Marineford
Several days after the Firs Island Incident
The room was dim.
Not dark enough to conceal anything, but dark enough to make every movement feel suspicious.
A single lamp hung above a steel table. Its pale light fell upon several classified folders, a cold cup of tea and a recording Den Den Mushi.
A second Den Den Mushi rested near the edge of the table. It was smaller than the recording snail. Its eyes remained closed, but a secure line connected it directly to the Fleet Admiral's office.
Vice-Admiral Tsuru adjusted the recording snail carefully.
She turned one dial.
soon after....
The creature blinked, stretched its neck and focused its large eyes upon the young Marine sitting opposite her.
Ensign Jonathan immediately straightened. Respect showed in his eyes as he recognised the distinguished officer before him.
The Den Den Mushi copied him.
Its body stiffened. Its eyes widened. Even the bead of sweat rolling down Jonathan's temple appeared upon the creature's face.
Jonathan stared at it.
The snail stared back.
He swallowed.
Tsuru sat without hurry. Her expression was grim, her hands folded neatly before her.
Three red-bordered folders rested to her right.
The first lay open.
ENSIGN JONATHAN
FIRS ISLAND BASE
WITNESS I
The second folder bore Sakazuki's name.
The third remained sealed, its witness identification hidden beneath a strip of black ink.
Separated from them was a fourth folder.
Black.
Reinforced with metal corners.
005 had been stamped across its cover in crimson.
For several long seconds, Tsuru said nothing. She simply examined the young ensign across from her.
Jonathan tried not to move.
The atmosphere along with nervousnes was bit suffocating.
At last, Tsuru exhaled through her nose.
"You young rascals…"
Jonathan blinked.
A mild smile touched the corner of Tsuru's mouth.
"You and Sakazuki were the black sheep of that entire incident. First, you ended up on mop duty because you believed your superior officers required a lecture."
Jonathan opened his mouth.
Tsuru raised one finger.
He closed it again.
"Sakazuki joined you after putting a lieutenant in the infirmary," she continued. "Then, in the middle of an attack by Sanjuan Wolf and several pirate crews, two punished ensigns somehow influenced the outcome of the entire battle."
She leant back slightly.
"Impressive."
Jonathan was unsure whether it was praise.
The recording Den Den Mushi tilted its head with him.
Tsuru's smile remained for another moment.
Rebellious, she thought. A little like Garp.
That was not necessarily a compliment.
She opened the first document.
"Let us begin with something simple. Tell me exactly how Ensign Sakazuki obtained the Magu Magu no Mi."
Jonathan's shoulders became rigid.
"The Devil Fruit, ma'am?"
"No. The decorative fruit basket in the officers' dining hall."
Jonathan stared at her.
Tsuru's expression did not change.
"Yes, Ensign. The Devil Fruit."
"Right…"
He took a breath.
"Our cannons struck Sanjuan Wolf inside the mouth. Something fell out amongst the wreckage. A metal crate."
"What kind of crate?"
"Military construction, I think. Reinforced corners. Heat-resistant interior. The exterior was scorched, but the lock had already broken."
"You opened it?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Without knowing what it contained?" Tsuru asked. "It might have been a bomb, Ensign."
"There wasn't much time to think…"
Tsuru's eyes narrowed.
Jonathan immediately corrected his posture.
"The base was being destroyed, ma'am."
"Continue."
"There was a Devil Fruit inside. Dark red. Its surface looked like molten rock."
Jonathan hesitated.
"I recognised its general appearance from an identification manual, but I didn't know which fruit it was."
"And then?"
"Sakazuki was surrounded. The pirates had broken through the defensive line. We had no active Devil Fruit users left on the field, and he was preparing to fight them with a sword."
"So you threw it to him."
"Yes."
"You handed an unidentified Devil Fruit to another ensign during an active battle."
Jonathan began to stutter.
"It… It appeared to be the m-most strategically sound option a-available."
A faint sound escaped Tsuru.
Not quite a laugh.
Jonathan could not tell whether that was good.
"And what did Ensign Sakazuki do?"
"He… ate it."
"Without hesitation?"
Jonathan remembered the way Sakazuki had stared at the fruit.
The single bite.
The smell of hot ash and burning stone.
"Without hesitation," he confirmed.
Tsuru wrote something in the report.
The scratching of her pen seemed unnaturally loud.
"And immediately afterwards, despite having no experience with its power, he engaged the attackers?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Reckless."
"He saved the remaining defenders."
"Reckless behaviour and effective behaviour are not mutually exclusive, Ensign."
Tsuru placed her pen beside the report.
"There is a reason the Devil Fruit Encyclopaedia exists. Every competent Marine should study it. Otherwise, you might spend the rest of your career as a jacket."
Jonathan lowered his head slightly.
He did not entirely understand what that was supposed to mean.
