One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

"Yes. The past is the past, and the present is the present."

"Times have changed. The voting selection system has been abolished. Instead, the Navy first recommends several suitable candidates, and then the highest authority of the World Government makes the final decision and appoints them."

"So, we can actually choose whoever we want, since the final decision isn't in our own hands, but rather decided by the Five Elders, right?" Rorschach pursed his lips.

Zhan Guo hesitated for a moment, but still nodded. "That's how it is."

Luo Xia shrugged and spread his hands, saying, "If that's the case, why bother with all this trouble and holding meetings? Just submit the list of all the people who want to be marshal and let the Five Elders choose one from among them. That would save a lot of trouble."

"That's what they say, but the Admiral of the Navy is the supreme commander of hundreds of thousands of marines worldwide. The selection of such a crucial position is no child's play. Once you sit in this position, you can't act based on your personal preferences. Instead, you have to take responsibility for the interests of the World Government, for the lives of thousands of naval branches and hundreds of thousands of marines worldwide, and for the lives and property of over a billion people in more than a hundred member states..."

Before Sengoku could finish speaking, Luo Xia raised his hand and said without hesitation, "I give up my right to run for election."

Upon hearing this, Kizaru, who was filing his nails, also raised his hand, pouting and saying, "I give up too."

Sengoku's face darkened. He glared at the two of them and said irritably, "I haven't even finished speaking, and you're already giving up. Just how afraid are you of taking on these important responsibilities? Don't forget that you are the highest decision-makers in the Marine Headquarters, you are Marine Admirals!"

“It’s not that I’m scared, it’s that I really can’t handle it.” Rorschach said with a bitter face. “I can handle fighting and killing, but if you ask me to do those complicated political jobs and deal with those arrogant officials of the World Government, I’m afraid I’ll be in Impel Down in just three days after taking office.”

“Me too,” Kizaru slowly echoed under Sengoku’s sullen gaze.

"you……"

Sengoku hesitated, his teeth aching from the irritation of Rorschach and Kizaru, two lazy guys.

He really wanted to give Rorschach a good scolding.

But thinking about it carefully, Rorschach is right.

He is still too young. This is the time for him to unleash his passion and enthusiasm to lead the Navy in upholding justice around the world, rather than sitting in Mary Geoise or at Navy Headquarters doing a retirement-like civilian job.

Once you become the Fleet Admiral, you basically won't have the chance to personally lead troops out to sea to fight pirates anymore, because you'll have to stay in the Holy Land and protect its safety.

The reason he has rarely stayed in the Holy Land over the years is that Marineford is not far from there, the Supreme Commander is in charge in the Holy Land, and at his age of over seventy, it is not suitable for him to travel back and forth between the two places.

This time, the Marine Headquarters in Marineford will be abandoned and turned into a residential area for naval families and a cemetery for fallen soldiers. The new headquarters will be moved to the G1 branch in the New World.

At that time, the newly appointed admiral will likely be stationed in Mary Geoise for an extended period, responsible for remote command and dispatch of naval personnel and other complex tasks.

As for Kizaru...

Sengoku rubbed his temples, too lazy to look at Kizaru's lewd old face.

If this guy were to become the Fleet Admiral, Sengoku would be worried that the Holy Land would be raided. This guy would either be dozing off or clipping his nails.

Therefore, he simply turned his gaze to the remaining two, Aokiji and Akainu.

To be honest, Sengoku himself preferred to hand over the position of marshal to Aokiji.

He didn't think Akainu was unfit for the position of Fleet Admiral.

Rather, it is Akainu's concept of justice that is far too extreme, completely contradicting his decades-long adherence to moderation and the pursuit of stability.

Sengoku could foresee that if Akainu came to power, the Navy would definitely increase its investment in the war against pirates.

At that time, the peace that has been maintained between the navy and pirates for decades will be completely broken, and wars that can devour countless marines will begin one after another.

Marine sacrifices will become the norm.

This is definitely not what the Warring States period wanted to see.

