At the dawn of Sea Circle Calendar Year 1496, Marine Headquarters once again underwent a major reshuffling of personnel.
At the beginning of the year, the legendary "Black Arm" Zephyr formally stepped down from his position as an Admiral, taking up the role of Chief Instructor of the Marine Academy as well as head of the Elite Training Camp.
At the same time, Admiral Sengoku began systematically assuming the responsibilities of Fleet Admiral. Under the guidance of "Steel Bone" Kong, the two initiated a gradual transition of power.
With vacancies opening among the Admirals at Marine Headquarters, members of the new generation—Gern Reginald Sigmar, Sakazuki, and others—began to shoulder the core burden of frontline operations.
In the latter half of that year, in July, Gern held a formal promotion ceremony at Marineford and was officially elevated to Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters.
That same month, "White Rabbit" Ribo Hope, Second Lieutenant, was promoted out of rank to Headquarters Lieutenant Colonel after her outstanding performance in the defense of G-7 Fortress.
Marine Headquarters Warrant Officer "Golden" Gild Tesoro married Stella, the two swearing their vows beneath the banner of Justice.
Not long after his marriage, Tesoro began aggressively accumulating achievements. In the final month of 1496, he led his unit in annihilating a massive pirate fleet, earning commendation and successfully advancing to Headquarters Major.
On the pirate side, several newcomers rose to prominence that year:
A man wielding a single blade, who alone cut down and sank the fleet of West Blue underworld boss "Don" Marlon, and personally slew Marlon himself—a former member of the Rocks Pirates.
The swordsman whose title of "Hawk-Eyes" resounded throughout the Grand Line: Dracule Mihawk.
Donquixote Doflamingo, who manipulated the String-String Fruit, massacred the North Blue aristocratic council, and began building his own family empire.
And Gecko Moria, who started challenging Kaido and prepared to assemble the terrifying Thriller Bark fleet.
That same year, the Seven Warlords of the Sea system was officially launched. Sir Crocodile and "Hanafuda" became its first members.
Also that year, Bartholomew Kuma—due to his Buccaneer bloodline—rejected Ginny's marriage proposal at the age of twenty-two.
At the same time, Kuma overthrew the former king of the Sorbet Kingdom and was elevated by the people as the new king—a king who did not live in the palace.
Meanwhile, after the Battle of Edd War, Golden Lion Shiki finally began to reappear in the world.
Elsewhere, Kozuki Oden fully earned the title of "Peerless Under Heaven."
Then came Sea Circle Calendar Year 1497.
A legend was born.
The Roger Pirates reached the true final island of the Grand Line, completing a full circumnavigation of the world and learning the entirety of its truth.
Roger himself named that final island Laugh Tale.
The Roger Pirates became, in every sense, the world's number one pirate crew.
The newspapers erupted, and the world began to refer to him as the "Pirate King."
Yet almost no one knew that, on their return voyage to the South Blue's Baterilla Island… Roger suddenly disbanded his crew.
On that small island, he began courting a young woman—and successfully fell in love with Portgas D. Rouge.
In the first half of that same year, the remaining members of the Roger Pirates, led by Rayleigh, escorted Kozuki Oden back to Wano.
But by then, the position of Shogun had been completely seized by Kurozumi Orochi, backed by Kaido's Beasts Pirates, who established weapons factories throughout the country.
Oden clashed with Orochi, yet due to the hostage situation—
In a moment of tragic foolishness, he chose to trust Orochi and accepted the proposed five-year pact, beginning a farcical life that would last half a decade.
...
Marineford. Marine Headquarters. Vice Admiral's Office.
Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the spacious room. Gern lounged lazily in his chair, holding the latest newspaper in his hand.
Splashed across the front page was Roger's wanted poster. Beneath it, a bold black headline declared:
"'Pirate King' Gol D. Roger's Bounty Breaks 5.5 Billion Berries!The World's Greatest Pirate Crew Circles the Globe—The King of Pirates in Name and Reality!"
"Tch, 5.5 billion berries…" Gern clicked his tongue, eyes drifting over Roger's confident, radiant smile in the photo.
