Three hours later, a medium-sized warship docked at the 16th Branch pier.
Sean finally came face-to-face with a man who was instantly recognizable from the original story: Smoker.
However, for some reason, looking at him felt slightly off. It was as if... something was missing compared to how he appeared in the original plot.
"You're the new disciple Zephyr took in, Sean?"
"Yes, Senior Smoker!"
To be honest, Sean didn't smoke and generally disliked the smell. Standing barely half a meter away from Smoker, the pungent scent of cigars made him frown deeply.
Smoker didn't mind; this wasn't the first time it had happened. Back in the day, Zephyr had lectured him countless times for smoking cigars twenty-four hours a day.
It was a bittersweet memory. He hadn't really had a choice—after all, his Devil Fruit ability demanded it. But after years of the habit, Smoker had become dependent on them regardless of his powers. No matter how much someone might initially dislike something, if they did it every single day, they eventually grew accustomed to it.
At that moment, Sean realized why Smoker felt "incomplete."
The problem was the cigars!
"Sorry about this, Sean. Because of my specific ability..."
"No, no, Senior Smoker, you've misunderstood. I was just thinking that too many people like to keep a single cigar in their mouths. I believe you could be a bit more... unique."
"Oh? And how would that be?"
"For example, why not smoke two cigars at once?"
'Boom.'
Sean's words were like a bolt of lightning striking Smoker's mind.
That's it! Why hadn't he thought of smoking two cigars at once? It was unique, and it would allow him to consume his daily nicotine supply faster.
Subconsciously, Smoker pulled another cigar from his left arm, stuffed it into his mouth, and lit it. He took a deep, satisfying drag.
'Nice!'
Double the nicotine! It set him apart from everyone else and gave him an abundance of personality. Now, he could look even cooler.
Smoker was so satisfied with the idea that he completely forgot about Sean for a moment.
"Ahem. Senior Smoker, I'll leave this man to you. However," Sean interrupted, "once you return to Headquarters, please pass a message to Fleet Admiral Sengoku for me."
"Oh, right. What is it? I'll make sure he gets it," Smoker replied, slapping his chest in a guarantee. His opinion of Sean had skyrocketed in the last few minutes.
"Just tell him that I have already interrogated Nezumi, and I hope the final results from Headquarters won't differ too much from my own."
"This..."
"Just pass it along, Senior!"
"Alright, I've got it!"
Five minutes later, Nezumi and all the Marines from the 16th Branch were escorted onto the warship. Sean and Ain then troubled three villagers from Cocoyasi Village once more, asking them to make one last trip to drop them off at the deserted island where the training camp was located.
'''
Two days later.
Night fell as the two returned to the island. However, upon stepping ashore, they were stunned.
Dozens of trainees were scattered around, most of them wrapped in varying amounts of gauze and bandages. Well, that wasn't the surprising part—given the trainees' strength, it was impossible for them to actually defeat Kuro. They were only alive because Sean had explicitly told Kuro not to kill them.
The real shock was that they were currently holding a bonfire party, and Kuro was right there in the middle of it. Several trainees were even climbing on top of Kuro, drinking and eating meat.
This was beyond absurd.
What on earth had happened during the five days Sean and Ain were gone?
"Sean, is everything settled?"
"Yeah, it's all done."
"Tell me the details."
"Alright. Three days ago..."
Sean briefly described the events and handed over the list Ain had compiled for Zephyr to review. As Zephyr scanned the names of the Marine officers from Headquarters and various branches, he flew into a rage.
"Bastards! A bunch of naval parasites!"
"You did the right thing, Sean. I want to see how much of a discrepancy there is between your list and the results Sengoku gets after interrogating Nezumi!"
'How much of a discrepancy?' Sean thought. 'You're probably going to be livid...'
Sean could easily predict that most of the people associated with the World Government would get off scot-free. As for the Marine Headquarters, they would likely only purge those below the rank of Commodore.
As for the Commodores, Rear Admirals, and Vice Admirals—there were twelve of them on the list. Would Sengoku really have the heart to purge his own house?
Probably not. At most, they would receive a slight reprimand. To Sengoku, these people were vital combat assets for the Marine. As long as they didn't defect to become pirates, he could choose to overlook their flaws.
Did Sengoku lack a sense of justice? No, he certainly had one. However, since becoming Fleet Admiral, the interests of the organization had begun to outweigh that justice. As long as it didn't compromise the Marine's interests, he would act according to the principles of justice. But if those interests were threatened, even justice could be compromised.
This was the fundamental reason why he had removed the plaque in his office that read "Justice that Reigns Over All" and replaced it with one that read "Absolute Justice."
In truth, most people were like this. Before they rose to power, they were full of passion and idealism. But once they reached the top, those beliefs quickly corrupted.
Was Sengoku an evil man? Absolutely not. But was he a purely just man? He fell a bit short of that, too.
"Old man Zephyr, let's put that aside for a moment. What's going on over there?" Sean asked, pointing toward the trainees messing around with Kuro.
"That... it seems to have changed starting on the third day," Zephyr replied. "Nowadays, they fight for their lives in the forest during the day, but as soon as night hits, they turn into this."
The reason for this shift happened on the third day of the assessment.
A few trainees had been ganging up on Kuro, but during the scuffle, Kuro's massive movements caused him to crash into a large tree. By sheer coincidence, the tree fell directly onto one of the trainees, pinning him underneath.
Kuro had panicked instantly. He remembered Sean's order: 'Do not kill these trainees.'
By knocking over the tree and having it crush a student, hadn't he essentially killed them?
"Well, that logic is sound."
In a state of panic, Kuro had simply shoved the middle-aged man aside, scooped up the injured student, and sprinted toward the beach, eventually delivering them straight to Zephyr.
Once word of the incident spread, the relationship between Kuro and the other students evolved into what it was now. Even Zephyr had found the whole situation somewhat absurd.
"Man, they actually managed to bond while beating each other up!" Sean remarked with a sigh after hearing the story.