But Sengoku also knew that, among the Five Elders, the most favored candidate for Fleet Admiral was probably not Aokiji, but Akainu.

Because Akainu listens to the World Government more than he does.

No matter how inhumane the orders or demands, Akainu would carry them out without hesitation.

Seeing Sengoku looking at Aokiji and Akainu, everyone else in the meeting hall fell silent and turned to look at the two.

Aokiji raised his head, which had been looking at the table below him, and looked at Akainu sitting directly opposite him. Under everyone's gaze, he said directly, "I want to become the new Fleet Admiral."

Akainu's rugged, steel-like face broke into a cruel smile. "I also want to become Fleet Admiral."

Aokiji's eyes were cold, and he said without any politeness, "I will not let you become the Fleet Admiral. Rorschach can sit in this position, Borsalino can sit in this position, and I can sit in this position, but you cannot sit in this position."

"Is that so? Then this old man insists on taking a seat." Akainu's lips curled up, revealing snow-white teeth, like a ferocious wolf baring its sharp fangs.

"Then I have no choice but to take action. Let's have a duel. The winner will become the Fleet Admiral, and the loser will leave the Navy."

The words spoken by Aokiji were devoid of any emotion.

As soon as he finished speaking, the temperature in the entire conference hall suddenly plummeted by more than ten degrees, as if we had entered an ice cellar.

"I agree to your proposal." Akainu stood his ground, arms crossed, and readily agreed.

Seeing the two people instantly become tense and on the verge of confrontation, the others in the conference room were at a loss for words.

Rorschach sighed inwardly.

Although he knew this scene would come sooner or later, seeing an irreparable rift appear between two people he respected still left him feeling uneasy.

At this moment, the Warring States period spoke in an angry voice.

He glared at Aokiji and Akainu and said, "What are you two doing? Are you going to start a fight here? You are both Marine Admirals, the highest fighting force of the World Government, and you belong to the side of justice, yet you want to fight amongst yourselves? What do you think your positions as Fleet Admirals are? Lollipops in children's hands? You have to fight to get them? Calm down!"

The roar of the Warring States period shook the entire conference room.

Aokiji and Akainu remained unmoved, one with a cold expression and the other with a cruel look as they stared at each other.

After a long silence, Aokiji finally spoke first.

He looked at Akainu and said, "No matter what, I will not allow a butcher with the blood of innocents on his hands to become the helmsman of the entire force of justice. Sakazuki, as a Marine who upholds justice and protects civilians, your methods are too extreme. If you come to power, the Marines will follow you down a path of irreversible destruction."

Akainu laughed.

sneer.

“Extreme? You mean… those stupid scholars in Ohara?”

It's better if Akainu doesn't say anything.

As soon as he mentioned Ohara, Aokiji, who was sitting opposite him, instantly showed a surge of killing intent in his eyes, and an uncontrollable chill spread from his body.

"Aokiji!" Sengoku shouted immediately.

But it had no effect whatsoever.

Aokiji placed his hands on the table in front of him, leaned forward, and stared at Akainu with icy eyes. "Akainu! I don't want to hear the word 'Ohara' from your mouth."

This time, he didn't even call out Akainu's name.

The chilling tone in his voice sent a shiver down Kizaru's spine, who instinctively hugged his arms tightly.

"What? You're allowed to release the orphans of Ohara without my permission, but I'm not allowed to kill a few idiots?" Akainu sneered, seemingly oblivious to the coldness in Aokiji's eyes. "I don't know what you're pitying. A bunch of criminals who broke the taboo, it's only natural that they're killed. Do I have to teach you the rules of the Buster Call?"

"That refugee ship was permitted by the World Government, and those survivors are people who deserve to live!" Aokiji said coldly.

"Survive? How can they survive? Where can they survive? Are they to be thrown into the blood pools of Impel Down or fed to wild beasts? Or perhaps to build bridges in the never-ending Kingdom of Bridges? I killed them to free them! Do you think that knowing all that knowledge would allow them to roam the world freely? Where is your brain?"

