Chapter 172: Chapter 172: The Marines in Action
Marine Headquarters.
After hearing the news, Sengoku felt his Buddha-like head buzzing.
The symbol of the sea's fairness, the highest judicial authority of the world, the World Government's supreme judicial machine, Judicial Island... was destroyed?
Who did this?!
How dare they challenge the World Government like this?
"This is serious..."
"Brannew, gather the three Admirals, Vice Admiral Garp, and Vice Admiral Tsuru for a meeting right now!" Sengoku ordered with a serious expression.
"Yes!"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku!" Blannyu immediately left to notify them.
Not long after, the three Admirals, Vice Admiral Garp, and Vice Admiral Tsuru arrived. On their way to the meeting room, Blannyu briefly explained the situation to them.
The five of them all had grim expressions.
Judicial Island was completely destroyed, and without a doubt, the World Government would demand a full investigation.
Once everyone was seated, Sengoku spoke, "You all already know what happened. Blannyu must have informed you that Judicial Island was destroyed, and everyone on it is dead.
This is an extremely serious incident. The World Government demands that we Marines find this criminal who has gone completely insane!"
Just as Vice Admiral Tsuru was about to speak, there was a knock on the meeting room door.
*Knock knock knock...*
"Come in!"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the information on Judicial Island's current situation has just arrived!" A Marine soldier entered, holding a report.
Sengoku took the report, and the soldier saluted before quickly leaving, clearly uncomfortable with the tense atmosphere.
"Ah!!!"
"This is outrageous! These damn criminals, scum!" Sengoku slammed the table, shouting in fury after reading the report.
Vice Admiral Tsuru was shocked. She immediately took the report, and after reading it, her expression became even more complex.
"You all should take a look..." Vice Admiral Tsuru's deep voice rang out as she handed the report to Garp.
As everyone looked at the report, their expressions darkened even more...
The report didn't contain much text, but the images on it made them all incredibly angry.
After the explosion, the flames on Judicial Island slowly died down, but they didn't fully extinguish. The final flames were so strong that not even the sea could put them out!
But that wasn't the most important part. The key detail was that the flames that didn't go out formed irregular lines of text.
"Distorted law, distorted justice, should sink into the sea!"
These seventeen fiery words were still burning fiercely at the original site of Judicial Island!
This made it impossible for the World Government to cover it up. The newspapers tomorrow would undoubtedly be filled with news about these words.
After a long silence, Sengoku began to calm down. This wasn't just a matter for the World Government anymore.
The Marines were just as furious.
"Kuzan, leave immediately. Don't investigate for now. Your first task is to destroy those words!" Sengoku said in a low voice.
"I understand," Admiral Aokiji replied solemnly.
Those words were like a disgrace to the Marines and the World Government. As long as those words existed, they would be a constant reminder of their shame!
Aokiji immediately set off for the site of Judicial Island's ruins...
"There aren't many people who could have done this. According to the sea train conductor, the explosion happened after the sea train left.
That means this person was definitely on the sea train at the time. Tsuru, have someone check all the passengers on that sea train!" Sengoku said, looking at Vice Admiral Tsuru.
Tsuru didn't say anything. She nodded and immediately left the meeting room to organize the search.
There were still five people left in the meeting room.
"Let's brainstorm. Think about who on the sea could do something like this, or if there's a weapon capable of it," Sengoku asked again.
"There are currently two main fire-based abilities on the sea. One belongs to Fire Fist Ace, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. The other… is our own Captain Ryuen," Kizaru said lazily.
"Fire Fist Ace… that kid Ryuen… wait, isn't the Dream Exploration Team in Water 7 right now?" Sengoku muttered before suddenly remembering.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku," Brannew confirmed.
"It probably wasn't him. Even though he can be reckless, I don't think he has the guts to blow up Enies Lobby.
More importantly, from what we saw in his fight with Kuzan, Ryuen's abilities shouldn't be able to pull something like this off," Garp instinctively defended Ryuen.
Hearing Garp's words, Sengoku unconsciously nodded in agreement. Based on what they knew, Ryuen wasn't capable of this.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, judging from the sea train driver's statement, this was most likely a weapon, and one that could be set off on a timer.
The only thing on this sea capable of that… is Dynamite Rock.
But the explosion left behind writing, and Dynamite Rock can't do that. Not even lava could create flames that can't be put out, not even with seawater," Akainu analyzed.
"Dynamite Rock, huh…" Sengoku lowered his head in thought.
The room fell silent again. The entire Enies Lobby incident felt beyond logic.
An explosion powerful enough to destroy an entire island in an instant, flames that wouldn't go out, and the strangest part—the fire forming words.
What kind of insane ability was this?
"Garp, you go to Water 7 as well and see how Ryuen reacts," Sengoku said in a deep voice.
"Got it," Garp nodded. He stood up, swung his "Justice" cape over his shoulder, and walked out the door.
Regardless of the evidence, Ryuen was still somewhat suspicious in this case—because he was in Water 7 at the time of the incident.
And as the Marine who knew Ryuen best, Garp was the most suitable person for the job. He might seem carefree, but in critical moments, he was actually very sharp.
He was the best man for this task.
—
At Marine Headquarters' port, Garp's warship, the Doghead, slowly set sail.
Standing at the bow, Vice Admiral Garp frowned in deep thought.
"Could it really be that kid Ryuen…?"
"But he has no reason to blow up Enies Lobby. That's not his style…
And with his current strength and Devil Fruit abilities, he shouldn't be capable of doing it either…"
The more Garp thought about it, the more things didn't add up.
This whole thing was just too bizarre.
—
Water 7
The masterminds behind the Enies Lobby incident were currently on the lawn of a villa, happily enjoying a feast with fine food and drinks.
"Hey~"
"Ryuen, we got seven more Devil Fruits this time! What should we do with them?" Nami asked excitedly.
"Does anyone here want to eat one?" Ryuen glanced at the girls who hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit yet.
"No, no way!"
"Once you eat one, you sink like a rock in water, and besides, they taste awful!" Daisy and Leah quickly shook their heads in refusal.
"Are Devil Fruits really that bad?" Anya asked curiously.
"They taste horrible!" Several voices answered at the same time.
"Ufufufu…"
"Actually, it's not that bad. Not the worst thing in the world. But Ryuen, I think it's best not to reveal these seven abilities to the world just yet," Robin said, her tone turning serious at the end.
"Hmm… that makes sense. I forgot about that. Then let's just leave them for now," Ryuen nodded, understanding what Robin meant.
"Alright, before the Marines show up, let's enjoy the banquet!"
"Cheers!"
"Ooohhh!!"
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