Garp had not reached his conclusion overnight.
Had there been no sign that change was possible, he might never have entertained the idea at all.
A more chaotic world would make upholding justice far more difficult, and in that case, preserving the fragile peace on the surface might still have been the better choice.
But Cyrus's appearance, along with the current state of the sea, had opened another path.
Garp could not say whether that path would lead somewhere better, but any change was preferable to remaining trapped in the same rotten system forever.
He had never imagined that the young man he met in East Blue would come this far.
Still, from what little time they had spent together, Cyrus was not some bloodthirsty monster who harmed people for pleasure.
"The Marines don't belong to me alone, even if I am the Fleet Admiral. And Garp, don't underestimate the Marines."
Sengoku sighed. The confusion in his eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by resolve.
"You have to admit it, Sengoku."
Garp smiled when he saw the change in him.
"This is a world that can be reshaped by a single person's strength. One man can become powerful enough to overturn the entire world."
The Marines might be a vast organization, but against an enemy they had no way to stop, their destruction would only be a matter of time.
And if that enemy were Cyrus, it would not take very long at all.
That was exactly why Sengoku had been struggling so badly.
Before Cyrus, no one had ever reached such an overwhelming level of power.
"The time is almost here."
Garp rose and swayed toward the door.
He understood why Sengoku found it so difficult to decide, but that was no longer his problem.
What Garp wanted to know now was whether Cyrus truly intended to erase all of Wano from the world.
…
With the Marines committing nearly all their forces, the search throughout Wano was almost complete.
Nearly every top fighter in Marine Headquarters had come.
However, their actions had not entirely followed the World Government's orders.
The three Admirals stood side by side aboard a massive warship, staring at the distant island surrounded by towering cliffs like an enormous wall.
All three wore grave expressions.
"I know what you've been doing."
Akainu kept his eyes forward as he spoke in a low voice.
"We only sank the ships carrying criminals who tried to flee the island."
Kizaru pursed his lips, answering as though it were nothing worth mentioning.
"Sakazuki, you understand what would happen if those monsters escaped," Kuzan said, turning slightly toward him. "If the World Government ordered you to let them go, would you obey?"
Akainu gave no answer.
"What's done is done," Kizaru said, easing the tension. "What matters now is what comes next."
They all knew what he meant.
"We may have to fight that man again."
Akainu raised one fist, black smoke curling from it.
Kuzan and Kizaru both frowned and stepped away.
"Have you forgotten how the last battle ended?" Kizaru asked. "We couldn't do anything to him then, and he's probably even stronger now."
He shook his head. His tinted glasses concealed his eyes, making his thoughts impossible to read.
"That changes nothing," Akainu said grimly. "Justice must be carried out, even if it costs our lives."
"Sounds good to me."
A voice suddenly came from above.
All three Admirals froze.
"When did he—?"
They looked up sharply, alarm flashing across their faces. In the same instant, they separated in three directions, forming a loose encirclement around the man who had appeared without warning.
"Sorry. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop," Cyrus said, standing casually in midair as he looked down at them.
"I've never been here before, so I misjudged where I'd come out."
Alarms immediately blared across the warship.
Squads of Marines rushed onto the deck with weapons drawn, followed by numerous officers.
Every face was tense, and more than a few failed to hide their fear as they stared at the figure floating above them.
"You've got some nerve appearing here," Akainu growled. "You really don't take the Marines seriously at all."
"Huh?"
Cyrus looked genuinely puzzled.
He drifted down onto the deck, then turned toward Akainu, whose body was already giving off black smoke.
"I personally delivered Whitebeard and the others straight into Marine custody before."
Akainu's expression stiffened, and the scar on his face twitched with embarrassment.
"What are you here for?" Kuzan asked, watching Cyrus carefully. "If you came to deal with Wano, then go do it. The Marines haven't received any orders to arrest you."
He could not tell what Cyrus intended.
