At the same time...
Marine Headquarters: Round Table Conference Hall.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku remained seated at the head of the table. On each side of him stood Strawberry and various Marine officers, all loyal to Elio.
The hall was deathly silent. Only the heavy breathing of a few soldiers, adrenaline surging through their veins, could be heard.
They were all soldiers and officers loyal to Elio. If not for him, no matter how many lives they had, they would never have dared to "escort" Fleet Admiral Sengoku into this chamber.
They knew all too well that this room was one they had never had the qualifications to step into. Only Rear Admirals and officers of higher rank were permitted access here.
But now, not only had they entered this prestigious hall, they had even brought with them the very person they once revered, the Fleet Admiral himself.
Though nerves stretched tight, a sense of pride they had never known before stirred in their hearts.
Bang!
Suddenly, the sealed doors of the conference hall were flung open with force.
Vice Admiral Maynard stormed in, rage burning in his eyes. Right behind him came Vice Admiral Dalmatian.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku?!"
The moment he entered, Maynard's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of Sengoku calmly seated in his usual position. He froze, stunned for several seconds, then whipped around to glare at Strawberry, shouting furiously, "Strawberry, what the hell is going on here? Are you part of this rebellion?!"
Strawberry merely shrugged, his voice calm. "Maynard, calm yourself. If you keep shouting, I won't show you mercy just because we're colleagues. Many have already died tonight. If you're eager to join them, I can certainly oblige."
With that, Maynard lunged forward like an arrow.
"Maynard!"
Before he could reach Strawberry, Sengoku's voice rang out, deep and commanding. "Sit down!"
At that moment, Dalmatian stepped forward. He placed a steadying hand on Maynard's shoulder, then silently took the seat to Sengoku's right.
Maynard didn't sit down immediately. His eyes blazed with anger as he glared at Strawberry.
Sensing Maynard's thoughts, Strawberry took a step forward and said coldly, "Maynard, I'm ordering you to sit down. If you don't, this hall will become your grave."
As his words fell, soldiers flanking both sides of the room raised their rifles, their icy barrels aimed straight at Maynard.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
"This is treason! Elio has rebelled!"
A panicked voice suddenly shouted from the entrance.
Before anyone could react, several figures rushed into the conference hall.
At the lead was Vice Admiral Stainless. Behind him followed another Vice Admiral, Urban, his long hair flowing, his fangs bared, and the four-chinned Rear Admiral Red King.
The three of them had entered the hall in great urgency, but the moment they took in the scene, they froze in place.
Feeling the razor-sharp tension in the air, they swallowed in unison and wordlessly moved to take seats on Sengoku's left.
Seeing this, Maynard no longer confronted Strawberry directly. Instead, he decisively sat beside Dalmatian.
It wasn't that he had admitted defeat, but rather that more and more of his colleagues, those in his camp, had entered the room. Even Sengoku, the strategist famed as the Wise Admiral, had chosen to remain silent. So Maynard chose to hold back, for now, and observe.
Just as Stainless and the others took their seats, footsteps echoed from the corridor beyond the doors.
In the next moment, Vice Admiral Gion, cloaked in her officer's cape, strode boldly into the hall. To everyone's shock, she took a seat directly across from Sengoku.
As she sat down, two Rear Admirals and over a dozen soldiers arrived behind her, standing in orderly formation.
"Gion, what are you doing?"
Maynard's expression changed as he saw her take a seat not normally reserved for her. His voice turned grim. "Have you joined the rebellion?"
Gion didn't reply. Instead, she looked apologetically at Sengoku and nodded slightly. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I am sorry for what has happened tonight. For the sake of true justice, I have chosen to follow Sir Elio."
Her words sent a shockwave through the room.
Maynard, Dalmatian, Stellers, and the others all widened their eyes.
When they had first seen Gion walk in, they had assumed she was a hostage, forced here by the rebels. Never had they expected that she had already pledged her loyalty to Elio, and had even addressed him as "sir."
This meant her allegiance wasn't just cooperation. It was full-on devotion.
But even that wasn't the most important part.
The real shock was that Gion chose Elio's side, even though she is an Admiral candidate. One of the strongest swordswomen with the best chance of becoming one of the next Three Admirals had chosen to follow a young upstart Vice Admiral.
"True justice?"
Sengoku's eyes flickered with confusion. More than anyone, he wanted to understand her reasoning.
"Yes, true justice."
Gion nodded slowly. "Elio told me some things about the World Government. At first, I didn't believe him. I even thought he was fearmongering. Even when I followed his clues and sought out Vegapunk from the science division for verification, I was still skeptical."
"But when I served my rotation in the Holy Land, I finally saw the truth with my own eyes."
Sengoku's expression darkened. "Vegapunk? The Holy Land? What exactly did he tell you?"
Gion didn't answer directly. Instead, she asked, "Fleet Admiral, have you ever been to the Holy Land's royal palace? The one built centuries ago by the twenty kings who founded the World Government? Above its grand hall stands the Empty Throne."
"We've all been told that no one is allowed to sit upon the Empty Throne, because it symbolizes the equality of the founding twenty nations. No single person may claim it as their own."
"But from what I've discovered, someone has been trying to sit upon that throne all along."
"That's impossible!" Sengoku shot to his feet, eyes locked on Gion's calm expression. Emotion surged in his voice as he called her by her codename, "Momousagi, this is a lie Elio fabricated to pull you into his rebellion! Surely you understand, Elio didn't take control of the situation tonight just because he was desperate before being transferred to Enies Lobby. He had this planned all along!"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I am not a child," Gion replied, her expression unwavering. "Elio told me these things three years ago. He told me not to rush to confirm them, as doing so could endanger my life. Still, I quietly investigated. Four months ago, I finally found a clue."
"And now I can say with certainty, the so-called highest authorities of the World Government, the Five Elders, are nothing more than puppets on strings."
"Because behind them is a hidden ruler, someone with the ambition to become an absolute dictator."
At this point, a flicker of emotion finally passed over Gion's face. She slowly rose to her feet and dropped a bombshell in a voice that brooked no doubt.
"This hidden ruler lives in a place within the Holy Land called the Chamber of Flowers. The Five Elders refer to this person as… Lord Imu."