Chapter 596: Fifteen-Day Fleet Admiral
Hearing Crocodile's words, Urouge beside him asked the two with some confusion: "Captain, do you mean that after Akainu returns to Marine Headquarters, something unexpected might happen?"
Ian didn't speak, just nodded heavily.
"Not likely, right?" Law said. "Even if Akainu is dissatisfied, Aokiji has already become Fleet Admiral. He can't possibly rebel against Aokiji by attacking a superior, can he?"
"Wrong, it's not about rebelling against Aokiji, but rather he might very well challenge Aokiji! To reclaim the position of Fleet Admiral!" Ian said. "Sengoku probably thought the same as you, that after creating a fait accompli, Akainu would choose to accept it all. But I think he underestimated Akainu's ambition. Don't forget, that guy Akainu is a loyal watchdog. He has support among the World Government's higher-ups. Plus, the way Sengoku decided the Fleet Admiral position while he was absent wasn't exactly standard procedure. So this matter is bound to cause huge trouble later on..."
Ian felt that if the situation were reversed, with Aokiji injured and Akainu becoming Fleet Admiral, Aokiji's personality might have led him to accept it. But with Akainu... well...
Sighing, Ian guessed that the battle between Akainu and Aokiji for the Fleet Admiral position might still happen again. Moreover, Ian suspected that even if Aokiji defeated the armless Akainu, he still wouldn't get the position, because the World Government's higher-ups never favored him and would likely obstruct him in every way possible.
Whether or not Aokiji fought Akainu, he would end up the loser! Sengoku's move just before retirement was indeed not well thought out. He had been a bit too hasty.
This matter wasn't just guessed by Ian and his crew; many people had seen it coming!
Sure enough, about two weeks after Aokiji took over as Fleet Admiral, Akainu returned after his surgery!
And as soon as he returned, he didn't go to pay respects to the new Fleet Admiral Aokiji. Instead, he went straight to Mary Geoise and met with the Five Elders.
Then, officials from the World Government accompanied Akainu to Marine Headquarters at Marineford and made a proposal to Aokiji. They used the excuse that when Aokiji took over as Fleet Admiral, one of the three Marine Admirals, Akainu, had been absent, so they felt it necessary to re-elect a new Fleet Admiral. They put forward a seemingly fair proposal: if Aokiji was dissatisfied with this decision, he could have a duel with Akainu, and the winner would take command of the Marines.
One can imagine how furious Aokiji was at that moment. This matter was even harder for him to accept than the original history where the two directly fought to decide the Fleet Admiral position.
In the original history, their duel could be considered a fair contest. But this time, it had turned into a huge conspiracy. Even Sengoku was alarmed. He angrily sought out the Five Elders, roaring in protest against their backtracking.
However, having fully retired after handing over his work to Aokiji, Sengoku's opinions were no longer valued by the World Government. Although they pacified him with kind words, the Five Elders did not change their decision.
This incident caused a huge uproar throughout Marine Headquarters, but it also completely chilled Aokiji's heart.
He wasn't stupid. How could he not see that the World Government wanted a Marine force that was obedient and controllable? The so-called position of Fleet Admiral might sound important, but in the eyes of the World Government, it was still just a department under their jurisdiction. Hence, this childish decision to go back on their word!
If he hadn't become Fleet Admiral, Aokiji might not have felt anything. But having already held the position, only to be dragged down by the World Government, he felt a tremendous humiliation!
"A duel? No need!" Aokiji said coldly, his expressionless face rejecting the Five Elders' proposal. "I resign from the position of Fleet Admiral and Marine Admiral!"
With that, he left Marine Headquarters without another word!
Having clearly seen the true face of the World Government, why would he foolishly engage in this duel with Akainu? He understood that whether he won or lost, he wouldn't get the position. So he simply walked away!
This incident had an extremely severe impact within the Marines, far worse than the original history where the duel decided the Fleet Admiral position. Aokiji had essentially been pulled down from the Fleet Admiral seat by Akainu!
