"We can't get through." The female officer shook her head and continued.
"All Den Den Mushi are unreachable. It seems the headquarters' communication has been cut off!"
Hearing this, Hina expression gradually turned serious.
"Why is this happening? Hina doesn't understand! No, I need to go down and ask Gion!"
"Wait, Lieutenant Hina!" The female officer quickly stopped her. "Didn't Vice Admiral Gion just say that? She ordered all of us to stay in the dormitory. Anyone who disobeys will be executed on the spot!"
Hina ignored her and turned to walk out. The other female officers didn't dare to defy Vice Admiral Gion orders, but Hina wasn't afraid.
Regardless of rank, she had a good personal relationship with Gion and believed that Gion would never kill her without a proper reason.
As Hina approached the gate, more than a dozen female officers who had been hiding inside quickly surrounded her, bombarding her with questions.
"Lieutenant Hina, what's going on? Has the headquarters been invaded?"
"It can't be an invasion! If it were, Vice Admiral Gion wouldn't have told us to stay in the dormitory!"
"A rebellion then? Could there be traitors in the headquarters?"
"Wait, could it be related to Vice Admiral Orion? Yesterday, colleagues from the trial hall sent word that the judge in charge of investigating Vice Admiral Orion case seemed to announce in court that he would sentence Orion to death and transfer him to Enies Lobby this morning!"
"Lieutenant Hina, do you know what's happening?"
Looking at the group of female officers surrounding her, Hina frowned slightly and said indifferently.
"Hina doesn't know what's going on either. Step aside, I'm going to ask Vice Admiral Gion."
With that, Hina stepped forward.
"Hina, don't come out!"
As soon as Hina stepped out of the gate, Gion' voice came from a distance.
"What you need to do now is stay out of this and wait in the dormitory until this is over."
"Gion, even I can't leave the dormitory?" Hina didn't stop, completely ignoring Gion warning. As she walked closer, she said.
"If the headquarters has been invaded, why aren't we allowed to leave the dormitory and join the fight? Hina doesn't understand!"
"The headquarters hasn't been invaded!" Gion placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, her expression serious.
"Hina, go back now. This is for your own good."
Hina, now standing less than five meters away from Gion, stopped. After scanning the soldiers standing ready around her, she immediately looked straight at Gion.
"If the headquarters hasn't been invaded, why are you putting on such a show? Is it because of Vice Admiral Orion case? Are you trying to stop Enies Lobby from taking him away?"
"Yes!" Gion didn't hide it, her gaze complex as she looked at Hina. "Hina, don't make this difficult for me. Go back to the dormitory. When this is over, you'll still be a Marine Lieutenant Commander!"
Just as Hina was about to speak, the dozens of soldiers standing neatly behind Gion suddenly turned in unison, raised their hands in salute, and shouted in unison.
"LOYALTY!"
Following the sound, Hina beautiful eyes couldn't help but narrow.
Ahead of her line of sight, Admiral Sakazuki wearing a navy cap and dressed in a dark red casual outfit, seemed to be in a hurry.
Accompanied by Vice Admiral Momonga, he didn't even glance at the people present and swiftly headed towards the residential area for families.
Unexpectedly, Admiral Sakazuki turned a deaf ear to everything before him and left in a hurry as if nothing had happened. A hint of confusion flashed in Hina eyes, and she softly murmured.
"Gion, is Admiral Sakazuki involved? What exactly is going on? Hina is very confused!"
Gion didn't respond but watched Sakazuki, accompanied by Momonga, heading straight for the residential area.
A heavy weight in her heart finally lifted. Clearly, Admiral Sakazuki had been persuaded by Orion, or perhaps they had reached some agreement. This meant that their operation would face one less major obstacle.
Otherwise, given Sakazuki temperament and his commitment to absolute justice, he would undoubtedly have gone to any lengths to suppress this rebellion.
At that point, she couldn't imagine how many people would have lost their lives because of this operation.
After watching Sakazuki and Momonga disappear, Gion immediately turned her gaze back to the confused Hina and softly said.
"Hina, after tonight, there will be a new Fleet Admiral replacing Sengoku. A new era for the Navy is coming soon. Everything that happened tonight isn't due to an external invasion but because Orion intends to reshape the Navy!"
...
Navy Headquarters, Residential Area.
Accompanied by Vice Admiral Momonga, Sakazuki arrived at the gate of a two-story courtyard. Around the gate, armed soldiers stood guard every few steps, clearly arranged by Orion to ensure the operation didn't affect this area.
The courtyard was in disarray, and the ground in front of the gate had been dug up three feet deep. Various plants and flowers were scattered everywhere, most of them withered and decayed. This was Orion courtyard.
The surrounding land had been dug up by the investigation team, hoping to find any hidden illegal gains buried by Orion.
However, Sakazuki had no mind to concern himself with such trivial matters.
As soon as he arrived at the gate, his gaze fixed on a hunched figure in the courtyard. The hunched figure was tremblingly picking up the scattered plants and flowers, muttering under her breath as if cursing the investigation team members who had destroyed them.
Although the figure had her back to him, the moment Sakazuki saw her, his heart couldn't help but race. Standing beside Sakazuki, Momonga was also surprised to see the figure in the courtyard picking up the destroyed plants under the cover of night.
He was momentarily stunned, then his expression changed drastically. Without a second thought, he swiftly leaped over the fence and stood in front of the old woman.
"Lady, why aren't you resting yet?!" As soon as he reached the old woman, Momonga anxiously took the withered plants from her hands and supported her.
The old woman looked up in confusion at the suddenly appearing Vice Admiral Momonga and hoarsely asked.
"Who are you?"
"Momonga, I'm Momonga!" Momonga carefully supported the old woman as they turned and walked towards the two-story building in the courtyard. He loudly declared.
"I'm your grandson colleague!"
Upon hearing the word "grandson," the old woman suddenly grabbed Momonga arm, her emotions so intense that her speech became unusually clear.
"Where is my grandson? Where has he gone! These past few days, bad people have been coming to our house causing trouble. You're from the marine, right? Go and catch those bad guys!"
"Alright, alright, I'll go and arrest them all and throw them in jail!" Momonga nodded repeatedly.
Just then, Sakazuki walked in. Seeing the old woman so close, Sakazuki hesitated, but ultimately didn't say a word, just staring intently at the old woman.
"I'm hungry~" The old woman seemed not to notice Sakazuki, and as if she had forgotten what she had just said, she looked up at Momonga like a child.
"Please, come inside and sit for a while!" Momonga helped the old woman into the house and then said.
"I'll go and get you..."
Before Momonga could finish, Sakazuki had already turned and walked into the kitchen.