"No, ma'am."
Tsuru set the document aside and opened another.
The atmosphere changed.
This file contained casualty reports.
Pages and pages of names.
Some were marked wounded.
Many were marked deceased.
One name had been stamped in red.
VICE-ADMIRAL NANIONI
STATUS: KILLED IN ACTION
Tsuru's fingers paused upon it.
"Several surviving Marines reported that Vice-Admiral Nanioni intercepted Sakazuki when the boy attempted to face Sanjuan Wolf's tsunami."
Jonathan nodded.
"I heard about it afterwards."
"They claim Nanioni's final words were directed at Sakazuki."
Tsuru read from the testimony.
----) "Ensign… congratulations. You are Captain now."
She lowered the paper.
"They also claim that he removed his Marine cap and threw it to Sakazuki shortly before Sanjuan Wolf killed him. Is that true?"
Jonathan's expression darkened.
"I didn't see it, ma'am. I was inside the base by then."
"Then you cannot confirm it?"
"Not directly."
Tsuru waited.
Jonathan looked down at his hands.
"But Sakazuki still has the cap," he murmured.
Tsuru's eyes sharpened.
"He hasn't let anyone touch it," Jonathan continued quietly. "It is burnt along one side and still stained with Vice-Admiral Nanioni's blood. A medical officer tried to take it away for cleaning."
"What happened?"
"Sakazuki broke the man's wrist."
The recording Den Den Mushi grimaced.
Tsuru closed the casualty file.
"I see."
Her fingers rested briefly upon Sakazuki's folder.
"There are enough witnesses. Vice-Admiral Nanioni's final order was clear. The battlefield promotion will stand."
Jonathan lifted his head.
"Sakazuki is officially a Captain?"
"He is."
For the first time since entering the room, some of the tension left Jonathan's face.
Tsuru noticed.
She said nothing.
Instead, she slid another page across the table.
Then another.
Firs Island Base.
Site Kappa.
Site Delta.
Three facilities.
Three separate attacks.
Three columns filled with times, casualties, missing weapons and contradictory reports.
Tsuru placed her finger upon the first timestamp.
"Sanjuan Wolf attacked Firs Island at fourteen hundred and seven."
Her finger moved to the second.
"The DeathInk Pirates struck Site Kappa at fourteen hundred and nine."
Then the third.
"The Long Arm Scream Pirates attacked Site Delta at fourteen hundred and eleven."
Jonathan looked over the documents.
"Four minutes…"
"Between the first and final assault," Tsuru confirmed. "Three supposedly unrelated pirate crews attacked three secret Government facilities within four minutes of one another."
She placed another report over them.
"None of those pirates knew what they were truly attacking. One crew believed it would find Devil Fruits. Another expected ancient Longarm treasures. Sanjuan Wolf may not have understood that he was attacking a Government weapons facility at all."
"They were distractions," Jonathan said.
Tsuru watched him carefully.
"That is our conclusion."
"Then someone sent them."
"Or manipulated them."
Jonathan's eyes moved across the reports.
"All three bases were weakened at the same time…"
"And while their defenders fought the pirates, their most secure vaults were breached."
Tsuru leant forward.
"The Fleet Admiral has given the recovery of the stolen 005 items the highest priority. Higher than capturing the remaining pirates. Higher than rebuilding the bases. Higher, for the moment, than pursuing what remains of the Rocks Pirates."
Jonathan's face was still young.
Too young for the exhaustion beneath his eyes.
Sweat nevertheless gathered along his brow as the pressure of the investigation settled upon him.
Tsuru looked directly into his eyes.
"Your base guarded one of those stockpiles."
Jonathan said nothing.
"Think carefully, Ensign."
Her voice became quieter.
"During the battle, did you see anyone… or anything… that seemed out of place?"
Jonathan's first instinct was to shake his head.
Pirates had been everywhere.
The base had been burning. Sanjuan Wolf had towered over the island. Marines had screamed beneath falling stone while magma and seawater turned the battlefield into hell.
Everything had been out of place.
Then…
His fingers tightened.
A corridor.
Smoke.
Bodies dressed in Government black.
A pale glint in the distance.
Jonathan's mouth went dry.
"Y-Yes… actually…"
Tsuru remained still.
"When I think about it, I heard something strange during the fighting."
"What did you hear?"
Jonathan closed his eyes.
At first, there had only been gunfire.
Boots striking the floor behind him.
Pirates shouting.
Then another sound had joined them.
Low.
Mechanical.
Almost like gears grinding somewhere inside the walls.
"Bzum…"
Tsuru's brow lowered.
Jonathan tapped one finger against the table, following the rhythm buried inside his memory.
"Bzum… bzum… bzum… bzum…"
The recording Den Den Mushi's eyes shifted uneasily.