Akainu's words were harsh and reprimanding, freezing the atmosphere in the meeting room and making it even more tense.

Brannew, the weakest of the two, was so overwhelmed by the terrifying aura emanating from them that his lips turned pale and he was almost hallucinating.

Luo Xia waved his hand, signaling him to hurry up and leave.

Brannew then left quickly, as if granted a pardon.

"Relief? What right do you have to make such a decision for them? Did you ask for their opinions before you killed them? How do you know if they wanted to live if you didn't ask?! You killed a group of unarmed elderly, weak, women and children, and you remained unmoved. Is your heart made of iron?"

The blue pheasant retorted sharply.

“My heart is made of magma.” Akainu smirked. “Besides, you didn’t ask how you knew if they wanted to die. Maybe if I hadn’t intervened then, they would have begged me to kill them later.”

"What did you say?! You butcher!"

With a loud bang, the table in front of Aokiji exploded, assaulted by extremely cold icicles. He abruptly stood up, clenched his fist, and a large amount of white cold air was emanating from his right hand.

"What? You want to fight here? I think it would be better to change the location, otherwise you'll look bad if you lose."

Akainu slowly rose from his seat, his arms hanging down, and a blazing red light emanated from his right hand, which was gloved with black.

In an instant, an extremely cold aura capable of freezing everything and an extremely hot aura capable of melting everything separated the two people by the shattered table in front of them, turning the huge temporary meeting hall into a world of ice and fire.

Seeing the two men locked in a tense standoff, neither willing to back down, Luo Xia and the others present couldn't sit still any longer. They quickly came over and pulled back Aokiji and Akainu, who were about to start a fight at the slightest provocation.

Sengoku rose to his feet, his face grim. A terrifying aura of absolute dominance suddenly erupted from him. He gritted his teeth and roared, "Aokiji! Akainu! You two, that's enough! If you have different opinions, you can sit down and talk it out. What are you doing? Are you trying to make us a laughingstock among pirates?!"

"I have nothing to talk to him about. Let's find a time and place and choose the Fleet Admiral through a duel!"

As Aokiji spoke, he withdrew his fist, which was radiating cold air, and left without looking at Akainu again.

The red light on Akainu's hand disappeared. He raised his hand to straighten the white military cap on his head, said nothing, and turned to leave.

The meeting room was left in a mess, with Sengoku looking grim and Rorschach and the others speechless.

Zhan Guo sat back down in his seat, feeling dejected, with endless worries rising in his heart.

He simply couldn't figure out how to handle the irreconcilable and hostile relationship between Aokiji and Akainu.

He could foresee that whichever of Aokiji and Akainu was elected Fleet Admiral, the other would not obey the other's orders.

If things develop to that point, the naval leadership will be completely divided!

After Whitebeard was defeated, the number of pirates in the New World increased rather than decreased. If such a big problem were to occur within the Navy at this time, it is unknown what the Navy's future plans in the New World would look like.

Let alone continue to grow and develop, it's hard to say whether they can even maintain the status quo.

Sengoku's troubles didn't last long. Soon, Brannew, who had returned, brought him even worse news.

Garp is in trouble.

Chapter 691 Garp's Redemption

A few days ago, inside the Marineford temporary hospital.

"The wounded soldier in bed number three needs a dressing change, Colonel Vincent in bed number seven is experiencing severe bleeding, and Major General Ravre in bed number sixteen has gone into shock. Are there any other doctors available?"

"Reporting to Lieutenant General Flying Squirrel, there are no doctors available at the moment. All the doctors are busy saving lives. Today alone, twelve military doctors have collapsed from exhaustion!"

The flying squirrel, its head wrapped in bandages, listened to the soldier's reply with barely concealed anxiety and agitation in its eyes.

He had dark circles under his eyes, clearly from staying up many nights without rest.

How dare he rest?

The war is over, but there are still so many things to do afterward, the most important of which is treating the wounded.