"..."
Hawk stared at the golden snail in the box and asked, "Yunque, this came from Admiral Akainu?"
"Mhm!"
Yunque was busy wrestling with the Sea King steak on her plate. At his words, she looked up, puffing her cheeks in frustration.
"Big brother, you don't know how hard I begged this morning. I wanted Father to give you more support. But he was so stingy. Not even a single warship. Instead, he just shoved this thing into my hands and told me to bring it."
"Father is a cheapskate!"
"Haha."
Hawk shook his head with a smile. "Yunque, Admiral Akainu has already helped me plenty. And this gift is more than enough."
He was not even speaking of the special promotion to brigadier or the appointment as G-3's commanding officer.
This alone the golden Den Den Mushi was weighty beyond measure.
It was a Buster Call. One of the Navy's highest military strike authorities.
"But still..."
Hawk's fingers brushed the box on his right-hand side. A strange feeling rippled through him.
Now he held two golden snails.
One from Admiral Kuzan. One from Admiral Akainu.
If he pressed them both at once...
Would Headquarters actually dispatch twenty warships and ten vice admirals simultaneously?
The scene that conjured in his mind...
Tsk. It would be spectacular.
"Mmhm..."
Yunque nodded vaguely, cheeks stuffed like a squirrel as she kept chewing happily.
She had no idea just how valuable this glittering snail really was.
But she did know one thing: the supply of premium cigars in her father's study must be priceless.
Before they set sail, she would pack them all into her little backpack.
"..."
Kuzan, listening from the side, could not help but chuckle.
So this was Sakazuki's daughter, Yunque.
As the reports said, she was nothing like her father, whose temper burned like magma.
Yet Sakazuki... had entrusted even the Buster Call authority to Hawk?
"Well..."
For the first time, a flicker of respect for his long-standing rival stirred in Kuzan's chest.
He might never accept Sakazuki's "absolute justice" or his ruthless methods.
But when it came to Hawk... their judgment was the same.
Hawk was the Navy's future.
"..."
At that moment, a Marine officer arrived with a file, saluted, and set it before Kuzan. "Admiral Kuzan, this requires your signature."
Kuzan flipped it open.
His eyes widened, pupils narrowing.
What?
Sengoku was transferring Smoker and Tashigi... to G-3?
Because Smoker fell under Kuzan's faction, his reassignment required Kuzan's approval.
Well, that was fine. It would save Smoker from rotting away in Loguetown.
And under Hawk's command? No problem.
But the rest of the list...
Kuzan tapped the page with a finger.
Had Sengoku gone mad?
The reinforcements allocated to G-3 were staggering.
Three brand-new giant warships. Five large warships. Ten medium-class warships.
Even for an admiral, this level of support was excessive.
Kuzan's gaze drifted back to Hawk, who was laughing softly with Yunque.
This boy. What had he done, without Kuzan knowing, to make the usually cautious Sengoku stake so much?
"Hmm?"
Hawk noticed the complicated look in Kuzan's eyes and broke off his conversation with Yunque. "Kuzan, something on your mind?"
"..."
Kuzan looked down, signed the papers with his name Kuzan and handed them back to the officer. "Take it away."
After the man left, Kuzan leaned back and told Hawk, "Well, for you, it is good news."
He paused, then summarized the orders.
"Sengoku has decided to transfer Headquarters Colonel Smoker and Headquarters Colonel Tashigi, along with all their men, to your G-3 branch. In addition, G-3 will be given three new giant warships, five large warships, and ten medium-class warships as its base fleet."
"..."
Hawk's face went from calm, to shocked, to utterly blank.
What was happening?
He had done nothing in the past two days.
So why was Sengoku making such a massive move?
He could not make sense of it.
But one thing was certain: with this setup, G-3 already had the strength to dominate the entire Paradise half of the Grand Line.
Forget it. The Fleet Admiral must have his reasons.
For Hawk, it was only a blessing.
"..."
Breakfast wound down.
Kuzan rose and patted Hawk's shoulder. "I have some troublesome matters to handle."
"Alright."
Hawk stood as well, watching the admiral leave. Then he turned to Yunque.
It was time to continue visiting the vice admirals.
...
That afternoon, inside Kuzan's office.
"Phew."
After clearing away a small mountain of paperwork, Kuzan stretched, then sank into the couch. He picked up the receiver of a Den Den Mushi.
"Buru buru... Buru buru..."
It rang for a long while before someone finally answered.
Tashigi's voice came through. "Hello? Admiral Kuzan?"
"Colonel Smoker says he isn't here."
"..."
Kuzan leaned back lazily, his voice drawn out. "Is that so?"
"Admiral Kuzan..."
Tashigi's voice dropped to a whisper, as if she were covering the receiver with her hand.
"Since hearing about Hawk's promotion, the colonel has been like a man with a lit fuse. He keeps training furiously, muttering about not losing. I think..."
Her words were cut off by a furious roar blasting through the snail.
"Tashigi!"
"What nonsense are you spouting to that lazy bastard?!"
"Hahaha."
Kuzan grinned. "I heard there was an incident in East Blue recently. Something about a certain colonel nearly being mobbed by villagers in Cocoyashi Village?"
"I wonder who that was?"
"Do you know, Colonel Smoker?"
"..."
Silence.
The Den Den Mushi's features twisted, transforming into Smoker's own face, teeth clenched.
"Damn it!"
His bellow nearly shattered the receiver. "Kuzan, how do you know about that?!"
"Haha. How I know doesn't matter."
"Smoker, I have two things to tell you. One good news, one bad news."
"Which do you want first?"
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