"It kept getting louder," Jonathan continued. "The pirates pursuing me entered the corridor. I had my pistol raised, but there were too many of them."
"What happened?"
"An explosion."
"What kind?"
"I don't know. There was fire and smoke. The entire corridor shook."
Jonathan's breathing grew shallower.
"The pirates were engulfed by it. When I opened my eyes, they were simply… gone."
Tsuru's gaze became deadly.
"A strange noise?"
Jonathan gulped and nodded.
"Yes, ma'am."
"How many times did you hear it?"
"I don't know. Four. Five. Maybe more. Every pulse was louder than the last."
"Did it resemble a Den Den Mushi transmission?"
"No."
"A bomb?"
"No."
"Machinery?"
"Maybe. Like something turning. Or charging."
Tsuru continued staring at him.
Jonathan's breathing quickened under that gaze.
Then her expression softened by a fraction.
"Take it easy, Ensign."
Jonathan inhaled.
"Describe only what you remember. Do not try to fill in the missing pieces."
"Yes, ma'am."
Before Tsuru could continue, the door opened.
A Marine Rear Admiral entered, closing it immediately behind him. He walked to Tsuru's side and bent close enough to whisper.
"Vice-Admiral…"
Tsuru turned slightly.
"Sakazuki remains uncooperative. He acknowledges direct orders and will carry them out, but he refuses to answer questions concerning the incident."
"Has he said anything?"
"Nothing useful. He remains silent until pressured. Then he becomes increasingly hostile."
The Rear Admiral hesitated.
"He nearly attacked one of the interrogators."
"Nearly?"
"The Captain's cap stopped him. He looked at it and withdrew his fist."
Tsuru closed her eyes briefly.
Jonathan shifted in his chair.
The Rear Admiral continued in a lower voice.
"We can use stronger methods."
"No," Tsuru answered immediately. "Not yet."
Jonathan raised one hand halfway.
Neither officer looked at him.
He lowered it.
Then he cleared his throat.
"Ehmm…"
Tsuru looked at him.
Jonathan sat straighter.
"Please, if I may speak…"
"You already are."
"Give Sakazuki some more time. Vice-Admiral Nanioni died directly in front of him. He was already… difficult before that."
The Rear Admiral frowned.
"Careful, Ensign."
"I only mean that forcing him will not make him cooperate. It will do the opposite."
"And you consider yourself an expert on Sakazuki?"
"No, sir."
Jonathan paused.
"But I spent three weeks on punishment duty with him. That may be the closest thing available."
Tsuru's mouth twitched.
Jonathan glanced at the recording Den Den Mushi.
The creature was still watching him.
That brought another question into his mind.
"Actually…"
The Rear Admiral gave him an irritated look.
"What now?"
Jonathan pointed towards the snail.
"Weren't there recording Den Den Mushi throughout our base?"
Silence.
Complete silence.
"In the corridors, above the courtyards and around the restricted sections," Jonathan continued. "There were more of them near the lower levels than anywhere else."
Tsuru's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"So how did no one see the culprit?" Jonathan asked. "Someone entered the base, killed Government agents, breached the vault and escaped. The recording snails should have seen something."
Neither officer answered.
Jonathan looked from Tsuru to the Rear Admiral.
Then he muttered beneath his breath:
"And what the hell is 005 supposed to be, anyway…?"
The Rear Admiral slammed one palm onto the table.
"You do not have clearance to know that, Ensign!"
Jonathan recoiled.
The smaller Den Den Mushi suddenly opened its eyes.
Its mouth pulled into a hard line as its features changed, imitating the broad, commanding face of the man connected on the other end.
Static crackled from its throat.
Everyone in the room fell silent.
"Let him know."
The Rear Admiral immediately stood at attention.
Tsuru looked towards the smaller snail.
Jonathan's thoughts collapsed into chaos.
That voice…
His back snapped straight so quickly that the legs of his chair scraped against the floor.
The Fleet Admiral?!
Fleet Admiral Kong is speaking right beside me?!
The voice of the highest-ranking Marine in the world had just emerged from a snail less than an arm's length away.
Worse still, Kong had clearly been listening to the entire interrogation.
Jonathan suddenly became aware of every foolish answer he had given. Every stutter. Every nervous breath.
His face lost what little colour it had left.
On the other end of the transmission, Fleet Admiral Kong said nothing for several seconds.
He appeared to be contemplating something.
Jonathan felt as though the unseen man could see directly through the creature's eyes.
At last, Kong spoke again.
"I give permission."
The room became quiet.
Tsuru sighed.
The Rear Admiral slowly removed his hand from the table.
"Vice-Admiral, with respect…"
"The Fleet Admiral has spoken."
Tsuru reached for the black folder marked 005.
A small key turned inside its metal clasp.
Click.
She opened it.
