With Vice Admiral Doberman joining the fray, the Headquarters Building fell in short order.
While Doberman had received no further specific directives, Spandine had been issued an explicit "Purge Order" from Stussy herself. At this stage, the coup had reached a point of "do or die." There was no room for mercy from anyone.
The high-ranking officials within this building were, for the most part, die-hard loyalists to the Mariejois faction. To be frank, neither Diarmuid nor Stussy had any intention of recruiting them. It wasn't necessarily a lack of talent; one doesn't reach such heights of power without a certain level of capability.
The real issue was their "moral baseline"—it was non-existent. In the swirling vortex of power that was Mariejois, anyone who could climb to this level was "jet black" to the core. This had been the fundamental rot within Mariejois: corruption was the standard. To rise within the system, you had to go with the flow. If you tried to remain "a lotus rising unsullied from the mud," you'd find an entire system of enemies at your throat.
What? We're all greedy and you're the only clean one? Trying to make us look bad? Fine, then don't expect to survive here!
Knowing this, neither Stussy nor Diarmuid had any interest in offering them amnesty. However, the Navy still had to maintain a certain image, which is why Doberman had not been given such extreme orders. The CP agencies, on the other hand, were bound by no such taboos.
Spandine had received his "Purge Order" loud and clear.
The moment the building was secured, Spandine began the rapid apprehension of these high-ranking Mariejois officials. Amidst their wails and desperate pleas for mercy, Spandine perfectly embodied the role of a cold-blooded spymaster. Checking names against his list, he dragged out these once-lofty officials like common swine.
He lined them up at the entrance of the Headquarters Building and took them down—one blade, one life. No sentiment, no hesitation, no mercy.
Inside the building, at least a thousand World Government officials were identified by Spandine's henchmen and executed via beheading within a single hour. The sheer ruthlessness of the man was on full display. People used to call Doberman a psychological deviant, but now it seemed Spandine was every bit his equal!
Once the deed was done, Spandine and Doberman stood in the lobby of the Headquarters, a place once teeming with the world's most powerful elite, each lighting a cigarette as they discussed the situation.
"The suppression here is complete," Doberman said, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "Now we just need to see if the urban street fights ahead can break the deadlock. Once we win the street battles, we'll compress the battlefield to the Domain of the Gods and launch the final assault."
Spandine nodded. "I'm done for now. My orders were to suppress and purge this location. After this, I'm staying here to protect the precious records and internal documents upstairs."
The Headquarters Building was the administrative heart of the Mariejois system. The offices of the Gorosei were at the top, along with those of various high officials. It housed nearly every file and scrap of data within the World Government system.
These were invaluable. They had to be protected to ensure a smooth takeover of the "Legacy."
After all, you couldn't just kill everyone and call it a day. The legacy of Mariejois was vast. If these documents weren't preserved, it would be impossible to truly capitalize on the spoils of war. For instance, the exact locations and amounts of the Gorosei's secret funds were mysteries the Navy never had access to; if those records were lost, that wealth would likely vanish forever.
But with these records, there would be a paper trail. In a mature system, everything is documented. These files were the key to maximizing the inheritance of the Mariejois system.
"Then you'd better be careful," Doberman said with a smirk. "Don't let anything happen to this place, or we'll be in deep trouble."
"Relax," Spandine chuckled. "When it comes to this, we're the professionals."
The CP agencies had toppled more than a few monarchies in their time; this was indeed their specialty.
As they chatted, Kalifa of CP9 approached and whispered, "Sir, the latest update."
"Speak," Spandine said directly, showing he didn't consider Doberman an outsider.
Kalifa didn't stand on ceremony either, reporting openly: "We've received word from the front lines. A third-party force has entered the fray: the Revolutionary Army. They're shouting slogans about 'Erasing Imu,' 'Freeing the Slaves,' and 'Maintaining Order and Equality.' How should we respond to them? Do we wipe them out as well?"
Spandine blinked in surprise, and a flash of astonishment crossed Doberman's eyes.
The Revolutionary Army's timing was impeccably precise. Right now, the Navy and the CP agencies were locked in combat with the Mariejois Guard. With the Revolutionary Army popping up now, it was difficult to move against them.
More importantly, their slogans and stated stance were essentially aligned with the coup's objectives, which made things even more awkward.
If they attacked the Revolutionary Army now, it would drag the war into a much more complicated mess, potentially forcing a two-front war, which was the last thing the Navy needed. But if they didn't attack them, it would look like they were collaborating, effectively "whitewashing" the revolutionaries by association.
