The darkness before dawn passed, and the sun rose as usual.
Marine Headquarters, Marshal Office.
In the end, Kuzan chose to stay, standing side by side with Sakazuki and Borsalino.
As Orion had said, the situation at Marineford was already settled, and Kuzan didn't have many choices left.
Of course, the real reason he stayed wasn't fear of being eliminated by Orion, but rather, after years of confusion over many internal matters within the Marines, he wanted to see if things would change under Orion leadership as Marshal.
He wanted to know where Orion, who had been entrusted with high hopes by Teacher Zephyr and supported by so many officers, would lead the Marines.
Behind them, Gion, Momonga, Strawberry, Bastille, and several other Vice Admirals stood in a line, all looking at Orion, who sat calmly at the desk.
"The dawn has come~" Orion looked up at the three admirals and the group of vice admirals present, speaking calmly.
"The World Goverment will soon realize they can't contact headquarters. Although the Marine Headquarters is already under our control, the real battle has just begun."
After a brief pause, Orion turned his head to look at the line of vice admirals behind the three admirals.
"Gion, you go and take charge of the monitoring room. Personally handle all communications from Mari Geoise. Also, bring in Ain and Binz!"
"Yes." Gion raised her hand in a salute, then turned and walked out decisively.
Just as Gion had left, Ain and Binz quickly entered the office and approached Orion, saluting in unison.
"Marshal!"
Orion looked up at the two, his gaze gradually softening.
Three years ago, while returning to headquarters after rescuing civilians, including Sakazuki mother, from a pirate crew, Orion unexpectedly encountered Ain, Binz, and their teacher Zephyr, who had survived an attack on their training ship.
Zephyr had lost his right hand in the incident. It was because of Orion timely arrival that the three of them were able to return safely to headquarters.
Although three years had passed since that event, neither Ain, Binz, nor Zephyr had fully moved on from it.
Over these three years, Orion would often visit Zephyr for a drink during his free time, inevitably leading to conversations with Ain and Binz.
At first, Ain was burdened by hatred and rarely participated in the discussions.
Binz, on the other hand, was more optimistic.
Whenever Orion visited Zephyr, Binz would actively join in and even seize opportunities to spar with Orion.
Perhaps it was Orion radiant charisma, or perhaps it was because they were all students of Zephyr, but after seeing Orion use swordsmanship in his spar with Binz, Ain, who was also skilled in swordsmanship, gradually emerged from her shadows.
She began taking turns with Binz to spar with Orion.
Later, when Orion was away on missions, Ain and Binz would help take care of Sakazuki mother who suffered from dementia, becoming friends with Orion who, though they didn't communicate much, shared a deep, unspoken understanding.
"Ain, from now on, you will replace Maynard as the new Vice Admiral of headquarters" Orion said after observing them for a moment.
He then handed a letter of appointment to Ain and continued. "Your only task now is to select the most elite officers from the training camp and set sail to find the culprits behind the attack on the training ship."
"Marshal, I—" Caught off guard by Orion direct promotion of her to Vice Admiral, Ain widened her eyes in surprise and stammered.
"I've been at headquarters for three years without any notable achievements. I... I..."
Orion waved his hand. "That's why I'm giving you the opportunity to earn your merits now." He then turned to Binz. "Binz, I appoint you as Ain adjutant. You will accompany her on this mission. Upon your successful return, you will be promoted to Vice Admiral, replacing Onigumo."
"Yes, sir!" Binz stepped forward, saluting.
"LOYALTY!"
Orion nodded. "It's decided then. You may leave."
Ain and Binz didn't dare to delay. After glancing at the seasoned Vice Admirals and Admirals standing nearby, they turned and walked out, somewhat nervously.
After watching them leave the office, Orion immediately turned his attention to the three Admirals standing in the front row and got straight to the point.
"Headquarters needs some restructuring. I've decided to form three new units under your leadership."
"Sakazuki unit will be renamed the Red Dog Army, Borsalino unit the Yellow Monkey Army, and Kuzan unit the Blue Pheasant Army. Each unit will be assigned six Vice Admirals, with all officers at the rank of Vice Admiral and below organized in a three-three system."
Before the words had even finished, Orion immediately picked up three documents and handed them to the three Admirals.
"These documents contain the lists of Rear Admirals and Vice Admirals under your command, as well as some officers who need to be promoted. Don't question the names of these officers to be promoted—they were all heroes last night!"
At the Same Time, Holy Land Mary Geoise, the Chamber of Authority.
The Five Elders, the highest authority of the World Government, began their daily routine.
In the spacious and bright hall of the Chamber of Authority, Jaygarcia Saturn, the Warrior God of Science and Defense, sat on one side of the sofa idly staring at the Den Den Mushi placed on the coffee table in front of him.
Behind him, Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro the Warrior God of Finance, dressed in a Taoist robe and holding a katana, stood by the floor-to-ceiling window watching the gradually increasing figures in the Pangea Square outside. He yawned out of boredom.
Shepherd Ju Peter, the Warrior God of Agriculture, dressed in a suit, looked serious, as if pondering something important, his eyes fixed on a newspaper in front of him.
Marcus Mars, the Warrior God of the Environment, leisurely held a cup of coffee and walked over to a single sofa, sitting down. His gaze occasionally swept over the Warrior God of Agriculture, who was reading the newspaper and the Warrior God of Science and Defense, who was sitting in a daze.
"It seems I'm late." At that moment, a voice suddenly broke the silence of the Chamber of Authority. Topman Warcury, the Warrior God of Justice, with a birthmark on his forehead, pushed the door open and quickly walked to the central sofa, sitting down.
He turned to Saturn, who was idly staring at the Den Den Mushi, and asked.
"Is there anything important to deal with today?"
Saturn shook his head, somewhat puzzled.
"So far, this Den Den Mushi hasn't rung. Not only have there been no reports from the various CP organizations, but the Marine Headquarters has also been unusually quiet. At this time of day, we usually have a pile of documents in front of us, and the Marine Headquarters would have already reported via the Den Den Mushi."
Hearing this, Warcury quickly changed the subject.
"No news from the New World either?"
It wasn't that he was overly confident in the Marine Headquarters, but the Marine Headquarters didn't report daily. Even if there were reports, they would first go to the Commander-in-Chief and only after his review would they reach the Chamber of Authority.
Saturn shook his head again. "Recently, there have only been two major events in the New World: the Elbaf incident and the rise of Red-Haired Shanks as one of the new Emperors of the Sea! However, neither of these matters is being handled by us—they're being dealt with by the God Knights."
Warcury eyes lit up. "I didn't expect Shanks to have grown to such an extent, not only suppressing Prince Loki of Elbaf but also becoming a new Emperor of the Sea. If Figarland Garling were to step in now, could we possibly bring Shanks to our side?"
"Didn't Shanks return to Mari Geoise for a while back then?" Saturn looked up at Warcury and sighed.
"At the time, his twin brother Shamrock tried hard to persuade him to stay in the Mari Geoise, but he ultimately chose to leave."
With no important work to handle, the Five Elders, the highest authority in the world began to chat casually, indulging in gossip like ordinary people.
Unknowingly, they spent a rather pleasant morning in the Chamber of Authority.
Just as the group was about to get up and leave for the restaurant, the Den Den Mushi, which had been silent all morning, suddenly rang.
A voice that seemed deliberately disguised, resulting in a somewhat neutral tone, came through.
"Are the Five Elders present?"
The sudden voice from the Den Den Mushi caused the Five Elders to change their expressions drastically.
They all stood up and faced the Den Den Mushi, bowing respectfully as they shouted.
"IM-sama!"