Meanwhile, at Pangaea Castle, inside the Five Elders' office, Fleet Admiral Kong was seated and speaking with them.
"In this incident, the Marines also bear undeniable responsibility…" Saint Warcury said as he looked at Fleet Admiral Kong.
Though he was assigning blame, his tone wasn't harsh.
The reason was simple. In any political body, once someone had already stepped forward to take the fall, further pursuing responsibility would be breaking the unspoken rules. Even the Five Elders, the highest public authority of the World Government, had to follow those rules when dealing with someone of Fleet Admiral Kong's standing.
Since the CP Chief had taken the blame, at least on the surface, this incident could no longer be pinned on the Marines.
So even when they mentioned "undeniable responsibility," it was only something said behind closed doors.
Fleet Admiral Kong nodded right away. "Yes. The oversight at Impel Down was our Navy's failure."
His words carried a clear message: we'll take responsibility for Impel Down—nothing more.
And that matter had already been settled; Sengoku and the Five Elders had concluded that Magellan would be demoted. That was the end of it.
"But now that things have come to this, talking about it further is meaningless. What we need to do is handle the aftermath properly. First is the position of Commander-in-Chief. It cannot remain vacant for long; otherwise, the outside world might think the World Government has no one left to lead it," Saint Warcury continued.
Hearing this, Fleet Admiral Kong felt a flicker of excitement. If the Five Elders had summoned him to talk about this, what else could it be? Obviously, he was about to be promoted. Besides, by tradition, the Commander-in-Chief was chosen from either CP or the Marines. Even if it weren't the Marines' turn now, with CP in its current state, none of them could possibly step up. Their own Chief had just taken the fall—how would any of them become Commander-in-Chief?
Impossible.
Still, despite his inward delight, Fleet Admiral Kong kept his expression heavy with grief. "Who would've thought the Commander-in-Chief would meet such an end… This is a tremendous loss to the World Government, and the Marines share this deep sorrow."
Saint Warcury gave him a look full of hidden meaning. In his mind he scoffed—how could the Marines possibly be grieving? With the way Kessler treated the Navy, the fact they weren't setting off fireworks was already an achievement in restraint.
But such thoughts couldn't be spoken aloud. So Saint Warcury adopted a solemn tone and said, "As the Commander-in-Chief, he was a soldier. To fall on the battlefield is an honorable end. You needn't take it too hard."
Fleet Admiral Kong nodded silently, offering no reply.
He thought: At least he's dead. In the end, he served the World Government loyally. Had he survived, forget honor—this time, it wouldn't have been Farenkordel taking the blame. It would've been him, the Commander-in-Chief.
Thinking of it that way, Kessler was quite lucky. At least he kept his honor.
"We had already been considering replacing the Commander-in-Chief soon. Kong, you are a battle-tested Fleet Admiral of the World Government. Your ability, strength, and prestige fully qualify you to take on this responsibility. Now that circumstances have changed, at this critical moment, you must step forward," Saint Warcury said, choosing his words carefully.
This wasn't the time for polite refusals. If the Commander-in-Chief were still alive, Kong would have downplayed his qualifications, saying he wasn't on the same level. He would have declined out of courtesy.
But now the Commander-in-Chief was gone—his body vaporized by Ortoren—completely unrecoverable. What was there to refuse? This was exactly what the Five Elders meant by a "critical moment." He was meant to "take command in a time of crisis," not show modesty but show resolve.
So Fleet Admiral Kong nodded with a stern expression and answered earnestly, "Understood. I'll expedite the handover of duties at Marine Headquarters and do everything I can to fulfill my responsibilities."
"Good. With your resolve, we can rest easy." Saint Warcury nodded with satisfaction before continuing, "However, your promotion will affect the entire Navy. Once you move up, someone must take over as Fleet Admiral. At present, the only person in the Marines qualified to assume that role is Sengoku. And if he moves up, the position of Admiral becomes vacant again. You've put off restoring the three Admirals for a long time now, and we haven't pushed you on it. But with this transition, the issues left by the previous generation must be resolved. Do you have any suitable candidates?"
The intent behind his words was obvious. Sengoku's promotion from Admiral to Fleet Admiral was essentially guaranteed. No one was more suited. The only person who could have contended with him was Zephyr, but the Five Elders would never allow Zephyr to become Fleet Admiral because of certain disgraceful incidents from the past.
