Marine Headquarters. Marineford.
Kuzan squatted on the harbor's edge, a faint chill escaping his lips as he tried to cool himself under the scorching sun. The heat rolled off the stone docks in visible waves, but the Ice-Ice Fruit user maintained his casual position, unbothered by the discomfort others might feel.
After a while, a warship larger than the standard Headquarters ships glided into port. Kuzan stood, a lazy smile crossing his face.
Not long after, a giant Vice Admiral descended from the massive ship. He stood more than ten meters tall, with a simple, honest face and long orange hair that gave him an appearance both gentle and wild.
This was none other than Vice Admiral Jaguar D. Saul, Giant Tribe warrior and Kuzan's close friend.
"Saul, you're back?" Kuzan's greeting carried genuine warmth.
A smile spread across Saul's enormous face. He nodded down at Kuzan. "I'm back. Why are you waiting here for me?"
"The Admiral wants to see you. Listen to your mission report personally. He asked me to escort you over. Said you should come quickly." Kuzan waved casually.
"It seems the Admiral takes this very seriously." Saul's voice dropped, his expression troubled.
Kuzan didn't notice the shift in tone. He nodded. "Let's go."
Soon, the two crossed the harbor and entered the Justice Fortress building. In the quiet corridor, Saul finally couldn't contain himself any longer.
"Kuzan, are those scholars really unforgivable?"
Kuzan stopped mid-stride, then turned to look up at his friend. "Unforgivable. Saul, you've been following this matter for several years now. You finally caught someone alive. You should understand what kind of crimes they're committing, right?"
Saul's face twisted with hesitation. He nodded first, then spoke slowly. "But those scholars haven't done anything harmful to the world. According to them, they want to find the truth of history. Hear the voices of the past."
"Maybe you're interested in that history? Or were you convinced by them?" Kuzan studied Saul carefully.
Saul shook his head. "It's not particularly interesting. Eight hundred years ago might be ancient history for you humans, but for us giants, that's only about my grandfather's generation. If I wanted to know, I could just go home and ask the elders. Maybe I'd find out."
Kuzan had prepared numerous persuasive arguments, but Saul's simple logic blocked them all. He felt extremely uncomfortable, unsure what to say.
But he had to admit, what Saul said made perfect sense.
Eight hundred years ago, the World Government was established. History went blank for one hundred years, and few people knew what happened during that time.
The World Government later issued a prohibition on researching that period. It must be some dark history.
Anyone with sense understood that much.
But there was no need to delve deeper. How could the establishment of such a huge regime not involve dark history?
Kuzan had no interest in it either.
He'd thought Saul was merely curious after carrying out related tasks for several years. Instead, Saul's words made Kuzan want to shut down completely.
Yes, for humans whose lifespans rarely exceeded a hundred years, eight hundred years was ancient history. But for giants whose lifespans often stretched to three hundred years, wasn't that just Saul's grandfather's era?
However, it was fortunate that Elbaf had no tradition of recording history in detail. And they were extraordinarily powerful, known as the world's strongest nation, so the World Government didn't dare act rashly against them.
Otherwise, they would have been silenced long ago.
After his expression stiffened slightly, Kuzan nodded. "So what are you saying?"
"I just think we're making too much of this. For years now, I've been hunting down unarmed scholars. They always choose to die bravely at critical moments, as if... as if we Marines are the evil ones." Saul's voice grew pained. "During this time, I've been tormented inside. It's..."
He sighed heavily, the sound like wind through a canyon.
Kuzan felt complicated hearing this. He couldn't voice what he wanted to say.
After all, the reason he and Saul had become such close friends was because they got along extremely well in terms of personality and ideals.
Kuzan felt that if it were him, after years of frantically chasing unarmed scholars across the seas, he'd probably also be shaken in his belief in Marine justice.
But the problem was, those scholars genuinely deserved execution.
They claimed to have lofty ideals and beliefs. They acted recklessly, were stubborn and conceited, and thought they were doing something bright and great.
But in reality, they didn't think about the fact that they were putting the entire world's safety on the altar for their own selfish wishes.
Why did they think they were noble?
In recent years, they'd been chased by the Marines to this extent. Batches of them had died. Although their deaths could be considered brave, in Kuzan's view, it also exposed their inability to resist.
If such scholars researched something terrible, like ancient weapons, and were caught by ambitious people, what would they use to resist those lunatics and fanatics who wanted to bring chaos to the world?
It would only endanger everyone.
Kuzan understood this. But looking at Saul's expression, he couldn't say it aloud.
After all, Saul had killed many unarmed people. For someone like him, feeling tormented was completely normal.
"Now you've achieved something, and the mission will probably be over soon. Rest well at Headquarters. Take a long vacation and adjust your mindset." Kuzan could only offer comfort in the end.
Saul nodded as well. Although he had many thoughts churning in his mind, the contradictions hadn't accumulated to an extreme breaking point.
Therefore, he didn't plan to defect from Marine Headquarters in anger. Not yet.
Both carried heavy moods, so Kuzan and Saul stopped talking. They walked quickly toward Admiral Sengoku's office.
Before they even entered, they heard the sound of arguing inside.
Kuzan frowned slightly. He knocked on the door, then walked in to see the two parties arguing were Sakazuki and Admiral Sengoku.
Sakazuki heard the noise and turned to look at Kuzan. A flash of displeasure crossed his eyes.
He wasn't particularly fond of Kuzan to begin with, and since Kuzan arrived at the wrong time, Sakazuki was naturally unhappy.
Kuzan ignored the glare and looked at Admiral Sengoku. "Admiral, what's wrong?"
Admiral Sengoku rubbed his forehead wearily. "The proposal regarding Sakazuki's honorary title of Admiral Candidate was rejected by higher authority."
