Fortunately, Longinus showed no surprise at the chaotic scene he had just witnessed.
He remained composed and respectful, which soothed Sengoku's frayed nerves—if only slightly.
"Longinus, tell us what happened."
Sengoku skipped the speech he originally intended to give;
the last thing he needed was Garp derailing things again.
Longinus nodded.
"At the time, I received an emergency distress signal.
They reported the enemy's identity and warned us:
unless we had the combat power of five or more warships,
we should prioritize protecting ourselves."
Sengoku nodded in approval.
Not dragging allies into danger despite being threatened—
that was a Marine's proper conduct.
Rear Admiral Morgan also gave Longinus a grateful look.
Coming from Longinus, the details carried far more weight than if Morgan said them.
Longinus continued,
"Although we only had one warship, I have a realistic understanding of my own strength.
I believed that if I intervened personally, I might significantly influence the battle."
"After gaining approval from everyone on board,
I went ahead with a flying-capable comrade,
assessed the battlefield,
confirmed it was still salvageable,
and then contacted the warship to advance."
"So in truth, I merely assisted Rear Admiral Morgan in defeating the two pirate captains.
The real decisive force was the brave Marines of G–2 and G–8."
The more Sengoku listened, the more satisfied he became.
Strong, intelligent, courageous, modest—
a leader who always thought of his subordinates.
At Longinus's age, Sengoku himself had been nowhere near this level.
Just as Sengoku opened his mouth—
"Wahahaha! Nicely done!"
Garp's voice thundered through the office.
"I'm liking you more and more, kid!
Forget Zephyr—come to my ship!
I'll train you personally and make you the strongest Marine King!"
Terrified that Garp would "corrupt this precious gem,"
Sengoku barked,
"Eat your senbei and SHUT UP, will you?!
All that food and your mouth STILL isn't full?!"
But Garp clutched his chest dramatically.
"Unbelievable! Sengoku, how can you be so petty?
Afraid the kid will surpass you and steal your future Fleet Admiral position?
You need to learn from me—I gladly welcome others to take the 'Hero' title!"
"Cough—cough—"
Sengoku nearly choked on pure rage.
"Ah? Nice weather today. I'll go sunbathe!"
Garp fled the scene with practiced speed,
leaving even Rear Admiral Morgan dumbfounded.
"Deep breaths… deep breaths…"
Sengoku forced himself calm,
then finally managed a strained smile.
"Longinus, you performed remarkably.
You led your men and saved your comrades in crisis.
On behalf of the Marines, I award you the Second-Class Combat Hero Medal."
"The G–2 Branch has shown great courage—award them one collective Second-Class Merit.
The G–8 Branch has shown resilience and sacrifice—
they also receive one collective Second-Class Merit."
"As for you, Rear Admiral Morgan—
your merits and mistakes cancel out.
No punishment."
Morgan instantly replied, delighted,
"No objections! I obey fully."
Then he leaned toward Longinus.
"Thanks to your testimony, brother Longinus—
otherwise I'd be in deep trouble!
But you're really lucky—
you actually earned a Combat Hero Medal!"
The word "Hero" was not so easily worn.
It required both overwhelming strength and overwhelming contributions.
"You two may go," Sengoku said.
"I still have matters to discuss with Vice Admiral Tsuru."
"Yes, sir!"
Once outside, Morgan's enthusiasm only grew.
"Brother Longinus, thank you again for speaking up for G–8.
If not for you, I'd never have gotten off so lightly!
Since this is your first time at HQ, let me show you around—Marineford is—"
But the office door closed behind them.
Sengoku turned to Tsuru.
"Tsuru… what do you think?"
"Longinus?"
Tsuru folded her arms thoughtfully.
"From the reports coming out of G–2,
every officer praises him,
the rank-and-file adore him,
and even the kingdoms he helped stabilize speak highly of his character and ability."
"Even someone like Morgan—after less than one day with him—
has already developed deep trust."
"If I must give one evaluation:
he is perfect.
A natural-born leader."
"I agree."
Sengoku flipped through a stack of documents.
"It's astonishing.
At just fourteen, he can already kill pirates near the hundred-million range.
Even Kuzan couldn't do that at the same age."
"But more importantly—
his philosophy of justice.
Neither as absolute as Sakazuki's,
nor as apathetic as Kuzan's."
"In his view, there is no such thing as absolute light or absolute darkness.
Light too intense becomes fire that burns indiscriminately.
In other words—
absolute light is absolute darkness."
"His justice is utilitarian—
whatever increases the happiness of the greatest number is justice.
A biased philosophy, perhaps…
but for the Marines' current position,
it may be the ideal."
"All Marines know the truth:
the Celestial Dragons—
or rather, the World Government—
do not represent justice.
But we have no other options."
"Even flawed order is better than perfect chaos.
If the world descends into disorder,
the bloodshed would be unimaginable."
"So we must find balance."
"Utilitarian justice, hmm?
That's certainly… unique."
Tsuru raised an eyebrow.
"But who told you his thoughts on justice?"
Sengoku coughed, suddenly awkward.
He was getting too emotional today.
He tossed aside unnecessary thoughts and laughed,
"Oh, I learned it from something… interesting."
He lifted a small booklet and handed it to her.
Tsuru opened it.
"'The Collected Sayings of Longinus'?"
"This was something I took from Borsalino.
Last time he was here, I saw him muttering over it like he wanted to make
a 'Collected Sayings of Borsalino.'
But this booklet was made by little fangirls of Longinus.
With his creepy face,
no one's making one for him even in a hundred years!"
Sengoku burst into loud laughter at the memory of Kizaru sulking.
Tsuru shook her head and flipped through the pages.
"These are indeed insightful words.
Rare for someone his age."
"Right? It's actu—
Huh? Why are you putting it away?"
Tsuru tied it neatly with a string.
"I plan to use some of these lines in our recruitment campaigns.
What?
Did you want to make a 'Collected Sayings of Sengoku'?"
"I—NO!
Absolutely not!
Stop talking nonsense!"
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