In many people's eyes, this method was extremely dishonorable!
So after Aokiji left, a number of high-ranking Marine officers simultaneously resigned, including fifteen lieutenant commanders, six captains, and three rear admirals. These were all former direct subordinates of Aokiji, and this time, they chose to leave with him!
Smoker was among them! And so was Kuina!
Smoker, needless to say, had always been closest to Aokiji and had long been dissatisfied with some of the World Government's actions. He used this method to express his discontent.
Kuina, on the other hand, understood that with Akainu becoming Fleet Admiral, she would definitely be targeted for trouble because of what happened on the battlefield!
Thus, a major turning point occurred here. In the original history, although Aokiji left the Marines after losing the duel, he went alone. But this time, many subordinates chose to follow him!
This was the first split in Marine history. Although the scale wasn't large, the impact was very bad. Not only did it catch the World Government off guard, but even Ian was shocked.
Aokiji had only been Fleet Admiral for fifteen days before being forced to resign, making him the shortest-serving Fleet Admiral in Marine history. When this explosive news spread across the world through newspapers, pirates mocked it mercilessly, while ordinary people's hearts were filled with gloom.
They didn't fully understand the World Government's actions, but driving away a Marine Admiral was something everyone could see. Not only had the Marines lost the war, but now they were cutting off their own arm?
However, Akainu himself didn't think so, and the World Government shared his sentiment. Although Aokiji had left in anger, the world would keep turning without him. And his departure wasn't without benefits—at least within the Marines, there would only be one voice from now on!
The remaining Marine Admiral, Kizaru, though unreliable, knew how to read the wind. He showed no intention of competing with Akainu for the Fleet Admiral position. Without dissenting opinions to hold him back, Akainu felt he would completely control the entire Marines. So he began sweeping reforms.
Feeling a shortage of high-end combat power from the war, he proposed to the World Government to expand the number of Marine Admirals to five and planned to fill the vacant Seven Warlords positions. He believed that although the war was lost, the Marines needed to appear even stronger at this time.
The World Government was also increasingly worried about the rampant pirate activity, so this proposal naturally received their support. Thus, Vice Admirals Momousagi and Chat Donkey, who had been trained as reserves, smoothly became Marine Admirals. Moreover, the World Military Conscription plan still emerged, with the Marines planning to recruit two sufficiently powerful individuals from the civilian population to fill all the Admiral positions.
As for Akainu's plans, the retired Sengoku and Garp watched coldly from the sidelines. They now felt somewhat disheartened and offered no opinions at all.
When Ian heard this news, the Dragon Hunter Pirates had already returned to Travira Island once and were now sailing on the New World seas, searching for the Golden Emperor Tesoro's massive ship. The gold brought back from Skypiea was due for exchange.
The news, completely different from his memories and with the plot having gone off the rails, left Ian dumbfounded. He had originally thought it was good that Aokiji hadn't dueled Akainu and thus wasn't injured. But Smoker and Kuina also following Aokiji away was something Ian hadn't expected. He had thought Kuina would continue serving in the Marines...
Ian understood that the Marines' plan to fill the Seven Warlords was progressing. So Whitebeard Old Man's so-called "biological son," Edward Weevil, might still become a Warlord. But his joining would also cause Marine Admiral Zephyr to feel disheartened and leave in anger. Then, his Pirate Hunter Squad would transform into the Neo Marines.
Could it be that with Zephyr also leaving later, there would be two new Marine factions on this sea!?
And the Marines expanding to five Admirals also shocked Ian. Fujitora had already joined his pirate crew. He wondered what kind of figures the World Military Conscription would bring as new Marine Admirals.
Ian also understood that people like Aokiji and Zephyr, even if they left the Marines, would not stoop to becoming pirates. But regardless, Ian felt it necessary to contact Aokiji and Zephyr. So he wrote a letter and sent someone to find Aokiji and deliver it, intending to invite Aokiji to the world's largest casino for some fun...
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