Sea Circle Calendar, 1504.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Finn, coffee cup in hand, lollipop in his mouth, and wearing an Admiral's cloak, staggered out of his office and headed toward the Fleet Admiral's office.
But before he could take a few steps, Hina rushed out of the office, holding a document in her hand. "Admiral, you haven't signed this document yet."
Finn paused, turned around, and asked helplessly, "What is it?"
"Regarding the Battle of Oykot Kingdom in the East Blue, there's a proposal for follow-up aftermath measures," Hina said quickly.
Finn took the document and flipped directly to the last page. After glancing at the numbers on it, he asked, "Any problems?"
Hina rolled her eyes, then shook her head. "No problem."
"Really?" Finn didn't ask any more questions. He raised his hand and signed his name on the document, then handed it back to Hina.
"I declare that, effective immediately, Lieutenant Commander Hina of Marine Headquarters is on vacation," Finn said with a smile.
Hina, however, wasn't particularly pleased, muttering, "Isn't it because you, the Admiral, wanted to take a vacation?"
"After all, I promised Gion. I can't go back on my word, can I? I've been putting it off for almost four months now. If I keep delaying, she'll come to Marineford and kill me," Finn complained.
Hina, of course, knew about this. She looked at Finn, hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Admiral, where are you going?"
"East Blue, and we'll inspect the aftermath of Oykot Kingdom while we're there," Finn said after a moment's thought.
But he quickly reacted and reached out to flick Hina on the forehead. "Don't try to follow me, third wheel."
"Tsk, I won't follow you, you shameless guy," Hina said with some dissatisfaction, as if her little scheme had been exposed.
Finn smiled and stopped teasing the young woman.
After giving her a few more instructions, he turned around and walked toward Fleet Admiral Kong's office again.
Although he often said things like "give myself a vacation," in fact, if he wanted to take leave, as an Admiral, he still had to communicate with the Fleet Admiral.
As he walked along the corridor, many Marines would stop and salute Finn when they saw him.
Finn would nod in response to each of them and didn't ignore anyone regardless of their rank.
When he reached the door of the Fleet Admiral's office, he found the door wasn't closed tightly, leaving a gap, and there were sounds coming from inside, as if someone was arguing.
"I don't care. I just came back from the New World after catching a pirate with a bounty of 420 million berries. I also fought with the Big Mom Pirates and won a great victory. It's reasonable for me to take a vacation, right?" Garp's voice complained from inside.
"Garp, you bastard! Vacation, vacation! You've been talking about vacations for the past two years, and you want to go to the East Blue every day. What on earth are you trying to do?" Fleet Admiral Kong's voice countered.
"Although I've been asking for a vacation every day, it hasn't been approved. I don't care this time. It's time to give me a vacation, right?" Vice Admiral Garp said without any guilt.
Fleet Admiral Kong was also helpless. The reason he only scolded Garp like this and didn't directly kick him out was because what Garp said made sense.
Even though he kept complaining, he hadn't actually been given a day off.
But when comparing the hardworking Sengoku with the unruly Garp, Fleet Admiral Kong always felt this guy was too careless. He was in his forties and still acted like a troublemaker.
"What's more, I have legitimate reasons," Garp said suddenly.
"What's your legitimate reason?" Fleet Admiral Kong asked in a deep voice.
"My grandson is in the East Blue. You can't stop a grandfather from visiting his grandson, right? That's too cruel!" Garp said without hesitation.
"That's your adopted grandson!" Fleet Admiral Kong said.
"What's wrong with my adopted grandson? Are you looking down on him?" Garp said very unhappily.
"You..." Fleet Admiral Kong wanted to say something but felt there was nothing to say.
At that moment, Garp added, "And I'm doing this for the good of the Marines. My adopted grandson is very talented, and I plan to train him to be an excellent Marine officer. Isn't that reason enough?"
At this moment, Finn pushed open the door with a smile, walked in, and said, "Fleet Admiral, Vice Admiral Garp, good afternoon."
"Oh, Finn! Long time no see," Vice Admiral Garp greeted with a smile.
"It has been a while. I heard you won a victory in the New World?" Finn asked with a smile.
"It's not a great achievement," Garp waved his hand, obviously not intending to show off.
Finn didn't ask any more questions when he saw this. He looked at Fleet Admiral Kong.
Fleet Admiral Kong didn't show any displeasure toward Finn. He smiled and asked, "What's the matter?"
Originally, this would have been easy to discuss, but with Garp present, Finn felt a little awkward.
"Ahem..." Finn cleared his throat, then touched his nose with a guilty look. "Well, I'd like to take leave. I'd previously arranged a trip with Gion, but due to Amazon Lily and matters at Headquarters, I haven't been able to adjust the schedule. Not long ago, she dealt with the Amazon Lily matters and made time. I've also almost finished my work here. What do you think?"
Fleet Admiral Kong was momentarily stunned, then a gentler smile appeared on his face. "Okay, traveling is good. You young people should go out more often. Have you established a relationship with Gion?"
