Chapter 396: The Rift Within the Marine Alliance
At Marine Alliance Headquarters,
Fleet Admiral Sengoku's face was dark. Even the white pigeon that usually perched on his head couldn't withstand the oppressive atmosphere and flew away.
When he first received the news, he had even suspected the intelligence division had been infiltrated by enemy agents—
that the report was a hoax.
But as more marines returned to headquarters to confirm it,
and none showed signs of illusion manipulation, Sengoku was forced to accept the truth.
"Sengoku, the most urgent matter now is to contact Aokiji. Nothing's been finalized yet."
Vice Admiral Tsuru, elegant and wise despite her age, wore an uncharacteristically worried expression.
Though she tried to calm Sengoku, she herself struggled to stay composed.
An admiral defecting…
If confirmed, it would be a massive scandal.
Throughout the Four Seas, hundreds of naval branches—including HQ—had seen traitors before.
For example, Garp's own son—Dragon, leader of the Revolutionary Army.
Or the current elite under the Flamingo Pirates—former East Blue colonel, Axe-Hand Morgan.
So defection wasn't new.
But an Admiral? A Marine Admiral was handpicked by the Alliance, symbolizing its might across the seas.
Aokiji defecting would be a devastating blow to the Navy's reputation.
Sengoku took a deep breath. Golden Buddhist light flickered from his eyes as he tried to calm himself. "Tell me exactly what happened in the zombie world."
Tsuru was right.
Nothing was certain yet. Aokiji hadn't attacked any marines directly—he had simply ignored the battle.
If not for his declaration about leaving the Navy, at worst, he might've just received a pay cut.
"In Jiang Family Town, a dark gold-tier zombie was suspected. Admiral Aokiji engaged the Straw Hat Pirates but was stopped by Red-Haired Shanks…"
"The two didn't fight, but after meeting him, Admiral Aokiji announced his departure from the Navy."
Shanks?!
Sengoku's face went stone-cold. His clenched fist slowly fell on the conference table.
Boom.
Golden Buddha aura radiated from his knuckles. The table cracked under the weight like it had been crushed by a mountain.
"Calm yourself, Sengoku. Anger clouds your judgment."
Tsuru furrowed her brows. "Your [Lv.35 Monk] class's Buddha energy is powerful, but it risks demonic deviation. You must keep your mind clear."
"I know…"
Sengoku forced himself to breathe deeply, gradually regaining control.
Shanks again.
Encouraging a Marine Admiral to defect—he had gone too far.
Was the Adventurers' Guild looking to die?
"The Adventurer HQ might have Shanks and Mihawk, but if the Marine Alliance truly wanted to crush them, it'd be easy…"
No matter how strong a tiger or leopard, it couldn't withstand a pack of wolves.
The Marines' greatest strength wasn't individual power, but their endless stream of elite players and dozens of branch commanders with [First-Rate Player] power.
Tsuru shook her head. "But attacking the Adventurer HQ would provoke the adventurers spread across the Four Seas."
Adventurers were like the pirates who once set sail in the Great Pirate Era.
But unlike ruthless pirates, adventurers were mostly dreamers.
They were a massive, neutral group.
Even within the Marine Alliance, there were many adventurers.
If the HQ was destroyed, those adventurers would surely turn against the Navy.
Sengoku asked gravely, "Have we reached Aokiji through den-den mushi?"
"Not yet…"
Before she could finish,
Sengoku's personal den-den mushi opened its eyes—and Aokiji's voice came through.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku…"
"You bastard! Aokiji, are you really betraying the Navy?!"
Buddha aura filled the room again.
Sengoku gripped the den-den mushi and roared in anger.
"It's not me betraying the Navy—it's the Navy that betrayed me."
Aokiji's voice was full of repressed fury.
Sengoku froze.
"Civilians being turned into slaves, injected with drugs, infected with zombie toxins—turned into prey…"
Even through the den-den mushi, Sengoku could picture Aokiji trembling with rage.
"And the noble factions who do all this… Fleet Admiral, don't you know about it?"
Sengoku's heart skipped a beat.
The reprimand on his lips froze as if his throat were clamped shut.
"Noble factions…"
He stammered, then steadied himself. "The Marine Alliance stands for absolute justice. We do not collude with nobles!"
Of course, he knew what was going on.
The noble factions controlled countries and civilians, but lacked strength to defend against pirates and warmongers.
So they sought protection—
and those Marines who had broken free from the World Government's control made the perfect shields.
"We've never violated justice!"
The room fell silent.
The branch commanders—Jonathan among them—had all accepted resources from the nobles.
What Sengoku said was technically true.
The Marines hadn't actively participated in these horrors.
But they did take a cut of the nobles' exploitation.
So when Sengoku spoke, his voice lacked its usual force.
There was a faint tremor of guilt.
"The Marine Alliance? What a joke…"
"We used to be bound by the World Government, so we turned a blind eye to the Celestial Dragons.
Now, freed from that leash, we look away again—because the nobles provide us with contribution points?"
"If that's justice, we might as well go back to being the Government's dogs.
At least there were fewer Celestial Dragons than there are nobles."
"SENGOKU!"
Aokiji's voice turned into a snarl.
Faint static buzzed in the background of the call.
"Aokiji? Damn it—stop! We paid you protection money!"
"What's going on?! Is the Navy breaking its agreement?!"
Explosions. Screams.
Sengoku hadn't even responded before the branch commanders stood in shock.
Their faces changed as they roared:
"Aokiji, are you insane?! You're attacking our allies?!"
The nobles provided a constant stream of contribution points.
If Aokiji ruined that, who would trust the Navy's branch commanders again?
Without money, how could they get stronger?
And without strength, how could they protect the Marine Alliance?
"Report! Surveillance den-den mushi confirms:
Two islands in the West Blue were attacked. Royal courts and noble estates—destroyed."
"The perpetrator… Admiral Aokiji!"
A frightened intelligence officer stepped into the room, voice shaking.
The two affected branch commanders turned pale.
They glared at the silent Sengoku.
"Fleet Admiral, both islands were allies protected by our branches.
You must give us an answer for Aokiji's actions!"
Sengoku felt his head pounding.
One side—Aokiji demanding justice for the people.
The other—branch commanders demanding accountability.
The strongest force in the game—the Marine Alliance—was far from unified.
If he couldn't resolve this,
someone like Red-Haired Shanks would surely take advantage of the chaos.
In that moment,
though Sengoku—surrounded by Buddha aura and as powerful as ever—hadn't changed physically,
he suddenly looked… old.
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