"The weather's really nice today, huh."
As an Admiral, Sengoku sat in his office, looking out the window.
But after just a brief sigh, he lowered his head once more.
Busy.
Too damn busy.
Ever since the Revolutionary Army and the Cross Guild burst onto the scene, the World Government had been acting like it got poked in a sore spot—extremely active and restless.
Especially after the Celestial Dragons were scared witless by the Cross Guild, the Five Elders completely locked down Mary Geoise, forbidding the Celestial Dragons from leaving.
The World Government, as if finally unburdened, began addressing other affairs.
Like rallying the member nations to resist the Revolutionary Army's infiltration.
But unfortunately... the results weren't great.
The Revolutionary Army hadn't expanded much into the Grand Line, and the World Government's control over the Four Seas wasn't nearly as strong as they'd imagined.
On top of that, the Revolutionary Army's movements were unpredictable and elusive.
Over the past two years, the World Government had dispatched CP agents and Navy units multiple times in an attempt to trap the Revolutionary Army across the Four Seas—but every single time came up empty.
In the end, they could only increase military funding for the Navy, expand its forces in the Four Seas, recruit more new soldiers, and squeeze the Revolutionary Army's survival space.
For Sengoku, this was a mixed bag.
The upside was increased military funding. Even if it meant recruiting a ton of new sailors for the Four Seas, he still had final say on how those funds were used.
The downside...
The workload had exploded overnight!
He was now completely chained to his office.
God only knew how long it had been since he lived any other life than the two-point commute between work and home.
Thinking about this, Sengoku sighed.
He grumbled silently to himself.
Michael and Rosinante, those two punks, didn't even bother checking in anymore!
The last time he'd seen them was when Michael had sent Rosinante to go undercover with his older brother.
Just then, the Den Den Mushi on his desk suddenly rang.
"Bururururu... Bururururu..."
Without even looking, Sengoku reached out and picked it up, still signing documents with his other hand.
"Hello? Sengoku speaking."
"Yo, old man! It's me. Feels like it's been ages since we last talked!"
"Michael?" Sengoku suddenly lifted his head and looked at the Den Den Mushi. Sure enough, its face had morphed to perfectly mimic Michael's cocky expression.
"The last time we met was a year ago, when you sent Rosinante to go undercover... So? What's going on today that got the great and busy Michael to give me a call?"
"Ahem ahem, do you have to be so sarcastic, old man?" Michael chuckled, his voice as carefree as ever. "I'm actually on my way back to Marineford. Surprised? Excited?"
"So... what scheme are you cooking up this time?"
Knowing Michael, he wouldn't be returning to Marineford without a plan in mind.
"Well, it's like this. I've managed to rope in a new batch of Navy recruits, just need your official approval."
"You're already a Rear Admiral. You've got plenty of recruitment slots under your command." Sengoku didn't seem too impressed. "Back when Stella enlisted, I already wanted to say it—recruiting one or two rookies isn't something you need to report to me in such detail."
"Ahem, of course I get that..." Michael's tone suddenly took on a strange twist. "But who said it's only one or two?"
"...How many, then?"
"One... country."
"Still just one... Wait, WHAT?! A whole country!?" Sengoku hadn't processed it at first. "You're saying an entire country wants to join the Navy?"
He immediately stopped signing documents, threw his pen down, and grabbed the Den Den Mushi.
"You're not pulling my leg, are you?"
But Michael on the other end sounded completely calm.
"Of course I'm not messing with you... But don't worry, it's just the young and able-bodied folks from that country joining."
"That's not what I'm worried about!" Sengoku's face twitched. Then he asked a very important question.
"You just said an entire country wants to enlist in the Navy... So which country are we talking about?"
Sengoku knew full well this had to be a non-member nation.
Member nations always saw the Navy as their subordinates—no way they'd "lower themselves" to join en masse.
So it had to be a non-member nation.
And if Michael was interested, it was probably one of those poor regions with a fierce and honorable culture.
"Oh, it's Amazon Lily in the Calm Belt. You should be pretty familiar with it."
Michael's words left Sengoku utterly stunned.
Amazon Lily?
Was it that Amazon Lily he knew? Not some country with the same name?
"You mean the 'Land of Women' in the Calm Belt? The one inhabited by the warrior tribe known as the Kuja?"
"Is there another Amazon Lily I don't know about?"
Michael's laughter echoed through the Den Den Mushi again.
But Sengoku didn't respond for a long time.
His mind was looping on the same thought...
Wasn't Amazon Lily a pirate country!?
...
"What was Sengoku's reaction?" Shakky asked quietly as she watched Michael put down the Den Den Mushi.
"Well, what do you think?" Michael grinned. "Surprised, of course. If he wasn't in the office, I bet he'd have popped a bottle of champagne."
Once Sengoku fully processed the news, he'd be ecstatic.
As the Navy's de facto leader now, he had a deep understanding of the global power balance.
Naturally, he also understood Amazon Lily's unique traits.
A nation of women who believe strength is beauty.
A country where even the average warrior is skilled in the use of Armament Haki.
The Navy had long been interested in recruiting such elite fighters. After all, Amazon Lily's warriors were strong, but not needlessly murderous. They mainly plundered pirates and merchant ships near the Calm Belt.
Because of that, the Kuja Pirates—despite their fame—had almost no bounties on them.
Only the Kuja Empress of each generation received a symbolic bounty.
And according to intelligence, the previous Empress had passed away, and the heir was still just a child.
So... what pirate country? There weren't even any wanted pirates!
It was clearly just a rough-around-the-edges civilian nation!
Their enlistment in the Navy was completely justified—a decision made by the Amazonians themselves!
"I'll take care of what comes next. Your identity doesn't suit public appearances in Marineford."
Michael turned to Shakky.
"Tell Gloriosa—I've fulfilled my promise to her."
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