiral, he could not ignore the opinions of two admirals and his chief strategist, no matter how angry he was.
Hoo.
Sengoku drew a deep breath, forced down the roiling anger, and said in a grave voice, "Since Smoker has submitted a differing report, we cannot convict on a single side's account."
"Headquarters will dispatch personnel to the East Blue's 16th Branch to investigate this matter thoroughly."
"All truths must be uncovered."
As soon as the words fell—
"I'll go."
Sakazuki's icy voice rang out at once. He looked to Sengoku, eyes burning. "Fleet Admiral, assign this task to me."
He did not hide his interest. "I am very interested in this young man named Rayne Hawk."
"I want to see with my own eyes what kind of justice he carries out."
…