"Ah, Lieutenant Commander Taro, you're here," Vice Admiral Gumir said with exceptional delight as he saw Taro walk into the dining hall. "Come, come, sit here!"
Taro's expression stiffened. What was wrong with this old bald guy? He felt a bit overly enthusiastic!
However, since the other party had reached out to greet him, Taro couldn't very well refuse. He walked over, paid his respects to the table full of base officers, and then took a seat.
The officers' dining hall was a bit different from the base canteen; while the base canteen was a buffet, the officers' dining hall served dishes according to a menu.
After three rounds of drinks and five courses of food, the conversation gradually opened up.
Vice Admiral Gumir affectionately put his arm around Taro's shoulder. "Brother Taro, you went out yesterday to pursue pirates, didn't you?"
When Gumir asked this, the attention of all the officers at the table was drawn over, each of them pricking up their ears to hear how Taro would answer.
Taro glanced at the hand resting on his shoulder, somewhat speechless. This old bald Vice Admiral hadn't had too much to drink, had he? His behavior while drinking was a bit poor.
However, Vice Admiral Gumir was Taro's superior after all, and he hadn't notified him when leaving port yesterday. Strictly speaking, this counted as leaving one's post without authorization.
Thinking of this, Taro figured he did need to give Gumir an explanation, so he nodded. "Yes."
Hearing Taro's straightforward admission, Gumir's eyes lit up. He exchanged looks with the officers and asked again, "So, did you make a move?"
Taro looked at Gumir in confusion. "Yes, I had a fight!"
"The opponent's strength was very formidable, right?" Gumir's tone carried a hint of inexplicable meaning.
Taro thought about it. Blackbeard, a future Four Emperors member—how could he not be strong? So he nodded.
Gumir exchanged another look with the gathered officers, appearing as if it were just as expected. The smile on his face grew even wider. "Lieutenant Commander Taro, have a good rest. When you have time, you must give us more guidance!"
"Yes, yes!"
The officers echoed in agreement.
The confusion in Taro's heart deepened. Why did everyone he met today feel abnormal?
Nevertheless, he politely replied, "I wouldn't dare claim to give guidance, I wouldn't dare."
Vice Admiral Gumir had obtained the information he wanted and was satisfied, leaving shortly after.
Following that, the large table of people also vanished without a trace in an instant.
What is wrong with everyone?
Taro curled his lip... "Vice Admiral Tsuru?"
Just as he returned to the lounge, Mike brought over a den den mushi. Taro picked it up and found it was actually his "Grandma Tsuru," and he couldn't help but be a bit confused.
"You troublesome little fellow. I thought sending you to a branch would make you behave, but you've barely arrived and you're already being restless?"
After a light chuckle, Vice Admiral Tsuru's tone became somewhat helpless.
"I'm being wronged, Grandma Tsuru! I haven't done anything. There's nothing to do here anyway, so how could I be restless!"
Taro responded with a pitiful tone.
Tsuru was also a bit annoyed.
"Still trying to hide it from me? It's spread throughout all of Marineford. You had a fight with an incredibly powerful great pirate—is that true or not?"
Taro was stunned. How did Marineford know?
"Uh, I did have a fight with someone, but..."
"As long as it happened. It seems you're even more reckless at the branch," Vice Admiral Tsuru interrupted him directly and sighed.
"You'd better come back. Come directly to the Holy Land Mary Geoise; I'll wait for you here."
"Mary Geoise?" Taro was even more confused.
"Yes, Marineford will hold a meeting with the Shichibukai at Mary Geoise. People have already been sent to notify them..." Vice Admiral Tsuru explained, sensing Taro's confusion.
Holy crap!
Taro's first reaction was not to go.
He remembered there was indeed such a meeting, and Blackbeard seemed to have sent someone there, wanting to take Crocodile's position.
But that wasn't important. The key was that Taro remembered "Hawkeye" Mihawk was also present.
Taro did not want to meet Hawkeye right now.
"Can I not go? Grandma Tsuru, it's only my second day at G-2 Fortress."
"So you know you've only been there for two days?"
Before Vice Admiral Tsuru could speak, Sengoku's voice came through the den den mushi first. He roared, "Get back here, immediately!"
Taro: "..."
"Hurry back. I'll notify Gumir about it," Vice Admiral Tsuru said to Taro after soothing the enraged Sengoku.
Taro felt like dying. "Fine, fine."
...Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
The highest authority of the World Government—the Gorosei—was listening to a report from a Marine Vice Admiral.
"Allowing Red Hair and Whitebeard to make contact is far too dangerous. Once a guy like Shanks takes action, he'll be an extremely troublesome fellow."
Among the Gorosei, an old man wearing a black bowler hat, with entirely white hair and beard and a scar on the side of his forehead, spoke while leaning on a crutch.
"What's more important right now is the matter of the Shichibukai. A successor must be appointed as soon as possible. A tiny leak can sink a great ship; the stability of the three major powers must be maintained."
Another bald elderly man, cradling a sword in his arms, spoke immediately after.
The Marine Vice Admiral, kneeling on one knee, replied, "Yes. Marineford has already summoned the Shichibukai for a meeting, but how many of them will actually show up is unknown. After all, pirates are fellows who act on whims."
The first speaker, the Old Man with a Crutch, pulled a bounty poster of Luffy from the table, his tone somewhat resentful.
"That cursed Crocodile, causing such a huge mess. And this kid who defeated him as well—he can't be left to his own devices any longer."
The Marine Vice Admiral acknowledged, "Yes."
"Oh, I heard that a rising star has appeared in the Marines, with very strong power?"
Just as the Marine Vice Admiral was about to take his leave, the bald man holding the sword suddenly asked.
The Marine Vice Admiral was startled for a moment. "Yes, his name is Taro. Formerly a Navy Lieutenant at Marineford, currently a Navy Lieutenant Commander at G-2 Fortress. He is indeed exceptionally powerful!"
"Since he is an excellent combat asset, he should stay at Marineford!"
"Yes."
After the Marine Vice Admiral withdrew, the one among the Gorosei who hadn't spoken yet—a man with short golden hair who looked like a middle-aged man—spoke up softly:
"Sakazuki did mention that this Marine rookie's relationship with pirates is quite subtle."
"Even if he were a pirate, so what? In the end, he's just a small character."
The bald elder's tone was very indifferent. "Besides, the Shichibukai are pirates just the same!"
"Let the Marines evaluate him internally. If this rookie is sincere about dealing with pirates, even giving him a Vice Admiral position wouldn't be much!"
..."Vice Admiral Tsuru, Vice Admiral Garp didn't come, did he?" Taro peeked around warily before leaning in close to Vice Admiral Tsuru to whisper his inquiry.
Vice Admiral Tsuru glanced sideways at Taro, her expression unchanged. "No need to look for him; he's not here."
Just as Taro breathed a sigh of relief, Sengoku, who was in front, let out a muffled low shout.
"Be serious. This is Mary Geoise. Put away that grinning face of yours!"
Taro curled his lip and his expression became solemn, but in his heart, he didn't care. Mary Geoise, my foot—isn't it just a place for raising pigs!
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.