After leaving Marine Headquarters, a tall man stood with his arms crossed, his hawk-like gaze locking onto Karl.
"So I hear you've been arresting corrupt Marines across the Four Seas recently?"
Karl nodded. "Admiral Akainu, your intelligence network is really something."
Akainu's stern face twitched into what could barely be called a smile—at least, Karl wouldn't dare call it one.
"Well done. Those parasites should've been cleaned out long ago. If I had the time myself… heh, those trash wouldn't have survived."
Akainu was notoriously hardline—merciless, absolute, and intolerant of any trace of 'evil.' If he had been put in charge of anti-corruption, not a single culprit would have made it back alive; they would all have been executed on the spot.
"Don't worry, Admiral," Karl said calmly. "They're destined to be nailed to the pillar of shame. Compared to death, that's far more painful, don't you think?"
Karl smoothly pulled out a cigar and offered it. Akainu hesitated for a moment, then accepted it. With a flick of his finger, magma-like heat ignited the cigar instantly.
"You've got a way with words, kid. You really suit my taste… what a shame."
Though they hadn't met often, Akainu had been quietly following Karl's exploits—assisting in the capture of Kaido, encountering the Witch Pirates, clashing head-on with Marco…
What pleased Akainu most was this: Karl never showed mercy to pirates. Kill those who deserve killing, capture those worth capturing.
As the de facto leader of the hardliners, Akainu deeply appreciated that.
"Haha, so you think that highly of me, Admiral?" Karl laughed. "Still, there's nothing to regret. We're both Marines—that's enough."
Akainu shook his head and said no more, turning to walk into Marine Headquarters.
Watching Akainu's figure disappear, Karl scratched his head and decided to head to the training grounds. He planned to visit Instructor Zephyr and help him regulate his body while he was at it.
The Next Day
"Gaaah—gah!"
Raven's harsh caw dragged Karl out of his sleep. When he opened his eyes, he saw Raven holding a newspaper in its beak. Judging by the circumstances, it had most likely snatched it straight from a News Coo.
"Let me see… 'Marine Corruption Worsens—Multiple Branches Across the Four Seas Exposed'."
The article went on to detail the "glorious deeds" of corrupt Marines, placing heavy emphasis on cases where Marines colluded with pirates, deliberately stirring public dissatisfaction toward the Marines.
"Tsk tsk," Karl smacked his lips. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku really knows his stuff. This self-sabotage play is clean."
When Karl left the family quarters and arrived at the plaza, he noticed most Marines were already discussing the news.
"Damn those rotten apples! They're the reason the Marines' reputation is in shambles!"
"They're Marines! How could they collude with pirates? Does Fleet Admiral Sengoku just ignore this?"
Seeing this, Karl smiled faintly.
Public opinion was fermenting.
New World — Dressrosa
Having long cultivated the habit of reading newspapers daily, Doflamingo frowned as he read.
He wasn't particularly bothered by corruption within the Marines. What concerned him was whether his own sleeper agents within the Marines might be exposed if Marine Headquarters truly launched a thorough internal purge.
Especially Vergo.
Soon enough, a message arrived from Vergo himself: Don't contact me for the time being.
"Fufufufu… what a headache."
The Moby Dick
"Pops, is the Marines' situation really this bad? How come we never noticed?" a crew member asked.
Whitebeard lifted a bowl of sake and downed it in one gulp, speaking casually.
"Foolish son. Those are Marine branches in the Four Seas, aren't they?"
"The Marines may be the world's largest force, but there are always places they can't properly oversee. Problems cropping up is only natural…"
That said, Whitebeard couldn't help but reflect inwardly. His own Whitebeard Pirates were vast as well—so many divisions, so many affiliated crews. Could he really say that none of them had problems?
He decided not to dwell on it.
As long as they didn't harm their companions or betray their family, he would shoulder whatever came. Family came first.
Marine Headquarters — Conference Room
Sengoku hadn't planned on holding a meeting.
But too many uninformed officers had come to him, requesting to head to the Four Seas to hunt down corrupt Marines themselves. With no choice, he convened all idle Marine officers.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! Everyone's talking about Marine corruption. Why are we still sitting here?"
"That's right! We should immediately arrest those parasites!"
"And conduct a full internal investigation! Root them all out!"
"Silence!" Sengoku shouted.
The noise gradually subsided.
Taking a deep breath, Sengoku said, "The news reports were leaked to the press deliberately—by me."
"What? Why?"
"Fleet Admiral, this—this is…"
"But the content is largely accurate," Sengoku continued calmly. "Now listen carefully. Months ago, when Gasparde defected from the Marines, Rear Admiral Karl—"
Sengoku then explained the entire sequence of events in detail: the investigation, the secret arrests, the plan for public trials, and the proposal to establish the Marine Integrity Commission.
Only then did the officers finally understand. Their gazes collectively shifted toward Karl.
"Rear Admiral Karl, the Integrity Commission is a brilliant idea!"
"I support it wholeheartedly!"
Faced with the praise, Karl remained unmoved, reclining calmly in his seat, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.
Seeing Karl's composure, Sengoku felt deeply gratified.
Just as expected of a Marine he valued… though why was this brat wearing sunglasses indoors?
Sitting beside Karl, Ain finally snapped and discreetly pinched him.
"Hiss—!"
Karl tore off his sunglasses and glared at her. "Hey! What was that for?"
Ain said nothing, merely looking around innocently.
Only then did Karl realize that everyone's eyes were on him.
Damn it—first time sleeping in a meeting and I get caught. What rotten luck!
Sengoku covered his face with one hand.
Careless… so he was dozing off. Had he learned this from Garp?
"Cough. Since everyone now understands the situation, there's no need to keep bothering me," Sengoku said.
"Our top priority is the public trial of corrupt Marines and the formal establishment of the Integrity Commission."
"So in the coming days, the news coverage will continue to intensify, building momentum for the public trial."
"We want the whole world to see the Marines' resolve!"
"Meeting adjourned!"
As Karl left the conference room, numerous Marine officers approached him, eager to strike up conversations. His face nearly stiffened from all the forced smiling.
"Scary stuff~ You really pulled off something huge without making a sound," a familiar lazy voice drawled.
"What can I say? If you won't let me go to the New World, I've got to find something to do," Karl replied.
Kizaru's lips puckered into a flower. "Others might not know, but I do. You probably just talked your way through it—others did all the hard work, right?"
…You know too much, light-speed monkey.
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