Time always slips away unnoticed.
Before anyone realized it, another year had passed, bringing the world closer to a tipping point.
In the heart of justice, at the very top of the Marine fortress, the Fleet Admiral's office was sealed tight.
Inside, the atmosphere was heavy with tension.
A tall, burly figure wearing a Marine Vice Admiral's coat stood up from his chair. He adjusted his collar and prepared to stride out of the room.
Behind the desk, Fleet Admiral Kong looked like a volcano about to erupt.
His face was red with sheer fury.
On the floor, a porcelain teacup lay in pieces, shattered into dust by his rage.
"Stop right there, Garp!" Kong roared, slamming his fist on the desk. "I haven't finished speaking yet!"
Garp stopped at the door.
He turned back, picking his ear with his pinky finger, and let out a hearty laugh.
"Bwahahaha! You may not have finished, Kong, but I've heard all I need to hear."
With that, the Hero of the Marines pushed the door open and walked into the corridor, leaving the fuming Fleet Admiral behind.
....
Garp strode down the wide hallway of Marineford with a spring in his step.
However, he didn't get far before he was intercepted by a tall, lanky young man with messy curly hair.
It was Kuzan, a rising star in the Marines.
"Garp-san!" Kuzan exclaimed, his eyes shining with admiration. "I heard the news! You turned down the promotion again? That is so cool!"
Kuzan looked at the older man like he was a rock star.
To refuse the highest rank in the organization took a special kind of guts.
Garp grinned, slapping the young man on the back.
"Of course I did, Kuzan! If you want to be free and unrestrained, you don't need such a high position weighing you down!"
Garp threw his head back. "Bwahahaha! Being an Admiral means working directly for those Celestial Dragons. I'd hate that! Only a fool like Sengoku would treasure a position like that!"
Garp's boisterous laughter echoed loudly through the stone hallway.
Unfortunately for him, someone was hearing every single words coming out of his mouth clearly.
At the stairwell landing just ahead, a man with a heavy afro and round glasses froze in place.
He had one foot on the step, about to ascend to the top floor.
It was Sengoku.
Upon hearing his name used as an insult, Sengoku's right hand clenched tightly into a fist.
He gritted his teeth so hard they made a grinding sound.
"Let me tell you, Kuzan," Garp continued loudly, unaware of the danger ahead. "That guy Sengoku is too stiff. He loves rules too much—"
"EHHHH SENGOKU??"
Garp suddenly stopped talking.
He looked up and saw his old friend standing at the top of the stairs with a dark, murderous aura.
"Oh, hey! What are you doing here?" Garp asked innocently.
He looked completely clueless, acting as if he hadn't just insulted the man.
Sengoku's forehead throbbed with veins.
"DAMN YOU, GARP!" Sengoku shouted. "How dare you talk about me behind my back! And right in front of the juniors!"
"Take this, you damn shameless bastard!"
Sengoku didn't wait for an apology.
His right arm instantly turned pitch black, coated in Armament Haki.
BAM!
Sengoku punched Garp square in the face.
"Ah—! That hurts!" Garp yelled.
The force of the punch was immense.
Like a large bird shot down by a hunter, the Hero of the Marines crashed through the corridor window.
Glass shattered everywhere as Garp went flying out of the building, falling toward the training grounds below.
Kuzan stood there, frozen.
He gulped nervously, sweat dripping down his forehead. He was still quite young and inexperienced in dealing with the top brass.
"Se-Sengoku-san!" Kuzan stammered, waving his hands. "This has nothing to do with me! I was just listening!"
Sengoku adjusted his glasses and dusted off his suit.
"Hmph," Sengoku snorted. "Of course I know you're not a scoundrel like Garp."
Sengoku stepped closer, waving his still-blackened iron fist near Kuzan's face as a warning.
"But remember this, Kuzan: if you pick up any of Garp's bad habits, my fist is no weaker than his. Do not become a lazy fool."
Kuzan nodded rapidly like a chicken pecking rice.
Sengoku sighed, the anger draining out of him.
He looked at the young man with a critical eye.
"You, kid... you would be better off serving as my aide for a while. You need discipline. At least you're not as lazy as Borsalino."
"Oh?"
A lazy, drawn-out voice sounded from behind Sengoku.
"Sengoku-san, that hurts my feelings. Truly."
A wrinkled face with yellow-tinted sunglasses pefed out from around the staircase corner.
It was Borsalino, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.
He raised an eyebrow upon seeing Kuzan.
"Well, long time no see, Kuzan," Borsalino drawled.
"Long time no see, Borsalino!" Kuzan replied with great enthusiasm, happy to have the attention off himself.
Though Borsalino was still young, his face looked exactly the same as it would in his middle age—perpetually relaxed and slightly sleazy.
Sengoku ignored Borsalino's complaint and turned back to Kuzan.
