Grand Line.
Marineford!
The residence of Navy Headquarters.
Gathered here are Navy elites from all over the world—the center and brain of the huge Navy organization.
In one room, Kuzan was alone.
He crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and meditated.
"Navy Vice Admiral Kuzan was defeated by an unknown organization in East Blue, Hunter Guild President Leno!!!"
The news.
Once reported by the World Economic News Agency, it caused an uproar around the world.
Pirates are having a carnival.
Although they don't know about Hunter's Guild, let alone Leno, it doesn't prevent them from gloating and celebrating.
Pirates of the world, Navy has been suffering for a long time!
Actually, defeating a Navy Vice Admiral is nothing.
On the Grand Line, Navy Vice Admiral was defeated, not just Kuzan.
For example, since last year, the famous Shanks pirate group has destroyed at least three Navy Vice Admirals.
But!
Kuzan is different.
He is no ordinary Vice Admiral.
He is the future Admiral who has been building momentum with Sakazuki and Borsalino.
Look, how did Navy advertise before?
Undefeated Vice Admiral!
Navy monsters!
Hope for the future!
And so on, a series of dazzling halos began to be set on Kuzan and the others, making them attract the attention of Navy and people everywhere.
It can be said that they are launched by the Navy and World Government to suppress the powerhouses and the Four Emperors.
Their every move represents the image of Navy.
Now, suddenly the car overturned?
Happy to hear and see, let's play the crown and celebrate!
Compared with the happy pirates, countries all over the world are more disturbed, and they all voiced their voices, reprimanding Navy for not doing anything.
Everyone pays heavenly gold every year to the World Government, to your Navy, to catch pirates.
The result?
Pirates are getting more and more rampant.
There have long been complaints about this within various countries, but the World Government and Navy are so powerful that many people dare not speak out.
Now, Kuzan's defeat has given them an excuse, and comments from countries all over the world criticizing Kuzan emerge endlessly.
Although these remarks refer to the World Government, as long as they don't say it clearly, Kuzan has to take the blame.
After all, it is impossible for Navy and World Government to bear the infamy for Kuzan.
In front of this huge collective.
Of course, Kuzan is not yet abandoned; he is still valuable, and Admiral-level combat power.
Navy and World Government can only try their best to quell the incident.
To this end.
After discussion by World Government and Navy high-level officials, it was decided to hold a press conference for Kuzan, and he would publicly deny the defeat.
Crash!
The door of the house opened.
The tall Momousagi Gion stood at the door, glanced at the calm Kuzan, and said, "The press conference is ready!"
Kuzan opened his eyes, stood up, and walked outside.
"This is the manuscript given to you by the superiors. We have arranged for our own people to ask questions, and you only need to answer the questions you have."
Gion handed the document to Kuzan.
She has mixed feelings.
Kuzan's defeat also caused controversy within Navy.
Many hawks, led by Sakazuki, believe that he has discredited Navy and should be removed from the Navy Admiral nomination.
Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes.
A huge Navy is not monolithic.
Gion and Tsuru have a good relationship with Garp, so they and Kuzan are doves in the same camp.
Kuzan took the document and scanned it.
"If a reporter asks a question that is not mentioned above, you must not answer it," Gion urged.
Kuzan scratched his ears and lazily said, "Hey, Gion, I'm not a kid anymore, I know what I'm doing."
Gion looked at him deeply and said, "I hope you know."
She always felt that after returning from East Blue, Kuzan's mental state was strange, and his eyes and demeanor had changed.
But exactly what was wrong, she couldn't say.
It worried her a lot.
"Relax!" Kuzan said.
He walked out of the house, rounded the corner, and saw Sakazuki standing against the wall, wearing a Navy hat and smoking a cigar.
"Hey!"
Sakazuki, who folded his arms, raised his head slightly and said indifferently: "Put away your useless sympathy!"
"Stop embarrassing Navy, you bastard!"
The former Kuzan and Sakazuki were friends who fought side by side until the Ohara incident happened.
The ideas of the two diverged.
For the first time, tit for tat.
Since then, the two have parted ways, dislike each other, and the contradictions are almost irreconcilable.
Kuzan went with Garp.
Sakazuki asked himself to be transferred from the Headquarters to the branch base to serve.
Until, four years ago.
Fisher Tiger climbed the Red Line headlong and made a big fuss at Mary Geoise.
They meet again.
Contradictions, not only did not disappear with the passage of time, but increased more and more.
After Kuzan's defeat at East Blue.
Sakazuki was the one inside Navy who publicly criticized Kuzan for his incompetence.
Kuzan just paused and continued to walk forward, leaving a sentence: "When will I need you to take care of my affairs?"
Sakazuki looked at Kuzan's back and narrowed his eyes: "Hmph, you stubborn guy, don't do stupid things, otherwise..."
He took a breath.
"Hello, Kuzan!"
Gion chased it out, passing by Sakazuki, a little surprised, and then hurriedly chased Kuzan.
Gion catches up to Kuzan before stepping through the door.
"Your clothes!"
Gion put Kuzan on the chair, his Justice coat, and handed it to him.
Kuzan looks back.
Justice The two words come into his eyes.
In his eyes, the scene when he put on this coat appeared back then.
Excited!
It seems that when you wear it, you are justice!
