Soft sunlight shone across the polished white marble of the cemetery.
The calm brightness of the morning contrasted painfully with the somber atmosphere that filled the air.
Rows of Marine officers stood silently.
Their uniforms were immaculate.
Their expressions were solemn.
At the center of the gathering rested a single coffin draped with the white cloak of Marine Justice.
Inside lay the body of Captain Corvus.
Beside the coffin stood an elderly woman.
Her shoulders trembled as she quietly wept.
She leaned against the chest of a young man who supported her gently.
Captain Corvus had left behind two children.
A son.
And a daughter.
The elderly woman crying beside the coffin was the wife who had shared his life and borne his children.
Around them stood Marines from various branches throughout the East Blue.
Some had fought beside Corvus.
Others had known him only through reputation.
But every one of them had come to pay their respects.
Among the gathered officers stood a thin Marine with sharp eyes.
The adjutant of Branch 16.
Nezumi.
He slowly stepped forward toward the coffin.
In his hand was a single white flower.
He placed it gently on the wooden surface.
Then he sighed quietly.
"Corvus… you ended up leaving before me after all."
His tone carried a faint trace of melancholy.
But beneath that softness was something far more complicated.
A subtle calculation.
"That way…"
"I won't have to trouble myself with doing it."
The words were murmured softly.
So quietly that no one else could hear them.
The funeral continued in orderly silence.
Each Marine stepped forward one after another to offer their final farewell.
Eventually
It became the turn of the woman who had recently shaken the entire East Blue.
The Marine known as the East Blue Special Envoy.
The prodigy who had graduated from the Marine Special Training Camp with unparalleled results.
Saint Roselith Seraphina.
She stepped forward calmly.
Her white Marine cloak swayed slightly in the sea breeze.
The gathered Marines instinctively made way for her.
This was the woman who had saved the surviving Marines of Branch 16.
The woman who had personally subdued the notorious fish-man pirate Arlong.
Seraphina stopped beside the coffin.
But instead of placing flowers
She placed something else.
A worn pirate hat.
The moment the object touched the coffin, murmurs spread among the Marines.
"What is that?"
"Why would she place a pirate's belonging there?"
Confusion filled the crowd.
Only one person understood.
Standing near the back of the funeral procession was the young Major whose entire body was wrapped in bandages.
He had served as Captain Corvus's vice-captain.
His eyes widened.
He recognized it instantly.
That hat belonged to Arlong.
He had seen Seraphina rip it directly from the pirate's head after defeating him.
The realization struck him like lightning.
Captain Seraphina had avenged Captain Corvus.
Emotion surged violently through his chest.
But that was not Seraphina's true intention.
She had not hunted Arlong for revenge.
Revenge was meaningless.
The dead could not return.
Instead
She had done it for Corvus's justice.
Corvus had chosen to fight until the very end.
His final decision had been made with absolute conviction.
Seraphina only ensured that his decision reached its proper conclusion.
The criminal responsible had been judged.
The threat had been eliminated.
She stood silently before the coffin.
Her gaze lowered slightly.
The pirate responsible for your death has been dealt with.
Captain Corvus…
The justice you believed in…
I will carry it forward.
She turned away quietly.
"Salute!"
The commanding voice of a Marine officer rang out.
Instantly every Marine present raised their hand.
"Send off Captain Corvus!"
Rows of Marine salutes filled the cemetery.
The ceremony ended shortly afterward.
Seraphina remained at Branch 16 for several days to oversee the aftermath of the battle and the reorganization of its command structure.
Then
Her warship prepared to depart.
She would return to her command at Branch 18.
As she walked toward the harbor, a voice suddenly called out behind her.
"Captain Seraphina!"
She turned slightly.
Running toward her was the young Major who had served under Corvus.
His injuries were still severe.
Bandages wrapped around his torso and arms.
Yet he pushed himself forward stubbornly.
"Wait!"
"Captain Seraphina, please wait!"
He finally stopped a few steps in front of her, breathing heavily.
Seraphina looked at him calmly.
"What is it?"
The young Major straightened his posture instantly.
Despite his injuries, his back stood perfectly straight.
"Captain Seraphina!"
"Please allow me to follow you!"
His voice rang loudly.
Firmly.
There was no hesitation.
Seraphina raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Oh?"
"And why is that?"
Her eyes met his.
The Major did not avert his gaze.
"I want to become stronger."
"I want to become someone like Captain Corvus."
"I want to inherit his will."
The words burst out like burning flames.
But beneath that passion was unwavering resolve.
He had already made his choice.
The path he wished to walk was clear.
The path known as Justice.
Seraphina studied him quietly for several seconds.
Corvus…
It seems the seeds you planted have begun to grow.
Finally she spoke.
"If you wish to come with me to become stronger…"
"Then you must be prepared to face death."
