A week had passed since Sakazuki last spoke with Garp. He had also left the private ward and returned to his officer's dormitory.
Since he couldn't leave Marineford anyway, he simply helped Sengoku process some documents, as the latter was on the verge of being overwhelmed.
Sakazuki was under house arrest. That's right. The moment he left the military hospital, the command was delivered to him.
"Hah, it feels great to have someone helping out." Sengoku let out a sigh of relief, stretching lazily in satisfaction.
The strategist glanced at his comrade, who was sitting on the sofa in his office, busy mixing powdered milk. He chose to hold his tongue. What he really wanted to say was that things were going smoothly precisely because no one was messing things up!
The ever-energetic Great Buddha bent down, pulled out a bag of rice crackers from his drawer, and, while munching on them, walked to the desk across from him.
Inside Sengoku's office, an additional table and chairs had been set up opposite the main desk. Sakazuki, who was helping review military documents, was deeply engrossed in his work.
"Setting aside the recruitment budget as a separate account, the military expenditure for this quarter has increased by 30%?" Sakazuki picked up a financial report from the department and couldn't help but be surprised.
Since when did the Five Elders become so generous?
Sengoku patted his subordinate's shoulder. "That's not all. Here's another report from Water 7 about the latest batch of warships entering service. Speaking of which, you also contributed to this."
"My contribution?" Sakazuki was puzzled. Surely the Five Elders wouldn't allocate extra funds to the Navy just because of his actions on Fish-Man Island?
He didn't think he was worth that much. This budget, paired with the latest batch of warships, was enough to equip an entire fleet!
Sengoku simply smiled without elaborating. The strategic success of the Navy's presence on Fish-Man Island had prompted the Five Elders to reconsider their overall military planning. Consequently, adjustments were made to their next steps.
With Fish-Man Island as a barrier, the Navy could now advance or retreat at will, no longer restricted to the single-unit strategy centered around the G-1 Fortress.
As long as Fish-Man Island remained secure, the pirate forces of the New World would have no chance of launching an effective counterattack against the first half of the Grand Line.
Now that the defense was solid, even Marine Headquarters was starting to feel ambitious.
"Ahhh, making formula is so exhausting!" Garp groaned as he poured water into the seventh baby bottle. At this moment, he deeply regretted not leaving the child in the Goa Kingdom and instead choosing to raise him himself.
But for the sake of training Roger's child into the strongest Marine of the next generation, the Navy Hero shook his head and continued his duties as the ultimate nanny.
Sakazuki and Sengoku sneered coldly at him from the side, completely ignoring the idle old soldier.
"This is worse than mountain training…" After finishing the eighth bottle, the veteran Marine Vice Admiral—legendary hero of the entire Navy—collapsed.
Suddenly, he jumped up. "I want to soak in a hot spring so badly!!!"
A hot spring that could rejuvenate his body and blood circulation—that was his ultimate luxury at the moment. Compared to this full-time babysitting job, he would rather go out and pick a fight with some big-shot pirate in the New World.
Sengoku narrowed his eyes. Garp's words made him itch with longing. How long had it been since he last gave himself a break? A hot spring would be the perfect way to relax his constantly tense nerves, immersing his body in the warm waters, shedding all burdens, and forgetting all worries.
A hot spring bath… interesting.
But the title of Fleet Admiral bound him. The Great Buddha gave his old comrade a sideways glance. "Just so you know, an admiral cannot leave Headquarters. If you're thinking of dragging people off to another island for a hot spring trip, don't use my name."
"?" Garp looked utterly confused. He scratched his short hair. "Didn't our Headquarters just build a sulfur hot spring? It's amazing!"
"Nonsense, there's no… there's no… emmmm…" Sengoku had turned his head to scold him mid-sentence, but halfway through, he suddenly twisted his head around, staring at Sakazuki's busy figure.
Seeing Garp gesture toward a certain recently returned patient, he began to understand what was going on.
This… could work?
The Great Buddha coughed heavily, successfully catching Sakazuki's attention. "Sakazuki, you just recovered from severe injuries. Long hours of work aren't suitable for you."
He watched his subordinate carefully analyzing data and continued his persuasion. "Hot springs help with recovery. Why don't we go check out the newly built one at Headquarters?"
"Respectfully, I refuse. I still have a stack of documents to review." Sakazuki shook his head decisively. He wasn't sure when the Headquarters had built a hot spring, but his military discipline wouldn't allow him to abandon his work.
He picked up the last thick proposal. It was a hefty draft, as thick as ten other paper documents combined.
Glancing at the title, his brows furrowed instantly. He turned to Sengoku. "Isn't this a bit too hasty?"
Sengoku gave him a knowing look. "We have several years. That's more than enough."
"Sakazuki, do you remember that question you asked me? Come soak in the hot spring, and I'll tell you." Garp and Sengoku exchanged glances. The two old schemers were perfectly in sync.
Sengoku shook his head. "Documents are secondary. Do you know why Kuzan was stationed at Fish-Man Island?"
The question made Sakazuki look up sharply. He had originally thought that assigning Kuzan to Fish-Man Island was solely the Fleet Admiral's decision. But now, hearing the hidden implications in Sengoku's words, there seemed to be more to the story?
"I would like to hear more." Sakazuki stood up. He hadn't noticed before, but now that Sengoku had hinted at it, he finally realized that Marine Headquarters' series of actions carried an unusual meaning.
"Good, let's go." Sengoku nodded in satisfaction.
Sakazuki felt a bit suspicious. Why were they both steering the conversation away when it came to the draft proposal? Nevertheless, he followed Garp and Sengoku deeper into the fortress.
Monkey D. "Flaming Idiot" Garp was an unreliable old man, but would Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral, neglect his duties? While discussing military matters in a bathhouse seemed inappropriate, certain things were clearer when discussed in private.
Then, for the first time in front of his superiors, he swore.
"Damn."
Looking at the newly excavated indoor training ground, he finally understood what Garp had meant by "sulfur hot spring."
A reservoir the size of half a football field, with an underground magma chamber acting as the main valve, was heating the so-called "hot spring" and channeling it into various pits.
Sakazuki plopped down into one of the geothermally heated pools he had just adjusted, an expression of pure disdain on his face as he watched the two old bastards using a patient as manual labor.
Garp and Sengoku had already changed into swim trunks and were strolling over.
"How's the water temperature?" Sengoku intended to discuss Marine Headquarters' next big moves while enjoying the bath.
"Comfortable." Sakazuki closed his eyes slightly, indulging in his first-ever hot spring experience in this world.
The two veterans casually stepped into the water—
"AHH! Sakazuki, you little bastard, are you making soup?!!!" Garp used Moonwalk to launch himself into the air.
"My lifelong reputation is ruined! Why did I ever ask you, a magma man, whether the water was too hot?!!" Sengoku, with his Armament Haki fully activated, lay on the edge of the pool, punching the ground in regret.