As for Dragon's defection, it actually wasn't particularly unusual for the Marines.
As the saying goes, everyone has their own aspirations. Every year, a few Marines chose to leave the organization.
Some resigned. Others simply defected and became pirates.
This wasn't difficult to accept.
But the embarrassment lay in Dragon's identity.
He was currently the most promising Vice Admiral in the Marines and the leader of the younger generation. Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, and others were slightly inferior to him.
As for Finn, of course he couldn't compare with him for the time being.
He was also the son of the Marine hero, Monkey D. Garp.
He had too much prestige, too many people's expectations.
He'd always been the Marines' pride.
It was such a figurehead raised as a benchmark by the Marines that suddenly defected without even saying goodbye.
Once the news got out, it would be a devastating blow to the Marines' reputation.
Those bastard pirates in the New World would probably laugh themselves to death.
Therefore, Fleet Admiral Kong immediately classified this matter as top secret.
No information would be leaked until a suitable solution was found.
Otherwise, you'd genuinely have to face military court.
It was obvious Kong had no intention of discussing the Marines' justice and the World Government's injustice here.
After a brief explanation, he said in a deep voice, "From this moment on, all of Dragon's duties and authority are suspended. Also, publicly announce that Dragon is on leave due to health reasons. Tsuru, the Intelligence Department will search for Dragon with full effort. Once you find him, bring him back to Marineford at all costs. Even if this bastard wants to leave, he must submit his resignation first!"
Hearing this, Chief of Staff Tsuru nodded. "I understand."
She was also very annoyed. The Intelligence Department had plenty to do already. That bastard Dragon defecting at this time was just causing her trouble.
The others also caught the hidden meaning in the Fleet Admiral's words.
Though Dragon was temporarily defined as a defected Vice Admiral, they weren't treating him like past defectors by directly issuing wanted warrants and hunting him down.
On the contrary, they were covering up the truth and announcing to the public that Dragon was on leave due to health problems.
If they did this, once the Marines were able to capture Dragon in time, there would still be room for mediation.
If they could change that guy's mindset and thoughts, perhaps this matter could be easily covered up.
Don't doubt it. Dragon had such influence. The Marine leadership sitting here had all watched him grow up!
Even if he'd defected now, he could save himself as long as he turned over a new leaf in a short period of time.
Sure enough, second-generation officials were different!
After defining the matter, the meeting was essentially over. It was already daybreak and there was no need for everyone to go back to sleep. Those who needed to work should work.
Finn was also preparing to leave with Chief of Staff Tsuru.
When passing by the desk, Kong suddenly asked, "How is your health?"
Finn knew he was talking to him, so he smiled. "I've fully recovered."
"Haha, perform well. We're all looking forward to your growth, Finn. As for those rumors outside, don't pay attention to them. I know what kind of person you are," Kong smiled rarely.
Finn also breathed a sigh of relief. As expected, the Fleet Admiral was magnanimous. It seemed that bastard Garp hadn't caused any real harm.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral. I won't disappoint you," Finn responded.
After Finn and the others had left, Kong looked at Garp, who seemed somewhat dejected sitting on the sofa, and sighed helplessly. "Garp, you're not allowed to interfere in this matter."
Without even looking up, Garp replied, "I understand."
The Fleet Admiral was asking him to recuse himself. After all, his own son had run away, so it was reasonable for him to avoid this issue.
After a brief silence, Garp said, "I always thought he was my pride, but I didn't expect this bastard..."
Kong didn't respond, just looked at Garp with some sympathy.
To them, the Marines had simply lost an outstanding Vice Admiral. But to Garp, his son had run away.
At this moment, Garp turned to look at Kong. "Brother Kong, tell me, is the Marines' justice really as unbearable as he said?"
"Garp!" Kong shouted, a flash of anger in his eyes.
Before Garp could speak again, Kong said in a deep voice, "You're a veteran of the Marines. You know the organization's stance and actions very well. You should also understand what we represent to this ocean and to the general public!"
Garp's originally wavering gaze also became firm. Yes, he knew best what the Marines were like.
"I want to apply for leave," Garp said in a lifeless tone.
"Approved, but it's only within Marineford. You can't leave during this period," Kong said without hesitation.
