Leonardo became famous.
On the third day after the battle at the entrance to the New World, newspapers around the world came out with loud headlines.
The front pages were filled with news of the Roger Pirates and the Flying Pirates clashing at the entrance to the New World. Then the navy hero Garp and Admiral Sengoku's fleet arrived, and the three-way battle began. It wasn't all that surprising, though; the New World was in chaos, and such clashes were common. The two largest pirate crews, the Roger Pirates and the Flying Pirates, rarely clashed with each other, but the Flying Pirates and Roger's sea pirates had barely crossed paths in recent years. However, the Flying Pirates were so regular that their attacks had become as predictable as the changing of the seasons. Even the Marines' involvement in the three-way battle was only mildly surprising.
After all, it had been many years since the Marines had encountered such a powerful pirate crew. Usually it was just Vice Admiral Garp chasing Roger's pirates. Because it happened so often, people got tired of reading about it. Even the newspapers stopped paying attention to it.
Surprisingly, the front page of the newspaper did not feature a photo of a brutal three-way fight, not of the Golden Lion versus Sengoku or Roger versus Garp, but of a young sailor, not yet a rank. He stood pointing a wooden dragon at the Golden Lion above him and pouring water on him. The distorted expression on the Golden Lion's face in the photo spoke volumes about how much he had been doused. The text next to it read: "Navy Cadet points at the Golden Lion: 'Pathetic old man, attacked a newbie who had just started his journey...'"
This phrase gave food for thought.
At the same time, people were amazed at the courage of this marine, who dared to insult the formidable pirate Golden Lion.
However, while Leonardo had become famous, the Marines' major operation had been practically useless. Both Roger and the Golden Lion had escaped, and only a few pirates with bounties of over 100 million and the Golden Lion's 1st mate, the great swordsman Weeis, whose bounty was over 260 million gold, had been captured. Normally, such a result would have been considered a success, but this time the Marines had deployed the hero Garp, Admiral Sengoku, and over a dozen vice admirals. In the end, such a modest result was incomparable to the effort expended.
This undermined the Marines' authority at sea.
Many began to question whether the Marine Corps was capable of maintaining justice in the world and protecting people.
...
"Hey... That damn guy, I told him not to stand out! And he just went and insulted the Golden Lion..." At Marineford, old Curry, who had applied for retirement and was waiting for the fleet admiral's signature, looked at the photo on the front page of the newspaper where the young man was pointing at the Golden Lion, and couldn't help but feel uneasy.
He realized that the son he had been raising for over ten years was becoming less and less like him. Although the eyes, mouth, nose - all of this clearly resembled him. This was his son.
But why is he so impudent?
His father served in the Marine Corps for decades and never even went to sea. Curry himself, although he spent a lot of time at sea, never encountered a pirate whose reward exceeded $100 million. But this guy did what neither he nor his father had managed to do in two generations - he insulted the Golden Lion, one of the most powerful pirates.
Old Curry lowered his paper and sat thinking. After a while he turned to the figure working in the back yard and thought. The tuba would not work. He, an old vice admiral about to retire, could not ask Fleet admiral Kong to return the tuba. Perhaps he should try another instrument.
- Boom!
"Sister, is there any news from the New World? Is Leonardo injured?" In the Marine Corps General Staff Office, the door to Vice Admiral Tsuru's office was suddenly thrown open for the first time in years. Gion ran in with a newspaper in her hand, pointing to the front page. Her eyes were full of worry.
"I'm going to train abroad next month. Today is a holiday at the naval academy." Gion was shocked when she saw the headlines this morning. This impudent fellow dared to inslut the Golden Lion? What kind of licentiousness is this?
Then she noticed that there was a smear of blood on the boy's chest, his face was pale and sweat was on his forehead. Her heart sank with anxiety and she rushed to her sister to ask for news.
…Sengoku already knew that this guy had indeed been hit by the Golden Lion's sword. Despite his strong resilience, the wound had healed after the battle, and other than exhaustion, nothing serious had happened. However, this guy had managed to anger the Golden Lion to death, and it seemed that the Golden Lion intended to kill him. This guy clearly didn't value his life…
Seeing the worried expression on his sister's face, the vice admiral rolled his eyes in annoyance.
- I don't know what kind of potion this guy gave her. He's certainly not bad looking, especially against the backdrop of this crowd of muscular freaks - a real "cover boy". But she doesn't know that her sister is not so superficial?
- That idiot promised me to go to the New World and faithfully follow Admiral Sengoku... Sister, why don't you go to Marshal Kong and get him back? Let him stay out of the New World.
The girl from Gion, hearing that this guy had actually suffered from the Golden Lion, almost burst into tears from excitement.
"It's not that simple," Vice Admiral Tsuru replied, "even though I promised you that Sengoku would keep an eye on him. But he has great potential. As the future pillar of the Marines, he must pass the tests. If Sengoku does not order him to return, he will remain in the New World. Although... this time he has angered the Golden Lion too much, and with his character, Sengoku will protect him so that he does not cause any more trouble."
This time, Tsuru didn't try to comfort her sister. Not a single pillar of the Marines became strong by avoiding hardships. Even with great potential, it was impossible to achieve great results without trials. She took her sister's feelings into consideration, but when it came to the future of the Marines, her opinion coincided with that of Sengoku and her other friends. An iron rod must be forged to become a needle...
...
- Gula la la la!
- The Golden Lion has disgraced himself this time! Sons, let's have a feast!!
In the depths of the New World, on a gigantic ship called the Moby Dick, the size of Sengoku's ship, sat the mighty pirate Whitebeard. In one hand he held a huge wine bottle, like a barrel, and after taking a sip from it, he glanced at the newspaper in his other hand. Finally, he couldn't help but laugh.
Looking at the Golden Lion's face distorted with anger, Whitebeard felt such joy and happiness that he almost kissed that marine!
- Well done!
- Let him remember how he stole girls from me in those days...