Office of the Marshal of the General Staff of the Naval Forces.
He sat alone in the military tent, feeling as if his wife might be ashamed if anyone outside knew what was going on.
In front of him lay a book with a rather explicit scene, and papers were neatly laid out on the table.
His eyes slid quickly and slowly across the pages until everything around him began to blur.
Gradually he sank into this state until he finished and sank into a chair, looking disappointedly at the photograph of a female pirate lying on the table.
Ever since his first battle with Rox in the Valley of the Gods more than ten years ago, he had thought that the pirates would scatter like monkeys after a falling tree. But who would have thought that the members of Rox's former crew, led by Whitebeard and Golden Lion, had quickly gained strength in the New World, and their fame had only grown. Every year, more and more young men set sail and set sail. This pressure was unstoppable. Not only did the pirate forces not weaken after Rox's fall, but, on the contrary, they became even stronger.
Although the pirates were becoming more and more powerful, the Navy was still able to hold them back. The older generation—himself, Sengoku, and Garp, as well as the semi-retired Z—were still in control. The younger generation was no slouch either: Sakazuki, Porusalino, and Drago were all stars. And Kuzan, who Garp had recently sent to the Navy Academy, was also showing great promise. Garp's son, Drago, was especially impressive. The boy was simply perfect—he had inherited his father's excellent physique, but without all of his quirks.
Sometimes he even wondered how Garp could raise such a son who didn't inherit any of his quirks. But when he thought about Drago's reliability, he couldn't help but remember how unreliable Garp himself was.
- There are so many pirates on the sea - Golden Lion, White Beard, Black Beard... Why don't you chase them? If you really can't, why not take care of that fat Charlotte Lingling? And Roger? He's not a bad guy. He doesn't do what Golden Lion does, and he even helps clean up the sea trash from time to time. Is that bad? They don't bother you, so why don't you leave them alone?
Speaking about Roger's pirates, even though they were pirates and therefore enemies of the Navy by nature, he still admitted that Roger and his crew were quite honorable. Unlike the Golden Lion, they did not cause unnecessary trouble and even sometimes did noble deeds, helping to fight evil. This saved the Navy a lot of trouble. For example, in the battle at the Valley of the Gods more than ten years ago, although the whole world said that it was the Navy hero Garp who defeated the Rocks Pirates, in reality, without the help of Roger's crew, they would not have succeeded.
Those who knew the true story knew that without Roger and his pirates, the Navy would not have been able to defeat Rocks. Even with all of Garp's might, the Navy's forces would have been insufficient. After that battle, the losses were so great that even a worldwide conscription could not replace them.
If it weren't for the help of Roger's pirates, the losses would have been even greater. But of course, the Navy and pirates teaming up against other pirates wouldn't sound too good. So the World Government hid the truth about Roger's crew participating in the battle.
But he, being an honest man, admitted: The Navy was indebted to Roger's pirates. So he left them alone and had no intention of doing so. But that old geezer Garp seemed to do nothing but chase Roger.
- Knock-knock-knock...
- Marshal Kong.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
- Come in.
Kong straightened up, quickly opened a desk drawer and stuffed in the scattered pirate photos and paper napkins that seemed to have already begun to harden. Then he turned on the ventilation system. With his many years of experience, everything was done so quickly and unnoticeably that no one would have suspected.
- Marshall Kong... I think I need to ask the adjutant to renovate your office. It smells so bad that...
Zephyr opened the door and a strong smell came out of the room. He frowned, looking around at the old desks and chairs.
- Well, about that... I have time to talk. The situation at sea lately leaves much to be desired, - he said, clearly irritated.
Kong felt awkward and automatically reached for his nose, but, looking at his raised right hand, as if he remembered something, he lowered it and quickly changed the subject.
"What? Things are bad at sea?" he asked, trying to look interested.
Zephyr, distracted by his words, did not notice Kong's strange behavior.
- Damn right! More and more young people are heading to sea as pirates. Golden Lion, Byrndi World, Whitebeard, Kaido, Charlotte Linlin - those bastards are causing trouble in the New World again. Luckily, Sakazuki and Polusalino are holding their own for now - holding the line for the first half. Otherwise, I would have had to go out on the battlefield myself. And that bastard Garp, he only knows how to chase Roger all day, leaving Senguma to deal with the New World alone.
- By the way, you don't have time to come to see me today, do you? Are things getting busy at college? - Zephyr waved his hand, grumbling slightly, and asked.
Kong considered this. He wasn't sure if it was right to let Zephyr retire at forty-two and go into the shadows. On the one hand, it was clearly wrong. The role of a Marine admiral couldn't be measured by numbers alone. If Zephyr hadn't retired now, if he'd been in the New World with Sengum or holding the first half, the situation would have been a lot better than it was now.
But then again, in the past, the Naval Academy was a place where people came for the "gilding" - they went in one way, and came out the same. However, since Zephyr retired and became an instructor at the Naval Academy, in recent years its graduates clearly surpassed others in strength, quality and professional ethics. Most importantly, they had strong ideas and were not afraid to fight. Such people were highly valued as future leaders. The Marine Corps was quite pleased with them as future pillars.
One was the present, the other the future. And Kong didn't know if it was right to let Zephyr stay as an instructor.