Finn had rarely met Fleet Admiral Kong. They'd crossed paths at a few important meetings, nothing more.
The Fleet Admiral looked fierce, intimidating even, but he was actually quite kind.
As for the Marines' bases in the New World, two years ago, after devastating Shiki's grand fleet, the Marines' power had surged dramatically. During this period, they'd been aggressively pushing into the New World with considerable success.
Just as Borsalino had told him, the Marines' current objective was to regain control of the New World.
Sengoku and the others had been working tirelessly toward that goal.
They'd achieved some successes recently, but Finn knew full well that times would soon change.
Two years from now, Pirate King Roger would be captured. The Marines would attempt to use his public execution to deter ambitious pirates across the sea.
Instead, they'd be played by Roger, who would directly trigger the Great Pirate Era.
The relatively stable situation would be completely shattered. Heroes from every corner would rush to the seas, causing unprecedented chaos.
As a result, the Marines' plans for the New World would completely collapse. Their focus would shift entirely away from the New World, concentrating instead on stabilizing their rear, dealing with threats in the Four Blues and the first half of the Grand Line.
Because of that shift, for the next twenty years, the New World would be dominated by pirates. The Marines would struggle to accomplish anything there.
Currently, the Marines still maintained several bases in the New World. Among them, G-1 Marine Base was the highest priority. If Finn remembered correctly, after the Battle of Marineford, Sakazuki would relocate Marine Headquarters to G-1.
Finn certainly had no specific memory of Fleet Admiral Kong inspecting G-1 Marine Base, but he had a vague feeling that perhaps he'd misremembered something. Had he overlooked some detail?
He quickly dismissed the thought. It should be fine.
"It's just a routine inspection. You don't need to think too much about it," Sengoku said. "However, the Fleet Admiral requires proper guards when traveling to the New World. As an Admiral, I'll be stationed at Marineford during that time, so I naturally cannot accompany him. Which of you will go?"
It was obvious when he asked the question that he wasn't including Finn and Gion.
After all, they genuinely weren't qualified. Could the Fleet Admiral's guard be entrusted to a Commodore? Would Finn be protecting the Fleet Admiral, or would the Fleet Admiral be protecting him?
Sakazuki clearly had no interest in such a boring mission. Rather than guarding the Fleet Admiral, he'd prefer to go to sea and kill a few more pirates.
So he simply sat there in silence, making no move to volunteer.
Borsalino paused for a moment, then suddenly spoke. "I'm afraid I can't. Admiral Sengoku, as you know, I've been taking over the Science Unit recently. I'm extremely busy. I don't have the time..."
Sengoku nodded, accepting Borsalino's reasoning.
Although Borsalino appeared like a seasoned slacker on ordinary days, he'd genuinely been swamped recently.
Moreover, soon after Borsalino finished his current work, he'd officially assume his new position. At that point, Sengoku would lose an assistant.
Seeing this, Chief of Staff Tsuru spoke up. "I can't either. I'm planning to reorganize our Marines' intelligence department recently, and there are many developments in the underworld requiring attention. I don't have time for this."
Vice Admiral Tsuru served as the Marines' Chief of Staff. She didn't usually handle frontline operations. Recently, she'd begun taking over the intelligence department. In her opinion, the Marines' current intelligence system was somewhat outdated and too bloated. She planned to reorganize the intelligence department and establish several special units. With so much on her plate, she was naturally very busy. How could she have time to manage the Fleet Admiral's guard detail?
As for the underworld, it had been turbulent recently. Someone code-named "Joker" had been causing trouble. As head of Marine Intelligence, Chief of Staff Tsuru naturally wanted to infiltrate the dark world.
Much intelligence was difficult to obtain through official channels. Conversely, it was often easier to acquire in the underworld.
In short, she had plenty of problems to handle.
Seeing this, Gion quickly added, "I'm not qualified either, right? I'm just a Commodore, same as Finn."
As soon as she finished speaking, Sengoku nodded naturally, finally turning his gaze to Sakazuki and Kuzan.
After a long moment, Sengoku kept staring at Kuzan. "I'll leave this matter to you, Kuzan."
Kuzan sighed helplessly. "Perhaps Sakazuki is more suitable? I'm only a Rear Admiral..."
Hearing this, Sakazuki responded coldly, "I have more important things to do."
That was all he said. No intention of explaining further.
Kuzan knew Sakazuki didn't like him. The feeling was mutual. So he didn't press the issue. Since Sakazuki refused, why bother pestering him?
"If you do well on this mission, you'll be promoted to Vice Admiral when you return," Sengoku said suddenly.
Kuzan froze, his expression complicated.
He wanted promotion, certainly. But he was lazy by nature, not particularly eager, nor did he crave power.
Still, how could he not be tempted? Borsalino and Sakazuki had held Vice Admiral rank for so long. As one of the Marines' "three monsters," he was the only one who remained a Rear Admiral.
There were even rumors that Sengoku was about to release Finn from seclusion, possibly promoting him to Rear Admiral in short order. Then Kuzan would really be overtaken!
Though lazy, Kuzan still had his pride.
After looking at Finn, then at Sakazuki and Borsalino, Kuzan sighed. "Okay, I'll do it."
