Chapter 104: Sengoku's Concerns
"How did you do it?" Smoker finally couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
Bane lit a cigarette, stylishly flicked out the match in his hand, and asked with a calm expression, "Do what?"
"I mean the... relationship between you and teacher Zephyr." Smoker asked with some jealousy, watching this guy put on an act.
Of course he was jealous, but not because Bane would receive preferential treatment or special care, but because he had become closer to their teacher than Smoker himself. That was all.
"Sigh, even if I told you some things, you couldn't learn them. It's a talent," Bane patted Smoker's shoulder and said meaningfully.
After pausing slightly, he added, "Oh right, don't go spreading around what you heard earlier."
"I know," Smoker nodded immediately. He wasn't really someone without boundaries.
No matter what reason Teacher Zephyr had for taking this guy Bane as his adopted son, those words from earlier absolutely couldn't be spread around, otherwise it would affect Teacher Zephyr's reputation.
They couldn't let others think that Teacher Zephyr had compromised and taken Bane as his adopted son just to cure his illness or something.
"Let's go, arrange a place for me to stay. Didn't my father just say? There's an empty place next door, let's go take a look," Bane said with some anticipation.
On the other side, in the Fleet Admiral's office.
The three Admirals—Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan—had already left. Obviously, as Admirals, they had their own busy affairs before the war.
Garp was quite idle though, sitting on the sofa eating rice crackers with Chief Staff Officer Tsuru.
Sengoku was just about to tell him to sit farther away and not so close to the Chief Staff Officer—it was annoying to watch.
But before he could speak, the Den Den Mushi on his desk rang.
"Zephyr? Looks like he's already met with that young man," Sengoku smiled and answered the call. "How was it? Was that kid able to catch your eye?"
Zephyr on the other end laughed heartily a few times, then said, "He's a very fine young man, worth training. I've already taken him as my—"
"It's good that you can take him as a disciple. This will also deepen the relationship between him and our Navy. After all, his group has great potential. If we can truly bind them to our Navy, I can rest easy for the next twenty years," Sengoku said with relief, not waiting for Zephyr to finish.
"Yes, so considering their value and importance, I took him as my adopted son," Zephyr said with a chuckle.
"This time you've really—" Sengoku was about to say something when he suddenly froze, then his tone became surprised. "Wait a minute! What did you just say? You took him as what?"
"Adopted son," Zephyr replied without hesitation.
"Adopted son!?" Sengoku suddenly stood up from his chair, his mouth agape as if he had a belly full of words to say. But when the words reached his lips, he ultimately held back, mumbling for a long time before finally asking, "What... what were you thinking?"
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Zephyr was silent for a moment, then said, "At my age, finding someone to take care of me in my old age—isn't that normal?"
Hearing this 'ridiculous' reason, Sengoku's expression gradually became serious, though his voice maintained a light tone. "Is that so? Well, since you've already decided, then so be it. If he's your adopted son, I can trust him more. This way, his relationship with our Navy can deepen quickly. If you can properly train him, then when you think it's appropriate, I'll arrange for him to start as a Rear Admiral—"
"Hahaha, I'll definitely come to you when the time comes," Zephyr laughed loudly.
The two Navy big shots didn't say much more after that and quickly hung up the Den Den Mushi.
In the courtyard, Zephyr stood under the tree shade, looking at the disconnected Den Den Mushi with complex eyes, remaining silent for a long time before saying softly, "Sorry, Sengoku, but I can't give in anymore."
In the Fleet Admiral's office, after putting away the Den Den Mushi, Sengoku looked seriously at Garp and Chief Staff Officer Tsuru. "Zephyr has taken that boy Bane as his adopted son."
Garp ate his rice crackers with an indifferent expression. "Isn't that good? It kills multiple birds with one stone."
Chief Staff Officer Tsuru, however, frowned deeply, as if thinking about something.
After a moment, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru spoke: "Are you worried that Zephyr wants to make a comeback?"
"If he were willing to make a comeback, that would be fine. I'm not his enemy—I'm his comrade!" Sengoku shook his head and said in a deep voice.
Many rumors circulated outside that he and Zephyr didn't get along. After all, they had both been Navy Admirals, but then Zephyr retired while he became Fleet Admiral. Afterward, conspirators who wanted to sow discord within the Navy spread many rumors about their discord.
"I'm just somewhat worried. These past two years, he seems to have become impatient. I can sense the anger and hatred in his heart. That's why when he originally proposed forming a Pirate Guerrilla unit that didn't conform to our Navy's system, I overcame opposition to help him achieve his goal. I thought such an arrangement could use the blood of those damned pirates to extinguish the flames of hatred in his heart. Now it seems I may have miscalculated. The hatred in his heart isn't fire—it's a flower. The fresh blood of pirates has instead made his anger and hatred more brilliant," Sengoku said with some feeling.
As Sengoku spoke these words, Garp and Tsuru's eyes became somewhat distant, as if drawn into some memory.
That year, Zephyr was thirty-eight years old. With excellent performance and formidable strength, he ascended to the Admiral position.
That same year, he got married.
In the following years, he became the Navy's most outstanding and brilliant star. His life was fulfilling and happy, with a beautiful and virtuous wife, a smart and talented son, and high position and authority. All of this shattered in an instant.
The Navy Headquarters, supposedly the stronghold of justice, was actually infiltrated by a group of pirates who killed all the family members of the Admiral who was away on a mission.
How absurd was this? It sounded so ridiculous, as if Marine Headquarters was like a public restroom where anyone could come and relieve themselves.
Afterward, Sengoku and the then-Fleet Admiral Kong conducted thorough investigations into the matter, but found no valuable clues. After that, Zephyr's heart was broken. He resigned from the Admiral position and retired to a support role.
Honestly, sometimes Sengoku wondered—if Zephyr hadn't experienced all that, would he be the one sitting in the Fleet Admiral position now? It really wasn't certain. You had to know that Zephyr held a record that hadn't been broken to this day. Although he joined the Navy academy at fourteen and participated in his first real combat at eighteen, officially becoming a Marine soldier, he didn't truly become a Marine petty officer until he was twenty-eight!
He spent ten years going from ordinary Marine to officer, then miraculously, he used only another ten years to go from the lowest-ranking petty officer to Admiral!
At thirty-eight, in ten years, he reached the Admiral position, directly becoming a legend of that time.
Merit, experience, strength, prestige—none of these were inferior to his own. Whenever Sengoku thought about this, he felt somewhat regretful, always feeling that his becoming Fleet Admiral was somewhat unearned, even though he had a clear conscience.
"Are you worried he'll pass this hatred on to Bane? Zephyr and we are all old. Even with that hatred in our hearts, we'll be unable to cause much trouble in at most ten years. But if this hatred continues into the younger generation, it might cause immeasurable harm to the seas and the world in the future. Especially... do you think that Bane has this possibility and qualification?" Chief Staff Officer Tsuru looked at Sengoku and asked softly.
"Perhaps," Sengoku nodded, but quickly shook his head again. "In the end, I'm just feeling somewhat uneasy."
Garp then drained the teacup on the table and said, "Alright, Sengoku, you don't need to worry about this. The urgent matter is to properly arrange the war ahead. I'll help you keep an eye on Bane, and I also believe that guy Zephyr won't do anything irrational."
Although this guy Garp was often unreliable, after so many years as old comrades, Sengoku still trusted him very much. Hearing this, he really felt much more at ease and agreed with a smile, "Then I'll leave it to you, Garp."
***
30+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces