Except for a handful of high-ranking officers like Finn, most of the Marine present had no idea what had transpired.
Officers like Momonga and the others were completely in the dark.
But they understood one thing clearly: judging from the sheer concentration of institutional power assembled in this room today, something extraordinarily significant must have occurred.
Fleet Admiral Kong didn't waste time with preamble. He rapped his knuckles on the conference table, drawing everyone's attention, then spoke in a grave voice. "I have two matters to discuss today. The first concerns Crocodile. The day before yesterday, Crocodile ambushed the Whitebeard Pirates who had returned to the New World. A fierce battle ensued."
Finn, who had been calmly sipping his tea, nearly choked and spit the liquid across the table.
He genuinely had no knowledge of this development!
And why was Crocodile so monumentally stubborn?
Had he always been this recklessly brave? This suicidally confident?
Had Crocodile actually witnessed the fight between Finn and Whitebeard on Spring Queen Island that day?
If he had seen it, couldn't he recognize the obvious power differential?
Douglas Bullet, who'd been roughly evenly matched with Crocodile himself, had been easily defeated by Finn. Then Finn had been overwhelmed by Whitebeard, forcing a Marine retreat.
With such straightforward logical comparison, it should be painfully obvious that Crocodile couldn't possibly match Whitebeard, right?
So why was he still this monumentally stubborn?
Gion, sitting beside Finn, immediately asked with barely contained amusement, "How did it turn out?"
But even as she asked the question, she started laughing. Many other Marine officers joined her, genuine mirth spreading through the room.
"Regarding the ambush itself, Crocodile's forces held the advantage initially," Admiral Sengoku said with an unmistakable smile. "But after Newgate personally engaged, they collapsed completely."
"In the end, Crocodile was actually betrayed by his own subordinates," Fleet Admiral Kong added, also smiling despite the gravity of their upcoming discussion. "He suffered a genuine defeat. Reports indicate one of his arms was severed."
This was the best news Kong had heard in several days.
Excellent. These bastard pirates fighting and destroying each other was the ideal outcome!
"After this battle, Crocodile will no longer maintain any foothold in the New World," Admiral Sengoku continued after taking a sip of tea. "He'll definitely evacuate back to the first half. What our Marines need to do is identify an opportunity to capture him and send him to Impel Down where he belongs."
That assessment effectively concluded discussion of the matter.
There wasn't much else to say about it.
The primary purpose of opening with this topic was to let everyone enjoy some good news first, to lighten the mood before the darker revelation that would follow.
Finn continued drinking his tea quietly, maintaining a neutral expression.
But internally, he was wondering: would Gecko Moria challenge Kaido again in this altered timeline?
After entering the New World, Moria had essentially disappeared from intelligence reports.
These days, so many events had diverged from what Finn remembered, the world's developmental trajectory shifting in unexpected ways. He was no longer certain about these secondary plot threads.
Even regarding Crocodile's challenge to Whitebeard, whether it happened due to accident or historical inevitability, Finn couldn't be completely sure anymore.
Just as Finn contemplated these uncertainties, attractive female Marines from the secretariat began distributing documents to everyone in the conference room, moving efficiently through the assembled officers.
Finn glanced down at the paper placed before him.
That damned Seven Warlords of the Sea draft proposal.
"Please review the documents first," Fleet Admiral Kong said, his voice taking on considerably more weight. "The second matter concerns the Seven Warlords of the Sea system. This is an extremely serious issue. I expect everyone to treat it with appropriate gravity."
Although Finn already knew the content intimately, having discussed it at length the previous day, he still picked up the document and read through it carefully, maintaining the appearance of first encounter.
He was already mentally prepared for the contents, so personal anger didn't cloud his assessment.
But while reading, he could hear the increasingly angry and labored breathing of numerous generals throughout the conference room. The atmosphere shifted palpably.
The meeting room's mood, which had been cheerful and almost jovial just moments ago discussing Crocodile's humiliation, now turned deadly serious, oppressive.
After finishing his review of the document, Finn looked up at the officer directly across from him. Sakazuki's expression hadn't changed much, maintaining his characteristic stern, almost rigid demeanor. But as Finn's gaze settled on him, Sakazuki seemed to sense the attention. He looked up, meeting Finn's eyes.
He didn't speak, but his expression clearly communicated: "I'll be watching your performance."
