At Marine Headquarters in Marineford, officers hurried in and out of Sengoku's office without pause.
Ever since Headquarters had announced the date of Ace's public execution, the atmosphere had grown even more tense than before.
"Our men have departed for locations across the world to summon each of the Seven Warlords," a nervous Marine reported as quickly as he could.
Kojin nodded. "Excellent."
The Marine turned and left, breaking into a run the moment he stepped through the door.
Kojin remained seated and glanced at Sengoku. The Fleet Admiral was completely absorbed in the mountain of documents piled before him. His brow was tightly furrowed. Perhaps feeling overheated, he removed his Marine cap, revealing his graying, braided hair underneath. A moment later, he crumpled up one of the documents, muttered, "What a mess," and stuffed it into the mouth of the goat beside him.
The sight filled Kojin with sympathy.
No job was easy. Even after climbing all the way to Fleet Admiral, Sengoku still had an endless pile of problems to deal with. As the war drew closer, the pressure on him was clearly mounting. With Kojin's sharp observation, he could practically see the few black hairs remaining on Sengoku's head turning white by the day.
Besides Kojin, Vice Admiral Tsuru and Borsalino, who reliably showed up every day just to clock in, were also in the office. Tsuru had her head lowered as she worked through the documents on her desk. Borsalino, meanwhile, had his legs propped up on his desk and his eyes closed, openly slacking off without the slightest attempt to hide it.
"Kojin, have all the Seven Warlords been notified?" Sengoku suddenly remembered to ask.
"They have. Once they arrive at Headquarters, I'll preside over a meeting and brief them on the coming war," Kojin replied with a smile.
"Good." Sengoku nodded and immediately returned to his paperwork.
Kojin smiled faintly. For the moment, he had nothing else demanding his attention.
After Ace's execution was announced, he had moved into Sengoku's office and set up a simple workstation for himself. There would inevitably be countless matters to handle before the war, and working from here allowed him and Sengoku to discuss new developments and adjust their plans without delay.
"Sensei." Kuina's quiet voice came from the doorway.
"Come in." Kojin smiled and beckoned to her.
Kuina glanced at the other people in the office before walking quietly over to him.
"Is something wrong?" Kojin asked.
"It's about Zoro." Kuina hesitated, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"Roronoa Zoro? Has he woken up already?" Kojin asked casually.
He had a fairly good impression of the Three-Sword Style swordsman. Zoro possessed tremendous willpower, the courage to act without hesitation, and considerable talent with a sword. He was an excellent prospect.
"He…" Kuina seemed almost too embarrassed to continue.
"What did he do?" Kojin asked with a raised eyebrow.
"He woke up, but he's spent the past few days at the training ground." Kuina lowered her head, her voice barely audible. She seemed ashamed of the sheer audacity and absurd behavior of her childhood friend.
"At the training ground?" Kojin froze, failing to understand what she meant at first.
The next moment, his Observation Haki spread toward the training grounds. When he saw a figure covered in wounds fighting one of the Asura Class trainees, surprise appeared on his face.
"He certainly doesn't act like a captured criminal!" Kojin laughed in amazement.
Even while surrounded by enemies, Zoro seized every possible opportunity to grow stronger. His thought process was clearly nothing like that of an ordinary person. But it also meant that, barring an early death, becoming a great fighter was practically inevitable for him.
"Sensei, what do you intend to do with him?" Kuina asked nervously.
She knew that Zoro's fate could be decided with a single word from her teacher. She had also made a mistake by taking her friend to the training ground without permission.
"A major war is approaching. I don't have time to deal with that brat right now." Kojin glanced at Kuina and smiled. "Let him do as he pleases for now. But there is one condition."
After a brief pause, his tone became more serious. "He is not allowed to leave the area surrounding the training ground."
Kuina's face immediately lit up, and she nodded vigorously. "I promise he won't go running off!" Then, as though suddenly remembering something, she added solemnly, "I'll keep a very close eye on him!"
Kojin smiled and waved her away. Kuina turned around and left with noticeably lighter steps.
Once his beloved student disappeared through the doorway, a rather shady-looking figure suddenly appeared behind Kojin.
"Roronoa Zoro, isn't he one of those dangerous Supernovas?" Borsalino asked.
Kojin's expression remained unchanged. "That's right."
"You're certainly bold, Admiral Kojin. You personally took action and captured this entire generation of Supernovas in hardly any time at all. But you seem to treat these young pirates rather differently from one another."
A thoughtful look appeared on Borsalino's face.