"That guy's really living large."
"Mmm-hmm."Off to the side, Garp stuffed his mouth with rice crackers, crumbs scattering across the desk as he spoke indistinctly.
"That bastard Roger actually became the 'Pirate King.' The seas are gonna be anything but peaceful now!Look at this—pirate numbers across all four Blues are skyrocketing. Every last one of them's chasing his shadow."
"There's no helping that," Gern said, folding the paper and smiling with amusement."If it comes to it, why don't we crown a 'Marine King' too? Can't let pirates hog all the spotlight."
"Hahahaha!"Garp froze for a split second, then slammed the table laughing, sending documents bouncing into the air.
"That's a great idea! 'Marine King'!I'll go tell Sengoku and Fleet Admiral Kong later!
"They can even print you a 5.5-billion-berry bounty—only for catching pirates!"
"I'll pass." Gern shrugged. "I don't feel like painting a target on my back."
"Oh, right—Gern, there's one more thing."Garp shoved another handful of crackers into his mouth, then suddenly sighed, his tone uncharacteristically heavy.
"Dragon… that kid… he got married."
"What?!"Gern instantly sat upright, eyes blazing with shameless curiosity.
"Who's the bride? Please, you have to tell me!"
He was genuinely curious who Luffy's mother was. Surely it wasn't really a Celestial Dragon… right?!
Seeing Gern's excitement, Garp waved him off, looking annoyed.
"I don't know either. The brat just called to inform me. Didn't even invite me to the wedding."
He grabbed his teacup and took a long gulp, muttering,"Guess I'll never get to experience giving a speech at my son's wedding."
Watching the rare loneliness on Garp's face, Gern couldn't help laughing.
"Vice Admiral Garp, if your son hid his marriage from you, sounds like you didn't beat him hard enough growing up."
"You little punk!" Garp shot him a glare, though the grin in his eyes betrayed him.
"But seriously… Dragon's been stubborn since he was a kid. Now he's even more secretive. Even I can't figure out what he's planning."
Gern leaned back, gazing at the blue sky beyond the window, thoughtful.
"Maybe… he's plotting something big.After all, that 'Freedom Army' of his is causing quite a stir.
"Of course, it helps that Vice Admiral Garp here keeps indulging him. Every mission involving Dragon somehow ends up assigned to you—or Kuzan—then redirected to you for… mysterious reasons."
"I don't want to either," Garp sighed deeply, chewing in silence, a complicated glint passing through his eyes.
"But he's my son, Gern."
The office fell quiet. Only the crunch of crackers and the distant cries of seagulls broke the stillness.
Suddenly, a Den Den Mushi rang out—Buru buru—shattering the silence.
Gern picked it up. The snail instantly adopted Sengoku's stern expression.
"Gern, report to the conference room immediately. Emergency meeting.And Garp's probably hiding in your office slacking off—bring him too!"
"Understood."
Gern hung up and stood, adjusting his coat of Justice.
"Vice Admiral Garp, Admiral Sengoku's calling. Looks like it's back to work. Really makes me envy Instructor Zephyr's retirement."
"You'll retire someday too," Garp said, brushing crumbs from his hands as he stood.
"Let's go. Might be Roger stirring up trouble again.After all, now that he's the world's top pirate crew, they won't stay quiet."
They'll be very quiet, Gern thought to himself.The crew's already disbanded.
But as far as the world was concerned, the only person who knew Roger had gone off to "an old bull grazing on young grass" was Gern himself.
Soon, the two walked side by side out of the office. Marines in the hallway snapped to attention and saluted.
Gern nodded politely. Garp waved cheerfully.
"Hey! Got any rice crackers in the cafeteria today?"
The soldiers struggled not to laugh and shook their heads.
"Tch," Garp said in disappointment. "Marine HQ logistics are getting worse by the day…"
"Vice Admiral Garp, the cafeteria doesn't sell rice crackers," one soldier said helplessly."You used to like other snacks too—why only crackers now?"
"Easy to chew!" (￣～￣)