From the atmosphere in the office, it was clear that the aftermath of the Battle of Edd War had brought favorable conditions for the Marines.
Fleet Admiral Kong and Admiral Zephyr were chatting and laughing, both visibly relieved—as if a heavy burden had finally been lifted.
After all, Shiki, who had run rampant across the New World and was once considered the Marines' greatest threat, had taken a serious fall. No doubt, the ones most pleased by this were the Marines.
After some small talk, Zephyr took another sip of hot tea and suddenly said, "Now that Shiki's situation is mostly handled, we're not exactly in crisis mode anymore, are we…"
Kong paused at the remark, then quickly caught on. "Don't tell me you're bringing that up again?"
"Just thought I'd bring it up for discussion one more time. I'm not getting any younger," Zephyr said with a cheerful smile.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're only fifty, right?" Kong cut in immediately, clearly irritated.
Fifty wasn't old—not by the standards of the sea. Whether pirate or Marine, that was still prime age, the peak of one's strength.
"Ahem…" Zephyr coughed awkwardly, then added, "But you know how my health is, Fleet Admiral."
Kong fell silent for a moment. Zephyr wasn't particularly old, but his asthma was severe, and the frequent attacks made things difficult.
"And it's not like I'm leaving the Marines altogether. I just want to step back from the front lines. I've been handling our recruit training for years now, and the results speak for themselves, right? So I was thinking—why not step down from my Admiral post and focus fully on that? I even prepared a detailed proposal." As he spoke, Zephyr pulled a folder from beside him and placed it on the desk.
Kong picked up the folder and flipped it open. Sure enough, inside was a thoroughly detailed plan. He glanced at Zephyr, then sighed softly and began reading through it.
In essence, Zephyr believed the Marine Headquarters' current training system still had many flaws. Based on his years of hands-on experience, he proposed creating a complete, structured, large-scale training model for elite soldiers.
That meant selecting promising young Marines and giving them systematic training geared specifically toward preparing them for officer roles.
The proposal focused on establishing an officer training camp at Marine Headquarters to carry out this mission—one that Zephyr himself volunteered to lead.
Initially, Zephyr had wanted to establish a full-fledged Marine academy, but worried that might be too ambitious too soon. If it flopped, it'd look bad. So instead, he put forward this "training camp" plan as a pilot project. If it succeeded, transitioning it into a proper academy down the line wouldn't be out of the question.
It was obvious Zephyr had put in a lot of preparation. On paper, there weren't any flaws Kong could find. And over the years, Zephyr had built up considerable experience in the field.
A few years back, Zephyr had already brought up the idea of stepping down as Admiral. Kong had refused then, but considering Zephyr's health—and especially his mental state, after losing his entire family to pirates—he had quietly reduced Zephyr's workload. Much of it had been passed on to Sengoku, under the pretense of grooming him to become the next Fleet Admiral.
In fact, given the current state of Marine leadership, it was clear that Kong truly did see Sengoku as the top candidate for the next Fleet Admiral.
After that, Zephyr had a more relaxed schedule, so he started focusing on something he was genuinely interested in—training new recruits. He held several training programs and indeed brought noticeable changes to the Marines, nurturing a crop of promising talents.
Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan—the three future Admirals—were all trained under Zephyr's guidance a couple of years earlier. Most of the well-known Vice Admirals at Marine Headquarters, like Momonga and Yamakaji, followed a similar path.
So, looking at it now, Zephyr wasn't just making empty claims. He had years of hands-on experience and had achieved real results. For a while, even Fleet Admiral Kong was tempted, though he remained hesitant.
He was tempted because if Zephyr could actually carry out the plan as outlined, the Marines would gain a steady stream of core personnel, officer candidates, and exceptional talent in the coming years.
But he hesitated because the current generation of Admirals was already short by one. That bastard Garp still refused to take the position, and if Zephyr stepped down as Admiral, their so-called "top combat force" would be left to Sengoku alone. That would be far too much pressure for Sengoku! And it wouldn't be easy to explain things to Mary Geoise either.
"You're really putting me in a tough spot here, Zephyr." Kong exhaled a puff of smoke, tapped his cigarette against the ashtray, and spoke with hesitation.
Seeing that Kong seemed somewhat tempted, Zephyr's eyes lit up. He smiled and said, "Then how about we both compromise? I won't resign as Admiral, but I'll gradually hand over some of my routine duties to Sengoku behind the scenes. That way, I can focus most of my energy on training more elite forces for the Marines. What do you think?"
Ask for everything and settle for less—Zephyr knew that strategy well. If he started with a high demand, Kong would surely refuse. But if he took a step back during negotiations, then everything would be open for discussion!
"Are you playing mind games with me?" Kong looked at Zephyr, half amused.
He wasn't naive. Of course, he could see through Zephyr's tactic.
Zephyr laughed without the slightest embarrassment, took a sip of tea, and said, "Given my current condition, I'd best stay away from the front lines. If I don't show up, I'm still a formidable fighter. After all, those guys out there haven't forgotten my reputation from a couple of years ago. But if I go out and suddenly have an asthma attack mid-battle, that'd be a real embarrassment, wouldn't it, Fleet Admiral…"
Zephyr's illness was top-secret due to his status as an Admiral. In fact, only a handful of top Marine officials were aware of it—the outside world had no clue.
So, as Zephyr pointed out, as long as he didn't enter combat, he remained one of the Marines' top fighters with strong deterrent power. But if word of his condition leaked, that deterrence would collapse—and that would be bad for both him and the Marines.
So, staying in the rear to focus on training was the smarter move. Best to avoid the front lines altogether.
If anyone else had said this, Kong might've suspected they were just afraid. But Zephyr's years of accomplishments and proven strength made it hard to doubt him. The facts were on his side.
Just as Kong was about to respond, a sudden knock came at the door. When he called out, a Marine Lieutenant Commander walked in—he looked like he was from Intelligence.
"Reporting the latest intel! The Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates have formed an alliance and launched an attack against Ochoku's pirate crew!" the officer reported quickly.
Kong froze for a moment, then turned to Zephyr. "See? You really can't let your guard down with those bastards in the New World... Look, another mess already. I'll give your proposal serious thought—but let's wait until this situation settles down, alright?"
Zephyr understood it wasn't the right time to push, so he nodded. "Understood."
After speaking with Zephyr, Kong turned to the Lieutenant Commander and said, "Garp and Sengoku are already on the front lines in the New World, right? Let them assess the situation and act as they see fit!"
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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