BANG!!!
A thunderous slap slammed onto the conference table.
Everyone in the room flinched in shock.
What's going on with the Fleet Admiral today? Why is he in such a foul mood?
Could it be... he got chewed out by the Five Elders again?
"Fleet Admiral, what happened?"
The one who spoke was Rear Admiral Momonga.
As one of the elite vice admirals of headquarters, he naturally had the right to attend this meeting.
But Sengoku merely shot him a strange look—one filled with an unreadable emotion.
Momonga was completely at a loss.
"Momonga…"
"This matter… actually has something to do with you as well."
What the hell?
Momonga froze.
He'd been carrying out missions in the New World for the past few months. The moment he returned, the Fleet Admiral exploded like a volcano.
He thought it was some massive incident.
But now the Fleet Admiral was saying it involved him?
What did he do?
"Fleet Admiral, I—"
"Just look for yourself!"
Sengoku cut him off and slid a thick file folder across the table.
Momonga picked it up and started reading carefully.
Very quickly, his face turned pale.
Apart from Tsuru, Garp, and Kizaru who stood by Sengoku, the other vice admirals looked at Momonga with puzzled expressions.
What on earth was in that file that made him break out in cold sweat?
At that moment, Vice Admiral Tsuru, who had remained silent until now—
Finally spoke.
"Five days ago, our 16th branch base in the East Blue was attacked. From Branch Commander Nezumi to the lowest marine, all 82 personnel disappeared without a trace. It wasn't until two days ago, when a patrol ship from Loguetown stopped by to resupply, that the base was discovered—completely deserted."
Her words sent the room into an uproar.
Someone had attacked a Marine branch?
And worst of all, it took three whole days before headquarters even found out?
If that supply ship hadn't passed by, they might still be in the dark!
"Fleet Admiral, which pirate crew was responsible? I'll lead the operation myself to bring them to justice!"
"We must respond—and forcefully. If we don't, the name of the Marines will be tarnished!"
"Agreed. Immediate action is required!"
"Find out where they're hiding and launch a Buster Call! The dignity of the Marines cannot be challenged!"
Wait, wait—did someone just suggest a Buster Call?
Yes, this was a serious incident, no doubt.
But a Buster Call?
That's not something you invoke lightly!
The last time one was initiated was nearly twenty years ago.
To use it over a single branch being wiped out?
Even the more aggressive hardliners among them found that excessive.
Everyone simultaneously turned to look at the speaker—and immediately understood.
So that's who said it.
It was none other than that guy…
Vice Admiral Val—personally recommended by the World Government and assigned to oversee the Four Blues.
No one in HQ liked him.
Everyone knew he was basically the Government's watchdog within the Marines.
Weak in strength, incompetent in leadership—and worse yet…
He was greedy and lecherous.
If they could, the Marine brass would have kicked him out of HQ long ago.
But they couldn't.
Not without a solid enough reason to convince the Five Elders.
Report him for corruption or womanizing?
Pointless. Those traits might even be seen as advantages in the eyes of the Five Elders. The more corrupt and controllable he was, the more useful he was to them.
Loyalty, after all, was the only thing the World Government truly cared about.
So, no one responded to Vaal's outrageous suggestion. They all ignored him like he hadn't said anything.
Val froze for a moment.
"Wait a second... why does this all sound so familiar?"
"Did the Fleet Admiral just say it was the 16th branch?"
"So the one who vanished… was Nezumi?"
"Damn it! Why did that branch have to be the one hit?!"
Finally realizing what had happened, Val smacked his thigh in frustration.
Just yesterday, he'd been telling people that East Blue's tax revenue could be increased by another ten percent.
Now what?
With Nezumi gone, forget about extra revenue—even rebuilding that corrupt network would take time.
Worse, now that such a scandal had surfaced, HQ's attention would be fixed on East Blue.
For a long while, he wouldn't be able to install anyone to "manage" his side operations there.
Val was panicking inside.
But he hadn't even grasped the full scale of the problem yet.
"Silence!"
Sengoku's roar brought the entire meeting to a halt.
Everyone fell silent and returned to their seats.
"Tsuru, continue."
Tsuru nodded.
Yes—she hadn't finished earlier.
"Although all personnel from the 16th branch disappeared, Smoker, who was sent to investigate, discovered a collection of documents hidden in Nezumi's personal quarters. These included overwhelming evidence showing that…"
"Nezumi had been providing cover for pirate crews, allowing them to plunder and control entire villages under the branch's jurisdiction—for years."
"He even intercepted and silenced civilians who tried to escape and report the crimes to the 16th branch."
The room fell deathly silent.
Even Val froze.
The other vice admirals were in disbelief that a fellow Marine would do such a thing, while Vaal—
Val was stunned that all of it had been exposed.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru… are these claims verified?"
"Smoker visited several of the surrounding villages himself. He arrested a pirate crew that had taken over more than ten villages and, through interrogations and testimonies from the victims, we've been able to confirm that the documents are legitimate."
"Damn it. It's true then. I can't believe someone in the Marines would do something like this!"
Vice Admiral Onigumo was so furious that his hair stood on end like spider legs.
The others were no different—outraged and disgusted.
This was a disgrace to everything the Marines stood for.
"To maintain the dignity of the Marines," Val suddenly stood up again, "I propose we immediately launch a Buster Call and wipe out every village involved in this scandal!"
Silence.
He'd said it again.
This time, not just targeting the pirates—but proposing to erase all villages under the 16th branch that were tied to the incident.
Supposedly to protect Marine honor.
But only Val knew the real reason:
To destroy all the evidence.