"Haa…"
Jin watched the Red-Haired Pirates' ship get smaller and smaller, until it finally vanished over the horizon.
The moment it disappeared—
His legs gave out, and he collapsed backward.
"Lieutenant Commander Jin!"
Marines rushed forward in a panic.
The base commander sprinted over, took one look, and his face darkened.
"He's unconscious!"
"Move! Get him to the base medical room, now!"
Jin's body was covered in countless small wounds, and across his chest a single deep gash was still bleeding heavily.
The Marines lifted him up and ran full-speed back toward the base.
On the rooftop, Ivankov's eyes were wide.
"The youngsters these days really are incredible, hi-hah…"
"I didn't expect it either,"Dragon said quietly. "Back then I just thought he was an interesting brat. Now he's grown this far."
He gave the unconscious Jin one last glance.
"Let's go, Iva. We still have work to do."
"All right, Dragon. Hi-hah. The world ahead is going to be very, very interesting."
In the Loguetown Marine base medical room, chaos exploded the moment they carried Jin in.
"His small wounds are already starting to scab over, but the chest slash is serious. There's internal bleeding as well. We need to operate immediately!" the doctor barked as he worked.
"Then what are you waiting for?!" the base commander roared.
"You think staring at him will make him heal himself?! I don't care what you use—just fix him! If anything happens to Lieutenant Commander Jin, I'll cut all of you in half myself!"
The medical staff flinched.
"Y-Yes, sir! Get compatible blood ready! Prep for surgery!"
As Jin was wheeled into the operating room, the commander could do nothing more.
He could only turn and head back to his office—to write a report to Marine Headquarters.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In the conference room, the top brass had gathered.
At the head of the table sat the newly promoted Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
On either side:
Admiral Sakazuki: Akainu.
Admiral Kuzan: Aokiji.
Vice Admiral Borsalino: Kizaru.
Vice Admirals Tokikake (Chaton) and Gion (Momousagi).
Marine Headquarters Chief of Staff Tsuru.
Marine Hero Garp.
Former Admiral Zephyr.
And a whole row of Vice Admirals—Onigumo, Momonga, Doberman, and more.
Once everyone was present, Sengoku spoke.
"Since Sea Circle Calendar 1500, when the Marines withdrew most of their main forces from the New World, the pirates have launched large-scale counterattacks."
He glanced at the documents in front of him.
"Leading the charge are three crews:
The Whitebeard Pirates, led by Edward Newgate.
The Big Mom Pirates, led by Charlotte Linlin.
The Beasts Pirates, led by Kaido. These three have been ferociously attacking our New World bases."
"At present, only the bases closest to the Red Line—G-1 through G-7—remain.
We're here to discuss which of you will be dispatched to guard these remaining bases."
Akainu slammed a fist on the table.
"My suggestion is we lead the Marines and fight the pirates head-on. Just pirates—how dare they push us this far? This is a failure of justice."
A cluster of hardliners behind him nodded in agreement.
Aokiji leaned back.
"I think we should focus on rebuilding, not charging into a full-scale war. Right now, we don't have the manpower to sustain one."
"Ever since Roger started the Great Pirate Era, the Marines have been exhausted."
The doves behind him nodded as well.
Kizaru drawled lazily, "So scary, yo~. Pirates these days are really frightening."
A whole faction of laid-back officers nodded vaguely behind him.
As the argument between Akainu and Aokiji grew louder and louder—
Bang!
Sengoku slammed the table.
"Enough. This is a conference room."
The room fell silent.
…Except for a loud, echoing snore.
Everyone's faces went dark.
Sengoku's brow twitched. He picked up his teacup and hurled it.
"Garp! This is a meeting, not your afternoon nap, you idiot!"
Bonk.
The cup hit Garp squarely in the head.
He jerked awake, bleary-eyed.
"Ah? Huh? We done already?"
"You shameless old fossil!" Sengoku exploded.
"Oi, Sengoku," Garp snapped back, face full of indignation. "You just threw a cup at me. I won't forgive you unless you buy me at least two bags of senbei!"
"Shut up, you moron!"
"Hah? Sengoku, you're going too far."
Everyone: …
Tsuru finally coughed lightly.
"All right. We're here to discuss the New World. You two can fight later."
Sengoku and Garp both snorted and shut up.
Right then, Sengoku's personal aide came in, holding a folder.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Urgent matter."
Everyone tensed, half-expecting news that one of their remaining New World bases had fallen.
Sengoku gestured.
"Read it."
The soldier saluted.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral.
We just received an emergency report from Loguetown Base Commander, Colonel Mao."
Hearing it was not New World-related, everyone relaxed a bit.
The soldier continued.
