The broken windows of the Fleet Admiral's office had been crudely boarded over.
Uneven planks covered the shattered frames, thin slivers of daylight slipping through the gaps and serving as a grim reminder of the battle that had just torn through Marineford.
Yet the atmosphere inside was even heavier than the devastation outside.
A large oval conference table dominated the center of the room.
Around it sat the highest-ranking officers the Marines could still gather.
Every face was grim.
Every person present understood that the decisions made here could determine whether the Marines survived what came next.
At the head of the table sat Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
His expression was unreadable, but the weight in his eyes betrayed how deeply he understood the crisis facing them.
His coat of Justice was still stained with dust from the battle, yet it remained draped firmly over his shoulders.
To Sengoku's left sat Kuzan.
Bandages covered much of his body, several already stained red where his wounds had reopened.
His complexion was deathly pale.
"Ara… this situation really is…"
He let the sentence trail off.
Despite his condition, his eyes remained sharp.
Beside him sat Magellan.
His breathing was slightly uneven after the enormous amount of power he had expended fighting Bullet, but he remained upright, forcing his battered body to endure.
On Sengoku's right sat Garp.
The Hero of the Marines had only just returned, yet his arrival had already changed the outcome of the battle.
Now he sat with his arms crossed, his usual carefree grin nowhere to be seen.
His face was unusually serious.
Next to him was Vice Admiral Tsuru.
As always, the Great Staff Officer remained composed.
Her gaze moved calmly across the room, taking in every expression and every detail as she quietly considered the situation.
Farther down the table sat Onigumo, Doberman, Strawberry, and several other surviving Vice Admirals.
Almost all of them were injured.
Some still had blood seeping through fresh bandages.
Their uniforms were torn and blackened from battle.
Exhaustion was written across every face.
So was humiliation.
And beneath it all lingered the complicated relief of people who knew they had barely survived.
Silence filled the room.
Outside, the distant noise of rescue crews, medical teams, and soldiers clearing rubble occasionally drifted through the boarded windows.
Otherwise, no one spoke.
Eventually, Sengoku lifted his head.
His gaze passed slowly over everyone present.
When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse.
"Everyone…"
He paused.
"The Marines have reached a point where our very survival is at stake."
Those words shattered the silence.
"Then let's fight!"
Onigumo slammed a hand against the table.
The movement pulled at one of his wounds, making his face twitch with pain, but the anger in his eyes only burned hotter.
"Let's fight those bastards to the end!"
His voice rose.
"First, they slaughtered our forces at the Eternal Divine Kingdom. We lost countless men there."
"Now they send Kaido and Bullet straight into Marineford and let them rampage through Headquarters itself!"
His fist clenched.
"This isn't just an attack anymore."
"It's humiliation!"
"They're grinding the Marines' reputation into the dirt!"
Onigumo's expression hardened.
"If we let this go unanswered, what right do we have to keep talking about justice?"
"What right do we have to claim we protect this sea?"
"Exactly!"
Doberman immediately agreed.
His voice was hoarse, and bruises from the fighting still covered his face.
"The Eternal Divine Kingdom—and Ron especially—have become the greatest threat on this sea."
His hand tightened into a fist.
"They're tearing apart the existing order piece by piece."
"If we keep retreating, they'll only grow stronger."
Doberman stared around the table.
"We should gather every force we have left."
"Every ship."
"Every soldier."
"Every weapon."
"Even if we have to bleed down to the last man, we make them pay for what they've done."
The room grew heavier still.
No one could deny the rage behind those words.
The Marines had already lost too much.
And after Kaido and Bullet had stormed into Marineford itself—
many of the officers present were no longer thinking only about strategy.
They wanted revenge.
...
"I agree!"
Several other officers immediately joined in.
"Then let's settle this with them once and for all!"
The shouts rolled through the conference room, fueled by anger, humiliation, and a desire for revenge.
The surviving Vice Admirals had all endured too much.
Some spoke through clenched teeth.
Others slammed their fists against the table.
Every voice carried the same resentment.
