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Kyle didn't know when that faint, nagging thought first appeared.
Was it the moment that stone nearly blew a Celestial Dragon's head open?
Or when he was granted the right to choose from three Devil Fruits at his promotion ceremony?
Maybe it was back in the academy, seeing the awe and reverence in the eyes of the young recruits.
All he knew was that as his strength grew, and his name spread through the Navy, strange ideas began creeping into his mind.
Ideas he couldn't name then.
Only now, as he stood high above and looked down over the entire Marine Headquarters, did he suddenly understand.
Ambition.
Standing quietly at the top, his mind drifted, stretching outward, pulling him back to an old memory.
Two years ago, when he escaped the Bokan family, weak and exhausted, he encountered a kid around eight years old.
The child was different from others his age. Too mature, with eyes far too old.
"Where's your father?"
Kyle accepted half of a dried, cracked piece of black bread the kid handed him.
"Dead."
"And your mother?"
"Dead too."
"Any brothers or sisters?"
"Yeah. All dead."
The boy's voice was steady, calm, not a trace of sadness.
Kyle froze, staring into those pitch-black, gleaming eyes.
"My father pissed off a noble."
"My mother caught a Celestial Dragon's eye. Beaten to death in the street."
"My older siblings tried to save her and died too."
"I was four. I was shaking so hard I could barely run. But I managed to escape."
The eight-year-old spoke like he was describing the weather.
Kyle hesitated, shocked by how composed he was. "You're… not sad?"
Two years had passed, but he still couldn't forget the calm expression on that child's face, or those dark, emotionless eyes when the boy answered:
"I'm holding it in."
That one line — I'm holding it in — shattered something inside him.
And then came the day he ran into that nameless Celestial Dragon. The man didn't know Kyle, and Kyle didn't know him.
But from that moment on, Kyle understood.
This world was wrong.
Freedom? Passion? Dreams? Beauty?
What a joke.
The truth of this world was simple and cruel: an eight-year-old calmly saying "I'm holding it in."
He suddenly thought of Koby, Garp's future disciple.
"If you think something is wrong with the world, then get stronger. Climb higher. Change it yourself."
That was what Koby's companion had told him when he was lost.
Kyle didn't know when his fists had clenched, but they slowly loosened.
"What matters isn't where you are."
"It's what you're doing."
He turned and left.
That afternoon, Kyle submitted a request for his own warship.
A medium, double-masted ship, about the same size as Garp's. The only difference: he had no crew.
Two people followed behind him as he boarded.
One was T Bone, who had just graduated and admired Kyle deeply. The other was a tall kid, eleven or twelve, already over two meters, with weird, colorful face paint smeared across his cheeks.
"Originally," Kong said, "I planned to let you graduate and send you to the West Blue as vice-commander."
"But since you want a warship, I get it."
"I've got a spare ship, but no soldiers ready. That part is up to you."
"You can recruit them, steal them, whatever. Not my problem."
Kong's blunt tone made Kyle grin.
Then Sengoku approached with a friendly smile, looked Kyle over, and laughed.
"Short on people? Perfect timing. I've got a good kid here."
He shoved the boy forward without giving Kyle a chance to refuse.
And that kid was the strange one standing behind him now.
"Rosinante, can you sail?"
Once onboard, Kyle asked.
The painted navy trainee immediately straightened. "Sir! Yes, sir!"
"Good. Then sailing, cleaning, cooking, and all the chores are yours."
Kyle nodded.
Not bad. Sengoku had handed him Rosinante — a young man he'd rescued recently and kept close. Right now he was only a trainee marine.
"Uh…"
Rosinante scratched his head. "All of it… by myself?"
Kyle pointed at T Bone, then at himself. "There are only three of us on this ship. You're the lowest rank. If not you, then who? Your superiors?"
Rosinante blinked, sighed, and muttered, "Yes, sir…"
T Bone looked like he wanted to say something but kept quiet.
For a kid his age, Rosinante was huge and strong — looked more like eighteen than twelve.
Soon the ship set sail, passing through the Gates of Justice.
"Where are we going?" T Bone asked.
"Shabondy Archipelago."
"First, we really are short on people, so we need recruits."
"Second…"
Kyle paused and smiled.
"Fleet Admiral Kong gave me my first mission: capture or eliminate the group of rookie pirate Supernovas causing trouble at Shabondy recently."
Of course, missions from HQ were flexible. By the time they arrived, the pirates might already be gone, or something else could come up.
"Understood!"
T Bone nodded.
Rosinante steered while studying his two commanding officers.
He'd heard of Kyle — the terrifying monster rising through the navy, a future admiral in the making.
"Rosinante."
The powerful figure before him suddenly spoke.
"Yes!"
Rosinante stood straighter.
"No need to act so stiff. Relax."
"After all…"
Kyle's lips curled into a grin.
"You're a Celestial Dragon."
Both T Bone and Rosinante froze instantly.
"C-Celestial Dragon?!"
T Bone whipped his head around to stare at the tall kid.
Rosinante's pupils shrank. His mind went blank.
How did Kyle know?
Only Sengoku should know.
Kyle turned, smiling calmly at the boy.
"What's with the nervous look? You were one. You're not anymore, right?"
Rosinante took a deep breath and nodded slowly.
"Focus on the ship. We've got a mission to finish."
Kyle dropped the subject.
Their warship soon reached Shabondy's port — and the place was unrecognizable.
Gunfire everywhere. Marines and pirates clashing in the streets.
"What a mess."
Kyle sighed. No wonder Kong rushed the assignment.
Pirates running wild on Shabondy was basically the same as spitting on Marine HQ's face. The situation was serious.
Just then, he sensed something and turned right.
Bang.
A dull gunshot echoed.
The bullet punched straight through his forehead.
"Sir!!"
Rosinante's face went pale as T Bone drew his blade with wide eyes.
Kyle blinked, stunned.
Then he noticed the new points added to his system panel.
The moment he arrived at Shabondy, someone actually shot him.
His lips curved up.
"Well now," he murmured. "This is getting interesting."
"..."
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