"But Zephyr," Sengoku said, rubbing his temples, "going directly to the Fleet Admiral isn't going to be easy. That kid's background alone—he's from the West Blue."
The West Blue was infamous for corruption.
"What the hell is wrong with being born in the West Blue?" Monkey D. Garp snapped immediately.
"Zephyr, don't be afraid of that! Look at my son, Dragon—I raised him myself! The Fleet Admiral's not that unreasonable!"
"That's because you threatened to stop taking missions against Roger," Sengoku shot back irritably.
"Zephyr wouldn't pull something that shameless, you bastard."
He sighed, then tried again.
"Zephyr, we're likely getting promoted to admirals next year. You could just wait—"
Before he could finish, Garp slammed the table and stood up, cracker crumbs flying everywhere.
"Oi, oi, Sengoku! What do you mean 'the three of us'? I never said I wanted to be an admiral!"
A vein bulged on Sengoku's forehead as he wiped crumbs off his face.
"You idiot! Fleet Admiral Kong already has you penciled in. You think you can just dodge it?!"
"Hahaha! Who wants a job that tied down?" Garp laughed, hands on his hips.
"All I want is to chase Roger! Become an admiral and you've got to take orders from those Celestial Dragons—what a pain!"
"That's not how promotions work!" Sengoku roared.
"This isn't some child's game!"
"Hah! Rules?" Garp dug a finger into his nose, unimpressed.
"I'm not letting myself be chained up by bureaucratic nonsense. Admiral? Forget it. I'll stick to chasing Roger!"
"You absolute menace…" Sengoku growled, his glasses nearly crooked.
"The higher command needs discipline and responsibility—not your freewheeling nonsense!"
Garp flashed his trademark grin.
"Perfect! You be the admiral, I'll stay a vice admiral. We won't bother each other!"
Watching the two bicker, Zephyr shook his head helplessly.
He stood, adjusted his Justice coat, and said calmly, "Argue all you want. I'm going to the Fleet Admiral's office."
Sengoku finally stopped yelling at Garp and turned back to Zephyr, frowning.
"Zephyr, you're really going to ask Kong for him personally? I doubt it'll be smooth."
"I know," Zephyr replied evenly. "But Gern is worth it."
Sengoku pushed up his glasses.
"That kid's performance in the West Blue is impressive, but his actions—especially the flag incident—won't sit well with the Fleet Admiral."
"So what?" Garp cut in.
"The kid's right! Justice that arrives late isn't justice at all!"
"The Marines are a disciplined force," Sengoku snapped.
"Taking down the flag is a direct challenge to the system! The Fleet Admiral is old-school—rules matter to him!"
Zephyr said nothing more. He simply walked toward the door, leaving behind a single sentence:
"Rules are dead things. People are alive."
Marine Headquarters — Fleet Admiral's Office
Kong, his hair like a steel bristle brush, sat behind his desk reviewing documents. Without looking up, he said, "Come in."
Zephyr entered and saluted crisply.
"Fleet Admiral."
Kong finally raised his head, sharp eyes locking onto him.
"Zephyr? What is it?"
Getting straight to the point, Zephyr said,
"Regarding Gern Reginald Sigma of the West Blue Branch—I request his transfer to Headquarters, to serve as my adjutant."
Kong's brow furrowed instantly. He set his file aside.
"Gern? That 'Heavenquake' ability user making waves in the West Blue?"
"His power is rare," Kong continued coldly,
"but his conduct—"
He clasped his hands on the desk, staring at Zephyr through curling cigar smoke.
"Zephyr, you know the Marine Academy exists for a reason.
Gern Sigma rose from a West Blue branch riddled with corruption. His ideology needs correction."
"Fleet Admiral," Zephyr replied calmly, "his actions at Ashen Port already proved his sense of justice."
"Justice?" Kong snorted and slammed a report onto the desk.
"He ordered the Marine flag taken down! That's an insult to Marine dignity!
If every soldier behaved like him, what discipline would we have left?!"
Zephyr glanced at the report, unfazed.
"He believed that if the Marines failed to protect civilians, flying the flag would be hypocrisy."
"Hypocrisy?" Kong's voice hardened.
"You of all people should understand symbolism, Zephyr!
The flag represents honor and responsibility—not something to discard on a whim!"
"His action wasn't denial of the Marines," Zephyr said, meeting Kong's gaze.
"It was a reflection on what we've become.
The corruption of the West Blue disgraced us—he chose to prove that justice must be more than ceremony."
"Even so," Kong said coldly,
"his methods are extreme. A soldier who ignores basic discipline—how can he be trusted to lead?"
"I believe he is a qualified Marine."
"Ridiculous!" Kong slammed his fist down.
"The Marines uphold world order—not individual heroics!
If he can't obey, how can he ever command others?!"
Zephyr was silent for a moment, then asked quietly,
"Fleet Admiral—when you promoted Garp, did you ever care whether he 'followed discipline'?"
Kong choked on the words, his face darkening.
Zephyr, talking back for the first time in decades—and for a rookie, no less.
After a pause, Kong's tone softened.
"Garp is different. He's Academy-born, clean and proper. Gern is—"
"And Gern," Zephyr cut in, his voice ringing with conviction,
"climbed up from the very bottom.
No background. No talent. No luck.
Until a year ago, when fate gave him a Devil Fruit."
"Men like that understand the weight of justice better than anyone."
Silence filled the office.
Kong studied him as the cigar smoke slowly dissipated.
"I rarely see you this insistent."
"You know me, Fleet Admiral," Zephyr said, fists trembling slightly.
"I'm not a monster like Garp. I'm not a strategist like Sengoku."
He raised his calloused hands.
"At fourteen, I came to Marineford on travel money scraped together by my whole village.
At eighteen, I couldn't even see my rifle's sights.
At twenty-eight, when I finally mastered the Six Powers, I was only a Headquarters private—while my peers were already officers."
"By the time I earned the title 'Black Arm,' Garp had already torn through eight New World pirate crews alone.
Now he's chasing Roger himself."
Zephyr's voice tightened.
"My prime is almost over.
But Gern is different.
I see justice awakening in him."
"He shouldn't be buried the way I was."
Kong closed his eyes briefly.
"I understand," he said at last.
"But remember—strength alone isn't enough. The Marines require respect for order."
"I'll make him understand," Zephyr replied.
With that, he turned and left the office, his footsteps steady, unyielding.
The wheels of fate had begun to turn.
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