While the Army Headquarters was making vigorous advances in the World of the Kabane, back on the home planet of Marineford, the Marine Headquarters was about to undergo major changes in its leadership following the conclusion of the Commander-in-Chief of the World Government's meeting.
For now, however, nothing had changed yet.
Kong remained the Fleet Admiral, and Sengoku was still a Marine Admiral. Reforms and transitions were never something that could be completed overnight.
The port outside Marineford, which used to be lined with rows of massive battleships, now had only a few vessels docked.
The sheer number of escort missions requiring the Navy's assistance lately had overwhelmed the G-F Branch's ships, forcing them to mobilize vessels from Headquarters as well. As a result, the island had felt unusually quiet these days.
It was under these circumstances that two battleships arrived one after another.
"Somehow, times are changing too fast. To think I'd live to see so many Fish-men in this place, all wearing Marine uniforms!" Garp remarked as he strode toward the Fortress of Justice, flanked by Dragon and Rear Admiral Bogard, his eyes scanning the Fish-men casually moving about.
"Indeed. Even Sabaody Archipelago has become a true safe zone for Fish-men now. Human and Fish-man children run around the streets in groups, occasionally joined by Longarm and Longleg kids. No matter how many times I see it, the sight still feels surreal," Dragon added with a relaxed smile.
Strangely enough, despite his former disdain for the World Government, he now found himself admiring and even anticipating its progress. He hoped the World Government would continue improving, making the world a better place.
The trio moved swiftly, soon arriving outside the conference room within the fortress. At this point, Bogard could go no further—his rank didn't permit it.
Not that he minded. He casually took a seat on a nearby sofa.
"Huh? Just you here, Fleet Admiral?" Garp asked, puzzled, as he saw Kong sitting alone behind the conference table.
He had expected Sengoku and Tsuru to be present as well. Plopping down onto a chair, he dug his nose and grumbled, "If that's the case, why not just meet in your office? No need for such a big room."
Dragon, meanwhile, remained silent, quietly taking a seat opposite Garp. Years of childhood beatings had conditioned him to instinctively avoid sitting next to the man.
"This is..." Dragon noticed a thick stack of documents on the table.
"Read those files first. It'll save me the trouble of explaining everything," Kong said, now understanding how Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro must have felt back then.
Without these written materials, explaining concepts like the Stargate and the reasons for the reforms would be a tedious ordeal. Garp and Dragon said nothing more, picking up the documents and beginning to read.
"Huh?"
"Wha—!"
Minutes later, Garp's eyes widened, and Dragon's expression shifted drastically. Their gazes locked onto every word on the pages, their flipping slowing unconsciously.
For a while, the only sounds in the vast conference room were the rustling of paper and their sharp intakes of breath.
Seated at the head of the table, Kong watched the shifting expressions of the two men with an amused smile. After all, they had likely worn similar looks when they first saw these documents in Mary Geoise.
"Huuuu—"
"Huuuu—"
True to their father-son bond, Garp and Dragon exhaled deeply in near unison, finally finishing the stack of files. Yet they still needed time to digest the contents.
Ten minutes later, sensing their readiness, Kong smiled and asked, "I assume you've grasped the essentials about the Stargate and other worlds by now?"
"Are there strong fighters in those other worlds?" Garp looked up with burning intensity, feeling his blood surge with excitement.
"There are. But as the documents state, World No.0001—the World of the Kabane—hasn't shown high-level combatants yet. That doesn't mean future worlds won't," Kong replied sternly, locking eyes with Garp. "In fact, we might encounter forces surpassing even our top-tier fighters—perhaps even beings stronger than our very best!"
"Hahahaha! Now that's what I call good news!" Garp roared with laughter. Having long reached what he considered his peak, the prospect of stronger opponents meant new heights to conquer.
"And what if you faced enemies so powerful that not even our combined forces could resist them? Would you still call that good news, Garp?" Kong bellowed.
"Ah, well..." Garp paused, scratching his chin. "When you say 'our combined forces,' you're not just talking about the Navy, are you? You mean including pirates like Whitebeard's crew too?"
"Precisely."
"A foe even the old me, Sengoku, Zed, and Whitebeard together couldn't defeat... Now that's something worth looking forward to!" Garp grinned wildly, drawing exasperated sighs from Dragon and visible veins throbbing on Kong's forehead as his fists clenched audibly.
"Take this seriously, you damn fool!!" The thunderous shout echoed beyond the conference room, startling Rear Admiral Bogard mid-sip of his coffee.
Inside, Dragon ignored the commotion between the two legends, privately piecing together the World Government's recent radical changes. The Stargate's existence—bridging other worlds—meant the government could no longer focus solely on maintaining balance in their own.
They would need to mobilize the entire world's resources to conquer and develop the ever-growing number of new worlds ahead. Hence the crackdown on slave trades, Celestial Tribute, pirates, and racial conflicts—issues that could destabilize their homefront.
For the World Government now, this world was no longer just a pasture to guard. It had become the headquarters for multiversal conquest—and a headquarters demanded absolute stability above all else.
From this perspective, the lives of people in various nations would undoubtedly improve with the influx of resources from all sectors. However, at the same time, they would also have to bear the risk of powerful civilizations counterattacking alongside the World Government!
The people of the entire planet had already been forcibly tied to this warship by the World Government—a vessel accelerating endlessly with no final destination in sight!
As for closing the Stargate, it might as well be considered nonexistent. While theoretically an option, it was absolutely impossible in reality.
The allure of resources from a second habitable planet was utterly irresistible to the World Government and the world itself, not to mention the confirmed existence of multiple New Worlds—with even more to come.
"Enough!"
Kong waved his hand, signaling Garp to shut up, and pushed one of the two documents on the desk toward him.
"This is your new appointment after the restructuring. Congratulations—you're finally an admiral!"
"What?"
Garp shot to his feet, knocking over his chair behind him. He hastily grabbed the appointment letter and scrutinized it—it was true!
"No way!"
"You think I'll clean up after those trash as an admiral? Not a chance in hell!"