[Third-person perspective]
A town near the very center of the world... Marineford.
The Marine fortress that had long stood as the unbreakable heart of justice's military might across the globe had been devastated by the recent Summit War, crumbled beyond recognition.
One entire half had collapsed, leaving its interior exposed. "Half-destroyed" was the only fitting description. Hardly a place where anyone could rest easy, yet with no other facility to serve as a replacement, the undamaged rooms were being put to use for treating the wounded and carrying out whatever routine Marine duties still needed doing.
It was now several days after the war's conclusion.
In one such room, Fleet Admiral Sengoku the Buddha was receiving a report from his subordinate, Headquarters Lieutenant Commander Brannew.
"I see... Impel Down was hit that badly..."
"Yes, sir... Starting with the upheaval caused by the first intruder in history, Straw Hat Luffy, prisoners on every floor except Level 6 were released, escalating into an unprecedented riot... Furthermore, due to the machinations of the Shichibukai... no, my apologies. Former Shichibukai, Blackbeard, numerous prisoners also escaped from Level 6... As per your orders, Fleet Admiral, I've compiled a list of the Level 6 escapees, however..."
"...I made my recommendation as well, but the Government's answer hasn't changed. 'Conceal the Level 6 incident entirely,' they say. The list will likely only be used for internal information sharing."
When Sengoku had first heard this report immediately after the war, he'd raged, "Don't give me that garbage!" But now, that fury had subsided.
What filled his heart instead, though he didn't put it into words, was a certain emptiness, and disappointment toward the Government.
He continued listening to the detailed report from Lieutenant Commander Brannew.
"Regarding Chief Warden Magellan... while his life was saved, his condition remains critical. He's still in intensive care... I'm told he briefly regained consciousness recently, but he's consumed with guilt... The medical staff believe that if he could move, he'd be in a mental state where he might attempt to take his own life..."
"...Don't let him do anything so foolish. He fought well... He was simply up against the wrong opponents."
"Sir... I'll relay that to the staff on site. ...According to the guards' reports, it was the Pirate Literary Master who defeated Magellan... After that, he encountered the Blackbeard Pirates, and they piled on while he was already down."
'...Here too.'
The existence that had, albeit fighting alongside others, defeated Akainu in the previous war. One of the Three Admirals who formed the Marines' supreme fighting force.
Strength and cunning far beyond their projections, and a danger level to match. Sengoku had witnessed it firsthand in that battle. So had countless Marines.
Knowing the circumstances by which she had become a bounty target, and ultimately a pirate, only made it weigh on him more.
"After fighting the Pirate Literary Master, and then encountering Blackbeard on top of that... Perhaps we should call it a miracle that he's alive at all... It's remarkable he wasn't finished off."
"It was apparently a very close thing... In fact, the Blackbeard Pirates seem to have attacked with every intention of finishing him off."
What saved Magellan was his own last-ditch, all-or-nothing deployment of deadly poison, simultaneously offensive and defensive. By indiscriminately spreading multiple types of toxic gas and venom throughout the area, he created a zone of lethal poison that no one could approach. Faced with this barrier of virulent toxin, thick as impenetrable fog, even the Blackbeard Pirates had no choice but to give up.
Given enough time, the poison would have dissipated and they could have closed in again. Magellan had already been pushed far past his limits. That "poison barrier" was undoubtedly nothing more than a surge of desperate, last-resort strength.
But Teach and his crew were operating under their own time constraints, so they were forced to move on without even confirming the kill.
"But because of that, our own rescue and medical response was also delayed... Additionally, Vice Warden Hannyabal is in critical condition. And Chief Jailer Sadi-chan is... missing. ...Most likely..."
"On top of all that, all communication equipment was destroyed during Shiryu's betrayal... and the riot inflicted catastrophic damage to facilities and supplies. The armory was completely emptied as well, I'm told?"
"Yes, sir... Large quantities of Seastone Bullets, Seastone handcuffs, and other specialized items were... thoroughly taken. In addition, all emergency escape boats and small vessels were either stolen or destroyed. The warships patrolling the perimeter also had some seized by Straw Hat's group, with the rest completely destroyed, leaving Impel Down in a state of total isolation for a time. That, too, is apparently one of the reasons it was so difficult to grasp the situation. This is... difficult to say, sir, but..."
