Makima is a devil hunter, so no wonder she found the World Government and worked with them.
That makes sense. Since the Shikon Jewel has devils, it naturally has wizards and hunters who fight them too. Now they've all been freed from that Shikon Jewel.
Makima gave them clues about ascending to the divine altar, and then the meeting was pretty much over.
The next topics weren't all that important. After about twenty minutes, Makima left first.
The planning for The Black Order's future was done, and Sora was still there to explain things about the Marines.
Makima didn't have the World Government's full trust after all, so it was better for her to step out of this herself.
After leaving, she took what she needed and headed to The Black Order. First, she had to prepare to develop Pandora Island.
She planned to turn the island into a huge testing area, which was also her unspoken agreement with the government.
It would be another long-term job, but there wasn't much else to do right now anyway.
Ah Xing was recovering at Marine Headquarters. Once Sengoku woke up and ate the Buddha fruit, that would be fine.
Aatrox had gone to the New World, ready to harvest the pirates' fear.
These were all things that would happen naturally, so Genichi didn't need to worry too much about them.
What he needed to do now was find some hidden spots, then create some paths to the divine altar to give the World Government and Roger something to work on.
He wasn't too happy with this operation. Mostly because he only pulled out Aatrox at the end, and when Aatrox showed up, it was way too flashy.
The moment he appeared, the whole world was almost covered in darkness, which made both the Marines and Roger react quickly. They'd eventually notice the center of that darkness.
So he didn't have time to set things up properly and had to summon Aatrox directly to finish things with overwhelming power.
That taught Genichi a lesson. Next time, he should draw out the million-level cards first before making plans...
Just as he thought, Ah Xing, who was in his hospital bed, met Sengoku three days later.
"Sengoku Admiral..."
Ah Xing opened his eyes and saw Sengoku sitting right beside him. He tried to sit up, but his wounds kept him from moving.
"Easy now, don't move yet." Sengoku sighed. "I'm here to say goodbye."
"Goodbye?!" Ah Xing was confused, then he saw the fruit in Sengoku's hand.
"The Black Order saved my life, so I'm going to serve there for ten years. This devil fruit is one I ate before—'Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Buddha Form.' It fits well with your devil fruit."
Sengoku said calmly, "The Marines are badly hurt after this battle. You have to take on the Admiral's duties. The 'sword' unit has been approved by Fleet Admiral Sora. You need to make the Marines strong again."
"Admiral...? Mr. Sengoku, what are you saying? I don't quite get it."
"Sigh, you'll take over my Admiral position soon. The World Government is doing a big recruitment drive. As long as you're strong enough, you can become a Marine Admiral. I recommended you, so don't worry about experience." Sengoku sighed softly. "The world is changing fast, and right when that happens, I have to leave the Marines. It's really..."
"Regrettable. But Ah Xing, you're the hope I found. I see your huge potential. You'll surpass us all and become the Marines' strongest weapon."
... Ah Xing just stared at Sengoku, not saying a word.
"Alright, eat this once you're healed. Funny thing—even without the devil fruit, I feel like my strength hasn't dropped much."
Without the devil fruit, he gained a piece of Shikon Jewel instead. That fragment barely boosted Sengoku's power and strengthened his body and Haki.
Sengoku was one of the rare people with all three types of Haki. If he trained it well and found a good fruit later, surpassing his old self wasn't impossible.
Sengoku left. His wounds had healed on the first day, but he stayed two more days to say goodbye to people he knew in the Marines and wait for his new orders.
Soldiers follow orders as their duty anyway. Plus, Makima saved his life, so he had no reason to say no to her request.
And this way...
He might get a closer look at that woman and learn about The Black Order. Sure, there were plenty of spies in The Black Order already, but it wasn't the same as seeing it himself.
"Garp hasn't woken up yet?"
Before leaving, he wanted to check on his old friend Garp one more time. But when he went in, he saw Zephyr coming out.
"His injuries are too bad." Zephyr shook his head. "Waking up won't be easy."
"That Makima woman has all kinds of tricks. She might have a way." Sengoku said. "I'll ask her when I get there."
"The biggest issue is losing an arm. That could hit him hard." Zephyr said quietly. "But I hear the science team is working on prosthetic limbs. We can only hope."
"Yeah..." Sengoku was quiet for a moment. He didn't go to the hospital. Instead, he and Zephyr just walked around Marine Headquarters to clear their heads.
"Aatrox is already causing trouble in the New World." Zephyr said suddenly.
When Aatrox came to mind, Sengoku pictured that giant sword-wielding devil. Under his power, Sengoku felt as small as an ant.
"Yeah... That's no surprise. He's the kind of devil who wants to destroy the world. Why would he stop killing?"
"The Black Order is the group that fights devils like him. We have to be careful from now on." Zephyr said. "Thor has gone deep into the New World, but Aatrox is way too strong for one Thor to handle."
"Even if I wasn't joining The Black Order, even if I was still in the Marines, I'd go after that guy." Sengoku said through gritted teeth. "He killed so many of my men and cut off Garp's arm. How could I let him get away?!"
Thirty thousand Marines—that was how many Sengoku had led there. Only a few thousand came back.
Every time he thought about it, he felt haunted by the souls of those men.
"Farewell. From now on, we'll be Admirals in different groups." Sengoku looked toward the port at Marine Headquarters. The ship to pick him up was ready.
"Ten years from now, let's be Admirals together at Marine Headquarters again!"
----
You can read 30 chapters ahead on patre on
patr eon.com/JYouyi
Pssst, Free tiers can read 3 chapters in advance