"Earlier today, the Red-Haired Pirates, who have been wandering the Four Seas for years, landed in Loguetown. There, they engaged in a fierce battle with Loguetown Marine base's Lieutenant Commander Jin."
"Red-Haired Pirates?" Garp frowned. "Isn't that the little red-haired brat from Roger's ship?"
"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp," the soldier confirmed. "According to our intel, Red-Haired Pirates captain Shanks is indeed a former member of the Roger Pirates."
He placed a stack of photos on the projector transponder snail.
The screen lit up—
Showing Shanks and Jin at the harbor, their Conqueror's Haki colliding.
Both young men stood at opposite ends of the port, facing each other down.
"Oh, that little brat from Roger's ship actually grew up, huh? Hahahaha!" Garp laughed loudly.
"Quiet, Garp," Sengoku snapped. "Continue."
The aide read on.
"Afterwards, the two engaged in combat at the harbor. During the fight, Red-Haired Shanks displayed strength far beyond standard 'rookie' classification."
A ripple moved through the room.
"In battle, Shanks demonstrated Conqueror's Haki, Armament Haki, Observation Haki, powerful hand-to-hand combat, and swordsmanship. He also displayed a high-level application of Armament Haki."
The next photo appeared—a shot of their swords locked together mid-clash.
"Mmm~ this 'Jin' fellow is pretty handsome,"Gion murmured, eyes narrowing with interest.
"Damn it, what's handsome about that guy? He's nothing compared to me! Gion, don't you dare fall for him!"Tokikake muttered jealously.
"Who is this Jin?" someone asked. "Why haven't we heard of him?"
Most people in the room looked puzzled.
Only a few knew the name.
Sengoku rubbed his temples.
"Tsuru, you explain."
Tsuru sighed.
"Arakaki Jin. Loguetown Marine Lieutenant Commander. Sixteen years old. Born in Loguetown.
His parents were ordinary merchants. Family circumstances… are somewhat special.
He joined the Marines at twelve."
"In the Loguetown base, he grew rapidly. In subsequent battles, he displayed astonishing talent."
"Every mission, he takes the lead in charging the enemy. Because of him, many lower-ranked Marines avoided needless deaths."
Zephyr grunted.
"So why hasn't he been transferred here to Headquarters?"
"That's the next part," Tsuru said, face tightening.
"While his battle record is outstanding… he doesn't like following orders.
On patrol, he has a habit of ambushing notorious pirate crews, killing them, and… distributing their treasure to the squad that fought with him."
"However, if the pirates were forced into the lifestyle, he kidnaps them first, sorts them out, sends the innocent ones home, throws the pirates in prison, and still confiscates and divides the treasure."
"Additionally, he is suspected of having contact with the deserter Marine, Monkey D. Dragon."
Everyone in the room frowned.
Tsuru continued.
"Upon receiving the report, Internal Affairs launched an investigation. The explanation that brat gave was—"
She cleared her throat.
'I'm a Marine with no sense of justice, so why are you trying to chain me down? Marines are supposed to fight pirates, right?
As for dividing the loot, my men risked their lives. Giving them some hazard pay isn't too much, is it?'
"Internal Affairs found that Jin really does operate that way, but aside from this… he has no other record of embezzlement or corruption."
"As for Dragon, his explanation was that they met the day Roger was executed.
He was starving and homeless at the time. When he saw Dragon, he thought he was a rich guy and went to try his luck.
Dragon, having no money on him, gave him a training manual instead."
"Hmph." Akainu snorted. "A Marine with no sense of justice… that's no Marine at all."
"Nah, that's a bit much," Aokiji said lazily. "Jin-kun's still been doing what justice should be doing—except for that little… extra, there's not much wrong with him."
Zephyr's brow furrowed.
Back before that incident, this kind of behavior would've been unacceptable in his eyes.
The conference room started to buzz with arguments again.
Tsuru coughed once more.
"Internal Affairs dug deeper into his background.
They found that when he was young, his parents died at sea in an accident.
His uncle seized the family assets and beat and abused him. Jin eventually ran away and lived on the streets of Loguetown."
"After being promoted to lieutenant commander, he did not retaliate against his uncle's family. However… in these last two years, their business has steadily declined and is now on the verge of bankruptcy."
"Heh," several officers chuckled.
"In conclusion," Tsuru summed up, "Arakaki Jin has no interest in authority.
He's not greedy. He only cares about getting stronger. He doesn't cultivate subordinates or political power. He's simply a battle-loving madman.
Headquarters recommends keeping him away from the center of power. As long as he doesn't break the law, we can… turn a blind eye where possible."
"Uh…"
The top brass exchanged looks, all speechless.
Garp just burst out laughing.
"A Marine with no sense of justice, huh? Interesting! Hahahaha!"
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