Before the words could fully settle, Sakazuki suddenly appeared in front of Maynard with a flash.
In the next second, he had Maynard by the throat, lifting him off the ground. Before anyone in the room could react, the unique power of his Logia-type Magma-Magma Fruit was quietly unleashed.
"ARGH—"
As Sakazuki arm turned into molten lava, Maynard, still gripped by the throat let out a heart-wrenching scream.
"Sakazuki, what are you doing!" Completely caught off guard by Sakazuki sudden attack, Sengoku stood up in horror, his voice sharp as he commanded.
"Put Maynard down!"
CRACK!
A crisp sound echoed as Maynard neck was snapped. Without hesitation, Sakazuki tossed the lifeless body aside, ignoring Sengoku furious glare.
His sharp, menacing gaze swept over Yamakaji, Stainless, and the others, his voice dripping with killing intent as he declared.
"From this moment on, anyone who shows disrespect to Orion will meet the same fate."
After a brief pause, Sakazuki immediately shifted his gaze to Sengoku.
"This is my stance! Fleet Admiral Sengoku, if you don't want to see Marineford covered in lava and volcanic ash, sign this document."
"Sakazuki, you—" Sengoku glanced sideways at Maynard, whose neck had not only been snapped but also half-burnt by molten lava. His eyes widened in fury as he shouted.
"Your actions will plunge the Marines into an abyss of ruin. If the World Goverment learns of this, they will never recognize Orion legitimacy. By then, countless Marines will bleed and die with their eyes wide open because of you!"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, these words are no longer important!" Sakazuki stared intently at Sengoku, his voice deep and resolute.
"From the moment I saw my Mother, right and wrong ceased to matter to me."
With that, Sakazuki said no more and turned back to stand beside Orion, his eyes filled with an unprecedented determination.
In the past, he had adhered to absolute justice because he had witnessed his parents' brutal deaths at the hands of pirates, and because the seed of hatred planted in his heart since childhood had taken root and sprouted.
But after learning that his mother had returned from the dead and had been cared for by Orion for three years, the justice he had once firmly believed in began to waver.
It wasn't because he had lost faith in the Marines or the World Government, but because he was burdened with guilt.
The thought that his mother had not died back then, yet he had buried her alive, filled him with such self-loathing that he wished he could punch himself.
He couldn't imagine how his mother had survived after clawing her way out of the ground, nor could he fathom what she had endured during the years he had served in the Marines.
Based on the fact that his mother, despite suffering from dementia and forgetting his name, still remembered his favorite foods—white rice and chili peppers—he was certain that after surviving, she had been searching for him all along.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have remembered his favorite foods even as her dementia worsened.
He was grateful to Orion—grateful for reuniting him with his mother, grateful for giving him the chance to make amends for the grave mistake he had nearly committed in his youth, and grateful for the meticulous care Orion had provided over the past three years.
After all, his mother, suffering from dementia, could forget Orion at any moment. Under such circumstances, Orion could have easily sent her to a nursing home at Marine Headquarters or hired a caretaker.
Most importantly, according to Momonga, Orion original plan was that if this operation succeeded, all would be well. But if it failed and he died, Momonga was to deliver the investigation report to Sakazuki, as Orion feared that if he failed and perished, the elderly woman with dementia would be left with no one to care for her.
"It's truly over now...."
After watching Sakazuki stand firmly beside Orion with unwavering determination, Sengoku sighed inwardly.
Borsalino absence made his stance clear enough, and now, with Sakazuki—a man who had once upheld absolute justice—standing resolutely by Orion side, even if Sengoku gambled everything, he couldn't change the current situation.
Although he still had the trump card of Garp, the hero of the Marine, and another admiral, Kuzan, at his disposal but Garp was currently on vacation, most likely having gone to the East Blue.
By the time Garp returned, even with his immense strength, he would be no match for Sakazuki, Orion, and all the defected officers of the headquarters.
As for Admiral Kuzan, he held no hope for him either.
Three days ago, Kuzan had ridden off on his bicycle to some unknown sea, and knowing Kuzan as he did, he wouldn't return for at least ten days to half a month.
Even if Kuzan were to return now, with Sakazuki joining Orion side, they would have nothing to fear in the current situation.
Of course, it wasn't yet time to discuss the worst-case scenario. Because once Orion fully took control of the Navy, the World Goverment would likely compromise, possibly even directly appointing Orion as the new Fleet Admiral of the Navy Headquarters.
After all, a new Emperor of the Sea had recently emerged in the New World, and the Revolutionary Army had grown significantly over the years, posing a serious threat to the World Government.
If the Goverment were to wage war against Orion at this point, it would clearly be an unwise decision.
Moreover, if the Revolutionary Army were to ally with the Marine under Orion control, the Goverment would find itself caught between two fronts.
All of this was clearly part of Orion calculations.
Of course, whether he signed or not made little difference to Orion. If he refused to sign, Orion would simply eliminate all the officers and soldiers who hadn't taken a side.
After all, more than half, if not the majority of the officers and soldiers had already pledged their loyalty to Orion.
After a brief silence, Sengoku slowly raised his head and looked at Orion, his expression serious.
"Orion, how's Garp, Zephyr, and I treated you since you joined the headquarters?"
Orion nodded. "Very well, especially Zephyr-sensei. Back in the Elite training camp, he had high hopes for me! As for Garp, although he always wanted to groom me as his successor, I didn't quite agree with his philosophy. To be precise, I don't agree with the so-called justice that the Marine upholds from top to bottom!"
"In my view, as long as the Celestial Dragons loom over the World, the Marine can never truly embody justice. That's why I want to use my own methods to free the Marine justice from any constraints or shackles!"
Sengoku shook his head.
"I'm not here to debate with you. I just want to know, since we've treated you well, why did you keep things from us?"
Orion smiled faintly. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, what I'm doing is launching a coup. How could I not keep it hidden?"
"No, no" Sengoku waved his hand, his gaze fixed intently on Orion.
"I'm referring to the person named Imu that Gion mentioned earlier! Since you knew something that even we were unaware of, why didn't you choose to tell me, Garp, or Zephyr, but instead told Gion?"
Hearing this, Orion turned his head to look at Gion, who stood beside him, and asked in surprise,
"You told them?"
Gion nodded.
Orion didn't blame her. He turned back to Sengoku and countered.
"Do you believe everything Gion said? About the Flower Room, about the existence of Imu? I'm certain that not only do you not believe it now, but you also think I'm fabricating it to convince Gion and the others to follow me in this rebellion!"
"In this current situation, you still don't believe it. Do you think you would have believed it if i had told you earlier?"
Sengoku gaze remained fixed on Orion, as if trying to pierce through to the depths of his true thoughts.
"So, does the Mari geoise really have a place called the Flower Room? And an Imu-sama who sit on the Empty Throne?"
Orion waved his hand dismissively.
"Marshal Sengoku, instead of being skeptical here, why not go to the Mari Geoise and ask the Five Elders directly, or see it for yourself? Although I know Imu resides in the Flower Room, I don't know whether Imu is male or female. If you manage to see Imu true face and survive, remember to come back and tell me."
"But before that, you need to sign this document and immediately make a speech to convince the officers and soldiers who are hiding and waiting to reverse the situation to give up their resistance."