“But Zephyr!” Sengoku rubbed his brow. “It’s not an easy task to ask Fleet Admiral Kong for someone! After all, this child was born in… West Blue.”

The West Blue was an area rampant with corruption…

“Hey! Sengoku, is it wrong to be born in West Blue?” Garp couldn’t help but shout loudly when he heard Sengoku’s words.

“Zephyr! Don’t be afraid. Look at my son, Dragoon, I personally keep him by my side! Fleet Admiral Kong is still very easy to talk to!”

“That’s because you threatened Fleet Admiral Kong with not taking on missions and not dealing with Roger to succeed. Zephyr won’t be like you! You bastard Garp.” After complaining, Sengoku continued to persuade,

“Zephyr, we’ll probably be promoted to Admiral next year. We can totally wait…”

As soon as Sengoku finished speaking, Garp slammed his hand on the table, spewing senbei crumbs everywhere.

“Hey, hey, Sengoku! What do you mean ‘the three of us’? I never said I wanted to be an Admiral!”

Sengoku’s veins bulged on his forehead, and he wiped the senbei crumbs off his face.

“You bastard! Fleet Admiral Kong already decided, do you think you can escape?!”

“Hahaha! Who wants to be such a restricted position!” Garp laughed, hands on his hips.

“I just want to freely pursue Roger!

Being an Admiral means having to listen to the Celestial Dragons all day, it’s annoying!”

A vein twitched on Sengoku’s forehead: “Garp! This is the Marine’s promotion system, do you think you’re playing house?!”

“Hahaha! System?” Garp picked his nose, looking disdainful, “I don’t want to be bound by those cumbersome rules!

Admiral? Forget it, I’ll say it again, I prefer to freely pursue Roger!”

“You bastard…” Sengoku was so angry his glasses were askew, “The Marine high command needs responsibility and discipline, not your slovenly appearance!”

Garp grinned, showing his signature white teeth: “That’s good then, you be your Admiral, and I’ll continue to be my Vice Admiral. We won’t interfere with each other!”

Zephyr watched the two argue, shaking his head helplessly.

He stood up, adjusted his cloak of justice, and said calmly: “You two can continue arguing, I’m going to the Fleet Admiral’s office first.”

Hearing this, Sengoku temporarily let go of Garp, turned to look at Zephyr, and frowned slightly.

“Zephyr, are you really going to ask Fleet Admiral Kong for him personally? I’m afraid it won’t be that easy.”

“I know.” Zephyr responded faintly, “But Gern is worth a try.”

Sengoku pushed up his glasses, his tone heavy: “That kid’s performance in West Blue was indeed outstanding, but his actions…

Especially the act of taking down the flag, I’m afraid it will displease Fleet Admiral Kong.”

Garp interjected: “What’s there to be displeased about? That kid was right! What kind of justice is delayed justice?”

Sengoku glared at him: “The Marine is a disciplined force, taking down the flag without permission is a challenge to the system!

Fleet Admiral Kong comes from a traditional military background, and what he values most are rules!”

Zephyr didn’t say anything more, he just walked towards the door, leaving a single sentence:

“Rules are dead, people are alive.”

…

Marineford, Fleet Admiral’s office.

Kong, a man in his fifties with a spiky hairstyle, was reviewing documents with his head down. Hearing a knock on the door, he said without looking up: “Come in.”

Zephyr pushed the door open, stood at attention, and saluted perfectly: “Fleet Admiral.”

Hearing Zephyr’s voice, Kong finally looked up, his sharp gaze sweeping over Zephyr: “Zephyr? What is it?”

Seeing this, Zephyr went straight to the point: “Regarding Gern Reginald Sigma from the West Blue Branch, I hope to transfer him to Marineford to serve as my adjutant.”

Kong’s brows furrowed instantly. He put down the document in his hand, his tone serious: “Gern? The ability user called ‘Heaven Quake’ in West Blue recently?”