If he wanted to spend his days clocking in and coasting through his duties, it wasn't as simple as it looked. At the very least, he had to do some homework. He needed to understand the relationships and connections among the Marine leadership, including the hidden ties that ordinary people would never discover.
There were obvious examples, such as the identities of Marine hero Garp's son and grandson, or which officers Fleet Admiral Sengoku trusted most. Then there were subtler matters, such as which people a veteran powerhouse like Kojin favored. Only by understanding all of this could Borsalino avoid offending the wrong people and maintain peaceful working relationships.
Kojin's eyes flickered. He was just about to make up an excuse when Borsalino conveniently provided one for him.
"I've heard that you're quite fond of persuading pirates to join the Marines, Kojin. That's truly admirable! If you can reform those pirates who have lost their way and guide them onto the path of justice, you'll be doing the world a great service!" Borsalino sighed with admiration, even managing to look genuinely impressed.
Kojin paused before smiling and nodding. "Borsalino, you truly are a kindred spirit. You understand me well!"
Borsalino chuckled. "Heh heh heh…"
Then he returned to his seat. "From now on, whenever I encounter a pirate with connections like that, I suppose I can just let things slide. That should save me a great deal of work!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru looked up after hearing their exchange. She shook her head and smiled helplessly.
...
At the training ground, Kuma silently watched from beneath the shade of a tree.
Every morning, the green-haired swordsman ran alongside the Asura Class to build his stamina, pushing himself until he was completely exhausted and felt as though his lungs were about to burst.
At noon, he squatted beside Kuma and devoured his lunch.
In the afternoon, he arrogantly pointed at members of the Asura Class and challenged them to battles that left him hovering between life and death. Afterward, he would collapse with severe injuries.
Kuma couldn't help offering the young man a crude word of admiration. "Fuck."
No one at Marine Headquarters could have imagined that a pirate would have the nerve to train and challenge people so openly on Marine territory.
'What exactly is that man thinking? He's allowing a pirate to move around Marine Headquarters as though he owns the place. What's even stranger is that these monsters from the Asura Class are actually cooperating with him and fighting him every day.'
Kuma was utterly bewildered. He was beginning to wonder if he understood this world at all.
Zoro was a pirate surrounded by Marines, many of whom had once been his enemies. Yet he could move about freely, enjoy the thrill of battle, and grow stronger in the process. How could anything be more absurd?
From that day onward, Roronoa Zoro became a regular presence on the training ground. Anyone unaware of the situation might have mistaken him for a Marine.
'I have to train alongside them and work even harder. Otherwise, they'll leave me behind in the future. The Marines really do possess advantages that pirates can't match, they have organized training programs, plenty of nutritious food, and no need to worry about injuries. I'm enjoying this more than I expected!'
Zoro's eyes gleamed with determination.
After Kuma treated him, he found a large tree, leaped onto one of its branches, and leaned back to rest.
'The atmosphere has become even more tense over the past few days. The Marines in this class don't talk about it, but something big must be about to happen.'
For some reason, even the sky above Marineford seemed oppressively heavy.
'And that man hasn't appeared again. What does he intend to do with me?'
Countless thoughts swirled through Zoro's mind until he gradually drifted off to sleep.
Time passed.
Under the overwhelming flood of news reports, everyone across the world learned that the Marines intended to execute Fire Fist Ace. Heated discussions erupted everywhere.
The sheer boldness of the Marines' decision shocked everyone. Over the past two decades, the Marines had frequently clashed with pirates, but they had rarely taken such an extreme action, one almost certain to trigger a full-scale war.
Once an individual or organization reached the level of an Emperor, even the World Government had to think twice before acting against them. Their influence extended across the entire world, and one careless move could cause an even greater upheaval.
"What are the Marines relying on? How can they possibly dare to challenge the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"The entire world will descend into chaos over the next month!"
"I heard a powerful new Admiral has emerged within the Marines, and that he planned this entire operation himself."
Countless rumors and theories spread throughout the world.
Several days later, at the harbor inside Marineford's bay…
"Is that…?"
"It's the ship of Dracule Mihawk, one of the Seven Warlords!"
"Are they holding another Warlord meeting? Didn't they just hold one recently?"
"Obviously, this meeting is far more important than the last!"
"Almost every one of the Seven Warlords has come!"
The officers stationed at the harbor stared at the approaching vessels and spoke in hushed voices.
Several unusual ships were slowly sailing across the bay.
At the front was Dracule "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman.
Behind him came Jinbe, captain of the Sun Pirates and the Knight of the Sea.
Off to one side stood the rough-looking Marshall D. Teach, grinning broadly from the bow of his ship.
(End of Chapter)
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