"You don't need to say it... Impel Down no longer has any remaining function as a prison. That's what you mean, isn't it?"
"...Yes, sir. In terms of both facilities and personnel... at least for now. We can't even establish a timeline for recovery. Currently, Saldeath, the Jailer Commander on the lower levels, who sustained relatively minor injuries, and Deputy Head Guard Domino are somehow holding the site together, but..."
From Chief Warden Magellan on down, including the senior staff... numerous dead and critically wounded from the riot. Facilities destroyed, supplies stolen, prisoners escaped. The image of what was once called the Great Undersea Prison, a name that made evildoers tremble, was gone without a trace, with no prospect of restoring it.
'For the time being, we'll have no choice but to make do with regional prisons and prison ships... I'll need to petition the Government for an increased budget to rebuild the facilities.'
"Understood regarding Impel Down. ...What about Akainu?"
"Sir... his condition is also... frankly speaking, even more dire than Magellan's..."
Each word seemed to pain him as Lieutenant Commander Brannew continued his report.
Numerous wounds, large and small, from battle with Whitebeard and the Pirate Literary Master.
Severe burns covering his entire body from the massive fireball that Fire Fist Ace unleashed as a final blow.
And the deadly poison that had been deployed during the fighting, quietly but deeply, deeply corroding his body.
On top of everything, sinking into magma had made rescue extremely difficult, and just as with Magellan, both extraction and the start of treatment were severely delayed.
What they'd ultimately done was have Kizaru's laser and Sengoku's shockwave blast away all the magma for the extraction. Because Akainu was a Logia user, his body could regenerate from attacks not imbued with Haki, and they were able to exploit that to pull him out.
"He remains in the intensive care unit, receiving round-the-clock treatment. The external wounds and burns can be managed to some extent, but the poison that's spread throughout his body is the real problem... It appears to be a weaponized version of Chief Warden Magellan's poison. We brought in the medical team stationed at Impel Down and consulted with them, but... when multiple types of poison overlap, detoxification becomes impossible. He's currently being kept alive through symptomatic treatment. Fortunately, Admiral Akainu's own extreme body heat had rendered most of the poison inactive, which is the only reason he's holding on, but..."
"Still no effective treatment, and no prospect of one going forward."
"...Both detoxification and recovery are currently dependent on Admiral Akainu's own life force. The medical team says... a single triggering event could lead to the worst possible outcome... and they've asked us to be prepared. Even if he does recover, there's a high probability of lasting aftereffects, multiple ones at that, requiring an extremely long and grueling rehabilitation... The chances of him ever being able to fight as he once did are... they say it's hopeless."
"...I see."
After receiving several more detailed reports, Sengoku dismissed Lieutenant Commander Brannew and turned to face his desk.
There was no shortage of work. But right now, he couldn't bring himself to do any of it.
'We're the ones who picked this fight... I thought we had the resolve, the strategy to win... And this is how it turned out.'
Harmful elements with the potential to grow into great evils of the future, and the legendary Great Pirate who currently existed and reigned supreme. He had thought he'd done everything in his power to eliminate both and demonstrate to the world that justice prevailed. But reality had casually ignored such intentions and spiraled wildly in an entirely unforeseen direction, leading to this result.
Straw Hat Luffy's infiltration of Impel Down to rescue his brother, leading to a massive riot and jailbreak. Those who were freed in the process: Jinbe, Crocodile, Okama King Ivankov... and the other eye of the storm in this war, Pirate Literary Master Sue.
The Pirate Literary Master in particular had defied every one of their projections, surpassed every expectation, and dealt blow after blow.
Sabotaging the completion of their formation with the Encircling Wall. The many Marine casualties caught up in the one-on-one duel with the Pirate Empress. Supporting Straw Hat Luffy's rescue of Fire Fist Ace. And finally, the defeat of Akainu.
