Navy Headquarters, Fleet Admiral's Office.
Yamakaji and Doberman stood in front of Sengoku's desk, waiting for him to speak.
Sengoku felt a splitting headache as he looked at the two open resignation letters in front of him.
There was not even time to grieve over Zephyr's departure, and now two elite vice admirals were next to leave.
These were elite vice admirals, absolute pillars and leaders of the Navy.
Let alone resigning, even if they just had a cut on their hands, Sengoku would personally offer his condolences.
He also knew why these two were resigning.
They were clearly dissatisfied with Weevil joining the Shichibukai, and Zephyr's departure had left them disheartened.
But it was not his fault.
It was those five old men who made such a foolish decision.
Why should he, the Fleet Admiral, bear the consequences?
"Vice Admiral Yamakaji, Vice Admiral Doberman, can you really not reconsider?"
Sengoku looked at the two and forced a smile.
"No, it is boring to stay in the Navy. I want to go out and see the world."
Yamakaji said with a weary face.
Beside him, Doberman nodded honestly, sharing the same attitude as Yamakaji.
"Didn't you take two days off? I will give you two more weeks so you can go out and relax, alright?"
Sengoku looked at the two of them hopefully.
They were also veterans of the Navy and could be considered his old subordinates.
Out of personal feeling, he did not want them to leave, and even more so for the Navy's interests.
"There is nothing good about this depressing place."
Yamakaji sighed.
"Me too."
Doberman nodded in agreement.
"Alas."
Sengoku sighed.
What could he do?
Even if he forced the two to stay, it would be useless.
"Then you can go." Sengoku reluctantly agreed, then said seriously, "If you want to come back, the Navy will always keep your places."
He thought that even if they left, they would come back sooner or later.
Didn't their resignation letters say they wanted to take a look outside?
When they saw pirates wreaking havoc outside and no one doing better than the Navy, they would probably think about returning.
No, there was a force out there doing better than them, but it should not be that bad.
Even if the two of them went, the Neo Navy would have to worry about whether they were undercover agents.
"Thank you for your understanding, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. We will take our leave."
Yamakaji and Doberman gave a final salute and turned to leave the office.
They did not know what Sengoku was thinking, but they probably would not come back.
"Alas."
Sengoku watched the two leave with a pained expression.
He could not help stretching out his right hand, grasping at the air.
"Damn you, Five Elders."
Sengoku slapped the desk and cursed.
Then he buried his head in the documents on the table, working while cursing.
"Boom boom!"
Less than two minutes later, there was a quick knock on the door.
"Come in."
"Just say what you need to say."
Sengoku did not even raise his head and continued working through the documents.
As the steady footsteps approached, a sheet of snow-white paper was handed to him.
[The world is so big, I want to see it.]
As expected of students taught by the same sensei, even the wording was similar.
Sengoku suddenly raised his head and shouted in shock, "You are resigning too?"
Standing in front of him was Rear Admiral Douglas, a young officer in his early thirties.
"I am sorry. I have been feeling upset lately and do not want to stay in the Navy anymore."
Douglas smiled apologetically, but his tone was firm and unchangeable.
"Think it over. The Navy is growing rapidly…"
Sengoku said this earnestly, repeating his words of persuasion.
However.
With a click, Douglas resolutely left the Fleet Admiral's office.
"No."
Sengoku stretched out his right hand again and shouted in despair.
Damn it, another one gone.
And that was not all. One after another, officers came to Sengoku with their resignation letters.
There were more than a dozen people, with ranks ranging from captain to vice admiral.
It was not that no one below captain wanted to leave, but their rank was not high enough to resign directly to Sengoku.
Sengoku refused angrily, rejecting more than a dozen resignations.
But it was useless. A resignation was a notice, not a request. Their legs were their own, and they could leave if they wanted.
If they were determined to go, no one could stop them.
Withhold half a month's salary to force them to stay?
Are you kidding? What is half a month's salary? With their abilities, would they care about that?
When everyone had left, the Fleet Admiral's office finally became quiet, but Sengoku felt a chill all over.
