"My initial idea was simply to take advantage of the fact that I still have a few years of my prime and some remaining leverage, and to take advantage of the momentum of Rosen's great victory over the Ochoku Pirates, so that the Five Elders would suffer a setback and make some concessions."
"After all, the Five Elders were in the wrong in this matter."
"Based on my understanding of the five of them, in order to appease Rosen, to appease Zephyr, and to appease the Marine, even if my use of the Shinigami as the codename for an admiral violates the World Government's taboo, they will eventually compromise."
Sengoku shook his head, then looked at Rosen:
"But I didn't expect that you had already made your move before me."
"I've been a Marine admiral for so many years, and in the end I only dared to try to beat the Five Elders by half a point. I only dared to do so because I needed your support. But you, on the other hand, won a game against the Five Elders."
"I only wanted to win the title of Admiral from the Five Elders, but you directly took the Marine Headquarters from the Five Elders."
"Amazing."
"Rosen, I have nothing more to teach you about how to be a good admiral."
Sengoku shook his head and said to Rosen with admiration.
Before.
He didn't doubt that Rosen had the ability to become a Fleet Admiral, but he had reservations about whether he actually had the capability to do so.
After all, ability and strength seem to be equal, but sometimes they are not entirely the same.
"Killing Ochoku is to settle the grudge of his wife and children being killed."
"Taking over the Marine Headquarters is to make the Five Elders, who knew the truth but did not report it, covered up the truth, and neglected the Marine and justice, give an explanation."
"Zephyr, I'm starting to envy you. Even if Dragon hadn't started his own operation and had chosen to stay at Marine Headquarters, he still couldn't have been better than Rosen."
After learning everything, Garp couldn't help but cast an envious glance at Zephyr.
Although he has sons and grandsons, and none of the Monkey family members are useless, none of them have chosen to join the Marine. Instead, they all stand against him.
Unlike Zephyr, who, despite being all alone, taught a student he could boast about for a lifetime.
"Rosen."
Faced with Garp's envy, Zephyr did not show his usual smugness and pride, but instead looked hesitant to speak.
He felt that as a teacher, he had not only failed to help his student, but had also caused Rosen, the student, to worry himself sick over his affairs.
This made Zephyr, who was a teacher, feel ashamed, guilty, and apologetic.
What teacher would drag their students down?
That's Zephyr's idea.
He teaches his students without expecting anything in return, only hoping that they can succeed.
Other Marine personnel are like that, and so is Rosen.
Therefore, before Rosen, no student had ever gone to look for the murderer of their family member, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with that.
That's why.
After Rosen beheaded Ochoku, he demanded an explanation from the Five Elders.
Faced with all this, Zephyr was surprised and moved, caught off guard, and felt ashamed.
"No teacher would drag their students down."
"That statement is correct."
"But aren't teachers and students inherently a burden to each other?"
Rosen glanced at Zephyr, taking in the change in the other's emotions:
"besides."
"This kind of drag is not a burden."
"And I'm not doing all this for you, Professor Zephyr, but also to pave the way for myself."
His words soothed Zephyr's feelings of self-blame and remorse.
"I have always believed that whether one is an Admiral or a Fleet Admiral, one's title is not given by others, but earned through one's own efforts."
"Just like the so-called Four Emperors, the Pirate King."
"What others give you will eventually be taken back by them, but what I earn myself will always be mine."
Rosen's words made Sengoku, Garp, Sakazuki, and others seem to understand something.
yes!
If Rosen hadn't seized control of the Marine Headquarters from the Five Elders, then whether he became a Marine Admiral or Fleet Admiral, strictly speaking, he would still be subordinate to the World Government.
Whether it's an Admiral or a commander, it's all bestowed by the Five Elders.
Today, the Five Elders can grant you the rank of Admiral and promote you to Admiral of the Marine, but tomorrow they can take back the rank of Admiral and remove you from the position of Admiral.
This applies to all Admirals and Fleet Admirals.
Whether it's the active-duty Fleet Admiral Sengoku, or the active-duty Admirals Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan.
If the Five Elders wish, they can reclaim their Fleet Admiral positions and Admiral ranks at any time.
However, this approach is not applicable to the current Rosen.
Even though he is only a rear admiral now.
But Sengoku, as the Fleet Admiral, listens to him; Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan, as the three Admirals, listen to him; and Victor Seiji, as the head of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, also listens to him.
Even Garp, Tsuru, and Zephyr listened.
As for the Marine Headquarters, it was Rosen who single-handedly snatched it from the Five Elders.
You could say that.
If he were to become an Admiral, no one could take him back.
If he becomes commander, no one can dismiss him.
The Admiral is his.
The Fleet Admiral title also belongs to him.
Even the Marine Headquarters belongs to him.
This is why Rosen insisted on taking on the Ochoku Pirates one-on-one and recording the battle via live video stream.
First, he wanted to help his teacher, Zephyr, settle old scores.
Ochoku's story, and the Five Elders' story, have all come to an end.
Secondly, it was paving the way for him to become a Marine commander.
Only by letting the Five Elders witness the entire process of his one-on-one battle against the Ochoku Pirates, and fully recognizing his strength and weight that surpasses even the Emperors, will they choose to back down, thus seizing power from the Marine Headquarters.
"Now, everyone can rest assured."
"From this day forward, the Marine Headquarters is independent."
"The Marine will only be the world's Marine, no longer the government's Marine."
Rosen looked around at everyone present:
In other words...
"You can faithfully uphold whatever kind of justice you seek: reigning supreme, non-violence, peace, purity, ambiguity, thoroughness, and burning."
"We will no longer be subject to the coercion and control of the world government."
Every word he uttered deeply resonated with every high-ranking Marine officer present.
"Burn?"
"What a long-awaited justice!"
Kuzan looked dazed, his tone extremely complicated.
Because of the Ohara incident, he almost overnight lost his burning sense of justice, transforming from a passionate Marine officer into a listless one.
Every day, he can only numb himself with a lazy sense of justice, using it as a reason to stay in the Marine.
But now.
As Rosen said, he can not only uphold justice through burning, but also be himself.
"Marine."
"So it can be independent after all!"
In the video footage.
You can see Sakazuki leaning back in his chair, his usually expressionless, dignified face revealing a variety of complex emotions that are clearly visible to the naked eye.
Unlike Kuzan, his commitment to justice has never wavered.
No matter when or where, he always upheld absolute justice, but the fact that the Marine could become independent still deeply shocked him.
At least, from now on, when I uphold absolute justice against pirates, I really won't need to worry about the existence of the World Government anymore.
"I know that one day he will lead the Marine into a new era."
"However, I didn't expect this day to come so soon."
"Junior, you're really scary!"
Borsalino gave Rosen a long look.
In the past, when he used the catchphrase "How scary!", he would often tease his opponents. But now, this "How scary!" reveals his admiration and awe.
From now on, I can change my own sense of justice.
It is no longer ambiguous.
It is not about justice, but about unwavering principles.
...
Advance chapters (30+ stockpiled) are waiting on P@treon/Ren_Saga
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