At the beginning of sea circle calendar 1496, Marineford once again underwent significant personnel changes.
Early in the year, 'Black Arm' Zephyr officially stepped down from his Admiral position, transferring to become the Chief Instructor of Navy School and the head of the Elite Training Camp!
At the same time, Admiral Sengoku began systematically taking over Fleet Admiral duties, with Kong guiding the slow transition of power between the two.
Furthermore, with the vacancy in Marineford's Admiral seat, new generation generals like Gern and Sakazuki began to take on core combat missions.
It was also in the second half of this year, in July, that Gern held his promotion ceremony at Marineford, officially being promoted to Marineford Vice Admiral!
In the same month, Warrant Officer 'White Rabbit' Libo Hope was exceptionally promoted to Marineford Lieutenant Commander due to her outstanding performance in the G-7 Fortress Defense Battle.
Marineford Warrant Officer 'Gild' Gild Tesoro and Stella held their wedding, confirming their vows under the banner of justice.
Shortly after his marriage, Tesoro began striving for achievements, finally leading his unit to annihilate a large pirate fleet in the last month of 1496, earning the rank of Major and successfully being promoted to Marineford Major.
On the pirate side, some of the more notable newcomers this year included:
Dracule Mihawk, whose name as 'Hawkeye' Swordsman resounded throughout the Grand Line, single-handedly sinking the pirate fleet of the West Blue Mafia 'Boss' Marlon and individually defeating the former Rocks Pirates member 'Boss' Marlon.
Donquixote Doflamingo, who used the 'String-String Fruit' to bloody the North Blue Noble Council and began establishing his family.
And Gekko Moriah, who was preparing to form the Thriller Bark fleet as he began to challenge Kaido.
In the same year, the Seven Warlords of the Sea system was launched: Crocodile and 'Hanafuda' became the first Shichibukai members.
It was also this year that Bartholomew Kuma, due to his Buccaneer bloodline, rejected Ginny's marriage proposal at the age of 22.
At the same time, Kuma overthrew the former king of the Sorbet Kingdom and was acclaimed by the populace as the new king (a king who does not reside in the palace).
Meanwhile, Golden Lion Shiki finally began to reappear after the Edwal Sea Battle.
Concurrently, Kozuki Oden completely earned the title of 'Unrivaled Under Heaven'!
Subsequently, in sea circle calendar 1497, a legend was born!!
The Roger Pirates reached the true last island of the Grand Line, completing their circumnavigation of the world and learning all the world's secrets.
He himself named this final island Laugh Tale.
The Roger Pirates became the undisputed number one pirate crew in the world.
At the same time, newspapers widely publicized it, and people began to refer to him as the 'Pirate King'!!
But what no one knew was that upon returning to Baterilla Island in the South Sea… Roger suddenly disbanded his pirate crew.
He himself also started to flirt with young women on this island and successfully fell in love with Portgas D. Rouge!
In the first half of the same year, the remaining members of the Roger Pirates, led by Rayleigh, sent Kozuki Oden back to Wano Country.
However, at this time, the Shogun of Wano Country had been completely seized by Orochi, with Kaido's Beasts Pirates backing him and establishing a weapon factory in the country.
Oden clashed with Orochi, but ultimately, due to hostage concerns,
He foolishly chose to trust and accept Orochi's five-year agreement, thus beginning a five-year period as a clown!!
...
Marineford, Marineford, Vice Admiral's Office.
Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the spacious room, and Gern leaned lazily in his chair, holding the latest newspaper.
Roger's bounty poster was prominently displayed on the front page of the newspaper, with a bold, thick headline below it:
'Pirate King' Gol D. Roger's Bounty Exceeds 5.5 Billion Berries! The World's Number One Pirate Crew, Circumnavigated the World, Truly the King of Pirates!!
"Tsk, 5.5 billion Berries..." Gern clicked his tongue, his gaze sweeping over Roger's spirited face on the newspaper.
"This guy is truly enjoying boundless glory."
