Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Gion was sitting in the Fleet Admiral's office, eating a piece of bread.
Garp was also sitting there, eating bread with Gion. Naturally, with his shameless demeanor, he had cheekily demanded some.
Sengoku held a newspaper, reading the information on it.
If there was one major event that had been highly popular recently, it was the civil war erupting in the super-power of Alabasta.
A million-man army besieging the capital, Alubarna, had stunned many kingdoms.
Even for great figures like Fleet Admiral Sengoku, a war on the scale of a million soldiers was genuinely rare; it might only happen once every few decades.
Therefore, it was safe to say that the situation in Alubarna was being watched by the entire world.
"It's been a week, hasn't it? I heard the base of the city walls is piled with corpses," Garp asked, glancing at Sengoku.
"To be precise, it's the eighth day since the Alabasta Army... no, let's call them the Justice Army... launched their offensive on Alubarna. The battle is very gridlocked," Sengoku said, clicking his tongue.
Initially, the forces besieging Alubarna were referred to as 'rebels' in the newspapers. Now, the papers were calling them 'Justice Army'.
The reason for this shift was simple: Mariejois had begun using public opinion to generate momentum.
In the first couple of days, the newspapers frequently featured voices questioning Mariejois: Why hadn't the World Government provided aid to the Nefertari Family, a kingdom affiliated with the World Government, when faced with such an issue?
Why hadn't they even helped the Nefertari Family suppress the rebellion?
This question was not hard to understand. In fact, the royal families of most affiliated kingdoms were waiting to see Mariejois's attitude toward this incident.
Previously, in Dressrosa, Doflamingo had staged a pirate coup. Although the operation was clean, all the kings knew exactly what had happened.
That incident had already caused them to lose some faith in Mariejois.
The World Government actually chose a pirate, Donquixote Doflamingo, over Riku Doldo III?
And now, the battle in Alubarna could basically be seen as a group of 'commoners' overthrowing their 'king's' power and status.
If Mariejois failed to provide aid to the Nefertari Family, and if they watched them be overthrown by the 'commoners', how would Mariejois choose when these other kings encountered similar situations in the future?
Was it still necessary to pay the Heavenly Tribute? Could their status as royal families of affiliated kingdoms still protect them?
In response to this questioning, Mariejois quickly reacted, claiming that the Alabasta incident was rife with internal problems and that Mariejois was investigating the truth with all its might.
At first, the royal families of the affiliated kingdoms thought this was just a perfunctory excuse.
But soon, a lot of sensational news began to appear in the newspapers.
Stories claimed that the Nefertari Family had secretly supported the Revolutionary Army organization, and that they might even have been the masterminds behind the Mariejois arson case years ago.
Then came the explosive revelation that the Revolutionary Army might be collaborating with the Nefertari Family. This 'uprising' originated from a conspiracy stirred up by the Revolutionary Army within Alabasta, but the 'Justice Army' saw through the darkness and launched a counter-rebellion against the Revolutionary Army. The Revolutionary Army was then forced to ally with the Nefertari Family to maintain control of Alabasta.
The Nefertari Family actually collaborated with the Revolutionary Army!
All sorts of unverified rumors started flying everywhere.
The views of the various affiliated kingdoms' royal families on this matter gradually shifted.
If this were truly just a movement of the common people wanting to overthrow the monarchy and resist oppression, then they would certainly have to support the Nefertari Family.
You dirt-poor commoners should just provide for us nobles; you want to rebel? That's going too far!
But if the Nefertari Family was involved with the Revolutionary Army, that was a different story. In that case, you should all hurry up and die. It wouldn't make much difference if we replaced the royal family of Alabasta, would it?
As for Mariejois's inaction regarding Alabasta, it could also be understood.
Are you kidding? The Nefertari have started cooperating with the Revolutionary Army and may have even been involved in the Mariejois arson case. Who would save them now?
Frankly, if all these things were true, Mariejois hadn't even engaged in 'kicking them while they're down' by sending forces to annihilate the Nefertari Family. That was already showing them a great deal of consideration!
As public opinion fermented in the newspapers, the stance of the public regarding the Alabasta war had drastically shifted.
It was for this reason that the people initially called 'rebels' were now being referred to as the 'Justice Army'.
And Mariejois seemed to be waiting for a single, definitive piece of evidence, an iron hammer, to completely seal the fate of the Nefertari Family.
"How gridlocked is it?" Garp swallowed his bread and asked.
"In eight days, the Justice Army has launched twenty-six assaults, relentlessly attacking Alubarna day and night. It's hard to say how much longer Alubarna can hold out," Sengoku said, clicking his tongue.
"It sounds like you support Cobra," Garp asked, looking at Sengoku in surprise.
"Nonsense! Do you expect me to support the pirate Crocodile?" Sengoku glared at Garp.
After a short pause, Sengoku continued, "His Majesty Cobra and I have some history. At the Reverie that year, he was one of the few who dared to stand with us Marines against the Warlord system. I just never expected this kind of thing to happen now, sigh..."