Secondly, Zephyr never intended to become Fleet Admiral in the first place. He'd already stepped down from being an Admiral—why would he want to be Fleet Admiral now?
So once Fleet Admiral Kong moved up, Sengoku's promotion was guaranteed. There was zero room for surprises, unless he suddenly dropped dead like the Commander-in-Chief.
Otherwise, even if the Five Elders wanted to parachute someone into the Navy as Fleet Admiral, it would never work. The Navy is a closed military system—without enough prestige and seniority, who would acknowledge you as Fleet Admiral?
Which meant the real issue wasn't the Fleet Admiral position at all, but the three Admirals.
By long-standing convention, the Five Elders shouldn't interfere with Admiral selection. It's an internal Navy matter, strictly under the Fleet Admiral's authority. The Fleet Admiral chooses the Admirals because they work together closely. Admirals are his direct subordinates, his left and right hands. If outsiders meddled in such appointments, how could the Fleet Admiral be comfortable?
From the World Government's standpoint, they didn't need control over Admiral appointments anyway. As long as they held the power to choose the Fleet Admiral, that was enough. If the Fleet Admiral was someone they approved of, there was no need to worry—the Admirals couldn't overturn anything.
But now that the conversation had reached this point—and considering how suddenly everything had happened, with the Commander-in-Chief dying out of nowhere—the Marines were about to undergo a round of promotions across the board. Under such extraordinary circumstances, it was reasonable for the Five Elders to ask a few extra questions.
At their inquiry, Fleet Admiral Kong said, "To speak frankly, within the Navy right now, there are four Vice Admirals I consider suitable for promotion to Admiral. The first is Vice Admiral Sakazuki, currently stationed at G-1. The second is Vice Admiral Borsalino, commander of the Science Division. Then there's Vice Admiral Kuzan at Headquarters, and…"
"And Vice Admiral Benn, the G-5 base commander who killed Shiki last night?" Saint Warcury finished for him.
"That's correct." Fleet Admiral Kong nodded. "These four all possess the necessary strength, prestige, and capability to serve as Admirals."
"What about their personal intentions?" Saint Warcury asked.
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki and Vice Admiral Benn are very inclined toward the position. Both have publicly stated many times that they're working toward becoming Admirals, so their intentions are confirmed. If transfer orders were issued, they'd accept immediately. But Vice Admirals Kuzan and Borsalino are less clear… and Borsalino, frankly, has almost no intention at all." At that, Fleet Admiral Kong could only shake his head helplessly.
"Heh heh heh…" Saint Saturn, who had remained silent until now, finally laughed. With a hint of helplessness in his tone, he said, "That Borsalino fellow really is a lazy one."
As the Warrior God of Science and Defense, Saint Saturn had deep ties with the Navy's Science Division. In some ways, Borsalino's connections carried more weight than those of other naval officers. Thanks to the division's unique nature, he met Saint Saturn frequently, and the two got along well. Compared to that, how many other Vice Admirals ever had opportunities to meet the Five Elders?
Ortoren himself had never met them before… Though that was mostly because he always slipped away the moment he passed through Marie Geoise, never lingering. Truthfully, the Five Elders had long wanted to speak with a loyal man like him.
But under normal circumstances, Vice Admirals didn't have the standing or the proper channels to meet the Elders. And the Five Elders weren't about to lower themselves to invite Ortoren, so they had simply never crossed paths.
After thinking for a moment, Saint Warcury said, "Have Sengoku consult the four of them. If Borsalino truly has no interest, then promote the remaining three to Admiral."
He paused briefly before adding, "But if Borsalino is willing, then while you decide on the Admiral candidates, there are also some matters we need to instruct you on…"
"Please give your orders," Fleet Admiral Kong responded at once.
"In this incident, Vice Admiral Benn contributed the greatest merit. And because of his unique background, he can accomplish things others cannot—both for our government and for your Marines. Therefore, under any circumstances, his appointment as Admiral must be guaranteed," Saint Warcury said solemnly.
"Understood. There's no issue," Fleet Admiral Kong agreed without hesitation.
He already held Ortoren in high regard. Even without the Five Elders' directive, he would have pushed Ortoren upward.
Not to mention, the new Fleet Admiral Sengoku would soon take office—and Ortoren was practically his prized protégé. Of course he'd want to promote him.
...
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