The port of Marineford was bright and clear today, with a gentle breeze and a cloudless sky.
A Marine warship slowly sailed into the harbor. From it, a stunningly beautiful woman with an exceptional figure, draped in a Vice Admiral's coat and with a sword at her waist, stepped out with a heroic air.
"Headquarters, huh? I've been back to visit before, but this time it's for a formal transfer." The beautiful woman smiled.
"Gion-nee!!!" Hina waved excitedly and ran over from a distance.
That's right, this female Marine Vice Admiral was Gion, the former commander of Marine Base G-7 and the newly appointed Marine Headquarters Admiral Candidate.
"Hina, long time no see," Gion said with a smile, ruffling Hina's hair.
After a moment, she looked around the harbor, her brow furrowed. "Where's Diarmuid? I finally come back to headquarters, and that guy can't even be bothered to come pick me up?"
Hina explained, "The Admiral is in a meeting."
"A meeting? Why are they meeting every day these days?" Gion asked, clicking her tongue.
"There's just a lot going on. A few days ago, Zephyr-sensei officially stepped down as Admiral, Vice Admiral Tsuru had her Chief of Staff title restored, and Sakazuki is about to be promoted to Admiral. Headquarters has been incredibly busy, so the Admirals have been holed up in the conference room all day," Hina said with a smile.
Gion wasn't one to hold a grudge. She nodded after hearing the explanation. "He really is busy then. I won't bother him for now."
"Gion!"
At that moment, a voice suddenly called out to Gion. Gion rolled her eyes and looked over, seeing Tokikake walking toward them with a smile.
"You're finally back from G-7!" Tokikake greeted her with a laugh.
Gion nodded. "Yeah, I was finally transferred back."
"How is it over there?" Tokikake asked.
"Doberman has taken over as the G-7 base commander. Everything is fine," Gion said with a smile.
Tokikake nodded, then his gaze on Gion became a little complicated. He finally said, "Even though I've always thought that Diarmuid guy was no good and completely unworthy of you, you still chose him in the end. It's a real shame. Now that things have come to this, even I wouldn't be shameless enough to keep pestering you, Gion. I'll just wish you two the best."
Gion was stunned for a moment. She had known Tokikake for longer; they had joined the Marines together, even before she met Diarmuid. Their relationship back then was pretty good, but fate can be unreasonable.
Hearing Tokikake's words, Gion smiled. "Tokikake, do you know why, after all these years of you doing these things, I've still maintained a certain friendship with you? While I find you annoying, I don't actually dislike you."
Tokikake smiled a little smugly. "It's because I'm so handsome, of course?"
"I wish you had a bit more self-awareness about that!" Gion retorted, then continued with a smile, "It's because you've always been an upright person. You've never had any bad intentions. There's nothing wrong with liking someone, just like how I like Diarmuid and how you like me. So, I accept your well wishes."
"I have no idea what's so good about that bastard Diarmuid," Tokikake grumbled, then rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I've really given up this time, so you don't have to worry about me bothering you anymore. Well… and congratulations on becoming an Admiral Candidate. You've pulled ahead of me again."
"Speaking of which, weren't you nominated too? For Admiral Candidate?" Gion asked with a hint of curiosity.
Tokikake's face immediately fell. He muttered angrily, "The problem is, that bastard Diarmuid was the one who nominated me! How could I possibly accept?"
"Oh? Do you regret it now that you've refused?" Gion asked, amused.
Tokikake hesitated for a moment, then laughed. "Don't even get me started. I really do regret it, hahaha! That bastard is always finding new ways to mess with me!"
"Vice Admiral Tokikake, if you keep badmouthing my Admiral, I'm going to get angry and report you!" Hina chimed in with a giggle.
"Oh, Hina, you're still young. Don't let that guy Diarmuid fool you!" Tokikake said with a laugh.
As Diarmuid's personal secretary, Hina knew full well that even though Vice Admiral Tokikake and her Admiral were always at odds and bickering whenever they met, they didn't have any real conflicts. They just had a strange relationship. She also knew that her Admiral actually respected Vice Admiral Tokikake. His strength was considerable, and he was a man of integrity.
Furthermore, according to the gossip, Vice Admiral Tokikake often grumbled about her Admiral, but he would occasionally praise his achievements. In short, they could never be friends, as they were too awkward around each other, but they were definitely not enemies. Hina also knew that when Diarmuid nominated Tokikake for Admiral Candidate, he was being sincere, not trying to mock him. The proposal was even approved at the headquarters meeting, but in a fit of pique, Tokikake refused.
Tokikake later realized that while Diarmuid was an asshole, he wouldn't stoop to humiliating him over something like this. So he secretly regretted his decision, especially after hearing that Gion had also become an Admiral Candidate.
"My Admiral is a very good person. He would never trick me," Hina said with a smile.
