"Welcome after your long journey, please watch your step!"
After several minutes of ascent, the bubble bondola finally reached the Red Line's nearby port entrance. Soldiers, clad in full plate armor and armed with knight lances, respectfully greeted Zephyr, Judge, and their entourage.
This reception area wasn't yet Mariejois proper; ahead lay a broad staircase, several hundred meters high. Only by ascending this grand staircase could one truly reach the center of the world's sea, the highest and largest continent.
Zephyr, Judge, and the others continued onward, escorted by over a dozen soldiers. After climbing the several-hundred-meter-high staircase, they arrived before a colossal, magnificent, and opulent city gate.
"Open the gate!" a soldier shouted.
The next moment, the massive city gate rumbled open, showering bright sunlight and revealing an incredibly grand and majestic scene.
First, an exceptionally wide and smooth road stretched before them, leading directly to a majestic city in the distance. To either side lay vast artificial forests, strikingly verdant, making the air feel much fresher, not thin despite the high altitude.
This was the summit of the Red Line, the dwelling place of the Creators' descendants, and also the location of the World Government's headquarters. This sacred land was named—Mariejois!
"Alright, I'll leave the rest to you, Holy Land Guard Corps!" Zephyr stated expressionlessly, gazing at Mariejois ahead.
"You've worked hard, Instructor Zephyr. We'll handle the escort and guidance from here," a commander of the Holy Land Guard Corps solemnly replied.
Cross wasn't surprised by Zephyr's words. Mariejois was naturally guarded by soldiers of the Holy Land Guard Corps and agents of the CP organization. The Marines merely provided outer perimeter protection, at most stationing one or two Admirals.
However, at present, there was only one active Admiral in the Marines, Sengoku, who was stationed at G-1 Branch Base, monitoring the monsters of the second half of the Grand Line. Naturally, there weren't enough Admirals to be stationed in Mariejois.
Fortunately, the Marines had many strong Vice Admirals. It was said that two Vice Admirals with Logia-type Devil Fruit abilities were in Mariejois, along with Marine Hero Monkey D. Garp, who, though not an Admiral, was as strong as one.
This was more than enough to guard Mariejois. Furthermore, with the arrival of the former Admiral, 'Black Arm' Zephyr, under such heavy guard, even Marine Headquarters was far less secure than Mariejois.
Subsequently, Zephyr bade farewell to Judge and led Cross, Smoker, and the others back the way they came.
The Marines actually had a designated gathering point in Mariejois; during every World Summit, a portion of the Marine forces would stay there.
However, most Marine officers preferred not to associate with World Government personnel, choosing instead to remain in Red Port, located beneath the Red Line.
Zephyr was one such officer.
Thus, Zephyr, Cross, Smoker, and the others took a bubble bondola back to Red Port, beneath the Red Line.
"Ten more servings of large bone meat!"
"Boss, five more servings of macaroni!"
"Pizza! No more pizza!"
"..."
Zephyr led Cross, Smoker, and Hina to a large restaurant in Red Port. Guided by the middle-aged owner, they arrived at the entrance of a private room. Before they even pushed the door open, they heard various shouts from inside.
CREAK!
Zephyr pushed the door open, with Cross and the others following closely. Inside the spacious private room, nearly ten Marine officers were gathered, most of them around a large solid wood round table, eating and drinking from the piled-up food and beverages.
"Hahaha~ Zephyr, come quickly, I saved you some sherry!"
Just then, an elderly man with short, graying hair saw Zephyr and immediately waved him over, heartily laughing as he greeted him.
The man was tall, broad-chested, and muscular, with a scar over his left eye. His blue eyes, short graying hair, and beard, coupled with his white suit, blue shirt, teal tie, and the Marine's 'Justice' coat draped over his shoulders, made him unmistakable.
That's right, the man before Cross was a legendary figure in the Marines, the world-renowned 'Marine Hero,' known as 'Garp the Fist,' the man who had cornered the Pirate King Gol D. Roger multiple times—Monkey D. Garp!
"You, I heard your voice from outside the restaurant. Can't you keep it down?" Zephyr said, rubbing his temples.
"Bwahahahahaha—!" Garp laughed so hard tears streamed from his eyes. "Is that so? I didn't even notice! Bwahahahahaha—!"
"You're too loud, Garp. Keep it down!" Tsuru, sitting nearby, opened her eyes and said helplessly.
"My bad, Tsuru-chan, I really didn't notice! Bwahahaha—" Garp laughed heartily again, completely unconcerned.
"Still so energetic, Garp-san!"
Kuzan, awakened by the noise, reluctantly removed his eye mask. He then looked at Zephyr, Cross, and the others, greeting them with a smile: "Zephyr-sensei, how's your health? Good to see you again, Cross. Smoker and Hina are here too!"
"Vice Admiral Kuzan, long time no see!" Cross replied with a smile.
"Yo~ Kuzan, long time no see!" Smoker casually waved a hand.
"Vice Admiral Kuzan!" Hina responded more formally.
"Find a seat yourselves, don't be shy!" Zephyr turned to the three behind him, then pulled out a chair and sat down next to Garp. Seeing this, Cross, Smoker, and Hina also made themselves at home, sitting beside Zephyr.
It was only after sitting down that Cross had the leisure to observe everyone present. He noticed that every single person in the room, without exception, was a member of the Marine's Dove Faction.
Only Cross, Smoker, and Hina, as Marine Academy cadets, weren't yet considered part of the Dove Faction, but Zephyr bringing them along clearly showed his intention to have them join.
Wherever there are people, there are factions.
The same held true within the Marines.
Currently, the Marines were broadly divided into the Dove Faction, the Hawk Faction, and the Neutral Faction, though there were other minor factions not worth mentioning.
As far as Cross knew, the Dove Faction held the strongest influence within the Marines, led by Admiral Sengoku, Marine Hero Garp, Chief of Staff Tsuru, and others, including Kuzan, Gion, and others, comprising nearly half of the Marine's core strength.
Even Zephyr, who had retreated to the second line, was once one of the Dove Faction leaders, which was evident from the students he trained.
Although many of them joined the Hawk Faction and Neutral Faction, the Dove Faction still predominated.
Moreover, in the near future, after Sengoku, the sole active Admiral, was promoted to Fleet Admiral, the Dove Faction's power within the Marines would further increase. Cross even knew that Smoker and Hina would also be members of the Dove Faction in the future.
However, neither the Dove Faction nor the Hawk Faction suited Cross's tastes. If he absolutely had to join a faction, the old man Borsalino seemed more interesting.
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