The sky over Marineford finally, on the morning of the sixth day, begrudgingly let down a faint, bleak ray of sunlight.
Vice Admiral Garp stood before the empty ruins of the execution platform, his tall figure unusually lonely in the morning wind.
He wore neither the white cape symbolizing the "Hero of the Marines" nor his iconic dog-head cap, only a simple black suit.
It was as if he were holding a silent funeral for a bygone era… and for a child who would never return.
A cold breeze swept by, stirring the dust on the ground and gently lifting the strands of his graying hair.
He stood in silence for a long time, long enough for the sun to fully rise, long enough for the first group of engineers assigned to clear the rubble to circle around him cautiously.
Finally, he bent down and picked up a forgotten, dust-covered standard Marine button from between the stones.
He rubbed the tiny button between his rough thumb and fingers, as though it still held the last bit of warmth from a pink-haired boy.
Then, without a word, he turned around and walked away, not toward the Fleet Admiral's office, not toward his own ship, but straight toward the harbor, headed for an unremarkable supply vessel.
No one dared to approach or stop him.
Everyone could read, from his silent back, as heavy as if it carried a mountain, a decisive, sorrowful severing from the past.
At that moment, with the war's end, a part of Marine Hero Garp seemed to have died as well.
.....
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, the atmosphere was even heavier than the ruins outside.
Sengoku had not slept all night. His eyes were sunken, and the coffee on the desk had long grown cold.
Stacked before him were battle damage reports, lists of the dead, and urgent inquiries from member nations around the world.
Vice Admiral Tsuru sat beside him with a cup of hot tea, the rising steam the only warmth in the room.
"Garp… left," Tsuru said in an even voice, but with a barely noticeable sigh. "He needs time."
"I know," Sengoku replied, rubbing his brow, voice hoarse. "But right now, we don't have time."
He pointed at a newly delivered encrypted document bearing the highest seal of the World Government.
"Blackbeard is making a huge stir in the New World, Red-Hair is gathering forces in the shadows, and all those pirates writhing to take advantage of this new era… We just finished a pyrrhic victory and now must immediately face an even more chaotic situation."
"Akainu's 'Absolute Justice' has scared many, but it also intensified conflict," Tsuru added.
"Even within the Marines, Koby's execution left divisions."
Sengoku let out a long sigh, his gaze drifting toward the window, toward the direction of Renzo's private kitchen.
"The most troublesome part… isn't any of that."
He gave a bitter smile, his voice immensely complicated. "It's that lazy bastard."
At the mention of Renzo, Tsuru fell silent.
During the war, Renzo's performance had been bizarre and terrifying beyond anything they had expected.
Effortlessly suppressing Jozu and Vista, then unleashing that ability that froze the entire battlefield into stillness… it all exceeded the known scope of Devil Fruit powers.
The power was unreasonable, overwhelming, and frighteningly efficient.
Just then, a Den Den Mushi on the desk, an ancient, pitch-black one that had never rung before, suddenly began to call.
purupuru puru
Sengoku and Tsuru's expressions both changed.
This was the direct line to the Five Elders, the highest priority communication.
Sengoku drew a deep breath and answered.
On the other end, the snail mimicked no face, only producing an old, majestic, emotionless voice.
"Sengoku."
"Yes, sir!" Sengoku straightened instinctively.
"Regarding Marine Rear Admiral Renzo, we have reviewed all combat footage."
The voice spoke calmly. "His ability is… very 'stable.'"
Sengoku blinked, unsure how to interpret that.
"A chaotic world requires order. And order requires an absolute 'stabilizer.'"
The voice continued: "His power, the ability to make everything 'stop', is a necessary for maintaining world balance. More effective than Akainu's magma. More thorough than Aokiji's freezing."
"Is that what you, the Five Elders, propose?"
A terrible premonition rose in Sengoku's chest.
"We require a new 'supreme combat force' to deter those who would disturb the age."
"By resolution of the World Government's highest council-"
The voice paused, then spoke a sentence that made Sengoku and Tsuru's pupils contract sharply.
"We hereby appoint Marine Rear Admiral Renzo to the rank of Marine Headquarters Admiral."
"What?!"
Sengoku shouted in shock, forgetting all formality.
"Elders, this is absolutely impossible! Renzo- his personality-"
"Personality does not matter."
The voice cut him off coldly. "What matters is ability. We require someone who can press 'Pause' at any moment. As for how you motivate him, that is your duty as Fleet Admiral."
"But Akainu will never accept this! It will spark massive internal-"
"Then he will learn to accept it."
This time, the voice carried unmistakable authority.
"The Marines need obedience, not infighting. This appointment is both an acknowledgment of his ability and a declaration to the entire world; the Marines possess a power capable of silencing any era."
"This is a decision, not a negotiation. Three days from now, the appointment will be formally issued."
Click
The call ended.
The office fell into deathly silence.
Sengoku stood frozen. The receiver slipped from his hand, hitting the floor with a heavy thud.
It felt less like receiving an appointment… and more like someone had handed him a live bomb.
Make Renzo an Admiral?
Make that sloth, the man who had "trouble" carved into his bones, whose highest pursuits were sleep and good food, one of the Marine's top powers?
Equal in rank to Akainu?
Sengoku could practically imagine the scene when Akainu heard the news: half of Marineford HQ might get melted by magma.
"…They've lost their minds."
He slumped into his chair, exhausted beyond anything the war had done to him.
Tsuru gently set down her teacup, her expression unprecedentedly grave.
"No… they haven't lost their minds."
She spoke softly. "They simply saw the most terrifying, and the most 'useful', side of his power."
"A power that can silence both 'justice' and 'evil.'"
Sengoku closed his eyes in pain, pressing a hand to his forehead.
"But how am I supposed to tell that boy? 'From now on, no more sleeping in, you need to go deal with the world's biggest headaches'?"
"He'll definitely activate his ability on the spot and go back to his kitchen to eat pudding."
Tsuru gave the most accurate prediction imaginable.
Just then, the office door was knocked on.
Potts peeked in, wearing his usual respectful expression, along with a faint, subtle… satisfaction?
"Fleet Admiral, Vice Admiral Tsuru. This is the 'Post-War Special Security Coordination Report' that Rear Admiral Renzo asked me to deliver."
Sengoku took the report.
Inside were only a few scribbled characters, handwriting sloppy enough to look like they'd been written with a foot:
"Everything is fine. Very quiet, Renzo"
On the back was a childishly drawn strawberry mochi.
Sengoku stared at this insult of a 'report,' then remembered the admiral appointment he had to announce in three days.
At last, unable to hold it in, he let out a roar filled with endless grievance and despair:
"Aaaaaaaaahhh!!!"
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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