If Cyrus had come specifically to provoke a battle with the Marines, the situation could turn disastrous very quickly.
"Hahaha! You came earlier than expected."
Garp's booming laughter rang out as he approached, casually picking his nose.
When he reached Cyrus, he lowered his hand and tried to clap him on the shoulder. Cyrus stepped aside with open disgust.
Garp's hand struck empty air, but he showed no embarrassment.
"What are all of you standing around for?" he called to the gathered Marines. "Have you finished your work already?"
"Vice Admiral Garp…"
The Marines exchanged uncertain looks.
Garp simply waved them away.
After a moment's hesitation, they quickly withdrew.
"If we really fought, keeping them here wouldn't help anyway," Cyrus remarked with a slight nod.
"Could you at least spare us some dignity?"
Garp looked thoroughly exasperated.
It was true, but Cyrus did not need to say it in front of the Marines themselves.
Cyrus looked at him for a moment, then gave a small nod as though accepting the criticism.
His gaze shifted back to the three Admirals, who had remained behind.
"So, do you want to stretch your legs?" he asked. "I could use a warm-up. I haven't had much chance to fight lately."
"Stop it."
Garp quickly raised both hands.
"Save it for next time. You didn't come all this way just to destroy Wano, did you?"
He studied Cyrus's face carefully.
"I came to give you a present."
Cyrus smiled and spread his Observation Haki, instantly locating Sengoku.
"Come on. There's no point discussing it with you. I should speak to your Fleet Admiral."
A doorway appeared before him.
Cyrus stepped through and vanished.
Garp's expression froze, his eyes going blank for a moment.
The three Admirals exchanged troubled looks.
"Wait a minute. Was that another Devil Fruit power?" Kizaru asked in an exaggerated tone. "I don't remember the Flame-Flame Fruit being able to do that."
"That wasn't the Flame-Flame Fruit."
Akainu's expression became darker than ever.
What else had Cyrus been hiding?
Had he even broken the rule that one person could only possess a single Devil Fruit?
…
Inside Sengoku's temporary office, a green doorway appeared.
Cyrus stepped through.
Sengoku looked up, and his pupils contracted sharply.
"The Paramecia-type Door-Door Fruit."
"Good eye."
Cyrus nodded without any attempt to hide it.
He walked over to an empty chair and sat down.
"How many abilities do you possess?"
Sengoku stared directly at him.
"Well, I don't particularly mind you knowing, but I'm not going to tell you that easily," Cyrus replied with a smile. "Besides, are you sure that's what you should be worrying about right now?"
"Then why are you here?"
Seeing Cyrus's relaxed manner, Sengoku understood that he had not come to fight.
He clearly wanted to discuss something.
"I came to ask what the Marines plan to do in the future."
"What we plan to do?"
Sengoku frowned.
He understood what Cyrus was really asking. What made it strange was hearing the question come directly from him.
"You and I can both see what's coming," Cyrus said plainly. "I'm not going to stop. This only ends when one side is completely defeated or wiped out, and that day isn't far away."
"You want the Marines to side with you?"
Sengoku sounded almost incredulous.
Cyrus was undeniably powerful, but was he really trying to win over the entire Marine organization with nothing more than a conversation?
"No."
Cyrus shook his head.
"I only want the Marines to stay out of the coming conflict."
"You think that's possible?" Sengoku asked. "And why would I agree?"
"No matter what happens afterward, the world will still need an organization capable of maintaining order. The Hunter Guild can't do that. Its very structure is too loose." Cyrus spoke calmly.
"The Marines are necessary. But the Marines of the future shouldn't act according to someone else's will. They should answer only to justice."
He sighed.
"I have no interest in becoming King of the World."
Sengoku froze, then looked at him in confusion.
"If you don't want that, then why are you fighting the World Government?"
"Would you believe me if I said it happened by accident?"
Cyrus met his gaze.
"Though I did dislike what I saw, so I decided to act."