Kuzan, seated beside Sakazuki, wore a gloomy expression. He hadn't said anything yet, but his visible anger was unmistakable, tension evident in his shoulders and jaw.
As for Borsalino, he'd just finished reading the document. He tossed it casually onto the table before him, leisurely produced a nail clipper from somewhere, and began trimming his nails with studied indifference.
It appeared he didn't care about this matter at all.
Although Borsalino consistently behaved like an unserious slacker, Finn knew him well enough to understand the man possessed his own sophisticated thought processes and was considerably more perceptive than his casual demeanor suggested. He wasn't genuinely indifferent. Rather, he was being realistic.
Finn suspected Borsalino had reached the same conclusion: this policy couldn't be stopped through direct opposition. Instead of wasting energy on futile anger, better to maintain composure and trim his nails.
Practical, in a depressing sort of way.
"What the hell does this mean?" Vice Admiral Maynard finally broke the tense silence, his voice rough with barely controlled fury. "Legalize piracy? Then what purpose does our Marine organization even serve anymore?"
He slammed his cigar down, his fingers actually trembling.
"In my opinion, we should express our full support for this brilliant plan to the Five Elders. Tell them seven isn't nearly enough! We should expand it into the Hundred Warlords Program! We won't be satisfied until we've recruited a hundred pirates. And then our Marines can simply disband entirely!"
The sarcasm was so thick it was nearly visible.
Vice Admiral Jonathan also quietly lit a cigarette, exhaled a long stream of smoke toward the ceiling, and said with deceptive calm, "This is absolutely ridiculous."
After these two senior officers spoke, many elite Rear Admirals began adding their own curses and complaints, voices rising in a growing chorus of outrage.
Finn glanced around the conference room, noting with satisfaction that the Marines had absolutely no factional divisions on this particular issue. Everyone was unified in their stance, presenting a coordinated front against this external imposition.
Political unity, forged by shared humiliation.
"The World Government has gone too far!" Vice Admiral Onigumo suddenly slammed the table and surged to his feet, his voice cracking like a whip.
The sudden violent motion startled Finn so badly he nearly dropped his teacup. He quickly looked toward Sakazuki.
After all, Onigumo was one of Sakazuki's most loyal subordinates. Could this dramatic outburst be orchestrated, a planned opening salvo?
But Sakazuki looked equally surprised, staring at the agitated Onigumo with visible confusion.
'Damn, is Onigumo really this bold? He's the first one to stand up and directly name the World Government as the problem?' Finn thought with genuine admiration.
Earlier, whether it was Vice Admiral Tsuru or Vice Admiral Jonathan, they'd at most made sarcastic remarks. But they hadn't directly criticized the World Government by name.
Onigumo apparently couldn't control his fury.
"I don't know which bastard conceived this plan," Onigumo snarled, his face flushed with rage. "Can't those useless bureaucrats in the World Government who just sit around collecting tribute payments see what kind of catastrophic chaos this will bring to the seas? And they have the audacity to send this document to our Marine Headquarters as if it's legitimate policy!"
Admiral Sengoku looked momentarily stunned, about to speak and calm Onigumo before the Vice Admiral said something that would get him executed if word leaked beyond this room.
Fortunately, all the core Marine elites were assembled today. Although Onigumo was displaying extreme anger, he wasn't stupid. He understood perfectly well that whatever was said here today, even if someone pointed at photographs of the Five Elders and cursed them directly, there would be no consequences.
First, this represented the collective institutional mood. Although his language was crude, no one would dare stand up and refute him. Doing so would be interpreted as supporting the Seven Warlords plan, marking that person as fundamentally unsuited for Marine service. This was political correctness within the organization.
Second, anyone who dared spread his words outside this room would be betraying the Marines and would never be able to hold their head up in Marineford again.
So Onigumo knew perfectly well his outburst carried no real risk.
But before Admiral Sengoku could formulate an appropriate response, Gion suddenly stood up.
However, unlike Onigumo's openly furious expression, Gion looked visibly confused after rising to her feet. She glanced down sharply at Finn, who remained seated without any apparent movement.
Gion felt utterly bewildered. She hadn't planned to speak at all. But she'd suddenly lost her sense of gravity and stood automatically. If this wasn't Finn's doing using his Devil Fruit powers, she would eat her teacup raw!
"Start cursing," Finn whispered beside her without raising his head, his lips barely moving.