For a moment, the atmosphere became so heated that it felt as though the Marines might gather whatever forces they had left that very day and launch a full-scale attack on the Eternal Divine Kingdom.
Even Garp, normally loud and carefree, sat with his arms folded and his brow deeply furrowed.
He did not shout along with the others.
But the anger on his face was unmistakable.
What the Eternal Divine Kingdom—and especially the monsters operating beneath Ron's banner—had done to Marineford had pushed even Garp's patience dangerously far.
Then, just as the calls for war threatened to overwhelm everything else, a calm voice cut through the room.
"Everyone, calm down."
It was not loud.
It did not need to be.
The room gradually fell silent as every eye turned toward Vice Admiral Tsuru.
She remained seated with both hands folded neatly on the table.
Her expression was composed, and her gaze remained as deep and steady as ever.
She looked around at the furious officers before speaking.
"First, we need to understand something clearly."
"The Eternal Divine Kingdom is a nation."
Several officers frowned.
Tsuru continued.
"It possesses its own governing structure, laws, territory, and a vast system of military power."
"And Ron stands at the center of all of it as the Divine Sovereign."
Her gaze sharpened.
"They are fundamentally different from the pirate crews we have dealt with in the past."
"We cannot afford to treat them as though they were simply another band of criminals sailing from island to island."
Tsuru paused.
She noticed the skepticism on several faces but continued without changing her tone.
"Second, I have spent a considerable amount of time reviewing intelligence gathered from across the Four Blues and the Grand Line."
"Reports from merchants."
"Local governments."
"Civilians."
"Travelers."
"Even intelligence gathered from areas near territory already controlled by the Eternal Divine Kingdom."
Her fingers rested lightly against the table.
"And there is something we need to acknowledge, whether we like it or not."
The room became quieter.
"The Eternal Divine Kingdom's reputation among ordinary civilians is not nearly as bad as we have been assuming."
Several Vice Admirals stiffened.
Tsuru continued before anyone could interrupt.
"In some regions, it is actually the opposite."
"Places that were previously terrorized by pirates—or exploited by corrupt kingdoms whose rulers cared only about their own luxury—have experienced greater stability under the Divine Kingdom's influence."
The atmosphere in the room changed immediately.
Several officers opened their mouths as if to object.
For most of their careers, they had spent their lives fighting pirates, criminals, and rebels.
The distinction had always seemed simple.
There were people who upheld order—
and people whose wanted posters and destructive actions marked them as enemies.
Tsuru's argument introduced something many of them rarely had to consider.
What the civilians themselves thought.
Onigumo frowned.
"Tsuru, what exactly are you trying to say?"
His voice carried obvious displeasure.
"Are you saying that just because some civilians happen to live more comfortably under them, we should ignore the fact that they openly attacked Marine Headquarters?"
He leaned forward.
"They captured Admirals."
"They humiliated the Marines in front of the entire world."
"And now Kaido and Bullet came straight here and nearly destroyed Marineford itself!"
Onigumo's expression hardened.
"Are we supposed to overlook all of that just because their territory happens to be 'stable'?"
"That would be absurd."
Tsuru slowly shook her head.
"No."
Her eyes became noticeably sharper.
"That is not what I am saying."
Her calm voice carried clearly through the room.
"What I am saying is that we cannot allow our current anger to dictate our strategy."
"We cannot use the same methods we would use against wandering pirate crews that pillage wherever they go and apply them blindly to a state with established territory, significant civilian support, and military strength we still do not fully understand."
Tsuru then turned toward Sengoku.
Her expression grew more serious.
"Think carefully."
"If we commit every remaining Marine force we have to an all-out war against a nation like that…"
She paused.
"Set aside for a moment whether we would even win."
Her next words landed much harder.
"What happens to the legitimacy of the Justice we claim to uphold?"
Tsuru's gaze moved across the room.
"When we hunt pirates who murder civilians and destroy towns, that justification is obvious."
"But if the Marines launch a full-scale war against an established nation whose ordinary people may actually support its rule…"
Her voice lowered.
"Will the world still see our cause the same way?"