Director Dapus opened the sealed Government case and removed several documents edged in gold.
He did not hand them politely to Sengoku. Instead, he laid them across the desk one after another, each bearing authentication marks from the Chamber of Authority.
"Marshall D. Teach exploited World Government credentials to infiltrate Impel Down and escaped with multiple Level 6 prisoners. The Warlord system is disintegrating. One of the Government's most prominent former Marine officers has openly severed ties with the organization, and the world has now watched Marine Headquarters itself confront an Elder over the manner in which the Government attempted to detain him."
Dapus's eyes remained cold.
"The Chamber considers confidence in the present command structure exhausted."
Garp surged upright.
"You're replacing the Fleet Admiral now?"
The sudden movement snapped his Justice coat behind him.
"Have those old bastards looked outside lately? Blackbeard just dragged half of Eternal Hell onto his ship, Kaido and Big Mom announced an alliance, and the whole damn sea is waiting to see what happens next!"
He planted one hand against Sengoku's desk.
"You remove Sengoku in the middle of this, and you're throwing Headquarters directly into the fire."
"Garp."
Tsuru rested one hand against his shoulder.
The gesture did not physically restrain him.
It did not need to.
Garp stopped and glared toward Dapus.
Tsuru's attention remained on the documents.
"If the Chamber intends to force a change in leadership during a crisis of this scale, then it already has a preferred successor."
Dapus looked toward her.
Tsuru continued calmly.
"Who?"
"The Government intends to recommend Sakazuki as the next Fleet Admiral."
The room became quieter.
Dapus moved one document aside.
"If that appointment proceeds, Sakazuki's current Admiral seat will become vacant. The Chamber has therefore authorized an emergency external recruitment review for exceptional combatants outside the normal Marine promotion structure."
His finger rested on two names.
"One is Issho."
A short pause followed.
"The other is Aramaki."
Garp's brow furrowed.
Tsuru's expression changed more subtly.
The World Government reaching outside the Marines for candidates powerful enough to enter the highest combat ranks was significant by itself.
Doing it while simultaneously pressing Sakazuki toward the Fleet Admiral position meant the Chamber intended to reshape Headquarters quickly.
Sengoku, however, remained surprisingly calm.
He read the first document.
Then the second.
Finally, he looked toward Dapus.
"This one removes me from active Fleet Admiral authority pending transfer of command."
"Yes."
"And this requests my signature acknowledging the transfer."
"Yes."
Dapus's mouth curved slightly.
"You can make this difficult if you wish, Sengoku, but the result will not change."
Sengoku opened one of his drawers.
Dapus's expression shifted.
Instead of arguing, the Fleet Admiral removed another document.
His own resignation already prepared.
Garp stared.
"Sengoku."
Tsuru closed her eyes briefly.
Sengoku placed his resignation beside the Government papers.
"I intended to step down once the immediate crisis stabilized."
His voice was tired rather than angry.
"The Chamber merely decided to force the timetable."
Dapus's faint smile disappeared.
Sengoku picked up his pen.
He signed his resignation.
Then he signed the acknowledgment that command transfer procedures were beginning.
No begging.
No bargaining.
No attempt to cling to the chair.
Dapus watched him with growing unease.
The old Marine had surrendered the position far too easily.
Almost as if removing him from official responsibility might free him to become more troublesome rather than less.
Garp slammed both palms on the desk.
"Have you lost your mind?!"
"No."
Sengoku set the pen down.
"I'm tired."
The simple answer stopped Garp for a second.
Sengoku leaned back.
"I have spent years holding together pirates, Marines, the World Government, the Warlords, and enough political disasters to kill a normal man through headaches alone."
He looked toward Garp.
"And unlike you, I was stupid enough to accept promotions."
Garp opened his mouth.
Tsuru laughed quietly before he could respond.
Dapus clearly had no patience for the exchange.
"The Chamber will begin formal succession procedures immediately."
He gathered the copies intended for his office.
"Until the transition is completed, you will cooperate fully."
Sengoku gave him a flat look.
"You already have my signature."
Dapus turned.
He had nearly reached the door when Sengoku spoke again.
"One problem."
Dapus stopped.
"The external recruitment list."
Something faintly amused entered Sengoku's exhausted eyes.
"You might want to revise it."
Dapus looked over his shoulder.
"Issho is no longer available."
For the first time since entering the office, Dapus genuinely paused.
Sengoku continued.
"I confirmed it shortly before you arrived."
A tiny smile appeared.
"Zaraki found him first."
Silence settled over the room.
Garp slowly lowered the fist he had been preparing to slam into the desk.
"...He what?"
...
Garp crossed the room in three long strides and planted both hands on Sengoku's desk.
"Found him first?"
His earlier fury had been temporarily displaced by naked curiosity.
"What did the brat do now?"
Sengoku turned his head away as crumbs from Garp's rice crackers threatened to reach him.
Tsuru folded her arms.
"Do not tell me you arranged this."
Sengoku looked offended.
"I did not send Zaraki after Issho."