"Mmm-hmm." Kuma, who was next to him, chewed loudly on senbei, crumbs falling all over the table, and mumbled indistinctly,
"That scoundrel Roger actually became the 'Pirate King.' The seas won't be peaceful now!
Look, the number of pirates in the four seas is skyrocketing, all attracted by this guy's reputation."
"There's nothing we can do about that!" Gern put down the newspaper, a playful smile on his lips.
"If worst comes to worst, we could also create a 'Marine King,' how about that? We can't let the pirates hog all the glory, can we?"
"Hahaha!" Kuma first froze, then slapped the table and burst out laughing, making the documents on the table jump.
"That's a good idea! 'Marine King'!
I'll go mention it to Sengoku and Fleet Admiral Kong later.
Let them also print a 5.5 billion Berries bounty for you, but it's a bounty for catching pirates!"
"I think I'll pass on that." Gern shrugged, laughing, "I don't want to be a target."
"Oh, right, Gern, there's one more thing." Kuma put another handful of senbei into his mouth, then suddenly sighed, his tone uncharacteristically low: "That kid Dragoon... got married."
"What?!" Gern instantly sat up straight, a glint of gossip in his eyes.
"Who's the bride? You absolutely must tell me!!"
He was genuinely curious about who Luffy's mother was! It couldn't really be a Celestial Dragons, could it?!
Seeing Gern's excited expression, Kuma waved his hand, looking depressed.
"I don't know either; that kid just called to inform me. He didn't even let me attend the wedding."
As he spoke, Kuma picked up a teacup and took a gulp, muttering, "It seems I'll never get to experience being a father giving a speech at his son's wedding."
Gern looked at Kuma, who rarely showed such a despondent expression, and couldn't help but laugh.
"Vice Admiral Garp, your son even hid his marriage from you. It seems you didn't beat him hard enough normally."
"You brat!" Kuma glared at him, but the smile in his eyes couldn't be hidden.
"But then again, that guy Dragoon has been stubborn since he was a child, and now he's even more mysterious. Even I, his old man, can't figure out what he's thinking."
Gern leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the blue sky and white clouds outside the window, deep in thought: "Perhaps... he's planning something big.
After all, the Self-Defense Army he's building is making quite a stir now.
Of course, Vice Admiral Garp, your indulgence is indispensable in this! After all, every mission concerning him is taken by you,
Or Kuzan takes it and then, for some strange reason, transfers it to you."
"I don't want to!" Kuma sighed deeply, silently chewing his senbei, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
"Who told him he's my son, Gern!"
Silence fell in the office, broken only by the 'crunching' sound of Kuma chewing senbei and the distant cries of seagulls.
Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi rang, "Buruburu," breaking the silence.
Gern reached out and picked it up; the Den Den Mushi immediately mimicked Sengoku's serious expression: "Gern, come to the conference room immediately, emergency meeting!
And Kuma is probably hiding and being lazy with you! Bring him along too!"
"Understood." Gern hung up the phone, stood up, and straightened his cloak of justice.
"Vice Admiral Garp, Admiral Sengoku has summoned us. It seems we're going to be busy again! I really envy Zephyr-sensei's retirement life."
"You'll retire too someday." Kuma clapped the crumbs off his hands and stood up, saying,
"Let's go. I'll listen too. Maybe that guy Roger is causing trouble again.
After all, they just became the world's number one pirate crew; they shouldn't be quiet."
"They'll definitely be quiet, since the pirate crew has disbanded," Gern mused internally.
But right now, he was the only one who knew that Roger had disbanded his pirate crew and gone off to rob the cradle.
Soon, the two walked out of the office side by side. The Marine soldiers in the corridor immediately straightened their backs and saluted when they saw them.
Gern nodded slightly in response, while Kuma waved broadly: "Yo, are there any senbei in the mess hall today?"
The soldiers stifled their laughter and shook their heads. Kuma immediately looked disappointed: "Tsk, Marineford's logistics are getting worse and worse..."
"Vice Admiral Garp, senbei aren't sold in the mess hall.
You used to like other snacks, why do you only like senbei now~?"
"Easy to chew! (￣～￣)"