Finn was a little surprised at the Fleet Admiral's easygoing response, but he also laughed and nodded. "You could say that."
"Hahahaha! It looks like it won't be long before we'll be attending a wedding," Fleet Admiral Kong laughed.
Garp, standing nearby, was stunned for a moment before cursing, "That's not fair, Fleet Admiral! Finn asked for leave, and you just agreed with a smile? I asked for leave, and you're going to scold me?! How is that justified?"
"Finn and Gion are going on a trip. Even if they're somewhere else, they should at least get some time for their honeymoon, right? Besides, they don't travel as frequently as you do!" Fleet Admiral Kong said matter-of-factly.
Just kidding! The complicated and tangled relationship between Finn and Gion had been witnessed step by step by these Marine leaders.
It seemed they'd finally gotten together, and the two wanted to go out and travel together to strengthen their relationship. What was wrong with that?
What could Garp compare with that?
If he had the guts, he should find himself a wife!
"Me? You?" Garp pointed at himself and then at Finn, unable to speak.
At that moment, Finn said, "Fleet Admiral, we're planning to go to the East Blue this time. As you know, soon, the largest battle in the East Blue in the past ten years broke out on Oykot Kingdom. Although those branch Marines defeated the so-called Pirate Alliance, they also suffered heavy losses. I plan to travel with Gion while also visiting and supporting the branch Marines there."
Fleet Admiral Kong's expression became even more approving upon hearing this. He pointed at Garp. "Look at Finn's awareness, and then look at you! Aren't you ashamed?"
Vice Admiral Garp was stunned for a moment. He was incredibly thick-skinned and didn't care about this at all. Instead, he said, "East Blue? Isn't that a coincidence? I had this plan too. As a Marine Hero, I can go and support the East Blue branch Marines. It will help restore their morale quickly. Then I can just visit my grandson on the way. Fleet Admiral, is this acceptable?"
It had to be said that Garp's proposal was reasonable, and his request for leave was also justified. There was nothing wrong with it. The Fleet Admiral had just been trying to make things difficult for him.
Now that he'd offered this reasonable option, Fleet Admiral Kong could no longer refuse.
"Hmph!" Fleet Admiral Kong snorted coldly, then said, "Don't take too long!"
As expected, Garp was shameless. He'd been looking unconvinced and angry just moments ago, but as soon as the Fleet Admiral approved, he immediately smiled. "Don't worry, it won't take too long!"
Ignoring Garp, Fleet Admiral Kong said to Finn, "Speaking of which, how's Amazon Lily doing?"
"Very well. They've already started cooperating with us in the Calm Belt. Gion plans to establish a Marine base on a small uninhabited island next to Amazon Lily. This will be perfect for transporting supplies and deepening ties with their nation. We'll strive to fundamentally solve their survival problems as soon as possible and reverse the so-called pirate tradition," Finn said with a smile.
Garp didn't leave either. Instead, he sat on the sofa nearby, took out some rice crackers from his pocket, and started eating while listening.
However, neither Finn nor the Fleet Admiral paid any attention to him.
"Really? If we can eradicate Amazon Lily's pirate label at its root and make them a normal nation, it would be very beneficial for the Marines," Fleet Admiral Kong said with satisfaction.
He then smiled and pulled out another document from his drawer. "Here, it's from the World Government."
Finn took the document and glanced at it, a smile playing on his face.
This document was a proposal for White Hunter Smoker, who had a bounty of 260 million berries, to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
This proposal, as expected, had been initiated by the CP agencies.
When Finn had been in Mary Geoise, he'd discussed this matter with Queen Stussy.
After learning the truth about the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Marines' arrangements, Queen Stussy had been shocked, but she'd quickly agreed to this approach.
Because she could benefit from it too!
And there were many benefits.
Afterward, she'd also agreed to help build momentum within the CP organization.
Now, after several months of delay, Her Majesty the Queen had finally finalized this matter.
"That's excellent. How did you respond to them?" Finn asked with a smile.
"Of course I refused sternly. After all, Smoker is the 'stain' of the Marines. But it seems that because of this, the higher-ups would rather have Smoker, who doesn't get along with us, join the Seven Warlords of the Sea. This will help them curb the Marines... hehe," Fleet Admiral Kong said with a knowing smile.
"And then?" Finn asked with a grin.
"And then, there's nothing else. Unless we quickly eliminate Smoker like we did with Craster, the World Government will definitely make him one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Before that, I've secretly informed Smoker to lay low, and at the same time sent Kuzan to pursue that guy under the banner of eliminating Smoker," Fleet Admiral Kong said cunningly.
"What a complete performance," Finn laughed.
After a brief pause, Finn continued, "Speaking of which, regarding Amazon Lily's Boa Hancock, I plan to train her for a few years and arrange for her to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. With her status as a member of the Kuja Pirates, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Just do what you think is best," Fleet Admiral Kong said.
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