"You did warn him the Government had been watching Issho."
"That was after he had already recruited him."
Tsuru studied him.
Then nodded.
"That sounds more believable."
Garp slapped the desk.
"Stop talking around it!"
Sengoku sighed.
"Issho was on a confidential Government watch list of exceptional unaffiliated fighters. With Sakazuki now being considered for Fleet Admiral, the Chamber intended to approach several outside candidates regarding the Admiral seat that would open if he were promoted."
He paused.
"Issho was one of the strongest names on that list."
Garp leaned closer.
"And?"
"And Zaraki encountered him on Hannabal Island before anyone from the Government made a formal approach."
Sengoku's mouth twitched.
"They fought."
Garp's grin immediately appeared.
"Of course they did."
"And afterward Issho chose to sail with him."
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Garp began laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
He struck the desk hard enough to send several papers sliding.
"The Government finally decides to go shopping for monsters outside the Marines, and Zaraki grabs one before they even send the invitation!"
Tsuru covered her mouth.
Even she failed to hide the faint smile appearing there.
Sengoku tried to maintain his dignity.
He did not succeed particularly well.
Garp wiped one eye.
"What about the other guy? Aramaki?"
Tsuru answered.
"Different temperament."
She had already reviewed what intelligence existed on the candidates.
"Issho is a wandering swordsman with a strong concern for ordinary people and a deep dislike of institutional injustice. Aramaki appears much more sympathetic to harsh authority and places enormous value on strength and hierarchy."
Garp scratched his chin.
"So Sakazuki would probably like him more."
"Possibly."
Tsuru's expression turned dry.
"The reports also describe Aramaki as eccentric enough that predicting his behavior from paperwork alone would be foolish."
Garp grinned.
"So there's still hope Zaraki steals him too."
"Do not encourage him."
Sengoku's voice rose.
That only made Garp laugh harder.
...
Director Dapus returned to Mary Geoise under considerably worse conditions than those in which he had left.
The Chamber of Authority was already occupied when he entered.
Saint Topman Warcury.
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter.
Saint Marcus Mars.
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn.
The fifth seat remained empty.
Not because Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro was dead.
He was alive.
His body had regenerated from injuries that should have killed any ordinary man, including decapitation, but the duel had still left him in need of recovery and examination.
The humiliation was bad enough without forcing him to sit at the table while the others discussed how thoroughly Zaraki had overwhelmed him before escaping.
Dapus bowed.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku has submitted his resignation and signed the transfer acknowledgment."
Warcury's expression remained severe.
"Too easily?"
"Yes."
Dapus hesitated.
"He behaved as though stepping away from the position was something he had already accepted."
Ju Peter's fingers tightened slightly against the table.
"That is not necessarily advantageous to us."
"No."
Dapus agreed.
"Removing formal responsibility from a man like Sengoku may make him harder to restrain, not easier."
Saturn's gaze sharpened.
"And the external recruitment candidates?"
Dapus's jaw tightened.
"Issho is no longer available."
Mars looked toward him.
"Explain."
"He encountered Zaraki on Hannabal Island."
A short silence followed.
Then Dapus forced himself to finish.
"He joined him."
The air in the Chamber seemed to grow colder.
Warcury's expression barely changed, which somehow made his anger more obvious.
"Again."
The word emerged like grinding stone.
"Another piece slips away."
Dapus said nothing.
His own unease had been growing since Marineford.
Not because Zaraki possessed some mysterious ability to erase souls or cut through the laws of existence. They had no evidence of anything so absurd.
The truth was disturbing enough.
Zaraki had fought Nusjuro directly, physically overwhelmed him, decapitated him, and escaped despite lacking any known means of overcoming the Elder's regeneration permanently.
He did not need unknown metaphysical powers to be dangerous.
His ordinary combat ability was already becoming unacceptable.
"We still have Aramaki under review," Dapus said.
Warcury's expression did not soften.
"One candidate is not the issue."
His gaze moved across the Chamber.
"Zaraki is attracting independent forces faster than anticipated. The Giants rejected Government authority rather than attack him. Jinbe did the same. Hancock and Mihawk refused direct orders. Now Issho has chosen his ship."
Ju Peter looked toward Saturn.
"How far has the Science Division progressed?"
Saturn rested both hands on his cane.
"The experimental subject is approaching the next inspection stage."
No one mentioned Nusjuro being resurrected.
There was nothing to resurrect.
This was a separate Government project, prepared for a future in which ordinary pieces might no longer be sufficient.
"We should inspect it personally," Warcury said.
Saturn nodded.
The meeting ended shortly afterward.
No spatial doorway opened.
No nonexistent Elder cut reality apart with a cane.
The four Elders and Dapus simply departed through the secure internal passage leading deeper into Pangaea Castle.
Behind them, the empty chair belonging to Nusjuro remained an uncomfortable reminder of how close the World Government had come to an outcome no one at the table was willing to contemplate.
...
Elsewhere, Zaraki was already moving again.
He had no intention of wasting the remaining days before Onigashima.