Marineford, Marine Headquarters.
Deep within Marineford, the Marine headquarters, Sephiroth's Bat-Clone, currently located in the Sabaody Archipelago, strode purposefully towards an office door. Three rhythmic knocks echoed, breaking the prevailing silence.
"Come in!" a voice called from inside.
As the door opened and Sephiroth stepped inside, he found Fleet Admiral Sengoku seated at a tea table. Sengoku held a teapot, pouring steaming light green tea into a cup. The air in the room felt tense, yet it was softened by the tea's soothing aroma.
"Reporting to Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Brigadier General Sephiroth has arrived to report on his duties," Sephiroth stated in a firm voice, saluting.
Sengoku turned, glancing at the silver-haired youth standing tall beside him. Something caught his attention: Sephiroth wasn't wearing his two long swords at his waist. For a true swordsman, their sword was a part of their soul, never separated from their body—a basic habit Sengoku understood well.
Why had Sephiroth come without his swords this time? Could this be a message, a signal that he was ready to cooperate honestly? The thought slightly eased Sengoku's mind.
"Have a seat, drink some tea, let's talk slowly," Sengoku invited in a friendlier tone, pouring tea for Sephiroth, who now sat opposite him.
"Understood!" Sephiroth replied.
"Sephiroth, both I, Zefa, and the other admirals, we all have great hopes for you. We believe you are one of the future pillars of the Marine..." Sengoku began, his words flowing like sweet persuasion, playing emotional cards to set up his next rhetorical trap.
In truth, in Sengoku's long-term plan, if he succeeded in becoming Fleet Admiral, Sephiroth would only ever be a Vice Admiral, far from the inner circle of Marine power for the rest of his life. However, that didn't stop him from playing this trick.
Sengoku had even planned to find an opportune moment—or excuse—to discard Sephiroth to the G-5 branch. This Marine base in the New World was known as a dumping ground for "scoundrel" Marines, a strategically embarrassing location amidst the strong pirate fissures.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, don't worry!" Sephiroth responded with a feigned impassioned expression. "My sincere heart for justice and my loyalty to the Marine can be learned from heaven and earth, like the endless water of the Four Seas! I always remember that the Marine maintains order on the seas and has a noble mission of justice!"
Hearing him, anyone would think he was a loyal and virtuous Marine. Sengoku merely remained silent, his eyebrows twitching.
Good gracious, this brat is absolutely shameless! He changed his mind: This Sephiroth, from just small hints, could already deduce that Akainu and I would act against him, and then immediately demonstrated his own value. He is truly cunning and clever.
If he continues to argue with this person and talk about "chicken soup for the soul" (high-minded advice), this conversation might be endless.
So, Sengoku spoke frankly, without further ado. He was no longer acting.
"Then why did you betray the Marine? Associating with pirates?!"
Sengoku pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his eyes staring sharply at the youth, as keen as a knife.
Hearing that, Sephiroth immediately put on an expression of astonishment and shock, his face turning sad. "This... this... I also implore Fleet Admiral Sengoku to investigate further! There must be a misunderstanding in this matter. I've bled, been shot, and withstood swords for the sake of the Marine!"
"Stop it!!!" An unnamed rage burned in Sengoku's heart, veins bulging on his forehead. He raised his hand, gesturing for the silver-haired youth to stop speaking. You're not ashamed, but I'm ashamed to hear it!
"I don't think you'll cry until you see the coffin, will you?" he added cynically. As he spoke, Sengoku rose from his chair, walked quickly to the back of his desk, and began rummaging through a drawer.
Watching this scene, Sephiroth pursed his lips, his thoughts drifting. Everyone here is a thousand-year-old fox, what are you playing with me in this kind of idle chatter! If you have something to say, you damned old man, you have to mess with me, just watch, I'll make you disgusted!
This Marine is just a violent institution akin to a stateless mercenary army, forced to wear whatever guise of justice it can. If the Marine truly represented justice, why don't they help countries that are not part of the World Government?
Moreover, some Marines wear Marine uniforms and blatantly burn, kill, and plunder in the territories of other countries that are not members of the World Government. They are more like pirates than actual pirates! Otherwise, I wouldn't have had to let the Sardo Stella Kingdom pay Heavenly Gold and become a member of the World Government!
The Marine represents justice. This is nothing more than a superficial grand image established by the World Government to cover its own predatory essence! As long as the Marine doesn't break free from the World Government's grasp for a single day, it will always be a locked dog.
But, it's truly a great pity that there will always be people like Sengoku who think the World Government can save it and dedicate their entire lives to it.
Thud!
Sengoku pulled a document bag from the drawer, walked to the tea table, threw it heavily onto the table, and said sternly, "Then look at the evidence inside this."
Hearing that, Sephiroth still pretended to be confused. He picked up the document bag and took out the photos and documents inside. So many stains on myself! He wasn't surprised Sengoku would pull out incriminating evidence.
However, a picture suddenly caught Sephiroth's attention. He grabbed it. In the background of the photo, the Soap Bubble Amusement Park in the Sabaody Archipelago was visible, next to the Bubble Ferris Wheel. A man and a woman were embracing, feeding each other ice cream.
The woman was wearing a half-face fox mask, a pair of snake-shaped golden earrings below her ears, and a blue knee-length dress. The man, judged from the side of his face, was undoubtedly Sephiroth.
He still remembered this incident. About a month ago, Sephiroth was on a date with Boa Hancock at the Sabaody amusement park. Suddenly, he offered to let Hancock feed him imported ice cream. The young girl, in public, held back her shyness, bit the ice cream, and slowly put it into Sephiroth's mouth.
At that time, he slurped down the entire imported ice cream and didn't even notice someone secretly photographing him.
Moreover, Sephiroth was indeed very handsome. When walking on the street, he often attracted the attention of various girls and aunties. Over time, he had grown accustomed to those peeking gazes. Not to mention, that place was the bustling Soap Bubble Amusement Park, so it was normal for him not to find anyone secretly photographing him.
It's just, why did these photos end up in Sengoku's hands? Someone clearly did it on purpose! So, this was the problem. Who wanted to harm him? For a moment, countless faces flashed through Sephiroth's mind. Among them, the largest number were the corrupt Marine group.
There was a lot of "oil and water" in the position of commander of the Sabaody Marine Base. He could sit in this position because he had started a game and competition with many people. Sephiroth found it hard to guarantee that among those people, none would want to see him fall due to dissatisfaction.
It's not good to hang out with those corrupt people! Sometimes, when someone stabs you, you don't even know if it's an enemy across from you, or someone who's befriended you. After that, it's very difficult for me to settle scores with those people.
After all, they might have to cooperate later. Everyone is an old silver coin, we must talk about the benefits and the rules of the game. To kill people, we must fight and kill without bloodshed. No one will play with you in the future!
"Now, what else do you have to explain?" Sengoku slightly quirked the corner of his mouth, holding back his urge to burst into laughter. He put on a serious expression and looked at the silver-haired youth. I told you, just pretend! I want to see, you brat, how you solve this problem!
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