[Today was an eventful day. Sengoku actually assigned me to train under Zephyr.]
[With that guy's past, I didn't hold much hope in becoming his student but I guess at this point in time he is still very much the same admiral that he was.]
[But I have to say meeting him and talking to him today, it is hard to believe how much he changed in the future. Still, Zephyr has to be one of the most tragic figures in the marines.]
[He dedicated his life to serve the marines and the world government but those geezers at the top massacred his family smearing the job into some trash pirate group. Heh. A mere pirate group sneaked into Marineford and killed the admiral's family? What a joke. Later on Edward Weevil killed most of his students and even cleaved his hands but he still served the marines. He retired as an admiral but at that point, it would have been weird if he didn't.]
[If I remember correctly, the World Government makes Edward Weevil a Shichibukai three years from now. Heh. The man who slaughtered the most elite marine trainees and seriously injured an admiral for a no reason was given the title of a warlord while Zephyr was still training marines. They absolutely did not give a damn about what Zephyr thought or what the marines thought about it. Zephyr losing all hopes in the marines at that point left with Ain and Binz eventually forming the Neo-Marines. But to be killed by the disciples he raised with his own hands, what a tragedy.]
[Well, there is still some time left for that. I am already planning to go against the World Government anyways, if I can I'll help him out when the time comes. I have become his student any way.]
[Now that I have become Zephyr's student, I have a way to solidify my foundations on Haki and my physical strength. The only thing left now is Haoshoku. With my proficiency, I only have a basic control over my Haoshoku. I can't even control who will be effected and who won't. I just have to release it indiscriminately. Forget about coating, even controlling it finely will take some time.]
[Sigh! If only I could reveal this to the marines, I could have asked Garp or Sengoku to teach me this. But.....forget it. I already have a D in my name. If the World Government finds out another D in the marines with Haoshoku, they might silently kill me to prevent another anomaly like Garp.]
[After all, Haoshoku Coating is the only way one can injure/kill someone marked by the Covenant.]
Sengoku had just returned to his office when he found the diary updating.
He picked it up and read through the entire entry word by word.
Crunch!
As he read the part about Edward Weevil becoming a Warlord, his hands clenched into a tight fist and rage burned through his chest like a raging volcano.
Zephyr, Garp, Tsuru and him had been the leaders of the marines from the same generation. They understood each other perfectly.
He was already disheartened and sick about Zephyr's physical and mental trauma but the World Government dared to do something like this?
Zephyr defected and founded his own Neo-Marines? Killed by his own disciples?
This was unacceptable to him!
He kept on reading and finally saw a sentence that made him relieved.
'If I can I'll help him out when the time comes. I have become his student any way.'
"Good. At least this Soren knows how to replay favors. I didn't make the wrong decision by assigning him to Zephyr."
Honestly, what Sengoku have given to Soren wasn't fair. Soren's military contributions were not enough for him to assign a former Admiral as a master but Sengoku had taken a risk!
As he kept reading, Sengoku's grim expression finally changed into a grin!
"Haoshoku!"
Haoshoku was a power that could not be obtained from training and it was extremely effective against masses. Once a user mastered Haoshoku Coating, his/her offensive capabilities would skyrocket.
The later half of the diary finally gave the information that was plaguing him for the longest time now.
The marines were the most powerful entity in the entire world in his opinion. Why would Soren, a person who knew the future held so little regard for the marines?
Why was he upset when he was drafted into the headquarters?
Now he finally got his answer.
Previously, Soren had mentioned that the Five elders and the God's Knights were marked with a Covenant. He had no idea what it was but now according to Soren, one needed Haoshoku Coating to be able to fight seriously against them!
No wonder!
The marines had everything they needed but in the entire marine HQ, only two old men had that power.
No wonder Soren always showed skepticism against the marines.
Suddenly he remembered one of the sentences Soren had said earlier.
"The marines are destined to lose to the World Government. After all it was designed that way."
Somewhere in an unknown island in the Grand line.
A hooded man with a crisscross tattoo sat on the roof of a small lighthouse at the edge of the island.
He held a slightly weathered diary in his hand and his eyes were filled with determination and resolve.
"Zephyr-sensei. So even you were eventually pushed out of the marines."
He opened the diary and looked at one line for a long time.
'After all, Haoshoku Coating is the only way one can injure/kill someone marked by the Covenant.'