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Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral's Palace.
The dome here was towering, and the light filtered through the stained glass was cold and majestic. A massive statue overlooked the area below, and the air was permeated with a cold scent of gunpowder.
At this moment, Vice Admiral Tsuru sat high upon the central seat, wearing magnificent Marine robes. Her face was beautiful but covered in a layer of frost. She lifted her chin slightly, looking down at the person on the steps with a cold gaze.
Vice Admiral Onigumo stood in the center of the great hall. Although he was still wrapped in bandages that faintly showed bloodstains, and his aura was far less vigorous than in his prime, his back remained straight, like an injured but still fierce beast.
"Tsuru! You explain this to me! In the capital city, we fought to the death with that Jack at the front, and you and your people were clearly hiding in the shadows! Why didn't you make a move? You just watched as I was heavily injured, watched as the other officers nearly fell there!" With his hair and beard standing on end, Onigumo's face flushed with rage. His sharp eyes glared fixedly at Tsuru above, and he questioned her sternly.
"Don't try to fob me off with talk of waiting for the right moment or considering the big picture! You simply wanted to use that Jack's hand to get rid of us old fellows in the leadership, so you could sit more securely in your position and completely control the Marines!"
Hearing this, Tsuru's eyelids lifted slightly. She tapped her fingers against the armrest, emitting a crisp sound that was exceptionally clear in the empty great hall.
"Onigumo, mind your words and your status. I have my own considerations for my actions. Jack's strength is treacherous, and he has hidden cards. If I had rashly intervened fully at that time, and could not kill him in one blow, it might have drawn a counterattack from the forces potentially backing him, or allowed the remaining pirate groups to seize an opportunity to retaliate. Would the consequences be comparable to just your injury? I must be responsible for the entire Marine force."
She leaned forward slightly, her voice dropping to a calmer tone. "Onigumo, did you have a comprehensive plan before acting? If not for your reckless advance, falling into the other party's trap, how could you have ended up in such a situation? The veteran officers have a resounding reputation, yet this time you suffered losses and lost face. Do you expect to push the responsibility for this onto me for not rescuing you in time?"
"Sophistry!" Hearing this, Onigumo laughed out of extreme anger. The bloodstains seeping from the bandages on his body deepened, and he said in a deep voice, "That brat Jack's strength far exceeded our estimates. The intelligence was wrong. Is this not a dereliction of duty by your intelligence system?"
"We were fighting for our lives at the front, while you watched coldly from the rear, and in the end, it becomes our fault? Tsuru, your ability to distort the truth is becoming increasingly proficient!" Speaking of this, he waved his hand violently, pointing at the towering statue, then at Tsuru. His voice, like the roar of an injured beast, rumbled throughout the palace.
"Don't forget! The Marines have never been just one person's Marines! And it is certainly not a place for you, Tsuru, to cover the sky with one hand! We old fellows are not dead yet! Our existence is to balance, to guard the true foundation and legacy of justice!"
"You can sit in this high position today because you are strong enough. But if you think that by sitting in this position, the Marines have truly become your possession, and you can calculate and abandon us at will... then you are greatly mistaken!"
Suddenly, a fierce light erupted from Onigumo's eyes. The fierce aura belonging to a top-tier Vice Admiral burst forth. Even though he was wounded, it still caused the air in the entire hall to freeze. "We could let you sit here, and we can also make you roll off at any time!"
This last sentence exploded like a thunderclap, with undisguised killing intent.
Hearing this, the knuckles of the hand Tsuru used to hold her seat turned slightly white. The frost on her beautiful face deepened. The temperature in the hall plummeted. Two terrifying auras collided silently, making the guards standing in the distance almost suffocate.
Just as the air in the great hall was about to solidify, a calm yet incredibly clear voice, like gentle spring water, suddenly came from outside.
"Onigumo, you step back first."
This voice was not loud, but it seemed to ring directly in the depths of everyone's soul.
In the next second, in the shadows on the side of the great hall, light and shadow twisted slightly, and a figure emerged quietly. He was dressed in simple robes, with long hair draped over his shoulders. His face was calm, his eyes as clear as the sky. It was the former leader, the peerless expert — Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
His appearance was without warning, as if he had been there all along, but no one had noticed.
Seeing this, the fierce aura surging from Onigumo suddenly stalled. He turned his head abruptly and saw Sengoku's figure. The anger in his eyes had not faded, but there was a hint of complexity. He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something.
Sengoku looked at him with a calm gaze, only shaking his head slightly.
Onigumo snorted heavily, his chest heaving violently a few times. In the end, he forcibly suppressed his surging anger and unwillingness. Following that, he glared fiercely at Tsuru on the central seat, said nothing more, and then turned and walked towards the outside of the hall step by step.
At this moment, in the palace, only Sengoku and Tsuru remained.
Sengoku walked slowly forward, reaching the center of the great hall where Onigumo had just stood, and then raised his head, his gaze meeting Tsuru's as she sat high up. There was no violent killing intent on him like Onigumo. His eyes were as calm as a deep pool, yet they seemed able to see through everything.
"Now, can we talk properly?"
Meanwhile, at the city gate of Impel Down.
The blood-colored setting sun dyed the barren sea dark red. A blood-stained golden spear was pulled from the chest of a fallen pirate, bringing up a puff of turbid blood mist.
Immediately after, the youth holding the spear indifferently shook off the blood droplets from the tip of the weapon, then slowly raised his head to look at the towering and hideous pitch-black gate ahead.
Just then, the heavy gate slid open silently, and a figure walked out gracefully. It was a woman with a slender figure. Her face wore a professional smile, but her eyes held no warmth. She bowed slightly and said in a low, hoarse voice, "Welcome to Impel Down."
After speaking, she turned to the side and made a gesture of invitation, her movements fluid yet revealing an inhuman stiffness.
The youth's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, he nodded, and said nothing more. The woman followed silently half a step behind him.
Inside the facility, the scene changed abruptly. The moment he stepped in, it was as if he had entered another world. The sky outside was cut off, and the interior was lit by lamps hanging on both sides of the corridor, emitting faint blue-purple light. The light intertwined, shrouding everything in a cold, treacherous hue.
The pathway was not deserted, with many figures moving about. Jailers hurrying by, prisoners whispering in the shadows of the corners, and even those conducting secret trades in the cells. Most of them had numb, sinister eyes, or scanned their surroundings with undisguised greed and malice. Yet, strangely, no one paid too much attention to Nacho, who was clearly a newcomer, as if they were already accustomed to it.
Except for the pervasive blue-purple light and the faint smell of blood permeating the air, at first glance, this place was somewhat similar to those chaotic black market towns on the continent.
"I am your guide. You can ask me if there is anything you do not understand. Within twelve hours, I will answer all your questions. After twelve hours, this will be the place where you live, and you will formally become a member of this place."
At the same time that Lucian was preparing to head to Sea God Island, Nacho arrived at Impel Down.
The positions of power he could currently come into contact with that he considered relatively strong seemed to be only the top seats in the world. As for the other legendary figures, they had no intention of retiring at all right now, so how could they pass on their positions to him?
Although Nacho was not very interested in the established positions of the current world power system, there was one major point to consider. Even if he did not inherit the supreme power in the end, he absolutely could not let Lucian obtain this leverage. At the very least, he had to get his hands on that ancient weapon first. If Lucian got his hands on this thing later, that would not be a good thing for anyone.