Fujitora had been wounded.
A bloody claw mark stretched across his back.
For someone of Fujitora's level—
such an injury should have been insignificant.
Ordinarily, it wouldn't affect him at all.
But—
the moment Fujitora sensed the wound—
his stamina suddenly began draining at an alarming rate.
In the blink of an eye, nearly one-fifth of his physical strength vanished.
Fujitora was utterly shocked.
Even more shocked than when Vergo resisted his gravitational force head-on.
"So this..."
"...is the ability of the Bat-Bat Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Vampire Form?"
"What a terrifying power."
Fujitora instantly understood why his stamina was disappearing.
It had to be the Vampire Fruit's ability.
Vergo's cold voice rang out:
"That's right."
"Anyone injured by my claws will rapidly lose stamina."
"And the stamina they lose..."
"...will replenish my own."
The Vampire Form itself was already an extremely powerful Mythical Zoan.
It possessed all sorts of bizarre abilities.
And after being enhanced by Monster Cells and Super Divine Water—
Vergo's vampire abilities had become even stranger than Redfield in the original story.
Fujitora slowly turned around.
His expression had become incomparably serious.
Not only could Vergo drain his opponent's stamina—
he could also absorb it into himself.
Wouldn't that mean—
the longer the fight dragged on—
the stronger Vergo became,
while his enemy continuously weakened?
How were you supposed to fight someone like that?
The observing marines—
including Sengoku and Tsuru—
all inhaled sharply in shock.
Everyone was stunned by Vergo's terrifying abilities.
Sengoku sighed:
"Vergo already possessed Admiral-level potential."
"And now he's consumed such a powerful Mythical Zoan Vampire Fruit."
"His strength has become even more frightening."
"Even if it were me facing him..."
"I'm not confident I could defeat him."
The moment those words were spoken—
the entire plaza erupted into shock.
Even Sengoku—
the former Fleet Admiral who once rivaled:
Gol D. RogerWhitebeard
...admitted he might not defeat Vergo?
That was absolutely unbelievable.
The current Fleet Admiral, Akainu, was extremely pleased.
Vergo's strength had exceeded even his expectations.
Standing beside him, Ryokugyu remarked:
"Interesting..."
"So he can absorb people's stamina?"
"That's somewhat similar to my own ability."
Then Ryokugyu looked toward Akainu.
"Sakazuki-san..."
"Since Senior Vergo managed to injure Fujitora, that proves he possesses Admiral-level strength, right?"
"You'll definitely support him becoming an Admiral then?"
After all—
Vergo was both:
a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiralthe commander of G-5
In terms of qualifications and seniority—
he vastly surpassed the newly recruited Fujitora and Ryokugyu.
As long as his strength matched theirs—
there was no doubt Akainu and the other high-ranking marines would support Vergo becoming an Admiral.
Akainu answered directly without hesitation:
"That's right."
"Vergo will absolutely occupy one of the Admiral seats."
Now that Akainu had personally witnessed Vergo's strength—
he had already fully acknowledged him as an Admiral-level powerhouse.
Ryokugyu shrugged.
"Then..."
"Which one of us should withdraw?"
"Or should Fujitora and I fight each other for the last position?"
There were only three Admiral seats.
Kizaru already occupied one.
Vergo had now effectively secured another.
That left only one remaining seat.
Meaning—
either Fujitora or Ryokugyu would have to give up.
Akainu suddenly turned toward Ryokugyu.
His expression became extremely serious.
"No."
"Ryokugyu, you do not need to fight Fujitora."
"You are both forces of justice."
"Your duty is to eliminate pirates."
"You should not waste strength fighting each other internally!"
Perhaps because of Aokiji's departure—
Akainu now hated seeing the Navy lose top-tier combat power more than anything else.
Especially with the looming threat of the Beasts Pirates.
If Fujitora or Ryokugyu left—
it would be disastrous for the future of the Marines.
"The title of Admiral is merely a name."
"We are all guardians of justice."
"What difference does rank truly make?"
"As long as Absolute Justice is upheld—"
"Even serving as a nameless marine would still be worthwhile!"
Unlike Fujitora—
who joined the Marines because of his own personal ideals—
Ryokugyu had joined largely because he idolized Akainu.
He genuinely admired Akainu's unwavering Absolute Justice.
Ryokugyu said with heartfelt respect:
"Sakazuki-san..."
"What you said is absolutely correct!"
"Very well."
"Then I'll voluntarily withdraw from the competition."
"I won't become an Admiral."
"But..."
"Sakazuki-san, you can't really assign me some low-ranking soldier position afterward!"
Akainu burst into satisfied laughter while biting down on his cigar.
"Hahaha!"
"Excellent, Ryokugyu!"
"That's the spirit of a true man of justice!"
With Ryokugyu voluntarily stepping aside—
Fujitora and Vergo officially became Admirals.
And most importantly—
the Navy hadn't lost a single top-tier fighter.
How could Akainu not be thrilled?
He patted Ryokugyu's shoulder.
"Don't worry."
"I won't mistreat you."
"I intend to appoint you as Chief Marine Inspector."
"Your status will be equal to that of an Admiral."
The position of Chief Marine Inspector—
similar to Sengoku's Inspector General role or Tsuru's Great Staff Officer position—
was an honorary yet extremely prestigious title.
Normally—
such positions were reserved for highly respected veterans of the older generation.
The fact Akainu directly handed such a title to Ryokugyu clearly showed how highly he valued him.
Ryokugyu showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever and readily accepted.
Meanwhile—
Vergo and Fujitora naturally no longer needed to continue their duel.
Both stepped down from the arena.
And just like that—
the structure of Akainu's New Navy was officially established.
Aside from veteran figures like Sengoku and Garp, whom Akainu couldn't fully command—
the Navy's top combat forces were now:
Fleet Admiral AkainuAdmirals Kizaru, Fujitora, and VergoChief Marine Inspector Ryokugyu
These five individuals represented the Navy's supreme military power.
Together—
they would soon wage war against the pirates of the New World—
especially the overwhelmingly dominant Beasts Pirates.
The aggressive Akainu quickly issued his first Admiral-level mission.
"The North Blue is about to completely fall under the control of the Germa Kingdom."
"The Beasts Pirates are becoming more and more arrogant!"
"Admiral Fujitora!"
"I order you to lead forces to the North Blue."
"If possible, destroy Germa."
"And even if you cannot destroy them—"
"Make sure they understand the might of my New Navy!"
Fujitora immediately accepted the order and departed.
This scene was naturally observed by Vergo.
After returning to his newly assigned Admiral residence within headquarters—
Vergo immediately contacted Luo Xing and informed him of everything.
At this moment—
Luo Xing was currently at Punk Hazard, having King drink the Super Divine Water.
Ever since inventing the Super Divine Water—
Luo Xing had prioritized enhancing the strength of the Three Calamities and the Flying Six.
After receiving Vergo's report—
and learning he had successfully become an Admiral—
Luo Xing praised him.
He then instructed Vergo to continue gathering intelligence from within the Navy—
and, if possible—
find a way to infiltrate Mary Geoise itself.
The entire reason Luo Xing had worked so hard to elevate Vergo to Admiral status—
was because only Admirals possessed the qualifications to freely enter Mary Geoise.
Only Admirals could directly interact with:
the Five Eldersthe Celestial Dragons
Luo Xing wanted answers.
What exactly was the National Treasure hidden within Mary Geoise?
And what secrets were hidden by:
the Celestial Dragonsthe mysterious Imu?
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