"As Akainu said, if only we'd eliminated her instead of trying to capture her back then... Or rather, if we're going that far back... the circumstances that led her to become an enemy of the Government and the Marines in the first place were... No, it's all too late now..."
Recognizing that dwelling on it would only deepen the emptiness, Sengoku forced himself to change gears and set about the work of building the road ahead.
All while thinking that his time in this room, the Fleet Admiral's office, wouldn't last much longer.
...That the Pirate Literary Master would, in the not-so-distant future, give him and the Marines yet another shock beyond anything they could imagine... he had no way of knowing yet.
***
[Sue's Perspective]
So anyway... the Summit War is over, and I made it safely back to Merveille.
Man... ever since Akainu caught me, it's been one thing after another. Seriously. I'm exhausted.
I'd love to just do nothing and take it easy for a while. It's unusual for me, but even writing... I kind of want to set that aside a bit longer. Maybe because I wrote a ton back in Newkama Land and got my creative urges fairly well satisfied.
Though even if that weren't the case, I need to be resting right now.
Why? Because the rebound from the Tension Hormones that Iva-san gave me has hit, and I'm getting slammed with massive fatigue and everything else that comes with it.
Those Hormones work by flooding your system with excessive adrenaline or endorphins or whatever, temporarily numbing you to exhaustion... but the fatigue itself doesn't disappear. It stays, building up the whole time. Then you keep pushing your body even harder on top of that, so of course it catches up with you in a spectacular way.
Iva-san himself said in the Original Work that "the aftereffects will be devastating."
I knew all that going in when I asked for them, but... wow, it was worse than I expected!
Well, the fatigue of fighting a Marine Admiral. Obviously it was never going to be light.
Once the Tension wore off, my whole body ached and felt like lead, and I could barely move. I just went splat, face-first onto the ground. Gave Suzu and the others a massive scare. And from there, I spent my days being cared for like an invalid by my daughters.
My arms were shaking uncontrollably from all that sword-swinging, so I couldn't even feed myself and had to be spoon-fed... I couldn't bathe, so they wiped me down, helped me change clothes...
And even had to help me with the bathroom. Excuse me, I thought I left Impel Down, so why does some of the torture seem to be continuing?!
Well, that all cleared up within two or three days, so I can't complain too much.
Now I'm properly back to handling my own needs, taking walks for fresh air, munching on snacks while reading the newspaper.
I still can't do anything strenuous, so I'm continuing to convalesce at home.
Even so, my daughters still cling to me constantly. Outside of completing their own work and training quotas, they're always with me. We eat together, read books and newspapers together, bathe together (there's actually a legitimate reason for this one: preventing bathing accidents, since I'm still not back to full health), and when I'm just lazing around doing nothing, they're right there too.
Sleeping together, of course. The "small" character formation, plus one.
My daughters... especially Leona and Suzu, who couldn't be with me while Alice and I were in Impel Down... seem even clingier than usual.
Annoying? Not in the slightest. If anything, they're adorable and healing. Please keep hanging around me. I love this kind of peaceful everyday life.
Also, it's not just my daughters who are around.
"Mornin'! Sue, breakfast's ready!"
"The News Coo came, and the newspaper's been delivered."
So yeah... these two who were with me in Impel Down and then came along after the Summit War... Beauty and Blume.
Both of them have officially joined the Golden Lion Pirates going forward. Or rather, they'll be working alongside me as my companions in all sorts of things. Very reassuring.
Beauty is putting her specialty to work as a sort of cook for this manor. My appetite's been growing again lately, so her abilities are a godsend. The kitchen staff are apparently grateful too, given her expertise in making oversized portions.
...Wait, again... or rather, is my "evolution" still going? My appetite shows absolutely no sign of slowing down. Though if I think of it as a response to being pushed into such desperate battles... it makes total sense. Fighting Akainu was obvious, but the battle with Magellan was incredibly intense too, and even though the fight with Hancock was an act, the physical movements themselves were almost completely real.
It's like my body is growing to say, "If something like that happens again, I will overcome it."
Blume handles various little household chores and odd jobs. She's efficient and good at reading what people need, moving quickly to take care of things. Very helpful.