Today represented an excellent opportunity to establish institutional image and loyalty credentials. Whoever cursed most passionately and convincingly would become recognized as a die-hard elite within the Marines, definitely gaining tremendous popularity and internal support.
In other words, Finn was already in a position of considerable power and prestige, so he didn't need to participate in this theatrical display. But if he'd still been a Rear Admiral? There was no way he would have let Onigumo seize the initiative. He would have stood and cursed first!
Gion finally understood what was happening and immediately began clapping her hands together. "Yes! Excellently said! Onigumo is absolutely correct. Who the hell conceived this plan? If they dare show their face at Marineford, I'll cut them down with one stroke of Konpira!"
As soon as Gion finished her declaration, Stainless slammed his hand on the table. "Exactly right! This is simply intolerable! Whoever devised this plan deserves execution!"
After that opening, curses began flowing continuously. Momonga, Yamakaji, Cancer, Strawberry, all joined the chorus of condemnation, as did numerous Vice Admirals throughout the room.
Doberman would have been even more vocal, but he'd already returned to G-7 and wasn't present. Otherwise, with his aggressive personality, in this charged atmosphere, he might have actually cursed the Five Elders' ancestors directly.
Even Tokikake was cursing. He hadn't originally intended to participate, but since the goddess Gion had spoken so passionately, if he as her dedicated admirer didn't follow her lead, how could he continue pursuing her in the future?
Many senior officers looked stunned by the sudden eruption of institutional rage. Only Garp was openly laughing, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
The cursing continued unabated, everyone condemning the Seven Warlords of the Sea system with increasing passion. Admiral Sengoku and Fleet Admiral Kong looked progressively more uncomfortable. If this development continued unchecked, if someone provided just a bit more inflammatory guidance, it could evolve into something resembling a military coup!
This absolutely could not be allowed to happen!
But given their positions and ranks, it was extremely difficult for them to speak up and halt the outpouring. With collective sentiment running this hot, if they attempted to restore order, their motivations might be questioned.
At that precise moment, Finn caught Sakazuki's eye and winked deliberately.
Sakazuki nodded slightly, understanding immediately.
Then Finn slammed his hand down on the table with tremendous force, the sound cracking through the room like a gunshot. "What do you think you're doing?! How can you behave so chaotically? Who are you? You're soldiers! You're the elite of the Marines! You're here for a strategic meeting today, not a shouting match! Shut up and sit down immediately! Listen to the assessments of the Fleet Admiral and Admiral first before making your voices heard!"
The Marshal and Admiral were reluctant to interrupt given the political optics, but Finn, as an Admiral Candidate, had nothing to worry about. He could reprimand them without consequences.
When Finn unleashed his anger, Gion, Momonga, Yamakaji, and the entire elite cohort vaguely centered around Finn's leadership immediately sat down without a word of protest. They composed themselves instantly, not daring to show even a flicker of resistance.
It was remarkable.
Onigumo first glanced at Sakazuki. When he saw his commander place his teacup deliberately on the table, a clear signal, he immediately understood and sat down properly without further comment.
At that signal, all the hawkish Marine officers also settled back into their seats.
The remaining scattered elite Marines had neither the qualifications nor the courage to defy Finn, the so-called "Violent Tiger of Marine Headquarters" who had famously "punched the Fleet Admiral and made Garp jump out a window." They all restrained their energy and sat quietly, tension draining from the room.
The conference room, which had been noisy and chaotic just moments before, returned to perfect order in mere seconds after Finn's authoritative reprimand.
Fleet Admiral Kong glared at Finn, and it was painfully obvious he recognized Finn had orchestrated this entire theatrical display.
It could also be viewed as an opportunity to establish institutional prestige and demonstrate leadership capability. As of this moment, Finn possessed tremendous authority within Marineford's power structure.
However, Kong had no intention of disrupting the performance. He knocked on the table again and said with affected sternness, "Pay attention to your positions and responsibilities. What's the purpose of simply cursing in here? Sengoku, you speak first. Present the actual strategic assessment. Save the emotional outbursts for your private time."
Admiral Sengoku smiled with visible helplessness, then said, "Then I'll offer just a few brief observations."
Finn glanced at Sengoku with private amusement. 'That's excellent bureaucratic style right there. "Just a few brief observations" before launching into a comprehensive presentation. Already demonstrating proper leadership communication patterns.'
The real discussion was about to begin.