Furthermore, if they cooperated to stabilize Mariejois, once the chaos subsided, the Revolutionary Army would have gained a degree of legitimacy. This would increase their leverage and political weight when it came time to "divide the cake" and claim the spoils of war.
Kalifa was asking for instructions, but the truth was, neither Doberman nor Spandine had the authority to make such a call. They weren't high enough in the chain of command.
Just as the two were feeling the awkwardness of the situation, the Den Den Mushi on Doberman's person broadcast Gion's voice.
It wasn't a private call. Since the battle began, the combat Den Den Mushi used by the various Marine officers were kept on an open channel. The commander's side used a specialized Den Den Mushi that could link to every "Sub-Den Den Mushi" held by the officers, essentially a walkie-talkie system.
"All units, all units! Navy personnel in the Mariejois combat zone, take note!" Gion's voice crackled through the receiver.
Doberman and Spandine fell silent, waiting for the new directive.
"I am relaying the latest orders: All parties are to concentrate their forces. The street battles must be cleared within thirty minutes to open a path to the Domain of the Gods and support the Fleet Admiral's military operations. Simultaneously, regarding the third-party force currently active in Mariejois, the Revolutionary Army, ignore them for now. Prioritize the advancement toward the Domain of the Gods. I repeat..."
Gion quickly disseminated the orders to all the Marine officers across Mariejois. The goal was to reach the Domain of the Gods and join forces with Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
Once the orders were delivered, the line went quiet.
Doberman and Spandine exchanged a look. Doberman spoke first: "Alright, no more talk. I need to head to the front line and assemble."
"Stay sharp," Spandine replied with a nod.
Doberman quickly led his G-5 Marines out of the Headquarters Building, heading toward the street-fighting zones near Pangea Castle.
After Doberman left, Spandine looked at Kalifa and said, "Follow Gion-sama's orders! Ignore the Revolutionary Army for the time being!"
He then pulled out his own Den Den Mushi and began barking orders to his agents: "CP agents, listen up! Ignore the Revolutionary Army. Assist the Navy in prioritizing the path to the Domain of the Gods. All others, continue the purge of Mariejois as ordered. Make sure that for every district we take, we clear it out! Do not leave this mess for after the war!"
Conducting the purge during the heat of battle allowed them to shift the blame—they could simply claim the officials offered "violent resistance" and had to be neutralized. If they waited until after the war, the CP agencies might not care about their bloodthirsty reputation, but why smear themselves with filth if there was a cleaner option?
A new center of power would soon be established. In such a moment, even the CP agencies hoped to maintain a relatively "respectable" image.
Even the notorious Revolutionary Army was trying to "go legit"—this was a consensus among the big players.
Initially, the fighting on Mariejois had been a stalemate, with neither side gaining the upper hand. But as the Navy shifted into its true wartime footing, the gap in experience quickly translated into a decisive advantage.
The Mariejois Guard were formidable, and their equipment was cutting-edge. However, they lacked the baptism of cruel, practical combat experience. Furthermore, their command structure was nowhere near as professional as the Navy's.
The Marine officers were graduates of specialized academies who had participated in countless wars to earn their rank of Vice Admiral. While individual power levels varied, it was hard to find anyone in the world more professional or adept at war command.
As the Navy finished its "warm-up" and the war entered its white-hot phase, the once-arrogant Mariejois Guard were suppressed by the sheer tactical quality of the Marines. The street battles began to swing in the Navy's favor, compressing the enemy's strategic space and forcing them back toward the Domain of the Gods.
With a single strike, Onigumo cut down a commander of the Celestial Dragon's Guard clad in full armor. He flicked the blood from his blade, a cigar clenched between his teeth, his eyes cold and indifferent.
At that moment, another squad of Marines arrived from nearby, led by the neutral Vice Admiral Cancer. Despite the name, he was a remarkably handsome man.
"Hey, hey, Onigumo... isn't this a bit too savage? Not a single survivor?" Cancer asked in surprise, looking over the street sector Onigumo had been tasked with clearing.
Though he hadn't seen many survivors himself along the way...
Onigumo exhaled a puff of smoke, his voice calm and steady. "Our creed is simple... the only good enemy is a dead one!"
"As expected of the Hawks, nothing but iron-blooded killers," Cancer remarked, clicking his tongue.
He wasn't looking to start a factional dispute; it was merely a comment. Currently, the atmosphere within the Navy was quite good. While internal factions still existed, the friction was nowhere near as intense as it once was.
After the greeting, Cancer spoke quickly, "Let's move! We need to rendezvous with Kuzan!"
Onigumo nodded and signaled his subordinates, advancing further into the distance alongside Cancer.