Marine HQ — Marineford.
A crescent-shaped harbor, fortress-like ramparts, warships forming a steel wall around the bay, and rows of soldiers standing rigidly with rifles in hand…
Every inch of this place declared to the world the ideals of peace and order.
Although the public execution of the Pirate King two years ago made the Marines a laughingstock to some,
ordinary people saw only one thing—the Pirate King was dead.
Because of that, while the seas grew increasingly chaotic and violent,
the Marines' prestige soared to unprecedented heights—
to the point where many people knew only Marine HQ, not the World Government.
To Longinus, however, this was far from a good sign.
Marine leaders themselves might not harbor dangerous ambitions,
but the politicians in the World Government absolutely did.
Gazing at the Marine seagull flag fluttering proudly in the wind,
Longinus didn't feel reverence—
he dissected, through the memories of his "otherworld soul,"
the fundamental contradictions of this era.
The World Government had many subordinate agencies,
but publicly, its "three core pillars" were:
— Enies Lobby
— Impel Down
— Marine Headquarters
Yet Enies Lobby—supposedly equal in status to Marine HQ—
was erased from the map simply because Spandam accidentally triggered a Buster Call.
And Impel Down, one of the three great institutions,
had a warden whose position was said to match that of a Fleet Admiral,
yet Magellan still prostrated himself before Sengoku after the Marineford incident.
All of this revealed one truth:
Among all the World Government's organs, Marine HQ was unquestionably the highest—
even half a tier above the others.
"The World Government will never tolerate the Marines growing too powerful,"
Longinus thought.
"Twenty years later, using Akainu to split the Marines,
and then kicking him aside—
that alone proves their intentions."
"If not for the Revolutionary Army's rapid growth forcing the Government to divide its attention,
the conflict between the Government and the Marines would have erupted long ago."
Pirates, Marines, Government—
their triangular balance collapsed the moment the Revolutionary Army appeared.
And that revolution, its first spark—
Longinus suspected Dragon planted it the day he witnessed Roger's execution.
"The era-shaking storm of the future…
began two years ago."
He looked toward the symbol of absolute justice—Marine HQ—
and quietly clenched his fist.
"Who will write the next chapter of history?
I truly look forward to it."
Two warships approached the harbor, immediately stirring commotion.
Especially the one bearing the symbol G-8—it was in a miserable state.
Bloodstains hadn't even been scrubbed off.
The destruction caused by Morgan's battle with the pirate captains was unrepaired as well.
In fact, if not for the G-2 warship's spare materials,
the G-8 ship would have sunk after Longinus's shocking strike earlier.
A Marine HQ Colonel on duty rushed over.
He recognized any officer of Rear Admiral rank or higher at a glance.
After saluting, he asked:
"Rear Admiral Morgan—this is…?"
Morgan shook his head.
"I'll explain everything directly to Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
These are new recruits sent from G-2 and G-8 for the Training Camp.
Please escort them to the barracks."
The Colonel was stunned,
but his discipline prevented him from asking questions.
"Yes, sir!"
He turned toward the newcomers with a gentle expression.
"Follow me. You can call me Senior Hughes."
"Senior?"
Gregory and the others exchanged confused looks.
"Morgan explained,
"Colonel Hughes also graduated from the Recruit Training Camp.
He's five classes ahead of you.
He's one of the Training Camp's outstanding graduates—
feel free to ask him questions."
"I'm no outstanding graduate…" Hughes scratched his cheek.
"Don't be modest," Morgan said seriously.
"Everyone knows Admiral Zephyr's standards are harsh.
Graduating successfully already makes you outstanding.
And this is a reminder:
don't think entering the Training Camp means smooth sailing.
That is where your true challenges begin."
Gregory's group was long accustomed to being crushed psychologically,
so they already placed themselves at the bottom of the food chain.
They replied gratefully:
"Thank you for the warning, Rear Admiral!"
"I'll take my leave, then.
I hope to see you all again in three years as proper Marines."
"Alright, everyone, follow—wait.
You there, cadet—you're going the wrong way!"
Hughes, who was about to introduce the Training Camp details,
froze when he saw someone veering toward Morgan instead of following the group.
Morgan turned around too and saw Hughes giving Longinus a strange stare.
He quickly explained:
"Colonel Hughes, take the recruits to the camp first.
Major Longinus will accompany me to report to Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"…Huh?"
Even after Morgan walked away, Hughes was still stunned.
"I didn't mishear, right?
He's… already a Major?
When I entered the Training Camp, I was… a Second Lieutenant?"
Dark thoughts sprouted in his mind.
"…Reporting to Fleet Admiral Sengoku on the first day…
He's not secretly a Celestial Dragon's illegitimate son, is he?"
Seeing Hughes fall into existential crisis, Gregory happily piled on:
"Hughes-senpai, humans shouldn't compare themselves to monsters.
Honestly, if Boss Longinus weren't so young,
and if he hadn't shared so much credit with us,
he'd already be a Colonel."
"Colonel…?"
Hughes made a face like a man watching his sanity crumble.
Gregory puffed his chest.
"Heh!
Among G-2's eight members,
Abraham, Algernon, and I are Captains.
The rest are Lieutenants."
Hughes stopped talking entirely.
"…Maybe I didn't graduate because I was good.
Maybe… someone pulled strings for me?"
Thankfully, the G-8 rookies gave him a sliver of relief.
"Is military merit in G-2 that easy to earn?
Among the six of us, only Arno is a Lieutenant.
The rest are Warrant Officers.
The gap is insane!"
Gregory bristled.
"What do you mean 'easy'?!
Do you know how many pirates we caught these two years following Boss Longinus?"
G-8 rookies replied together:
"We don't."
"Hmph!
Enough to circle Marineford with their corpses!
Our combined bounty haul exceeds 500 million!
We've even been named G-2's Most Popular Marines several times—
cough—
well, that part was only Boss Longinus, not us."
"F-five hundred million…?!"
The G-8 rookies' eyes shone.
Not only was this a thick thigh,
it was a thick, generous thigh.
"Uh… Hughes-senpai?
Why aren't you walking anymore?"
Gregory noticed Hughes huddled in a corner.
Hughes muttered in despair:
"Don't call me senpai.
I'm not your senpai!"
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