Kuzan froze for a moment, then his expression turned serious. "Why? How could this happen? Was it the Fleet Admiral?"
Although Kuzan and Sakazuki didn't have a good relationship, he knew Sakazuki was qualified to be an Admiral candidate. Not long ago, Sakazuki had eliminated Bloody Hand Lion Rengar, whose bounty was 1.2 billion berries. Rengar had been a former senior officer under Shiki.
After Shiki's downfall, he'd gone independent.
Later, Sakazuki fought the Whitebeard Pirates in the New World. Before Whitebeard himself arrived, Sakazuki destroyed an entire fleet. His strength required no further proof.
Combined with Sakazuki's qualifications and service record, even if he didn't become an Admiral immediately, receiving the honor of Admiral Candidate should be unquestionable.
After Kuzan learned about this, he'd thought it was a done deal.
Why was it suppressed?
Sakazuki looked at Kuzan strangely. He'd expected Kuzan to take pleasure in his misfortune. Instead, this guy was actually supporting his candidacy?
On second thought, Sakazuki secretly blamed himself. After all, Kuzan and he had been Marine comrades for many years. Although they had disagreements, it hadn't caused particularly severe conflicts.
Although that guy was indecisive and hesitant, qualities Sakazuki disliked intensely, he remained backbone of the Marines. Sakazuki shouldn't have made such malicious assumptions about him.
Sakazuki felt apologetic for his misjudgment internally, but he didn't show it on his face.
Yes, he was exactly that proud and awkward.
If he'd changed just a little, even with different opinions and styles from Kuzan, it wouldn't have escalated to a life-and-death battle twenty years later.
Admiral Sengoku shook his head at that moment. "No, the Fleet Admiral certainly supports this matter. But the Commander-in-Chief of the entire military, affiliated with CP, does not approve. We appealed to the Five Elders, but they were evasive. It was very unpleasant."
When Kuzan heard that the Commander-in-Chief, who had always been at odds with the Marines, was involved, his expression grew even more displeased.
No matter how much conflict he had with Sakazuki, it was an internal Marine issue.
Once external forces intervened, the Marines had to unite against outside threats.
"When did it become his turn to meddle in Marine affairs? Everything was fine before. Now he even wants to control Admiral candidates?" Kuzan's voice dropped low and cold.
"Not only that. The Fleet Admiral also proposed recruiting Garp to be promoted to Admiral. Higher authority had always supported it before, but this time... it was rejected." Admiral Sengoku's frown deepened.
After sighing, Admiral Sengoku's expression changed. He spoke in a heavy tone. "It seems someone doesn't want the Marines to have an easy time, and this just happens to suit the World Government's current preferences."
At this moment, Sakazuki spoke up. His voice carried the heat of barely contained magma. "So we just accept this? Admiral, this isn't a simple matter. Higher authority is trying to block the Marines' promotion channels. Even if we hold back today, how can we maintain morale? If war breaks out, will the Marines under your command still dare to sacrifice themselves?"
Admiral Sengoku glanced at Sakazuki. "This year's military budget hasn't been released yet. Now is not the time to be confrontational. I'll find a way to resolve it as soon as possible. Please be patient for now."
Two bubbles of magma nearly erupted in Sakazuki's eyes, but he still respected Admiral Sengoku. After all, Sengoku had never treated him poorly over the years.
Although he was furious, he also understood this matter wasn't so easily solved.
For now, there was nothing to do but swallow his rage.
He nodded stiffly. "Yes, I understand, Admiral."
After speaking, Sakazuki didn't linger. He nodded to Kuzan, which was rare, then turned to leave.
Kuzan was slightly surprised, but he quickly recovered. He smiled faintly without thinking more, then looked at Admiral Sengoku. "How could higher authority be like this? Aren't they afraid we'll have serious conflicts?"
"Times are different. Situations change. They're nervous too." Admiral Sengoku took a sip from his teacup and sighed. "On one hand, they hope the Marines can quickly quell this chaotic era. On the other hand, they worry we'll grow too strong, become uncontrollable, or even retaliate against them. Therefore, they want to maintain a certain balance. Or rather, they want to find a way to have their cake and eat it too."
Different positions naturally led to different choices. Although Admiral Sengoku was angry about the World Government's behavior, he could understand it.
After all, the Marines had clashed with the World Government more than once or twice. Many Marine generals were fed up with the World Government and Celestial Dragons' behavior. The most famous among them was Garp. Others at least showed restraint, but Garp wouldn't even give the Celestial Dragons a pleasant face in person.
He might even curse them and insult their ancestors.
In the past, the World Government valued Garp's strength. They wanted to use the Admiral rank to honor him and try to change his attitude, so they'd agreed to Garp's promotion to Admiral multiple times. But Garp refused.
Now, the World Government no longer wanted to indulge this stubborn man.
Their concerns about the Marines had also increased.
Especially in the past two years, Marine strength had grown rapidly. Not to mention Sakazuki and the others, Rodriguez Finn was on the verge of becoming one of the Marines' top combat forces, already ranked among the world's best.
Then, that Gion suddenly became the user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. With her potential and abilities, even the World Government itself wouldn't believe she wouldn't reach top-tier strength eventually.
In addition, the Marines had dealt with the Red Earl, Shiki, and Roger in succession. Although the World Government had rewarded the Marines generously, they were still alarmed.
With Marines of this strength possessing a certain counter-attack capability, and occasionally going against World Government directives, it would be strange if the World Government felt at ease.
In this era, life was difficult for everyone. The World Government had to be cautious, lest they be caught off guard by internal and external troubles and capsize completely.
Kuzan processed this explanation silently, his usual lazy expression replaced with genuine concern.
The battle lines were being drawn. Not against pirates, but between the Marines and the very government they served.
And everyone knew it was only going to get worse.