“His ability is indeed rare, but his actions…”

Kong crossed his hands on the table, his sharp gaze piercing through the swirling cigar smoke, directly at Zephyr standing opposite him.

“Zephyr, you should know that the Navy School system is not just for show.” Kong’s voice was deep and authoritative.

“Gern Reginald Sigma was promoted from the West Blue Branch, where corruption is rampant. His ideals need to be reshaped!”

Zephyr’s expression remained unchanged: “Fleet Admiral, Gern’s performance in Ashen Port has already proven his heart of justice.”

“Heart of justice?” Kong snorted, throwing a report onto the table.

“He ordered the Marine flag to be taken down! What kind of behavior is that? Disrespecting the Marine’s dignity!

If every soldier were like him, what discipline would the Marine have?!”

Zephyr glanced at the report, his expression unchanged, and calmly responded: “He merely believes that if the Marine cannot truly protect civilians, flying the flag is instead a mockery.”

“Mockery?” Kong’s tone grew colder, “Zephyr, you are also an old soldier, you should understand the symbolic meaning of the military!

The flag represents the Marine’s honor and responsibility, not something that can be discarded at will!”

“Fleet Admiral, Gern’s action was not a denial of the Marine, but a reflection on the current situation.” Zephyr looked directly into Kong’s eyes.

“The corrupt West Blue Branch shames the Marine, and he chose to prove with his actions… that the Marine should not just be a superficial form of justice.”

“Even so, his approach is too radical.

How can a soldier who cannot even observe basic discipline become a qualified Marine?”

“I think he is a qualified Marine!!”

“Absurd!” Kong slammed his fist on the table, “The Marine maintains the order of the entire world, not his personal stage for heroism!

If he can’t even do the most basic obedience, how will he lead his subordinates in the future?”

Zephyr was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: “Fleet Admiral, when you promoted Garp back then, you didn’t care whether he ‘obeyed discipline’.”

“You…” Kong choked, his face sinking slightly, looking at Zephyr who was staring directly into his eyes.

This was the first time Zephyr had talked back to him in so many years, and he didn’t expect it to be for a new recruit.

Thinking of this, Kong also softened his tone and said: “Gern and Garp are different. Garp came from Navy School, he’s a purebred! And Gern…”

“And Gern,” Zephyr interrupted him, his voice strong and clear,

“Climbed up step by step from the lowest level of odd jobs.

He had no background, no talent, and not even luck

Until he obtained a fruit that changed his destiny a year ago.”

“Such a soldier understands the weight of ‘justice’ more than anyone.”

The office was silent for a moment.

Kong gazed at Zephyr, the smoke rings slowly dissipating between them, “It’s rare to see you so persistent about one person.”

“Fleet Admiral Kong, you know…” Zephyr’s clenched fists trembled slightly, “I’m not a born monster like Garp, nor a strategic genius like Sengoku.”

Zephyr raised his calloused hands, “At fourteen, I came to Marineford with travel expenses pooled by my entire village. At eighteen, when I first held a gun, I couldn’t even see the sight.”

“At twenty-eight, the day I learned Rokushiki, I was promoted to Marineford Corporal, while my peers were already high-ranking officers.” His knuckles cracked.

“At thirty-four, when I earned the title ‘Black Arm’, Garp had already single-handedly fought through eight pirate crews in the New World.

Now he’s even chasing the Roger Pirates…

Fleet Admiral, I don’t have many years left at my peak!

While Garp reached it in just two or three years, a level I could not reach!

And he’s still growing!

But Gern is different. I see the budding ‘justice’ in him!

He shouldn’t sink into obscurity for so long like me!”

“I understand.”

Kong stared at Zephyr, his tone softening slightly: “Zephyr, I know you admire him, but the Marine needs not only strength but also respect for the system.”

Zephyr didn’t retort, merely responded faintly: “I will make him understand that.”

With that, he turned and left, his steps steady and resolute.