More than a dozen senior officers had resigned collectively. The Navy suffered a heavy loss, almost enough to wipe out an entire Buster Call.
The departure of these people would cause panic within the Navy, and the impact would be far-reaching.
"More than a dozen came in one day. This is not right."
Sengoku thought with a frown.
He knew that Weevil joining the Shichibukai and Zephyr leaving the Navy would leave many in the Navy resentful.
But after all, they had been in the Navy for many years. Emotionally speaking, they might feel sick to their stomachs, but they would still endure it and stay.
How did he know so clearly? Because that was how he felt.
The fact that these people were fine two days ago confirmed his thoughts.
The sudden collective resignations today had to be driven by someone behind the scenes.
Sengoku did not suspect Zephyr. He watched Zephyr say goodbye the day before yesterday. He was very honest.
Given Zephyr's personality and his feelings for the Navy, he would not do such a thing.
So who was it?
Sengoku frowned, thinking hard.
Aside from Zephyr, who else had such influence to make more than a dozen senior officers resign together?
While Sengoku was thinking, the office door was knocked again.
Without waiting for his response, a figure opened the door and walked in.
"Tsuru, are you going to resign too?"
Sengoku asked in surprise as he looked at Tsuru in front of him.
"What are you thinking, Sengoku?" Tsuru was a little speechless and explained, "In addition to the senior officers who came to you, many mid-level officers came to me to resign as well."
"This situation is too serious. We must hold a meeting to discuss it and stop this trend."
Hearing this, Sengoku breathed a sigh of relief.
If the Chief of Staff, his close comrade Tsuru, also resigned, he would truly collapse.
However, he was not far from collapse now.
"Tsuru, you are right." Sengoku nodded. "I will call a meeting immediately, find out who is behind this, and put an end to it."
Due to the seriousness of the situation, everyone arrived in the conference room in just over ten minutes.
Aside from Akainu, who was out suppressing pirates, Aokiji, Kizaru, Tokikakke, Momonga, and other senior officers were all present.
However, there were obviously some empty seats in the conference room, belonging to Yamakaji, Doberman, and others.
Brannew, who was usually in charge of the meetings, was also absent. He had submitted his resignation to Sengoku as well.
Without Brannew, the meetings seemed to lack something.
Everyone understood the seriousness of the matter. They all looked grave and solemn, even Aokiji and Kizaru, who were usually lazy.
"This time, we have urgently called everyone to this meeting because of the large number of resignations today. The situation is urgent, and I hope you can find clues quickly."
Sengoku placed his hands on the table and spoke in a deep voice.
The many officers exchanged looks, and no one spoke.
Either Zephyr had not called these people yet, or they were still hesitating.
Those who had not been contacted by Zephyr naturally did not know the situation.
And those who were still hesitating would not betray their sensei.
For a moment, the conference room fell silent and deadlocked.
Sengoku looked at the silent room and felt a massive headache.
"Bru Bru!"
In the silence, the sound of a Den Den Mushi was especially piercing.
Everyone looked toward the sound and saw Vice Admiral Momonga covering his pocket in embarrassment.
"Just pick it up if it is important."
Sengoku forced a smile.
Under normal circumstances, he would certainly reprimand such behavior.
But with so many senior officers leaving, he became more tolerant of elite vice admirals like Momonga.
As long as you do not leave, anything is acceptable.
"…"
Momonga wanted to hang up the Den Den Mushi, but Sengoku's encouraging look made him unable to refuse.
With a click, Momonga answered.
"Momonga, is it convenient for you to talk?"
Zephyr's powerful voice echoed in the silent conference room.
All at once, Sengoku's face darkened.
Seeing Sengoku's expression, cold sweat oozed from Momonga's forehead.
Was it convenient or inconvenient for him now?
"Ahem, it is convenient now. Fleet Admiral Sengoku is not with me."
Momonga coughed and decided to cover for his sensei.
Sengoku shot Momonga a deathly glare.
(To be continued.)
***
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