After ending the call, Kizaru remained lost in thought.
Captain Caron’s detailed report about Leon continued to echo through his mind.
Even now, he had not fully recovered from the shock.
Only after a long silence did Kizaru remember that he was still standing inside the Fleet Admiral’s office.
“Fleet Admiral Sengoku, my apologies.”
“My nephew appears to have done something rather unexpected.”
Kizaru sounded genuinely impressed.
“I must admit, even I didn’t see this coming.”
“No need to apologize.”
Sengoku stared at him with burning curiosity.
“So you have a nephew?”
“Your biological nephew?”
“And he possesses Conqueror’s Haki?”
“A monster born with the disposition of a supreme ruler?”
Kizaru nodded.
Sengoku immediately burst into delighted laughter.
“Excellent!”
“It’s a good thing he joined the Marines.”
“A young monster like that belongs in our ranks, protecting justice and order across the seas.”
Kizaru’s expression became slightly strange.
Protecting justice and order?
He seriously doubted that Leon had joined the Marines for anything so noble.
Naturally, Kizaru kept that thought to himself.
“When you have the opportunity, bring your nephew to Marine Headquarters.
I want to meet him personally.”
“A sixteen-year-old who awakened Conqueror’s Haki on his own and can already control it…”
“Even throughout the history of the Marines, someone like that is almost unheard of.”
Sengoku’s excitement was closely connected to the Marines’ current predicament.
“You know as well as I do that the Marines have struggled to produce exceptional young talent in recent years.”
“The last reasonably promising generation was Smoker’s, and even Smoker is merely outstanding by ordinary standards.
He cannot be called an unprecedented prodigy.”
“When your generation entered the Marines, we gained three monsters at once—you, Sakazuki, and Kuzan.”
“Now look at the current younger generation.”
“Smoker and Hina are among the only ones capable of representing the Marines, and neither of them is ready to carry the full weight of our justice.”
Sengoku could not stop himself from complaining.
“Just look at how many powerful young pirates have appeared over the past few years.”
“And what have the Marines produced in response?”
“Smoker, Hina, and a handful of others who are at least useful.
Most of the rest are thoroughly unimpressive.”
“Meanwhile, the pirates have produced people like Cavendish and Fire Fist Ace.”
“Those two are genuine monsters.”
“Compared to them, Smoker and Hina fall far behind.”
As Fleet Admiral, Sengoku worried constantly about the widening gap between the Marines’ young generation and the rising pirates of the new era.
And there was very little he could do about it.
It was all Roger’s fault.
But before his execution, that damned man had gone and ignited the Great Pirate Era.
“Everyone knows that a person does not necessarily need Conqueror’s Haki to become one of the strongest people on the seas.”
“Anything is possible.”
“But one thing is certain.”
“Anyone born with Conqueror’s Haki possesses the potential to stand at the summit one day.”
That was why Sengoku was so eager to meet Kizaru’s previously unknown nephew.
Leon possessed Conqueror’s Haki.
In Sengoku’s eyes, that alone meant he had the potential to become one of the greatest powers on the seas.
And young monsters with that level of potential were exactly what the Marines lacked.
“Fleet Admiral Sengoku, telling me all of this won’t solve the problem.”
Kizaru spread his hands.
“The Marines’ salaries and benefits have been repeatedly reduced by the people above us.”
“With conditions like that, why would exceptional young talent willingly enlist?”
“At some point, perhaps the Marines should ask themselves whether they are part of the problem.”
“Have salaries improved?”
“Have working conditions improved?”
“Has anyone seriously addressed any of it?”
Sengoku fell silent.
After thinking for a moment, he spoke with renewed seriousness.
“Your nephew’s enlistment must be handled carefully.”
“We cannot afford to neglect someone with this kind of potential.”
“If he refuses to remain in the Marines, it would be an enormous loss.”
“And if he becomes a pirate instead, we’ll have nowhere to turn.”
“Don’t repeat Garp’s mistake.”
“That old fool failed to properly guide either of his grandsons, and both of them ran off to become pirates.”
“What an embarrassment.”
“If someone like your nephew became a pirate, I can guarantee that he would eventually become one of the greatest threats the Marines have ever faced.”
Kizaru still found it difficult to accept that his lazy nephew had suddenly transformed from a hopeless loafer into one of the Marines’ most promising future talents.
At that moment, the office door was kicked open.
A loud, boisterous laugh followed.
“Sengoku!
I heard you talking behind my back!”
The moment Sengoku saw the newcomer, the corner of his mouth twitched.
A vein bulged across his forehead.
“Garp!”
North Blue.
The sun had set, and darkness had settled over the sea.
The water was unusually calm, its surface as smooth as polished glass.
A crescent moon hung high above, reflected in the dark water below.
Pale moonlight spread across the sea, carrying a faint chill.
Deep beneath the surface, enormous shadows occasionally moved through the darkness.
Sea Kings hunted and fought one another far below.
The night seemed peaceful.
Not far away, a medium-sized Marine warship sailed steadily along its planned route.
Its hull broke the still surface, leaving waves and ripples behind it.
Most of the Marines had already returned to their shared quarters after eating their fill.
Their uneven snores echoed across the otherwise silent waters. Get faster updates on novelping.com.
That evening, several cooks aboard the warship had worked together to prepare a feast using the deep-sea Sea King as fresh meat.
The meal had left nearly every Marine thoroughly satisfied.
At the top of the lookout tower, a Marine in uniform yawned heavily.
Exhaustion weighed on him as he leaned against the wooden railing.
He slapped his cheeks and forced himself to remain alert, carefully observing the surrounding waters for anything unusual.
“Nothing should happen this late at night… right?”
He occasionally raised a long spyglass and swept it across the sea.
The next time he looked toward the waters ahead, his entire body stiffened.
His drowsiness vanished instantly.
“Something’s out there!”
The lookout’s eyes widened.
He stared through the spyglass at a distant section of the sea and carefully examined what he saw.
Based on his years of experience, he estimated that roughly five kilometers ahead, two ships had met in the darkness.
They were not exchanging fire.
That meant the meeting had almost certainly been arranged in advance.
“A transaction?”
“They’re making a deal?”
The lookout continued observing, trying to determine what was being exchanged.
Then his expression changed.
“They’re trading weapons!”
“A massive shipment of them!”
“Did we sail straight into the middle of an illegal arms deal?”
Alarmed, the lookout immediately reached for the ship’s warning bell.
But the moment he sounded the alarm, he noticed something even worse.
The two groups conducting the transaction had apparently discovered the Marine warship.
Cannons were already being turned in its direction.
The lookout’s pupils contracted.
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Notify Captain Caron immediately!”
“Unknown vessels are preparing to attack us!”
Then, after taking a closer look at one of the ships, he froze again.
A far more disturbing realization struck him.
“Wait…”
“One of those ships…”
“Does it belong to the Vinsmoke family?!”
In the North Blue, someone might fail to recognize the Marines.
They might know nothing about the region’s royal families.
They might even remain ignorant of the World Government.
But virtually no one in the North Blue was unfamiliar with the Vinsmoke name.
The Vinsmoke family was widely feared as one of the most powerful forces in the region.
For generations, its military might and political influence had shaped the North Blue.
Even the World Government formally recognized the family as the royal house of an affiliated kingdom.
That alone demonstrated the reach of its power.
In the North Blue, the Vinsmoke family stood at the very top.