Chapter 67: Laughable Justice
Kong issued an order that even he felt helpless about, but there was no other way.
Given the disparity in strength, numbers could hardly make a difference, though they weren't entirely useless.
During the Paramount War, many of the wounds on Whitebeard were inflicted by participating soldiers.
Although those soldiers were elites in their respective branches, they made little difference when facing Whitebeard.
But the prerequisite for all this was having someone strong enough to hold the enemy in check at the front.
Given the current situation at Marine Headquarters, he couldn't leave himself, and Garp wouldn't obey orders. Simply sending a few soldiers was utterly useless.
If this were a plot about factional struggles, the opponent would be impeached immediately to eliminate dissidents.
Moreover, over these few months, Kong had also noticed changes in Garp.
Before God Valley, Garp didn't care much about many things, but overall, he still obeyed orders.
After that incident, although the higher-ups of the World Government hailed him as the "Hero of the Marines," and Garp continued to serve in the Marines,
If he really had to chase certain pirates, Garp would still act.
But many times, Garp would display behavior of "lying flat" (slacking off/refusing to try), like now.
"Big Bro Kong, I warned you back then that Nereus didn't die there."
"Garp, address me by my rank when working."
The messenger was right next to them. Although Kong had a good personal relationship with Garp, Garp's performance just now irritated Kong, causing him to correct the form of address instead.
"Yes, yes, yes, Admiral Kong. Knowing that guy would return to Fish-man Island sooner or later, yet not reminding the Marines at Sabaody Archipelago to pay attention to this matter... that's dereliction of duty."
"..."
The World Government's goal back then was to cover up everything related to the God Valley Incident as much as possible, including the name Rocks.
Therefore, as long as those people didn't make any major moves, the newspapers didn't mention them at all, leading to the widespread rumor that Nereus was dead.
Kong wanted to say something more, but found Garp walking to his desk on his own accord and skillfully pulling out a bag of senbei (rice crackers) from a drawer.
Crunch... crunch...
The crisp chewing sound reached his ears, and Kong couldn't help but clench his fists.
"What are you still waiting here for? Go convey the order!"
"Yes sir!"
Seemingly unexpected, the legendary Vice Admiral and Admiral were like this.
The messenger carefully left the office and tactfully closed the door. Just as Kong wanted to have a "physical exchange" with Garp, Garp suddenly raised another question.
"This incident at Sabaody Archipelago will probably be covered up too, right?"
"Yeah... It's impossible to publicize it widely. At most, we'll mention an attack on an auction house..."
A certain well-known pirate attacked a human trafficking site, and the Marines not only didn't stop him but let him leave. Publicizing such a thing would be actively throwing their own face on the ground and rubbing it in the dirt.
Moreover, compared to many major events in the past, this trivial matter wasn't enough to increase Nereus's bounty further; it was simply too insignificant.
"Justice... is really laughable enough."
Meanwhile, at the Marine base on Sabaody Archipelago, the base commander received two orders.
One was from Marine Headquarters, ordering him to ignore Nereus and let him leave quickly.
The other was from Mary Geoise, ordering him to dispatch troops immediately to bring back all the escaped slaves.
Although the Marines were largely a self-governing organization, the World Government's management of them was loose.
Appointments of Admirals and Fleet Admirals had to pass through the World Government. Vice Admiral-level officers also underwent World Government review. Below that, for ranks like Rear Admiral, the Marines could appoint freely and just file a report afterward.
But undeniably, legally speaking, the Marines had always been a subordinate agency of the World Government. Officials of the World Government could theoretically command the Marines as well.
"Mr. Colston, this time is different. The person attacking the auction house is..."
"I don't care who it is! I just want my merchandise! If you can't recover my losses... Rear Admiral Coryell, don't forget how you became a Rear Admiral."
Base commanders in the Grand Line branches were usually Vice Admirals. Sabaody Archipelago was an exception. Being extremely close to Marine Headquarters, it wasn't even considered a branch, just a garrison point.
The commander's tasks usually just involved liaising with the World Government, so the rank was lower.
Those who opened human auction houses on Sabaody Archipelago all had their own networks behind them, inextricably linked to the World Government. They were the "black gloves" for many officials in the Underworld.
Actually, many cakes in the Underworld had long been divided. To join in, one had to snatch from others.
Human trafficking was an exception. There were always some blank areas appearing here, after all, people in this line of work wouldn't last long before being killed by Nereus.
Those officials didn't care how this place became vacant. Seeing money to be made, they naturally extended their hands into it. This time was the same.
Colston's threat gave Coryell a huge headache. The position of base commander at Sabaody Archipelago was very lucrative. The process of him becoming the commander here was indeed not very honorable.
But Kong had already told him who was doing this. Coryell didn't want to fight that kind of monster either. He also couldn't bear the responsibility of disobeying Headquarters' orders.
"No choice. I have to do this..."
Coryell's choice was to send soldiers to their deaths. He still dispatched quite a few personnel remaining at the base to hunt down the slaves.
Later, when Headquarters asked, he could just say the soldiers had already been dispatched when he received the order.
As for Colston...
Anyway, he had already taken action, but they really couldn't beat the enemy. Besides, there was more than one official behind the scenes. Colston was at most a messenger. Someone among those people would eventually face reality.
One by one, soldiers shouted slogans of justice, marching in formation towards the coast and the direction of the Human Auction House.
When Nereus's ship began to dive with those slaves, there were no longer any Marines attempting to pursue them on the shore.
The deception from their commander turned these soldiers into corpses littering the ground in a matter of moments. Many soldiers didn't even know who their opponent was when they died.
"What a terrible world..."
Kuma looked at the corpses on the shore with very mixed feelings. Those Marines all shouted about justice, yet their purpose was to deprive innocent people of their freedom.
"It is precisely because the world is terrible that we must make changes. And on this road of change, thorns are destined to grow. If the enemy doesn't bleed, it will be our own people's blood.
However, the garrison commander here seems to have some issues. Knowing the enemy is me, yet sending this level of military force to die..."
Given the location of Sabaody Archipelago, such an attack would definitely be reported to Headquarters. Marine Headquarters wasn't ignorant of him; it shouldn't be this strange.
In a moment, Nereus's thoughts shifted, and he appeared within the space of the River of Death.
"Xebec, want me to find you something to do?"
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