Garp nodded at the statement. "That's true."
But Garp quickly followed up, "By the way, I heard that bastard Diarmuid is in Alubarna, isn't he? If you ask him for a favor, Cobra would be saved, right?"
"I only support him psychologically. How can I do anything that contradicts Mariejois right now?" Sengoku quickly waved his hands dismissively.
"Hypocrite!" Garp grumbled.
Sengoku ignored Garp and looked at Gion. "Speaking of which, that Diarmuid fellow has been gone for more than half a year, hasn't he? Even longer? What is he doing? Why hasn't he returned?"
Gion put down her bread, took a satisfying sip of hot milk, and then replied contentedly, "In his words, he's 'traveling.' But actually, he's been quite mysterious lately, saying he'll give us a surprise when he returns, and that his strength has achieved a breakthrough in quality."
"What?" Sengoku was astonished.
Even Garp looked at Gion in disbelief and asked, "A qualitative breakthrough in strength?"
"That's right," Gion nodded.
At their level, something that could be called a 'qualitative' breakthrough must mean breaking a bottleneck and making a true, meaningful step forward.
But Sengoku, Garp, and Gion all knew that Diarmuid's strength was already immense, virtually at the limit of possibility.
How could he achieve a 'qualitative' breakthrough under these circumstances?
"How did he do it? He didn't just learn some amazing new swordsmanship and call that a 'qualitative' breakthrough, did he?" Garp asked curiously.
But after saying that, he suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha! If Diarmuid heard that, he'd want to fight me! He absolutely hates it when people bring up his swordsmanship!" Garp roared with laughter.
This was a small, running joke among the high-ranking Marine officers.
Everyone knew that Diarmuid debuted in the North Blue relying on his swordsmanship, even having a 'match' with Shiki.
But once he reached Headquarters, the man's swordsmanship saw no significant progress and was often criticized as being 'half-baked'.
Yet, his strength in other aspects rapidly soared, making his swordsmanship a noticeable embarrassment.
Therefore, the senior officers often joked about this, which both annoyed and amused Diarmuid.
Sengoku and Gion also chuckled along.
However, Gion didn't know what exactly Diarmuid's 'qualitative breakthrough' entailed, so she could only shake her head and drop the subject.
After chatting for a while longer, Gion stood up. "Alright, I'm heading out to sea."
"Where to?" Garp asked.
"I happen to be free lately. Zephyr-sensei invited me to participate in a practical exercise with the Marine Academy. He'll be personally leading the team," Gion said with a smile.
Sengoku nodded happily at this. "That's excellent. I think you powerful individuals should participate in such activities from time to time. It effectively motivates those young recruits."
"Is that so? Is Ace going too?" Garp quickly asked.
"Yes, this new batch is all going," Gion nodded.
"Ahahahahaha, good! Make sure he performs well!" Garp laughed heartily.
In fact, besides Ace, there was also Ain, the promising recruit mentioned by Zephyr.
However, just as Gion was about to leave, there was a sudden knock on the office door. Sengoku put down his newspaper. "Come in."
A Marine Captain pushed the door open, holding what looked like a special edition of the World Economy News Paper. He addressed Sengoku, "Fleet Admiral, you instructed me to report immediately on any developments in the Alabasta situation. This is an urgent special edition just released by the World Economy News Paper. Mariejois has vehemently condemned the vile and evil actions of the Nefertari Family in Alabasta! They have confirmed and published photographs of a Revolutionary Army member participating in the Alubarna conflict; it was Belo Betty, Commander of the Revolutionary Army's East Army! Mariejois has now unilaterally stripped the Nefertari Family of their status as a kingdom affiliated with the World Government!" the Marine Captain said, holding the special edition.
Although this news was somewhat expected, it was still explosive. Previously, the newspapers had only speculated that the Nefertari Family and the Revolutionary Army were conspiring.
But now, the evidence seemed to have arrived!
Garp snatched the urgent special edition and glanced at it, surprised. "Mariejois is ordering the Warlord of the Sea, Crocodile, who is stationed in Alabasta, to take charge of all affairs in the kingdom and swiftly arrest the Nefertari Family, sending them to the Holy Land for trial? These bastards have actually granted Crocodile the authority to rule Alabasta?"
"It's probably only temporary. The people in Mariejois aren't that idiotic," Sengoku said, taking the special edition from Garp's hand.
"Even if it's only temporary, it's disgusting enough," Garp said through clenched teeth.
Gion looked at Sengoku, then at Garp. She had no interest in the matters of Alabasta or the Nefertari Family. She mumbled, "Well, you guys look over that. I'm leaving now."
"Oh, go be busy, hehe," Sengoku smiled at Gion.
After Gion left, Sengoku finished reading the special edition. Then, he said with a sigh of melancholy, "The Nefertari Family is finished. Alabasta is finished, too..."
"Yes... An ancient royal line of a thousand years has finally met its end," Garp also murmured with deep emotion.