The first photograph was placed face down before Jonathan.
"Brat," Tsuru said, "did you watch the recording of the Hachinosu incident?"
Jonathan blinked at the unexpected question.
"The battle against the Rocks Pirates?"
"Yes."
"Most of it. Everyone at the base did."
"Do you remember the explosion?"
Jonathan's expression changed.
How could anyone forget?
The crimson and purple sphere swallowing the harbour.
Ships disappearing.
Stone melting into black glass.
A woman walking out of the destruction as her body rebuilt itself from ash. It was a historic moment. Just when everyone believed the Marines could no longer suppress the Rocks Pirates, the World Government intervened. And it was a World Noble at that. Her appearance sent a clear message to pirates across the world: the World Government would not allow their defiance to go unanswered. No matter who you are!
"Yes…" he said with mixed emotions.
Tsuru turned the photograph over.
A jagged red stone rested inside a reinforced glass container.
It was no larger than a human heart.
Crimson light shimmered beneath its surface, creating a unique red glint that seemed almost alive.
Jonathan stared at it.
His heartbeat slowed.
Then struck once, hard.
Tsuru placed a finger beside the image.
"This is a Dyna Stone. Government designation: 005."
Jonathan did not look away from the photograph.
"One of these stones, later artificially enlarged, caused the explosion that consumed Hachinosu's harbour," Tsuru continued. "Properly used, a single stone can erase fleets, fortresses and islands."
Jonathan's face went pale.
"And our base…"
"Guarded several of them."
The room suddenly felt much colder.
"Several.... and the pirates weren't trying to steal them," Jonathan whispered.
"No."
"They didn't even know they were there."
"No."
"They were only keeping us occupied," Jonathan repeated. The strategy was brilliant. Almost frighteningly so. For the first time, the young man who dreamed of rewriting Marine doctrine felt his confidence waver. Whoever had planned these attacks was operating on a level he could barely comprehend.
Tsuru said nothing.
Jonathan stared deeper into the photograph.
The red glint filled his vision.
Red…
He had seen red.
Not from the emergency lamps.
Not from fire.
Not from Sakazuki's magma.
Something else.
A corridor returned to him in broken pieces.
Four Government agents lying motionless upon the floor.
Black uniforms.
Blood beneath their bodies.
No breathing.
A shape moved at the far end.
Tall.
Wrapped in black.
Its face…
No.
It had no face.
Only a pale, expressionless mask.
Jonathan's breathing stopped.
Behind the figure, or perhaps attached somewhere beneath its cloak, there had been a small metal container.
For less than a second, its seams had opened.
Something inside had shone red.
The same red.
The same unnatural glint.
Then the masked figure had disappeared.
Like a ghost.
Like a hallucination born from smoke and tear gas.
"Ensign?"
Tsuru's voice dragged him back into the room.
Jonathan's hand trembled above the photograph.
"I remember…"
Tsuru leant forward.
"What?"
"I remember a little."
The recording Den Den Mushi focussed entirely upon him.
"At our base… after I found the dead agents…before that explosion."
His voice weakened.
"I saw a flash of red."
No one moved.
"There was someone standing at the end of the corridor. A black figure. Tall. Completely covered."
The Rear Admiral's face tightened.
"Describe his face."
"He didn't have one."
"What?"
"A mask," Jonathan corrected quickly. "Pale. Maybe white or platinum. There was nothing on it. No expression."
The image sharpened within his mind.
Empty almond-shaped eyes.
A cloak that swallowed the light around it.
The faint red glow behind him.
"I saw a small container," Jonathan continued. "I thought it was behind him, but it may have been attached to his belt or hidden beneath his cloak."
"What was inside it?" Tsuru asked.
"I couldn't see. Only the light."
"The red light?"
Jonathan looked down at the photograph of the Dyna Stone.
"The same red light."
The Rear Admiral immediately turned towards the smaller Den Den Mushi.
"Fleet Admiral…"
Kong remained silent.
Tsuru pulled a blank sheet of paper from Jonathan's file and placed it before him.
Then she offered him a pencil.
"Draw the mask."
Jonathan stared at the empty page.
His fingers closed around the pencil, but his hand would not stop shaking.
The recording Den Den Mushi copied the terror spreading across his face.
"It was white," Jonathan whispered.
The pencil touched the paper.
"Completely expressionless."
A rough oval appeared.
Then two hollow, almond-shaped eyes.
Tsuru watched the faceless image take form.
Jonathan swallowed.
"I thought the gas had made me hallucinate…"
Tsuru's gaze shifted towards Kong's Den Den Mushi.
Her voice was calm.
But the room had never felt more dangerous. It was a clear Killing intent. Leaking from that small snail.
"Fleet Admiral…"
She placed one finger upon the drawing.
"I believe the boy saw our thief." she smiled a little.