After the meeting ended, Sengoku said, "You four nominees, come with me."
Ortoren and Sakazuki stood up without hesitation and followed. Kuzan walked behind them, while Borsalino shot him a pitiful look. "If it weren't for you, I'd already be back taking my nap…"
Kuzan ground his teeth. "You never told me you didn't want to be an Admiral!"
"Look at me. Do I look like someone who wants to be an Admiral?" Borsalino countered.
Kuzan pointed at himself. "Do I look like someone who wants to be an Admiral?"
"You say that, but you didn't actually do anything about it. I, on the other hand, made sure to notify everyone beforehand," Borsalino said proudly.
Kuzan went silent. His face twitched. "…Fine. You win."
Once they arrived at Sengoku's office, Sengoku finally spoke. "Now then, all four of you have been nominated. But there are only three Admiral seats. What do you propose?"
"Being nominated doesn't mean I have to become an Admiral. I'll just remain a candidate!" Borsalino cut in immediately.
Sengoku looked at Borsalino's eager-to-escape expression and shook his head. "It's obvious you genuinely don't want the position."
After a short pause, Sengoku turned to Kuzan. "Sakazuki and Ortoren are practically guaranteed. Both have a strong personal desire to take the position. But you, Kuzan—what are your thoughts?"
"What am I supposed to say at this point? Anything I say now just sounds fake…" Kuzan said helplessly.
"Then don't say anything. Since that's the case, let's finalize it directly. Ortoren, Sakazuki, Kuzan—once I become Fleet Admiral, the three of you will serve as the next Admirals," Sengoku announced without hesitation.
"All for justice!" Ortoren and the others responded promptly.
Borsalino looked around. "Well, if we're done here, I'll head back?"
"In the afternoon, get yourself back to Punk Hazard! Keeping someone like you at Headquarters just irritates me!" Sengoku snapped.
Borsalino had been the first Vice Admiral he personally took under his command. By seniority, even Ortoren counted as Borsalino's junior.
And yet here this man was—utterly unambitious, infuriating to look at!
Just think of me, Sengoku—decades devoted to the Navy—and this is the subordinate I ended up raising!?
But even with Sengoku ranting, Borsalino remained unfazed, thick-skinned as ever. He offered an embarrassed grin, then slipped out quickly.
After Borsalino left, Sengoku continued, "Until now, we've never had a full set of three Admirals, so many responsibilities have been vague. You might not have been aware of how unclear the divisions were. But now that the structure is shifting, the new Admirals must have clearly defined roles."
Ortoren, Sakazuki, and Kuzan sat down on the sofa, listening attentively.
"By tradition," Sengoku explained, "the three Admirals each oversee a strategic theater: the New World, the first half of the Grand Line—Paradise—and Marineford Headquarters. These assignments are to ensure readiness for any major incident within each region."
The New World and Paradise needed no explanation. The Admiral stationed at Marineford primarily oversaw Mary Geoise, the Sabaody Archipelago, and the Trinity of Enies Lobby, Impel Down, and surrounding zones.
If nothing major occurred in those areas, the Admiral rarely needed to mobilize.
But the Headquarters post was hardly easy—on top of everything else, that Admiral had to assist the Fleet Admiral with countless important duties.
"So," Sengoku asked, "what thoughts do each of you have?"
Sakazuki answered immediately. "I want to take the New World—"
"Denied." Sengoku rejected him without hesitation.
Sakazuki: ???
You asked for my opinion only to shoot it down instantly!?
"The Admiral assigned to the New World has already been decided—by both me and Mary Geoise. That will be Ortoren. And it's not because we distrust your capability, Sakazuki. It's that, compared to you, his background gives him far greater influence in the New World. Understand?" Sengoku explained.
Ortoren burst into laughter. "Sorry, Sakazuki, but I won't be giving up that position."
Sakazuki gave him a slightly resigned glance. "If it's you, then I have no complaints…"
Sengoku had already made it clear. What else could Sakazuki say? Complain that he hadn't been born into a powerful pirate lineage?
But Kuzan, standing off to the side, immediately bristled at Sakazuki's comment. "What's that supposed to mean? So if I were the one stationed in the New World, you wouldn't feel secure—is that it?"
"More or less. And what's with that tone? Don't forget—you didn't support me for Admiral earlier, but I supported you," Sakazuki answered bluntly without the slightest hesitation.
Kuzan: ???
Whatever irritation he'd been harboring evaporated instantly.
"Fine, fine. I was in the wrong," Kuzan muttered, grumbling twice before dropping the argument.
Sengoku watched their exchange with mild amusement before continuing. "The New World assignment is already decided, so we won't revisit it. Sakazuki, Kuzan—how about Paradise and Marineford?"
Kuzan shrugged, resigned. "Let him pick first. He backed me, after all."
Sakazuki wasn't trying to be polite either. After thinking it through, he found no interest in staying in Paradise—bullying small fry held no value. For him, the assignment would be meaningless. Compared to that, he'd rather remain at Headquarters.
He had been working at G-1 all along. Strategically speaking, G-1 functioned as a reserve headquarters, so most of the experience Sakazuki had accumulated fit perfectly with the responsibilities at Marineford.
Rather than sweeping trash in Paradise, staying at Headquarters, handling major affairs with Sengoku—no, with Fleet Admiral Sengoku—and building direct ties with the Holy Land's higher-ups would benefit him much more.
That way, when the time eventually came to compete for Fleet Admiral against Ortoren, he'd already be stacking up advantages.
Yes, Sakazuki had long weighed this. There were three Admiral seats. He didn't need to compete with Ortoren for one—especially with Borsalino openly slacking off. Given the Marines' current state, his promotion to Admiral was practically guaranteed.
He'd known this the moment he learned Holy Land had been burned and the Commander-in-Chief killed.
So there was never any point in fighting Ortoren over it.
But unlike the Admirals, there is only one Fleet Admiral. That goal was still far away—Sengoku hadn't even taken the position yet—but those who fail to plan for the future won't even secure the present.
Now that the Admiral position was achieved, Sakazuki's next career objective was clearly the Fleet Admiral seat. And the moment he and Ortoren both became Admirals, the competition had already begun.
That much was certain.
As for the third potential rival—Kuzan—honestly, if Ortoren hadn't been promoted and Borsalino had taken that seat instead, Sakazuki might've still seen Kuzan as his competitor. But with Ortoren present, Kuzan was automatically removed from the list.
"I'll take Headquarters," Sakazuki declared once he finished aligning his thoughts.
"Then the remaining assignment is mine," Kuzan replied casually. He truly didn't care. Of course, while he wasn't opposed to Sakazuki becoming an Admiral, he would absolutely never support him for Fleet Admiral. Since he himself had no intention of competing, Kuzan figured that when the time came, he would wholeheartedly support Ortoren.
Seeing both men settle their choices, Ortoren's lips curved slightly.
Fleet Admiral? Competition? Their ambitions lived within the World Government's framework. His did not—he'd long stepped beyond that stage.
Besides, what good is a Fleet Admiral chosen through procedure?
In the end, that's nothing more than the final stop on Sengoku's career path.
A real Fleet Admiral is forged on the battlefield, Sakazuki.
When the armies of the world march under my command, when the forces beneath me number far beyond a mere million, when a single order from me makes the entire world tremble—who the hell will dare to say I'm not the Fleet Admiral?
...
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