Kuzan stretched out his hand, felt emotional after touching it, and said to Gion: "No need!"
"Eh?!"
Gion was dumbfounded.
Kuzan has turned around and walked out of the passage.
The lights suddenly brightened.
Kuzan squinted his eyes to adapt to the lighting of the press conference. As far as he could see, there were reporters from more than a dozen newspapers.
They are closely related to Navy and World Government, and they belong to the mouthpiece of their own camp, and they will not report indiscriminately like Morgans.
One by one, the video phone bugs aimed their eyes at him.
"Coming!"
"It's Kuzan!"
Plaza of the Sabaody Archipelago.
There are already many people standing in front of a huge screen, including pirates, local residents, and uninvited reporters.
Many people watched with curiosity.
In the crowd.
Doflamingo squatted on the branch, with the flick of his fingertips, several pirates were fighting under his control like puppets.
He looked at the screen and let out a mocking laugh: "Xixixixixi, what will Kuzan say? Is Navy's justice?"
In the corner.
Ivankov, a revolutionary army wrapped in a cloak, and his party watched with folded arms.
"Is it really Leno who defeated Kuzan?"
Ivankov was puzzled.
Besides them, there was Rayleigh on the scene.
In addition, this press conference will not only be broadcast live, but will also be broadcast to countries around the world to reshape the image of Navy.
Alabasta.
In the royal capital, King Cobra and his ministers were sitting around a long table with a radio bug.
Cobra's daughter, the nine-year-old little girl Vivi, was sitting next to him obediently, looking at the images from the radio bugs.
"Ah, it's Kuzan."
Little Vivi had seen Kuzan.
At the last World Summit, Kuzan and Gion helped them secretly. At that time, Vivi's impression of him was very good.
For Alabasta, where civil strife was frequent, Navy and Kuzan were the only existences that reassured Vivi.
Except for Alabasta.
North Blue, South Blue, West Blue, and East Blue...
Many people all over the world are paying attention to this Navy press conference.
Kuzan stood on the stage.
One by one, reporters scrambled to ask questions.
A bald reporter stood up, smiled and asked, "Mr. Kuzan, I heard that you went to East Blue to capture Hunter's Guild President Leno?"
"Yes." Kuzan nodded.
The reporter asked again, "Did you fail?"
"No."
Kuzan denied it.
The reporter was startled and asked subconsciously: "Then the rumors of being defeated by Leno and escaping are...?!"
"Fake!" Kuzan said in a deep voice.
"So it is!" The reporter sat down.
Suddenly, a curly-haired reporter stood up and said loudly, "But according to our interview with Hunter's Guild, there were multiple witnesses who saw you being defeated by Leno, and a photo of the battle between the two of you was taken!"
"Then let Leno show the evidence!"
Kuzan looked at the curly-haired man, expressionless, but the chill between his words made the other person startled, his forehead was covered with sweat.
Before the press conference, Navy and World Government greeted these reporters.
They usually cooperate, but that doesn't mean they really work for Navy and World Government.
They can't ignore justice in the hearts of the people.
Therefore, some daring reporters still chose to speak for themselves.
"Next."
Kuzan swept his eyes coldly.
Under pressure, no one else asked.
A blonde reporter said to himself: "Well, since it's all a rumor, there is only one last question left."
"The record of your consecutive victories as Vice Admiral was suddenly interrupted, and your defeat was denied. Can you still be the candidate for the next Admiral?"
The scene was instantly quiet.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Kuzan.
As early as a year ago, the World Government announced to the outside world that Kuzan, Borsalino, and Sakazuki were all Admiral reserve personnel.
The change happened because of Kuzan's defeat in East Blue.
Now that he has denied it, the previous agreement is still valid.
However, if Kuzan answers no, it means that the position of Admiral is completely insulated from him.
All of a sudden, the eyes of everyone in the world fell on Kuzan.
Kuzan looked at Sakazuki, who had his back against the wall, and looked at Gion, who was in front of the door, then looked at the microphone, and suddenly showed a playful smile.
Under everyone's watchful eyes.
Kuzan said slowly, word by word: "Navy is no longer the justice I insist on, so—"
"I hereby declare!"
"In front of the world, from now on, I will resign from the position of Navy Vice Admiral!!!"
The voice fell.
Everyone was stunned.
Whether it is the Navy, World Government, or people all over the world.
Everyone was stunned.
Kuzan didn't answer that question but gave an even more astonishing news!
Resigned!
He actually resigned!
That dignified Navy Vice Admiral, Admiral reserve, resigned.
For a moment, the reporters were dumbfounded.
Moments later, countless flashes frantically lit up.
This scene was also transmitted to all over the world through the eyes of the Den Den Mushi.
"what?!!
""what?!!!"
Sengoku, Gion, Tsuru Vice Admiral, and people all over the world who are paying attention, were all shocked when they heard this sentence.
"Kuzan, what are you doing?"
The island of acrobatics.
Only Sakazuki's roar and a loud explosion were heard, and the phone bug completely lost its voice.
On the island.
Leno, Kuro, Kuina, and Luwell all looked dumbfounded.
Kuzan, resigning?
Are you crazy?
Kuro, Kuina, and Luwell all looked at Leno.
You broke his mind?
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+30 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg
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