"Sigh, you only see his good looks. You've forgotten that a man's true worth is his character…" Tokikake said sagely.
"My Admiral's character is amazing too! Vice Admiral Tokikake, you must have noticed the changes at headquarters over the last two years, right?" Hina immediately shot back.
"I… you… this…" Tokikake was left speechless by Hina's rebuttal. As one of the beneficiaries of the Marines' changes, Tokikake couldn't deny Diarmuid's contributions. Where would the Marines be without all the money Diarmuid had brought in?
Just as the three of them were chatting, another warship slowly pulled into the harbor. From it, a tall man with an imposing aura stepped out. He wore a duckbill Marine cap and the "Justice" coat of an Admiral Candidate, with a resolute expression. However, when he saw Gion and the others, a smile appeared on his usually rigid face. He seemed to be in a good mood.
That's right, it was Sakazuki, returning to headquarters for his promotion to Admiral!
"Gion, Tokikake, Hina," Sakazuki called out with a laugh. After a pause, he asked, "Did you all come to pick me up?"
Sakazuki was in a very good mood. I've worked for the Marines for so many years. Every time I come back, besides Onigumo and a few others, no one cares. But this time, after being away at G-1 for two years, people came to meet me? It seems everyone missed me after all, hahaha! It was just a short time before, so the feeling of separation wasn't so strong.
"Sakazuki?" Gion was surprised, then smiled. "Are you also back today?"
"Huh?" Sakazuki was taken aback. They didn't come to pick me up? "Yes. What about you all?" Sakazuki forced a smile and asked.
"I just came back from G-7, stepping down as base commander there. But I can't compare to you. I'm just back to be an Admiral Candidate, but you're going straight to being an Admiral," Gion said with a laugh.
Sakazuki paused, then nodded. "Well, congratulations to you too." Right, Gion just got back from G-7. No need to worry about that. With that thought, he smiled again and looked at Tokikake. "What about you, Tokikake?"
"Oh, I came to pick up Gion," Tokikake said without hesitation.
Sakazuki... Can't you just give me a little bit of face?
Hina, however, seemed to realize something. "I did come to pick you up, Sakazuki. The Admiral told me you would be arriving today."
Even though Hina called him simply by his name, Sakazuki didn't seem to mind at all. His mood immediately brightened. "Really? Then thank you very much, Hina." Sakazuki's relationship with Diarmuid had been very good these past few years, so he naturally felt a fondness for Diarmuid's subordinates, including Hina.
After a short pause, Sakazuki asked, "Where's your Admiral?"
"The Admiral is in a meeting. Thanks to all of you getting promoted to Admiral Candidate and Admiral, headquarters has been super busy these past few days," Hina said with a smile.
"Hahahaha! I'll treat you all to a drink once things calm down," Sakazuki laughed heartily.
As he was about to be promoted to Admiral, Sakazuki was feeling a bit nostalgic. When he first joined the Marines, he wasn't very well-liked due to his personality and temper, and his relationships with many people, like Garp and Kuzan, were strained. He used to not care, believing that as long as he stuck to his own sense of justice, he didn't need to get along with others.
But after Diarmuid appeared in Marineford, Sakazuki felt the environment slowly change. He himself had changed a lot over the past few years. Now, no one at headquarters had a real problem with him. Even with Kuzan, their differences were only ideological, and there was no real conflict between them privately. When Sakazuki's promotion to Admiral Candidate was initially delayed, Kuzan even stood up for him. As for Garp, even though Sakazuki hadn't been back to headquarters in two years, they were in regular contact, or rather, Garp would contact him to brag about his grandsons.
Sakazuki was one of the second group of high-ranking Marines to meet Ace and Luffy. For some reason, Garp loved to brag to him. Over time, their relationship had become much better.
Thinking of this, Sakazuki suddenly asked, "How are Ace and the others?"
Even though he hadn't seen them since their one meeting at Mariejois, Garp constantly talked about them, so Sakazuki found himself thinking about them.
Hina paused for a moment, then asked, "What about them?"
"I just suddenly thought of him. I heard that kid wants to be a Marine Admiral at five years old? I really like kids with ambition like that," Sakazuki said with a teasing smile.
"Hahaha, that's right. He's full of energy. You can go see them when you treat us to a drink," Hina said with a laugh.
"Sounds good!" Sakazuki nodded decisively.
The man who, in the original story, killed Ace and created a blood feud with Garp, was now walking down a different path. The group continued to chat and laugh as they headed toward the main entrance of Marine Headquarters.
At the same time, inside the conference room, Diarmuid held a document. "As it stands, Queen Otohime of Fish-Man Island is actively working to promote communication and contact with human society on the surface. I believe this is a good thing, and the Marines should offer a certain degree of support. While the idea of a large-scale recruitment of Fish-Men into the Marines has been proven to fail, recruiting a few individuals should still be fine. This might change things…"
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