As soon as Sakazuki followed the two young officers out of the courtyard and headed toward the headquarters prison, many of the residences in this area, where numerous rear admirals and vice admirals lived had at least two young officers standing at their doors.
Some even seemed to completely ignore the presence of the admiral, walking away in a hurry as if a major incident had occurred.
"What is Orion up to?" Seeing this, Sakazuki expression immediately darkened.
"The trial concerning him hasn't even concluded yet. If he causes a major incident, not even Fleet Admiral Sengoku can save him, and I certainly won't let him off lightly!"
The two young officers walking ahead remained silent, as if they hadn't heard him, and continued to quicken their pace.
Noticing this, a flash of displeasure crossed Sakazuki eyes, but he held it in.
After all, Orion was not only a vice admiral under his command but also, in a sense, his junior brother. During Orion Elite training, the one responsible for training that batch of officers was his own mentor, Former Admiral Zephyr known by the codename "Black Arm," a high-ranking officer of the Marine Headquarters.
When Orion was promoted to vice admiral and assigned to his command, Sakazuki had initially been skeptical of this subordinate.
Orion way of doing things, especially his tendency to play both sides within the Marine Headquarters, was something Sakazuki found hard to comprehend.
As a Marine officer dedicated to justice, instead of focusing on capturing pirates and eradicating evil, Orion seemed to be deeply involved in the politics and social maneuvering within the headquarters.
Although Sakazuki found it difficult to understand and even somewhat disdainful at first, he soon discovered that when Orion was out on missions, the ruthless methods he displayed when confronting the most heinous pirates on the seas were surprisingly similar to his own—and in some cases, even more extreme.
This was because Orion rarely chose to capture pirates alive.
Instead, he almost always opted to eliminate them on the spot.
Orion reasoning was that the funds allocated by the World Government should not be wasted on imprisoning these criminals but should instead be used to improve the salaries and benefits of the Marine soldiers and officers tasked with capturing them.
It was precisely Orion way of doing things that made him turn a blind eye to some of the mistakes Orion had made, which he considered trivial. He even chose to shut his doors during the investigation team evidence collection process.
Soon, Sakazuki left the residential area and arrived at Marineford Square.
"Huh?"
As soon as he stepped into the square, Sakazuki abruptly stopped in his tracks, staring in disbelief at the dark densely packed figures gathered in the square under the cover of night.
When he saw that most of the figures gathered in the square were officers and soldiers who had once followed Orion, a sense of foreboding immediately rose in his heart.
Back when Orion was being investigated and subsequently arrested by the investigation team, he had already sensed that trouble was brewing.
Over the years, Orion influence within the headquarters had grown significantly, with many officers even viewing him as a figure of admiration.
On many major issues, if Orion didn't give his nod not only would his own orders as an admiral be ignored, but even Fleet Admiral Sengoku commands would be selectively disregarded.
Why these officers and soldiers held Orion in such high regard, he wasn't entirely sure.
All he knew was that every time Orion led a warship out on a mission and encountered criminals, as a vice admiral, Orion was always the one standing at the forefront.
"This is bad!"
Looking at the mass of people gathered in the square from a distance, even Sakazuki couldn't help but tense up. If a riot were to break out at headquarters now, it would be a massive blow to both the Marine and the World Government.
Orion influence within the Marine headquarters was simply too great. If not stopped in time, he believed that these people gathering at Marineford under the cover of night weren't just there to rescue Orion from prison—it had to be something more.
With this thought in mind, Sakazuki didn't dare to delay.
He quickened his pace, overtaking two young officers ahead of him, and arrived at the prison at top speed.
As soon as he entered the prison, Sakazuki heart tightened once more.
Inside the prison, dozens of officers from various ranks of the headquarters had already gathered, including a Vice admiral. Most importantly, the prison guards had now donned Marine officer uniforms and were standing in orderly rows outside the iron bars.
"Admiral Sakazuki!" Before Sakazuki could react, the dozens of officers in the prison almost simultaneously turned to face him and saluted.
"What are you all doing here?" With a sharp gaze sweeping over all the officers present, Sakazuki strode to the cell where Orion was being held and said in a deep voice.
"All of you, get out!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire prison fell into dead silence. All the officers remained in their positions, unmoving.
"Do you want to rebel?" Sakazuki fists clenched instantly as he spoke in a deep voice.
"I'll give you one more chance. Leave the prison immediately, or it will be considered an act of treason!"
As soon as Sakazuki finished speaking, the tightly shut cell door suddenly swung open with a loud clang. Immediately after, Orion who should have been shackled with handcuffs and leg irons, walked out of the cell with ease and stood in front of Sakazuki.
"Orion, you..."
Not only was Orion not wearing handcuffs or leg irons, but he also swaggered out of the cell. Sakazuki pupils constricted, and his face turned pale with shock.
"Are you really planning to start a rebellion?"
If it were just Orion alone, Sakazuki, as one of the Navy's top combatants, wouldn't be too worried about the chaos Orion could cause. But the current situation was far more serious.
Not only had the prison been taken over by officers loyal to Orion, but Marineford Square outside was also packed with tens of thousands of people! A rebellion on such a massive scale would be difficult to stop, even for someone like him, one of the Navy's strongest.
Most importantly, he had no idea how many more people would join the rebellion, especially after the intriguing reaction of Admiral Kizaru during the trial earlier that day.
Even Gion, a candidate for admiral, had made her stance clear, firmly opposing the Chief Justice decision to take Orion to Enies Lobby.
"Admiral Sakazuki, it's too early to call this a rebellion~" Orion, who had just walked out of the cell, slightly raised his head to look at Sakazuki, who stood over three meters tall and exuded an indescribable sense of pressure.
He spoke calmly. "It's only called a rebellion if it fails. If it succeeds, it's called a revolution!"
Before Sakazuki could react, Orion dropped another bombshell.
"Tonight, I will replace Sengoku as the new Fleet Admiral of the Marines. I will root out the true cancers hidden within the Marine and let the light of justice dispel all the darkness in the world!"
"If this Coup fails, I will take full responsibility!"
"If it succeeds, I will not keep the glory for myself!"
"Admiral Sakazuki, will you... stand by my side?"