He was thinking, should he find some professionals to provide psychological counseling to Garp? So that this person wouldn't get stuck in a rut.
On the other hand, in the Intelligence Department, Finn had someone compile all of Dragon's recent whereabouts for him to review.
Chief of Staff Tsuru's desk was also nearby. She sorted through documents in her hands. "That fellow Dragon isn't easy to catch. We should be prepared for failure."
"After all, he's very familiar with how our Marines operate. I think the chance of finding him is very slim," Finn also said.
After a brief pause, Finn said unhappily, "This bastard really deceived me."
Tsuru smiled. "Then I'll leave his affairs to you for the time being. I have other things to do."
Though the Fleet Admiral said to pursue Dragon with full effort, it was obviously impossible to commit everything. The Marines had many important matters at hand. How could they possibly fixate on this guy Dragon?
Tsuru obviously had no intention of delaying her plan to reorganize the Intelligence Department.
After giving Finn a few instructions, Tsuru left with the sorted documents to discuss her previous ideas with Admiral Sengoku.
Finn also began reading through Dragon's intelligence files.
"Non-Devil Fruit user?" Finn froze momentarily, looking at the label for Dragon.
He suddenly realized this guy Dragon might have hidden things from the Marines long ago.
Because he was very certain Dragon was a Devil Fruit user, he just didn't know what the ability was.
It was said it might be related to wind.
But on second thought, it didn't seem right. Maybe Dragon hadn't actually become a Devil Fruit user yet. After all, the Dragon in his impression was the Dragon of the future.
Finn didn't know that Dragon had vanished into thin air like the wind last night.
In fact, he did hide a trick from the Marines. Even Garp didn't know he was a Devil Fruit user!
Finn flipped through the document reports page by page, but there was no useful information in them.
"How could that guy leave any loopholes in these matters... Hehe," Finn said self-deprecatingly as he read.
But just as he was about to turn to the next page, his brows suddenly furrowed. He turned back to read the current page again.
Sea Circle Calendar Year 1496: Due to the World Conference escort mission, had close contact and conversation with the Captain of the Guard of the Kamabakka Kingdom, Emporio Ivankov.
Just a short sentence.
From an ordinary perspective, there was nothing wrong with it, no problem at all.
As a Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters, Dragon had undertaken the escort mission regarding the Kamabakka Kingdom's participation in the World Conference, so it was reasonable for him to contact that kingdom's Captain of the Guard.
But Finn knew that in six or seven years, Emporio Ivankov would overthrow the existing monarchy and become the Queen of the Kamabakka Kingdom.
The fact that these two names appeared in the same sentence was enough to prove something.
Perhaps he finally remembered what happened at God Valley 14 years ago.
After participating in the escort mission for the Celestial Dragons, he'd made up his mind completely.
He hadn't just begun to waver then. He'd been planning to leave Marine Headquarters for a long time.
It was even possible that his subsequent emotional instability was deliberately shown to others, in order to quietly test whether there were any like-minded allies in Marineford.
"This guy is really cunning," Finn said with a smile on his face.
If nothing unexpected happened, Dragon's first step after leaving Marineford should be going to the Kamabakka Kingdom, right?
Find that Ivankov and form a common front with him. Maybe the Kamabakka Kingdom was overthrown under Dragon's plan?
However, Finn didn't record this incident and report it. Instead, he pretended not to see it, turned the page, and continued to the next one.
"Dragon, I can only help you this much," Finn whispered softly.
If Dragon was captured now, the Revolutionary Army would most likely be doomed, which actually wasn't in Finn's interest.
After all, though he had no opinion on the World Government now, he had no interests involved.
But in the future, as his status rose step by step, the situation would definitely change.
Sometimes, it was very necessary to keep enemies in reserve for your own protection.
Even if you didn't use Dragon, you should keep some cards in hand.
Leave yourself some room and a way out.
As for whether the Revolutionary Army could succeed, Finn genuinely didn't care, because he knew very well that Dragon must understand that the Marines were indispensable.
So no matter how much he stirred up revolution, he was only targeting the World Government... It wouldn't have much impact on Finn.
At least, that's what he hoped.