At this moment, Sengoku, who had just been promoted to Fleet Admiral of the Navy, inconspicuously closed a small comic book lying open on his desk and quietly tucked it behind a stack of books.
The marine who had just entered the room had sharp eyes and recognized the character on the cover — the ninja from Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto!
"Marine! Do your job properly!"
Sengoku's expression was impassive, as if the person who had just been caught reading manga during work hours wasn't him at all. He then asked, "Tell me the details of the matter."
"Yes, sir!"
Cold sweat dripped down the marine's forehead. This newly appointed Fleet Admiral was known as a strategist. If you offended him, you could expect to be targeted later! Quickly shifting his focus back, the marine gave a full and honest report on how the Golden Lion Shiki had cut off his own legs and escaped from Impel Down.
"Hmm… I see. You may go. Call Zefa and Garp over for me."
The marine, feeling as though he'd been pardoned, hurried out. Sengoku frowned. The Golden Lion was truly a troublesome man. Two years ago, he had wreaked havoc at Navy Headquarters, causing massive losses at Marineford. Countless marines had died before Shiki was finally captured. And now, even with Sea-Prism Stone shackles, it wasn't enough to stop him from breaking out of prison. Once he escaped from Impel Down, there was no one in the world who could catch him again!
Borsalino could transform into light and move through the air, but that wasn't true flight. Normally, when traveling, he'd have the navy fire a cannonball, then instantly move onto it, letting the projectile carry him forward. That meant the navy was essentially helpless against Shiki, and could only hope that one day he'd act rashly and challenge them directly — only then might they have a chance to catch him again.
Before long, Zefa and Garp arrived. Sengoku's head instantly throbbed at the sight of Garp: left hand holding a bowl of senbei, right hand holding a Doraemon manga, eating snacks while reading. Sengoku wondered — with that posture, how did Garp even manage to grab the senbei?
The next second, Garp answered that question.
He followed behind Zefa, first placing the manga on top of Zefa's head, quickly snatched a senbei and popped it into his mouth, then picked the manga back up and continued reading!
Such a method even existed?
Zefa, are you really that good-tempered? Can you tolerate this?
In his surprise, Sengoku failed to notice that Zefa was already trembling with suppressed anger — for a very specific reason.
The reason, naturally, was that he hadn't been able to keep a close enough watch on Garp's son, allowing the boy to defect from the navy. Though this had happened many years ago, there was still no news about Dragon. Garp always said he would capture his "unfilial son," but Zefa had always felt guilty toward him. Sometimes, when Garp acted out of line, Zefa would let it slide — after all, the old man was just thick-skinned and didn't truly mean harm.
"Sengoku, what did you call us here for?" Zefa asked. Garp, still absorbed in his manga, left the talking to his comrade.
Sengoku explained Shiki's prison break to Garp. To his surprise, Garp replied, "Leave it to me! I can roughly guess a few places the Golden Lion might go after escaping. I'll take a chance and see what happens. How about it?"
Sengoku glanced sideways at Zefa. Zefa moved his eyes up and down slightly, then stayed silent.
"All right then. Think of it as a little trip. Shiki's lost both legs, so he's definitely not as strong as before. Be careful when you meet him — there shouldn't be any big problems. Take whatever men and ships you need from the supply office, and head out immediately."
As soon as he finished speaking, Sengoku seemed to remember something. He picked up the Naruto manga he'd hidden earlier and handed it to Garp. "This one's good, I recommend it. As for Dragon's situation, the navy hasn't made a final decision yet. Go out to sea and look around — who knows, maybe one day Dragon will come back."
Taking the manga, Garp, though middle-aged, felt his eyes sting slightly. He turned around, waved, and said goodbye to his two old friends before leaving alone.
"Zefa, Dragon's departure wasn't your fault! Stop putting all the blame on yourself. Whatever happens, can't we face it together?" Sengoku said once Garp was gone. Dragon had been Zefa's most outstanding student, one in whom he'd placed even more hope than Borsalino and Sakazuki years earlier. Even Kuzan, who had joined the navy a decade ago, wasn't as highly valued as Dragon. But due to certain events, Dragon began doubting the navy, and eventually left without a word.
"Sigh… I was planning to groom him into the next Fleet Admiral!"
Zefa sighed, then continued, "The World Government is no longer the one we joined all those years ago. In the past decade, their protection of the Celestial Dragons has become more and more absurd. A Celestial Dragon gets hit, and we have to send an admiral to 'get justice' for them? What do they think the navy is for?"
"Zefa, calm down!"
Sengoku pushed up his glasses and said, "It's fine to say this to me, but don't say it outside. Anyway, hasn't Kong already gone to the World Government? Complaining won't change anything. We've worked so hard to climb to our current positions — isn't it so we can better uphold our own sense of justice?"
Seeing Zefa calm down slightly, Sengoku poured him a glass of water. "The world can't live without the navy! Ever since Roger opened the Great Pirate Era, whether we like it or not, the number of pirates has increased every single day. Countless people wear the cloak of 'dreams' while committing vile crimes like murder and arson. It takes all of our navy's effort to give even the smallest bit of hope to those suffering under pirate raids."
"I understand what you're saying, Sengoku," Zefa said, removing his sunglasses to look him in the eye. "The navy is my life's commitment — I won't waver. But right now, the number of pirates is getting out of control. Our grip over the Grand Line is weakening day by day. The navy must accelerate its 'blood replacement'!"
"You mean the new Three Admirals plan?" Sengoku frowned deeply. Clearly, he wasn't entirely confident in the proposal.
"Sengoku, don't hesitate. We must prepare for the worst. Let the pirates run wild for a few years — once our recruitment plan is complete, we'll take back control of the seas step by step!" Zefa urged.
"Hmm… Let's wait a couple more years. The three of them still need observation. Whether it's Sakazuki or Borsalino, they each have personality flaws. And Kuzan… he's too much of an idealist. Promoting him to admiral might be a blessing, or a curse. Let's just wait."
Seeing Sengoku's indecision, Zefa had nothing more to say. After he left, Sengoku rubbed his tired eyes and gave a bitter smile.
"Sigh… one after another, they all want to quit. How am I supposed to manage all this alone?"
With that, he opened his drawer, took out another copy of Naruto, and said:
"Fortunately, I bought an extra copy back then…"
(Two additional chapters will be released today)
10 Energy Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
2 Five-Star Ratings = 1 Extra Chapter