Now then, let me read the newspaper Blume brought over... Let's see...
Yep, Summit War-related articles are still getting huge coverage today.
Ace, Luffy, and I are all still missing. The Marines are desperately searching, but they don't even have the personnel to spare for the hunt, making discovery and pursuit essentially hopeless... according to the report.
Luffy is probably on Amazon Lily, sheltered by Hancock. But where did Ace and the others go? Probably the New World, I'd guess, but since this is a part that's diverged significantly from the Original Work, I really can't predict.
I assume... Ace went with Shanks to build a grave and hold a funeral for Whitebeard, but I have no idea where they'd make it. Guessing beyond that is impossible.
...Even if I could guess, if Shanks is still with them, the Marines can't exactly pick a fight, can they?
"I did this to them and all, but wow, talk about kicking them while they're down... the Marines. Serves them right."
"Indeed. From the look of things, Akainu is still bedridden... Aokiji and Kizaru's names appeared, but Akainu is nowhere to be found. Not even information about his condition. I can just picture them desperately hiding it while waiting for him to recover."
"We're the ones who did that, though... I pumped every single type of Magellan's poison into him, so even if he doesn't die, it's got to be seriously bad..."
"That stuff becomes impossible to detoxify when multiple types overlap, right? And they can't boost his healing with Hormones like Iva-san could, so wouldn't he just die?"
"Who knows. If you're a Marine Admiral, your life force is probably monstrously strong... And whether poison works normally on a body made of magma is questionable too. The heat might just sterilize it away."
"Still, judging by his reactions during the fight, it was working to some degree... Something's definitely going on. Normally that poison kills you within twenty-four hours. ...Come to think of it, I'm also wondering about Magellan..."
"After you subdued him, you left the rest to the Blackbeard Pirates when they showed up and came over here, right? I wonder what happened... I can't imagine he came out of it unscathed after being left to that bunch."
"But stuff that happens inside Impel Down almost never makes the news... Especially now, when the Marines' image and actual state are already falling apart. It'd be pouring oil on the fire."
So in the end, there's no way to find out about either of them.
Well, there's no way they can go weeks or months without addressing the fate of someone as prominent as a Marine Admiral. Some kind of announcement should come before long.
Thanks to that broadcast footage, the public already knows about Admiral Akainu's defeat. If they just leave it alone, rumors will take on a life of their own and things could get ugly.
Even now, it's just one thing after another, insult upon injury, with newspapers writing whatever they please. Or wait, is this just the usual? Morgans being his trademark fearless self, sharp as ever.
They've even written about things the Government and Marines "tried to hide but failed to" regarding the Summit War and Impel Down. That bird really has some nerve...
"Speaking of that bird, Stella sent word that a request for an interview came through Gran Tesoro. He also wants to discuss plans for upcoming publications."
"...Somehow the sheer normalcy of it is actually reassuring."
"Hell of a newspaper guy... Going after a pirate, the daughter of the Golden Lion no less, without an ounce of hesitation... Even factoring in that they're old acquaintances."
I don't personally mind doing the interview, but... the question is where.
I still want to rest a bit longer. Going on a long trip would be rough.
For an interview about an incident of this magnitude, and with me being, if I do say so myself, one of the central figures, Morgans would probably come in person.
He's the type who won't spare any effort, hardship, or even illegal activity for the sake of big news. If I called, he'd come anywhere. But I obviously can't invite him to Merveille.
A phone interview... there's no way that guy would be satisfied with that. And there are things that just don't come across that way.
The safest bet would be... picking some random island in our territory and doing it there? I'll have to check with Papa later about which ones would be okay to use.
...Come to think of it, Papa himself has been away from Merveille a lot lately.
He almost never leaves this island normally, so it's unusual... Do you two know where he's been going?
"I don't know the details, but... he seems to be busy flying around somewhere lately. ...He's probably scheming something."
"Even newcomers like us can tell at a glance. The Boss practically glows when he heads out."
"...Ah, okay."
That man does love his scheming... I wonder what he's plotting this time?
This is another thing I'll need to sit down and ask about later.
To be continued...