"Listen to me," Sengoku lectured. "Being with Garp isn't about letting you follow his reckless behavior. Garp is strong, but he sometimes acts purely on impulse. Having you by his side is meant to remind him to do the right thing. You are his brakes."
Sengoku scratched his afro helplessly. "Though, looking at you, I doubt you can stop him."
Kuzan looked utterly confused.
He pointed a finger at his own face.
"Me?" Kuzan asked. "I'm supposed to control Garp-san?"
Sengoku looked at the conflicted young man and shook his head. "Never mind. Just try not to get thrown out of windows."
He patted Kuzan on the shoulder and walked past him.
"We're heading out now, Kuzan," Borsalino said, following Sengoku. "The Fleet Admiral has some boring matters to discuss with us. See you later."
...
Knock, knock.
"Come in!" Kong's voice barked from inside.
As soon as Sengoku and Borsalino entered, they saw the mess.
Shattered porcelain was scattered across the floor, and Fleet Admiral Kong was sitting behind his desk, his chest heaving with anger that had yet to fully subside.
Neither of them was intimidated by the scene.
Sengoku was already accustomed to Kong's temper tantrums regarding Garp, while Borsalino had long since transcended worldly concerns and simply didn't care.
Sengoku sighed.
He walked over to the cabinet, retrieved a new teacup, and brewed a fresh pot of tea for the Fleet Admiral.
Borsalino, meanwhile, did not act like a respectful subordinate.
He slouched onto the sofa, made himself comfortable, and poured a cup of tea for himself before anyone else.
"That bastard Garp," Kong grumbled, taking the tea from Sengoku. "The Marines have trained him for so long. We gave him resources, fame, and freedom. And he still refuses to become an Admiral! It's irresponsible of him!"
Sengoku didn't interject.
He sat down quietly.
This wasn't the first time this had happened, and it wouldn't be the last.
Both he and Fleet Admiral Kong were well aware of Garp's temperament.
The offer of promotion was merely a performance for the World Government's benefit, to show they were trying to reward their hero.
They knew he would never take it.
Kong took a sip of tea and calmed down. He rubbed his eyebrows, switching to business mode.
"Sengoku," Kong asked, "what are your findings in the New World? How are the pirates lately?"
Sengoku took out his detailed work notes. He placed them on the desk in front of Kong.
"The situation in the New World has largely stabilized since the Rocks era ended," Sengoku explained seriously.
"On the pirate side, the power balance is shifting," Sengoku pointed to a map.
Shiki: "He commands the largest territory. Aside from his main Floating Island base, he has seized twenty-six other islands. His fleet is massive, numbering nearly ten thousand men."
Whitebeard: "He controls twenty islands, mostly protecting them rather than ruling them."
Big Mom: "She holds seventeen islands, building her so called 'Totto Land'."
"The rest are either occupied by newcomers or remain unclaimed," Sengoku concluded.
He lowered his voice. "However, it seems Shiki is brewing some major plan recently. There is a lot of movement in his fleet. Unfortunately, our intelligence agents haven't penetrated deep enough to obtain core information."
Kong reviewed Sengoku's notes, quickly correlating them with the explanations.
"And the Marines?" Kong asked.
"G-5 Branch Chief Sakazuki has submitted a request to Headquarters," Sengoku added. "He proposes using G-5 as a starting point to launch a counter-offensive and re-enter the deep New World."
After a long while, Kong finished reading the last page.
Sengoku picked up his now-lukewarm tea and drank it in one go.
Kong rubbed his head and looked up at the ceiling.
"I have a general understanding of the situation," Kong said. "That Shiki fellow... he seems intent on following in Rocks' footsteps."
Kong's eyes narrowed. "Whatever grand plan he has, it's nothing more than declaring war. Either he'll fight us to plunder resources and gain glory, or he'll try to absorb other pirate crews forcefully, just like Rocks did."
The senior officers were quite familiar with the Golden Lion.
They had clashed with him numerous times.
Their collective assessment was unanimous: Shiki was treacherous, brutal, and highly ambitious.
He was a traditional pirate warlord.
Kong then turned his attention back to the nautical chart on his desk. His pencil landed firmly on the G-5 branch location.
"Sakazuki," Kong said, a hint of pride in his voice. "He is quite a promising talent."
"Since he took over G-5, he has effectively suppressed the pirates' frenzied counterattacks in that sector. Now, within the jurisdiction of his branch, there are no longer any rampant pirates. He crushed them all."
Kong looked at Sengoku and Borsalino.
"He will undoubtedly become an Admiral in the future."
In their minds, there was no doubt about it.
Sakazuki was the future of the Marines.
Although he was currently a Vice Admiral, everyone could see how terrifying his strength was.
With his powerful physique, his fearsome Magma-Magma Fruit abilities, and his ruthless, iron-fisted methods, he was unquestionably the leading figure of the Marine's hardline faction!