Chapter 101: Meeting Zephyr
In Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office.
Although Bane had left, Garp and the others were still discussing him.
"He's a smart kid, and seems quite capable too," Fleet Admiral Sengoku said, taking a sip of tea and smacking his lips.
"It's just that he's somewhat dissatisfied with the Headquarters Captain position, Sengoku," Chief Staff Officer Tsuru said, raising an eyebrow.
Upon hearing this, Sakazuki said somewhat unhappily, "This is already very generous treatment—giving him seven Captain positions at once, and he's still not satisfied."
Kuzan glanced at Sakazuki but didn't speak. Instead, Borsalino said with a chuckle, "People with talent are naturally going to be a bit proud—isn't that normal? According to Mr. Garp, one of them very likely possesses formidable strength not inferior to ours, and among them are three Logia users—one with a former Warlord's ability, one with the most vicious fruit in history, and one with the supposedly invincible Rumble-Rumble Fruit. The Captain position really doesn't hold irresistible appeal for them."
Hearing this, Sakazuki directly countered, "We're not some pirate crew that respects only strength, without any rules where being able to fight means you can become an officer. We're the Navy! To hold high positions, one must shoulder corresponding responsibilities. Strength, talent, character, merit, and experience are all indispensable!"
"Sakazuki is right," Sengoku nodded in agreement. "Once someone becomes a Admiral-level officer, they must possess the corresponding qualities. Perhaps Bane and his group all have excellent strength, but do they have the experience and ability to command naval battles? Do they understand our Navy's maritime tactical and strategic knowledge? Do they have sufficient prestige to command subordinates? Do they have proven track records? They have none of these. Easily giving them Admiral-level positions would actually be harmful to them. I hope they can understand my good intentions."
Garp, who had originally wanted to say something, fell into deep thought upon hearing this. Thinking it over carefully, what Sengoku said made a lot of sense. Bane and his group indeed didn't possess the relevant qualities of naval officers. If they were entrusted with important responsibilities and something went wrong, it would actually harm them.
"However," Chief Staff Officer Tsuru spoke up, "we can't treat everyone the same way. For such high-quality elite talent, we also need to give them sufficient respect and preferential treatment. After all, three powerful Logia users and one top-tier expert are worth us doing so."
Hearing this, Sengoku nodded somewhat helplessly, "What you're saying is exactly what I'm considering now. Indeed, if Bane's group could truly become pillars of our Navy, it would at least greatly alleviate our shortage of new generation talent for the next thirty years."
Just then, Garp suddenly said, "I heard from Smoker that they're going to visit that guy Zephyr afterward. Maybe this is an opportunity—we could have them join Zephyr's Pirate Guerrilla unit first, learn from Zephyr about the knowledge and qualities that our naval officers should possess, while also cultivating emotional foundations with our Navy. After all, Zephyr's guerrilla unit has somewhat of an unofficial nature, doesn't it? This way we leave some room for both sides."
Sengoku's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he nodded, "That makes sense. Moreover, Zephyr is also very good at teaching. After that incident, he hasn't trained new people for a long time. This could be a good opportunity to help him get back on his feet."
After former Admiral Zephyr retired years ago, the Navy "rehired" him. Although he would no longer go to the front lines, he retained his military rank. At the same time, Zephyr also established a military academy within the Navy, long-term training the new generation of Marines. The three current Admirals—Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino—had all graduated under Zephyr's tutelage, and many of the Navy's current elite officers were also Zephyr's students.
It could be said that the Navy's abundant combat strength and condition during this period was largely due to Zephyr's contributions!
Because of this, his influence within the Navy was extremely high.
However, seven years ago, Zephyr suffered a devastating defeat. He and a group of Marine trainees were attacked by pirates, with only two students surviving from the entire ship. He himself was severely injured and lost an arm.
After that, both Zephyr's physical and mental condition were seriously affected, and he gradually stopped training the new generation.
After lying dormant for several years, Zephyr still couldn't forget the pain in his heart. Combined with his growing hatred of pirates, he ultimately chose to emerge again, taking those two surviving students and some Marines willing to follow him to form a Pirate Guerrilla unit.
Since he had already retired from the Navy, this guerrilla unit wasn't actually a real Naval combat force—they were unofficial members.
This guerrilla unit was basically the predecessor to the Neo Navy that Zephyr would later establish, with almost all guerrilla unit members eventually following him.
Thinking of this, Sengoku directly called Zephyr via Den Den Mushi, gave him thorough instructions, and then they ended their discussion about Bane's group.
"Now that Bane has confirmed his willingness to cooperate with our strategic arrangements, we can begin operations. Mary Geoise will coordinate with us to launch a propaganda offensive. Everyone, prepare for war!" Fleet Admiral Sengoku slammed the table and said in a deep voice.
"I've been waiting for such an opportunity for a long time," Sakazuki said, a flash of killing intent in his eyes.
"We must win this war. Moreover, this war will be broadcast live throughout, so we not only need to win, but win gracefully and elegantly, fully displaying our Navy's strength and taking this opportunity to intimidate those ambitious individuals!" Sengoku emphasized again.
In the original story, because of Garp's situation, many Marines, even if they didn't say it outright, would more or less consider his feelings and hold back during the fight. Only Sakazuki was truly going all out, being the absolute MVP of the battlefield.
But now it was completely different. The one to be executed on the platform was Teach, with Bane as the bargaining chip. Even Garp looked eager and excited, so naturally the other Marines wouldn't have any reservations either.
They would genuinely go all out with unified hatred against the enemy.
Perhaps the Navy could really achieve a crushing advantage in this battle?
On the other side, in the senior officers' residential area, the big shot Zephyr had a courtyard entirely his own.
He had just hung up Sengoku's Den Den Mushi call, still wondering why his old comrade had suddenly become so earnest about instructing him on such matters, when Smoker arrived with Bane for the visit.
Originally, Zephyr had no particular thoughts about Bane—he was only making time to meet him out of consideration for his student Smoker's introduction.
It just so happened that because of war preparations, his guerrilla unit's operations had been suspended during this period, giving him the time.
But Sengoku's earlier instruction to properly train Bane and his group carried different significance. Smoker was one thing, but Sengoku was another—the importance levels couldn't be compared.
So now, Zephyr was beginning to take this guy Bane seriously.
In Zephyr's living room, Bane met this influential figure who held decisive sway over the Navy for the first time.
Although advanced in years, he had a commanding presence, with neat purple short hair and glasses that somewhat softened his sharp gaze, making his demeanor considerably gentler.
He was already in his seventies, but his muscles were still firm and his entire frame quite imposing. However, he was missing one arm, and behind the sofa against the wall, a huge detached mechanical arm was placed.
Obviously, when at home, Zephyr wouldn't wear his battle-use mechanical arm around—it was too inconvenient.
As soon as Smoker saw Zephyr, he couldn't help saying, "Teacher, the doctors told you not to smoke cigars or cigarettes anymore, but you don't listen at all."
As he spoke, he naturally went over and directly took the cigar from Zephyr's mouth and started smoking it himself.
This completely natural action made Zephyr both laugh and cry, shaking his head, "I'm old, old. This is my only remaining pleasure, and you still want to control it."
Then Zephyr looked at Bane and said, "You must be Bane, right? Our Navy owes you a debt of gratitude this time."
"It's just a matter of circumstance," Bane said modestly, then added, "I apologize for presuming to visit and disturbing your rest, Senior Zephyr."
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