That slash across the Red Line had been his announcement to the world that the old era was ending.
"All right…"
The corner of Sengoku's mouth twitched.
He looked as though he wanted to laugh but could not decide whether the situation was actually funny.
The result was an exceedingly strange expression.
Garp and the others entered the office at that moment and interrupted it.
"A large part of the World Government's control over the Marines comes from funding," Cyrus continued after glancing at them.
"Once that problem is removed, the rest should be easy enough for you to handle. It's really quite simple."
"What about the present?" Garp demanded immediately. "What did you bring us?"
Sengoku looked equally puzzled.
"Over there."
Cyrus pointed toward Wano.
"Wano?"
Garp blinked.
If the gift was Wano itself, they hardly needed Cyrus to give it to them.
"There's an Ancient Weapon buried beneath the country."
"Pluton." Tsuru spoke in a low voice.
"Exactly."
Cyrus nodded.
Shock spread across every face in the room. None of them had known.
"A warship as large as a country."
Cyrus rose from his chair.
"Think about what I said. Whether you agree or not, whatever lies beneath Wano belongs to the Marines now."
He turned toward the door.
"Wait. Aren't you worried we'll use it against you?"
Garp stared at him in disbelief.
Cyrus paused and looked back.
The glance he gave Garp was answer enough.
Then he walked out.
Garp scratched his head.
"Even Pluton wouldn't pose any real threat to him," Tsuru explained. "If he can erase an island on his own, destroying an Ancient Weapon would hardly be difficult. Pluton is ultimately a weapon meant to intimidate nations across the sea."
It would be useful to the Marines, but it offered little to Cyrus.
No matter how powerful Pluton was, its attack would likely be no stronger than a single strike from Cyrus himself—perhaps even weaker.
For the Marines, however, the situation was completely different.
An Ancient Weapon of overwhelming destructive power would give them enormous leverage.
"Pluton…"
Sengoku drew a deep breath and looked at everyone gathered around him.
"Order every Marine still inside Wano to evacuate. Pull the fleet back as well. Get every ship outside the surrounding waters."
He did not know exactly how destructive Cyrus's attack would be, but he doubted Cyrus intended to spend days clearing the country piece by piece.
Remembering the scale of Cyrus's previous attacks, Sengoku had no intention of taking chances.
"I already gave the order before coming here."
Tsuru nodded.
The moment Cyrus appeared, she knew Wano was no longer safe, so she had acted ahead of time.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, what did he mean by what he said earlier?"
Akainu looked toward him.
Sengoku's headache worsened.
After a moment's thought, he repeated Cyrus's proposal.
Kuzan and Garp remained calm. Kizaru's expression shifted slightly, though he said nothing.
Akainu, on the other hand, frowned deeply.
"That was his choice for us," Tsuru said quietly, looking around the room. "And it may determine whether the Marines continue to exist at all."
Her gaze settled on Sengoku.
"He did it deliberately. If the Marines refuse to take part in the coming war, the World Government will already consider that an act of betrayal. If the World Government wins, the Marines will face a purge afterward."
Sengoku nodded.
He had already reached the same conclusion.
Cyrus claimed he only wanted the Marines to remain neutral, but in reality, the Marines were not in a position to choose neutrality.
Perhaps Cyrus believed they were, because in his mind, his own victory was already certain.
Everyone looked toward Sengoku, but he could not give them an answer yet.
He also knew that news of Cyrus appearing here and speaking with him had probably already reached the World Government.
The Marines were hardly united.
Even after deliberately isolating the agents the World Government had sent, there would inevitably still be officers whose loyalty lay with Mary Geoise.
"Forget it for now. We'll deal with what's in front of us," Sengoku said after a long silence. "Since he offered us Pluton, we'll secure it first."
Whatever happened later, obtaining another bargaining chip could only help.
The more leverage the Marines held, the better prepared they would be for whatever came next.
---------
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