08-No Turning Back

At the same time,

Marine Headquarters Armory.

As the sound of intense gunfire echoed above Marineford, the soldiers guarding the armory were startled awake and rushed toward the main gate.

However, just as they reached the gate, a group of people surged forward.

Immediately, a dense hail of bullets roared out and instantly cleared the soldiers inside the gate.

"Damn it!"

Inside the armory, a few officers who had been drinking and reveling stood up at the sound of the gunfire and rushed out.

But they were still one step too late.

Just as they stepped outside, the gate to the armory was blown open with a thunderous explosion.

Right after, a Commander wearing a Marine coat dashed in front of them with incredible speed.

"Gentlemen, the armory is now under my control!"

Before the officers could respond, the Commander threw a document at them and said coldly, "You now have two choices: either follow Lord Elio into a new war, or die!"

...

Amid the blaring alarms, a force of over a thousand men surged into the Marine Headquarters building like a tidal wave.

Although it was already the early hours of the morning, there were still many personnel on duty inside the headquarters building.

Before the intruding group could even spread out in the lobby, the patrolling soldiers on night watch raised their guns. A man at the front, wearing a headquarters Captain's coat, shouted, "Whose men are you?

How dare you break into the headquarters! I order you to..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a figure darted forward like a ghost.

The next second,

"Finger Gun!"

With a cold voice, Captain's body froze. He looked down at the hand piercing through his chest, his face full of disbelief.

Before he could react further, a barrage of gunfire erupted behind him, instantly killing all the on-duty soldiers standing there.

"You..."

The harsh gunfire snapped the Captain out of his daze. Ignoring the searing pain in his chest from the Finger Gun, he clenched his teeth and raised his head. When he saw who had struck him, he could no longer hold back and exclaimed, "Vice Admiral Hound..."

The man who killed him was none other than Vice Admiral Hound of the Marine Headquarters, with messy hair and sharp glasses, a user of the Zoan-type Dog Dog Fruit: Hound Form.

"Sorry!"

Hound said without any shred of emotion, "Killing you wasn't out of hatred, rest in peace, Captain."

With that, Hound withdrew his hand and quickly drew his pistol, shooting the colonel directly in the forehead.

At the same time, a group of soldiers carrying buckets and cleaning tools poured in. After dragging away the Captain and other personnel, they swiftly cleaned the floor and rolled out a red carpet.

Vice Admiral Hound didn't linger. He quickly walked toward the elevator.

Each time the elevator stopped on a floor, bursts of gunfire, shouting, and cursing could be heard.

Still, Hound showed no reaction, his expression cold as he rode the elevator all the way to the top.

When he stepped out, the soldiers who had arrived before him were already lined up neatly on both sides of the corridor.

Without hesitation, Hound strode down the corridor and stopped in front of an office door.

Inside the office stood Borsalino, wearing his admiral's coat.

Borsalino stood with his back to the door, gazing up at a plaque on the wall that read "Ambiguous Justice", as if he hadn't heard the gunfire outside. He remained motionless.

"Admiral Borsalino!"

At the door, Vice Admiral Hound saluted, then walked in and stood behind Borsalino, his posture straight, and said, "Lord Elio asked me to deliver a message."

"So scary~"

Borsalino adjusted his glasses and turned around, looking lazily at Hound and the soldiers waiting outside, "I knew Elio wouldn't go down without a fight, but I didn't expect him to make such a mess."

After a brief pause, Borsalino glanced at the Transponder Snail on his wrist and said casually, "Go ahead, let's hear how he plans to convince me to stay out of this."

"Lord Elio said, if he fails, he will bear all the blame, but if he succeeds, he won't take all the glory for himself."

"Lord Elio also said that he has always repaid kindness and fulfilled every promise. As long as Admiral Borsalino stays out of this matter, it will be a huge favor to him!"

"That's not enough~" Borsalino shook his head, "Such a vague promise isn't enough to keep an admiral from intervening. Even if you fail, as an admiral, I would still be held accountable."

It was as if Hound had expected this answer. He immediately took out a document from his coat and handed it to Borsalino.

Borsalino was briefly stunned, but as he read the document, his expression drastically changed.

"Impressive~"

After reading, Borsalino uncharacteristically spoke seriously, "It seems Elio wasn't acting on impulse. He has planned everything in secret. He even investigated my background so thoroughly."

He paused, then lowered his head and stared down at Hound with a trace of killing intent in his voice, "How many people know about what's in this document?"

Hound shook his head, "Lord Elio said that if Admiral Borsalino finds the seal on the document has been tampered with, he can kill me and everyone present."

Upon hearing that, the killing intent in Borsalino's eyes gradually faded, and he said lightly, "As expected of Elio. As he wishes, I will not intervene."

"Splaaaash~~"

As soon as Borsalino finished speaking, two junior officers rushed into the office and dumped two buckets of seawater all over him.

"Forgive us, Admiral Borsalino!"

Hound didn't waste time either. He immediately took out a pair of Sea Prism Stone handcuffs and shackled Borsalino's hands, "This is so you can explain yourself to the Holy Land in case we fail. Also, if we do fail, the contents of that document will die with us!"

With that, Hound grabbed the document from Borsalino and burned it right in front of him.

Soaked and weakened by the Sea Prism Stone handcuffs, Borsalino slumped to the ground, his expression so comical it could make one laugh.

But Hound didn't dare laugh.

The only reason they could get Borsalino to cooperate so readily wasn't because of their strength, but because of that document Elio had entrusted to him. Otherwise, not just them, but every officer and soldier involved in this mutiny would stand no chance against Borsalino.

After all, Borsalino was one of the highest combative forces in the headquarters, and a top-tier fighter who had the frightening power of the Glint-Glint Fruit.