"Good. After I track down Garp, I'll arrange for him to participate as well. To be honest, this was originally his responsibility, but somehow he got wind of it in advance and ran away. Damn bastard!" Sengoku cursed, clearly annoyed.
That's right. Garp had apparently received news a few days ago. Very unhappy about being stuck with the Fleet Admiral, he'd found an excuse and slipped away. These past few days, Sengoku had been trying to drag him back.
"Hehe, after all, whenever the Fleet Admiral sees him, he keeps trying to promote him to Admiral. It's natural for Garp to avoid him," Chief of Staff Tsuru said with a smile.
"What a luxurious problem to have... hahaha." Finn laughed as well.
At that moment, Kuzan looked at Finn. "Admiral Sengoku, why don't you let Finn come with me? He hasn't been on a mission in a long time. I heard you're planning to release him soon. This mission is simple enough. I can guide him, let him get familiar with field operations again. Plus... it'll help him show his face to the Fleet Admiral. That would be good for him."
Finn froze for a moment. Looking at Kuzan's smirk, he immediately understood. This guy was thinking that since opportunities to "show off" would become rare in the future, he'd better fulfill his "ambition" before Finn officially emerged. Even if just once, he wanted to capture Finn as his subordinate!
Damn, were all Marines this petty?
Sengoku didn't overthink it. After considering Kuzan's words, he felt they made sense. Finn was now his key protégé, otherwise there'd be no need to force him to attend such meetings.
If Finn could make a stronger impression on the Fleet Admiral, it would always be beneficial. And indeed, the young man had been held back for two years. It was time to let him gain field experience. Following Kuzan first to get acclimated seemed like a good approach.
Thinking this through, Sengoku nodded. "Alright, let's arrange it that way."
At this point, Finn had no reason to disobey Sengoku's order. He glared at Kuzan helplessly. "Yes, sir. Everything is for justice!"
Seeing that matter settled, Sengoku nodded. "Good. Let's move on from these topics. Now let's discuss transfers."
After a brief pause, Sengoku continued, "Borsalino will soon assume command of the Science Unit. Since that's the case, he naturally can no longer serve as my assistant. As an Admiral, I do need someone to help handle various matters. Therefore, I'm preparing to..."
Sengoku looked at Finn.
That's right. He planned to select Finn as his assistant.
Finn's excitement surged. The Admiral's assistant!
This was no small matter. Looking at the current Marines, Admiral Sengoku was second only to Fleet Admiral Kong. After all, there were only two Admirals, with one position vacant. And one of them, Zephyr, had retreated to second-line duties focusing on education.
Therefore, nearly all the authority of three Admirals was concentrated in Sengoku's hands.
His power was tremendous. He only needed to answer to Fleet Admiral Kong.
Additionally, anyone could see that Sengoku had no competitors. The next Fleet Admiral would inevitably be selected from the Admirals. Unfortunately, Zephyr had no intention of taking the position, leaving only Sengoku. Who else could be chosen?
Therefore, it was obvious that Sengoku would inevitably become the Marines' Fleet Admiral in the future. Becoming his assistant now meant riding the dragon to success!
In short, this was an incredibly lucrative position. Finn was absolutely willing!
But before Sengoku could finish speaking, Chief of Staff Tsuru suddenly interrupted. "If you want to choose Finn, I advise you to reconsider. I plan to recruit Finn into our intelligence department. He's still young. If he rashly becomes an Admiral's assistant, the rumors will be difficult to suppress. Let him come to my side first and work for me for a few years. That would be better for everyone."
Sengoku froze for a moment. Finn froze as well.
When did I become so popular? Are the Chief of Staff and Admiral fighting over me?
But thinking carefully, what Chief of Staff Tsuru said was correct. It truly would be too conspicuous, not necessarily a good thing, for him to leap directly to the position of Admiral's assistant.
Sengoku actually thought these concerns weren't particularly significant. He'd been planning to mentor Finn, let him gain some "political" experience quickly, then send him to field operations. He'd never intended to keep Finn at his side permanently.
This was all out of goodwill. Sengoku knew very well that to advance in the Marines, you couldn't just fight. You also had to govern and navigate internal politics!
He was very optimistic about Commodore Finn, who resembled his younger self in many ways.
However, since Tsuru had spoken up, Sengoku didn't plan to fight for it. Tsuru was also extremely experienced. If she took Finn under her wing, he could learn valuable experience and wisdom. It didn't really matter.
"Alright, in that case, Kuzan, after you complete your mission and are promoted to Vice Admiral, you'll come serve as my assistant," Sengoku decided.
Kuzan had originally been watching the drama unfold when it suddenly involved him. Surprise flashed across his face. He quickly spoke up, "I..."
"Don't even think about being lazy!" Sengoku said bluntly.
Kuzan genuinely didn't want to go. After all, hanging out with Garp, while dangerous, was indeed a leisurely life. He just often had to take the blame. He'd gotten used to it.
But going to work under the strict Sengoku? That meant actually working hard...
Looking at the fierce expression in Sengoku's eyes, Kuzan couldn't voice any rebuttal. He could only nod reluctantly. "Yes... everything is for justice..."
His tone carried unmistakable resignation.