The Major blinked.
For a moment he seemed unsure whether he had heard correctly.
"Does that mean… you agree?"
Seraphina turned toward the harbor again.
"After you complete the transfer of your duties…"
"Report to my warship tomorrow."
The young Major's face lit up with determination.
"Yes, Captain!"
Seraphina paused slightly.
"By the way…"
"What was your name again?"
The Major scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Ah… my name is Liva, Captain."
Far away from the East Blue
Inside the headquarters of the Marines.
The great fortress of Marineford.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku sat alone behind his desk.
The office was silent.
But his mind was anything but calm.
A report lay open before him.
It detailed the events that had occurred in the East Blue.
Captain Corvus had died in battle.
Killed by the pirate Arlong.
But the problem was not merely the death of a Marine officer.
The deeper issue lay elsewhere.
Arlong had once been imprisoned in Impel Down.
Yet he had later been released.
That decision had been part of the negotiations with Jinbe.
In order to establish the Seven Warlords of the Sea system.
The World Government had agreed to certain conditions.
Arlong had been one of them.
The thought weighed heavily on Sengoku's mind.
A Marine captain had sacrificed his life.
And indirectly
That death had been caused by a political compromise.
Sengoku suddenly frowned.
A troubling thought surfaced.
Was it worth it?
His eyes widened slightly.
He immediately straightened in his chair.
"What am I thinking…"
He rubbed his temples.
For many years he had served as Fleet Admiral.
During that time he had fought countless pirates.
But he had also negotiated endlessly with the World Government.
Over the years
He had developed the habit of weighing interests.
Political objectives.
Strategic outcomes.
Everything was evaluated through results.
The process often became secondary.
But suddenly
Memories resurfaced.
Back when he and Monkey D. Garp first joined the Marines.
They had not cared about politics.
They had not cared about strategy.
They had only believed in one thing.
Justice.
Every Marine who joined the organization did so because they wished to make the world better.
But somewhere along the way
Sengoku had changed.
He had become more pragmatic.
More utilitarian.
Meanwhile Garp had remained exactly the same.
A stubborn man who followed only his own sense of justice.
Sengoku exhaled slowly.
Was his change a good thing?
Or had he betrayed his own ideals?
The thought lingered painfully.
But Sengoku quickly shook his head.
His resolve could not be shaken so easily.
He reorganized his thoughts.
Corvus was dead.
Someone had to answer for that.
Even if the Seven Warlords of the Sea operated under the authority of the World Government
The Marines were still the greatest military force on the seas.
If a pirate connected to the Shichibukai caused such devastation
There would be consequences.
Sengoku picked up the Den Den Mushi receiver.
"Connect me to Jinbe's line."
The transponder snail's eyes blinked as it established the connection.
On the other end of the line
Far beneath the ocean.
At Fish-Man Island.
Sat the man known as the First Son of the Sea.
Jinbe.
The powerful whale-shark fish-man possessed an enormous build.
His thick eyebrows curved like storm clouds.
A lightning-shaped scar marked the corner of his left eye.
Two large fangs protruded from his lower jaw.
On his chest was the mark of the Sun Pirates.
The symbol represented a powerful history.
Long ago
The legendary fish-man Fisher Tiger had climbed the Red Line and attacked Mary Geoise.
He liberated countless slaves from the Celestial Dragons.
Those freed slaves had carried the mark known as the Hoof of the Celestial Dragon.
A cruel brand burned into their bodies.
It was almost impossible to erase.
So Tiger created a solution.
He placed another brand over it.
A new symbol.
The mark of the Sun Pirates.
The symbol represented freedom.
And unity.
Regardless of race.
Regardless of past suffering.
Jinbe had once sailed proudly beneath that banner.
Now he sat quietly within Fish-Man Island.
His expression was heavy.
Not long ago
The beloved queen Otohime had been assassinated.
Her death had shaken the entire kingdom.
Despite the differences between her ideals and those of Fisher Tiger
Jinbe had respected her deeply.
She had believed that humans and fish-men could coexist peacefully.
Her kindness had been genuine.
Yet such a gentle ruler had been killed by a mysterious gunman.
Some said the killer was a pirate.
Others whispered it had been a fish-man.
The truth remained unclear.
But Jinbe did not concern himself with rumors.
His only wish was simple.
That Fish-Man Island could remain safe.
That its people could live peacefully.
Suddenly
The Den Den Mushi beside him began to ring.
Jinbe answered the call.
Sengoku's stern voice came through immediately.
"Your subordinate Arlong attacked a Marine warship transporting prisoners in the East Blue."
"He has been executed by a Marine officer."
"I require an explanation."
Sengoku's voice grew colder.
"A Marine Captain has died."
"Jinbe."
"You will explain this to us."