Chapter 86: Turbulent Public Opinion at Marine Headquarters

A few days later.

Marine Headquarters – Marineford.

The towering fortress stood solemnly, facing a vast and majestic square and a massive crescent-shaped harbor.

On the right side of the fortress, inside a Japanese-style building resembling a castle keep...

In a tatami-floored meeting room, over a dozen figures clad in Justice cloaks sat on either side of the low table, with sake and grilled fish placed before them.

Yet no one touched the food—the atmosphere in the room was heavy and oppressive.

Amid the swirling smoke, only the crack-crack sound of someone puffing on a cigar could be heard.

"Looks like everyone's already heard the rumors."

Chief Staff Officer Brannew entered the meeting room, walked to the whiteboard, and scratched his messy, grass-green bird's nest of hair.

"That's right. In the East Blue, a group of extremely dangerous pirates suddenly appeared recently. Very troublesome."

"Extremely dangerous?"

A white-haired rear admiral let out a cold laugh. "You really have the nerve to use that term? I feel ashamed just hearing it. The internal investigation report clearly states that it wasn't the pirates—it was that lunatic Onigumo who fired on Loguetown and stirred up this mess!"

"Watch your words."

Another young rear admiral said coldly, "It wasn't Vice Admiral Onigumo's doing. The order came from Altai, who carries the bloodline of the Celestial Dragons. As soldiers, we are duty-bound to follow orders—what could he have done?"

"He's not even a pure-blooded Celestial Dragon. If he really didn't want to follow, there are plenty of ways to disobey in secret. What could that Altai do to a proper Marine Headquarters vice admiral anyway?"

The white-haired rear admiral grew furious, his voice suddenly rising in pitch.

"Don't make excuses! It's clearly that guy's old habit flaring up again! Every time he sees pirates gathering, he just wants to go slaughter them for fun, completely ignoring the safety of civilians! But this time, he picked a tough opponent! Just the thought of sharing a uniform with someone like him fills me with shame!"

"Calm down, Rear Admiral Farn."

Brannew rubbed his temples in frustration and spoke helplessly:

"Let's not judge Vice Admiral Onigumo's behavior for now. That's not the purpose of today's meeting. Set it aside for now—argue about it in private after the meeting, alright?"

Hmph!

Rear Admiral Farn turned his head away and snorted heavily through his nose, a reluctant concession.

Brannew shook his head. As one of the longest-serving staff officers in headquarters, he was already used to scenes like this.

Vice Admiral Onigumo was known for being the most extreme hawk in all of Marineford, and was constantly at odds with the more moderate faction.

The disputes over Onigumo's role in the "Loguetown Incident" had already broken out several times across different departments.

What happened at today's staff meeting was merely a small reflection of a bigger internal storm.

"In any case, Vice Admiral Onigumo was publicly executed—I don't want to use that word, but it's the most accurate one for the situation."

Brannew continued, "And the king of the Peace Kingdom, His Majesty Altai, who he was supposed to protect, also died aboard the warship."

"The royal family of the Peace Kingdom has since sent repeated letters urging an investigation. Their wording has grown more aggressive, even threatening to escalate the matter to the Holy Land. The fallout from this incident is extremely severe."

"Therefore, as I just said—regardless of your personal views on Vice Admiral Onigumo—what's important is the Loguetown incident itself. The higher-ups' stance is clear: we must treat this group of pirates as a high-priority threat and eliminate them as soon as possible."

As he spoke, Brannew took out a thick stack of bounty posters and began pinning them onto the whiteboard one by one.

"First—this one!"

Smack! His pointer stick struck the poster on the right side, showing an old man with braided facial hair.

"'Red-Leg' Zeff! Former captain of the Cook Pirates. Bounty: 50 million Berries. Years ago, he led his crew into the Grand Line but returned to East Blue after a year and went quiet."

"Our department kept an eye on him for a while but eventually concluded he had retired due to old age. No one expected he'd humble himself to serve as an ordinary cook aboard someone else's ship and set sail again."

"Notably, his right leg has somehow been replaced with a prosthetic made of an unknown metal. He's demonstrated the ability to manipulate fire and lightning, and can even fly through the air."

"In addition, he's mastered several Rokushiki techniques. Compared to his prime, his strength has greatly improved. In the Loguetown Incident, he even held his own against the formidable Rear Admiral Hound."

"Hound, huh?"

The expressions of those present grew serious. Some had trained alongside Hound in the Marine elite camp and knew he was one of the top talents among the rear admirals—likely to be fast-tracked for promotion to vice admiral in the near future.

And such a powerful old man… was just the cook of this new pirate crew?

"Based on all available intel and discussion among staff, his new bounty is set at 80 million Berries! Codename: 'Iron Red-Leg'!"

Brannew announced gravely, then moved his pointer one step left. "Next—this one!"

In the photo, a black-haired, high-ponytailed girl stood sideways in the rain, quietly watching ahead. Her simple clothing matched the plain sword at her waist—Wado Ichimonji.

"Kuina. A mysterious girl. She once won the swordsmanship tournament on East Blue's Asakura Island years ago, then disappeared. Now she's resurfaced, and at a young age, has shown the power of a true swordmaster!"

"This is her first bounty: 75 million Berries! Codename: 'Rain-Cutting Swordmaster'!"

A first-time bounty of 75 million?

That was an astonishing figure for an East Blue pirate.

But none of the officers present seemed particularly surprised. The swordmaster level of strength was rare even in the first half of the Grand Line—she clearly deserved this amount.

"Next, we have these two—'Iron Fist' Nojiko and 'Orange-Hair' Nami. According to our investigation, both are sisters of that man named Shano."

Brannew pointed to the two girls on the whiteboard—completely different in appearance and demeanor:

"Nojiko possesses impressive combat strength, proficient in multiple martial arts and Rokushiki techniques. Though slightly overpowered in her battle with Rear Admiral Yaqi, she singlehandedly thwarted his attempt to provide reinforcements."

"Thus, her bounty is set at 40 million Berries!"

"As for the girl named Nami, a minor…"

Brannew frowned slightly. "She didn't participate in direct combat during the Loguetown Incident. Based on our analysis, she was likely only brought aboard due to her blood ties with the captain. She doesn't seem to have any combat capability. Still, since she was involved in the event, she couldn't escape a bounty."

"Preliminary bounty: 8,000 Berries!"