Chapter 93: Defeating The Future Admiral
"What position in the Navy do you think is safe enough?" Roy asked, looking at Tsuru.
"Um…"
The two of them sat on a tree stump by the roadside. Tsuru kept swinging her legs, trying to hook Roy's leg with her foot, but he dodged every time.
They fooled around like that while Tsuru thought it over.
"An admiral is impressive, and a fleet admiral is even higher, but their strength is on the same level," she finally said, turning to look at him.
"So you think they are safe?" Roy asked with a smile.
"They are heroes of the Navy. Of course they are safe, both in reputation and strength," Tsuru replied seriously, nodding.
Sigh.
She still had not managed to hook his leg.
"I don't think so," Roy said as he glanced toward the Grand Line.
"Let's make a bet. I say that in the future, at least one Marine admiral will be pushed to heartbreak and madness by the World Government."
In truth, he would rather lose.
But Roy knew what kind of man Sengoku was.
That guy's sense of justice was built on the orders of the World Government. He was the type to be loyal to the end. Even though Roy had once asked him to pay attention to Zephyr's situation and look out for him, Roy knew exactly how it would go.
In the future, when Sengoku was faced with a choice between Zephyr and the orders of the World Government, he would follow the orders without hesitation.
Roy's earlier request was only a small precaution.
Whether Zephyr's fate would stay tragic was anyone's guess.
Zephyr would become an admiral at thirty eight, get married that same year, and have a son at thirty nine. When he was forty two, his entire family would be murdered by pirates.
It was insane.
This was a Marine admiral. He spent most of his time at Headquarters, yet pirates still managed to kill his wife and child.
Outrageous did not even begin to cover it.
Zephyr had once been known as an admiral who never killed his enemies, no matter how many pirates he defeated. People called him the man who never kills. After his family died, he developed a deep hatred for pirates. To make it worse, he had a superior who knew nothing of his pain and still advised him not to resign.
Roy already could not stand the people in Mary Geoise, and this chain of events that twisted Zephyr's life only made the whole thing even more bitter in his eyes.
Of course, that part was just Roy's own theory.
Even so, Zephyr held on to his last bit of faith in the Navy, kept his admiral rank, and became a full time instructor. He began training young recruits at the Naval Academy.
From Akainu and Kizaru in the first generation, to Aokiji after them, then to Smoker, Tina, Binz, Ain, and many others in the future.
He poured his passion and all the love he had left into those young Marines, shifting the feelings he had for his lost family onto his students.
Until one day, far in the future, Zephyr's training fleet was attacked by pirates. Because of his age and declining strength, he could not protect all the cadets. Aside from Binz and Ain, every trainee in that class died.
It was easy to imagine the pain he felt.
Later, the World Government would recruit the very pirate who had massacred Zephyr's students and turn him into a Warlord of the Sea.
That was what finally drove Zephyr over the edge.
The World Government ignored his wishes and pushed him past the limit. Zephyr left the Navy in anger and founded the NEO Marines.
Mad with grief, he set his sights on a single goal.
Destroy the entire New World.
This was the admiral Roy was talking about. A man pushed to madness by the World Government.
The earlier guesses were just Roy's speculation, but that last part was their direct work.
Anyone else might still be innocent.
The World Government, though, was absolutely filthy.
"How is that possible? A Marine admiral?" Tsuru shook her head. "People like that are incredibly powerful. Why would the World Government ever treat them that way?"
She refused to believe it.
"This kind of thing will not happen in the future," she said firmly.
"Honestly, I hope it does not either," Roy said quietly, looking up at the sky.
A Zephyr who lived a peaceful life with his family would always be better than a Zephyr who turned into a madman hunting explosive rock to wipe out the New World.
"You are hoping you lose your own bet. That is ridiculous," Tsuru could not help but laugh, then looked at him again. "So what if you lose?"
"What if you lose?" Roy countered, looking back at her.
"I want you…" Tsuru's heart jumped. "Cough, I want you to join the Navy with me."
She almost blurted out "marry me" and barely stopped herself in time.
Damn it.
She had nearly embarrassed herself in front of Roy.
She took a deep breath, then another, and waited for his answer.
"I have a condition too, but it is pending," Roy said with a sly grin.
Tsuru's eyes lit up. Was it the same as hers?
As expected of this bad guy.
"Maybe something like, do not bother me, I will think about it later." Roy stood up, patted the dust from his clothes, and walked back toward the village.
Tsuru stared after him in disbelief.
She had not heard that wrong, had she?
"Idiot! You idiot! You complete moron!"
"No, no, you big liar, you never even set a time limit! You tricked me!"
Furious, Tsuru jumped up and charged after him, wishing she could bite him.
In her mind, there was no way something as absurd as the World Government persecuting one of their own admirals could ever happen.
And he had not even mentioned when this so called future would be.
He was clearly just fooling her.
Unforgivable.
He even dared to trick the woman who would one day become the Navy's Chief of Staff.
That boy was pure trouble.
…
South Blue, inside a naval base.
On the training ground, a group of Marines surrounded a young man and rushed him all at once.
A moment later, those sturdy Marines were sent flying in every direction, knocked away one after another by the young man standing in the center.
"You cannot even break through my Buddha form's defense?" Sengoku said, looking at the fallen Marines with a satisfied smile.
In his Buddha form, he was stronger in every way, and if he wanted, he could already unleash a shockwave with a single palm strike.
He had only just started developing the fruit, so the shockwaves were still far weaker than what he would one day unleash as fleet admiral.
After dismissing the training Marines, Sengoku left the field and headed back toward the offices. He stopped outside the base commander's door and knocked lightly.
Even after Kong left the South Blue, the base commander still refused to allow Sengoku to go challenge Roy.
These rough looking men had eyes. They could tell this was the time when Tsuru and Roy's feelings were slowly growing.
If that restless kid Sengoku suddenly showed up now and stirred up trouble as a third wheel, Tsuru's whole plan to win Roy over might collapse on the spot.
"Reporting, base commander. I will be going to the Naval Academy in a few months, so… I would like to take some leave and spend more time with my family and friends," Sengoku said when he entered, standing straight in front of the desk.
"Fine, no problem. You do not need to come in for the next few days," the base commander replied, not looking up as he continued working through a mountain of documents.
"Thank you, base commander. I will be off then!" Sengoku said joyfully. He turned, closed the door behind him, and left.
Spending time with family and friends was just an excuse.
What he really wanted was to go pick a fight.
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