Arderay Kingdom Ruins.
Everyone at the Arderay Kingdom ruins temporarily abandoned their training for the day. This wasn't due to any kindness from Zephyr, but because everyone, including Zephyr, was captivated by another event: the inauguration of the new Fleet Admiral.
Similar to the execution of the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, this major event, the new Fleet Admiral taking office, was being broadcast live to the entire world via an image Den Den Mushi.
At Alucard's base, and in the territories of the other Yonko and the Warlords of the Sea, everyone was watching the live broadcast of the new Fleet Admiral's succession ceremony on their image Den Den Mushi.
On the projection, after Kong finished his speech, the new Fleet Admiral, Sengoku, finally took the stage. He was dressed in a new uniform, his trademark afro covered by his hat, and his chest was adorned with various medals.
Standing below his podium were the three newly promoted Admirals: Aokiji Kuzan, Fujitora Issho, and Kizaru Borsalino.
Even though he stood on the opposite side of the Marines, Zephyr couldn't help but sigh when he saw the sight. "The three Admirals are assembled once more. How many years has it been since I last saw this?"
Ever since Kong took office, the three Admiral positions had remained vacant.
The originally designated three Admirals were himself, Sengoku, and Garp, but that bastard Garp refused the promotion, leaving one position open. The problem was that the Admiral position was too crucial to be filled by just anyone, so it had remained vacant.
Twenty-odd years ago, he himself resigned as Admiral, leaving Sengoku to shoulder the burden of the Admiral position alone for decades. It was a regretful and lamentable memory.
"Since Sengoku is newly taking the position of Fleet Admiral, according to the rules of officialdom, his first order of business will be 'the new official's three fires'—a thorough crackdown on pirates. He wouldn't dare casually move against a Yonko, so it's the pirates in the first half of the Grand Line who are about to face a disaster."
The succession ceremony was not completely over, but Zephyr abruptly turned off the image Den Den Mushi broadcast. He yelled, "What are you all staring at? Get ready for the 200-kilometer weighted run!"
Now accustomed to Zephyr's devilish training, no one complained. They strapped the sandbags onto their backs and began their long-distance run around the island.
…
The next day's newspapers, as expected, extensively reported on the inauguration of the new Fleet Admiral and the new Admirals. Everyone's attention was drawn to the front-page news, causing them to overlook the news of a kingdom's destruction printed on the second page.
Compared to the great changes in the Navy, the destruction of a single kingdom seemed insignificant.
After the succession ceremony, Sengoku still had a mountain of work waiting for him.
At the same time, he received intelligence from the CP organization: Since Shanks' death, the Red-Haired Pirates had split. Vice Captain Benn Beckman was missing; the majority of the remaining crew, including Lucky Roux and Yasopp, had joined Whitebeard's crew; and Ivalis the Blond had joined the Immortal Pirates.
Sengoku could understand the first two situations, but what was the meaning of Ivalis, a trusted veteran executive of Shanks, joining the crew of Alucard, the man who killed Shanks? Was he a spy?
And what was Alucard thinking by accepting him?
Nevertheless, as he had just taken the position of Fleet Admiral, he had to consolidate his authority. It was best not to immediately challenge an immense, troublesome entity like a Yonko. He should first deal with the unruly pirates in the first half of the Grand Line.
The new official's 'fire' was not yet strong enough to burn the Yonko.
…
Time passed without realizing it. Two years went by.
In the year 1515 of the Sea Calendar, two years after Sengoku assumed the role of Fleet Admiral, the World Government could no longer conceal Zephyr's betrayal from the Marines and finally posted his bounty.
Name: Z
Status: Dead or Alive
Bounty: 666,000,000 Berries
Although his real name was not listed, when the photo was posted, was there any student who had been taught by Zephyr who could not recognize the true identity of the man on the wanted poster?
Ain, who had graduated from the Marine Academy and was following Tsuru, and Binz, currently serving as a trainee at G-5 Branch, completely disregarded their current duties and their positions as Marines and headed straight for the sea territory where the Immortal Pirates were located.
It wasn't just the two of them. Thousands of Marines who had been taught by Zephyr did the same.
They had been kept in the dark by the Marine higher-ups, believing Zephyr had merely retired to live in seclusion. They never expected him to reappear before them as a pirate.
The Marines were thrown into massive turmoil for a time, but under the powerful suppression of Sengoku the Strategist, the unrest was kept to a minimum.
In the East Blue, Garp, who had just finished pummeling Luffy, Ace, and Sabo, took the call and spoke with an unusually calm tone. "Is that so? It was something that should have happened three years ago. It's quite an achievement that it was concealed until now. Thank you for your efforts, Sengoku."
"It's nothing. However, you know Zephyr's standing in the eyes of most of the personnel. Even with preventative measures, it still caused quite a commotion. We need a powerful sedative," Sengoku's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
"You already have an idea, don't you, Fleet Admiral?" Garp teased.
"Heh." The Den Den Mushi mimicked Sengoku's smile before returning to a serious expression. "Your vacation is over early, Garp. Return to Headquarters immediately. My 'new official's fire'... after two years, it's finally going to burn the Yonko."