Although he told Ian to come, Captain Enchi was already sailing over.
After Ian said his goodbyes to Robin and reached the dock, the familiar 315th Branch warship was already approaching.
Captain Enchi was clearly anxious; the moment he saw him, he immediately urged him to board the ship. "Hurry up!"
Captain Enchi pulled Ian, who was still slowly climbing up, over to him and said: "Time is running out. We must set off immediately."
Once Ian reached the deck, he frantically shouted behind him: "What are you still standing there for? Get the warship moving!"
"What happened?"
After greeting his former colleague, Ian turned and looked at Captain Enchi in confusion. "Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Don't mention it. It's a last-minute mission, and a very important one at that."
Captain Enchi flicked his cigarette, his face slightly grim. Then, with a wink, he said: "But don't worry. If you're lucky this time, you might actually get the complete Six Styles of the Marines and Life Return, and even Haki training methods."
"Haki training methods..."
Ian's face froze at Captain Enchi's words.
Speaking of which, he learned his Armament Haki from the previous base commander, while he developed his Observation Haki on his own.
The previous base commander was a slippery old fox who, probably thinking promotion was hopeless, colluded with local gangs. His will and fighting spirit had already faded, so his Armament Haki became weak.
In the end, because of uneven profit distribution, he was killed off during a clash with the mafia; officially, he was said to have died at the hands of the mafia.
As for Captain Enchi, a genius sent down from headquarters, his Armament Haki was impressive, but only for an average person. He was still at the surface level of Hardening, lacking the advanced techniques of Imbuement, Emission, and Internal Destruction.
Of course, this is understandable; if Captain Enchi knew all of them, he probably wouldn't have been sent here.
"Hey, hey, hey, what kind of rude things are you thinking? Even if you're retired now, I used to be your superior, show some respect, kid!"
Noticing Ian's rude look, Captain Enchi barked in frustration. Then he curiously circled around Ian while stroking his chin. "Hey, have you grown taller? You're taller than me now? And your muscles have gotten bigger?"
"Maybe it's secondary growth!"
"Damn, aren't you 27? How can there be secondary growth?"
"That's not the point."
Seeing Captain Enchi veer off topic, Ian quickly brought the conversation back to the point: "Let's talk about this mission!"
In fact, after consuming the Light-Light Fruit, Six Styles and Life Return were no longer of much importance to him.
As for the use of Haki, he did need someone to teach him.
Looking at the direction they were sailing, he couldn't help but frown. "If I remember correctly, this should be the Calm Belt. Are we heading to the Grand Line?"
"Yes, it is indeed the Grand Line."
"Enforcing the law across seas?"
Ian frowned again. "If I remember correctly, that would be against the rules."
"Don't worry, I only came out on orders from headquarters."
Captain Enchi patted Ian's shoulder and said: "It's not against the rules."
"Why should I worry? I'm retired. Even if there's a violation, you'll be the one to take the punishment."
Ian rolled his eyes, but then fell into deep thought.
Enforcing the law across seas, from the West Blue to the Grand Line.
Are the Grand Line's military forces already that stretched thin?
Ian looked at Captain Enchi next to him. "May I ask what the mission is?"
"Escort someone to a safe area!"
"Escort mission? Who?"
"Who?"
Captain Enchi sighed, lost in melancholy. He puffed out his cigarette and flicked the ash from his hand. "Chief Instructor from the Marine Headquarters, also my teacher… Mr. Zephyr."
"..."
I'm not sure if I should say this or not.
Ian's mouth twitched, and he climbed up the side of the ship without hesitation while shouting: "I want to go home! Send me back!! Damn it! Going to support a former admiral?! Do you have any sense, you bastard?"
…
"West Blue's Branch 315th?"
Marine Headquarters, Marineford, in the admiral's office. At this moment, the current Fleet Admiral of the Marines, the renowned Resourceful General, Sengoku, looked at Kuzan with a puzzled expression.
"Why did you send the West Blue's Branch? You know, even though it's just an escort mission, it's no simple task."
The pirates who attacked the new recruits at the training camp had been repelled, but how could the nearby pirates be unaware of such a major incident?
They would likely have already smelled something fishy and were heading for that sea area.
"Is there something special about this West Blue branch?"
"Nothing special."
Kuzan said, stretching lazily on the sofa. "It's just that there's an interesting retired marine there."
"Retired marine?"
Kuzan's response suddenly lit up Sengoku's face with a look of intense interest.
"You're so interested in a mere retired marine! Could he be a talented marine? Why haven't you brought him to the headquarters?"
"Talent? Average!"
"Average? Then what's so interesting about him?"
Could he have eaten a special Devil Fruit? He didn't think Kuzan, this lazy kid, would take notice of a retired branch Marines officer for no reason.
Just as Sengoku was growing increasingly interested, wondering what Kuzan's response would be.
"That kid wants to chop down Sakazuki."
Kuzan said with a strange look on his face. "Do you think he's interesting or not?"
"..."
That's it?
A foolish, whimsical, and reckless guy?
Sengoku, who had been very interested, suddenly frowned. But thinking of what had happened to Zephyr, he couldn't help but sigh wistfully.
"Let's just hope nothing happens. Hmph, and that old bastard, Garp... Always running off to his hometown at critical times. Whenever we need him, he's gone. When he gets back, I'm docking his pay for sure."
If Garp were here, he would be the perfect one to go. Seeing an old comrade would surely ease Zephyr's heart a little.
"Tell the Grand Line branches to hold the line tight. Don't let pirates slip in again. And..."
He looked up at Kuzan again: "What about your mission? Where's the Devil Child now? The World Government's been hounding me about it nonstop; I've got a splitting headache."
"Who knows?" Kuzan shrugged and yawned. "Maybe she's already married and has kids!"
Sengoku: "..."
Married and has kids?
Seeing Kuzan's perfunctory response, Sengoku couldn't hold back any longer.
He slammed his hand on the table and roared: "Get married? I see you want to get married. Get out of here and get back on your mission!"
"Oh, I just got back!"
"If you don't get out now, forget about getting reimbursed for your trip."
"... Fine."
"This brat... has learned all of Garp's laziness, and now he has even picked up his nonsense. Married with kids, my ass, who's he trying to fool?"
Watching Kuzan lazily walk out, Sengoku's expression of helplessness returned. He pulled out his treasured Senbei from a drawer and muttered to himself: "Not a single one of them ever gives me peace of mind. Even talking about marriage and kids now, who's supposed to believe that nonsense?"
He then glanced at the documents on the table: "I hope nothing else happens!"