"Just what it sounds like. I can't explain now. Let's just say... once we see what the Five Elders still have in their vaults, we'll go from there~"
Kizaru leaned back comfortably on the sofa. That was the power of Boros's presence.
Snag a couple of Yonko as his left and right hands, drag in so over-the-hill legends as underlings, and in no ti he'd have half the Rocks crew's forr strength rebuilt.
It'd be enough to scare the Five Elders shitless.
At that point, he could na whatever price he wanted for military funding. What were they going to do—say no?
Of course, he'd need to make so preparations first. If cornered, the Five Elders might try to bypass him as Fleet Admiral and issue direct orders to Navy HQ.
"Well, for now… you're the Fleet Admiral. The Navy's future is in your hands."
Sengoku gave Kizaru a aningful glance. He didn't know why Kizaru was so confident.
After all, getting the Five Elders to change their stance was a monuntal task.
No matter how hard he thought about it, Sengoku would never guess that Kizaru was planning to groom a new Pirate King himself.
"Nah, not until I'm officially promoted. As long as you haven't stepped down, you're still the one in charge of Marineford."
Kizaru shook his head firmly. He wasn't stupid—why take the reins during the busiest, most chaotic ti? That'd just make him the biggest sucker in the room.
Of course, he spun it differently: out of respect for Sengoku, he wanted to wait until the man officially retired before stepping up.
Even though Sengoku saw right through Kizaru's cheeky ploy, his expression did soften slightly.
Being recognized by his successor like this affird that his ti as Fleet Admiral had been worth it.
As an old soldier who had climbed to the top from the bottom, Sengoku's love for the Navy couldn't be matched—not even by Kong. Even if the job had turned his hair white, he had no regrets.
"If you really have nothing better to do, take Garp and go comfort the wounded in the plaza. You've got enough clout already, but since you're preparing to be Fleet Admiral, building more goodwill can't hurt."
Sengoku turned back to his work but paused, clearly annoyed that these two slackers were still loitering in his office. He figured giving them a task would be the easiest way to clear them out.
He didn't expect Kizaru to actually help with the paperwork. Just not being lazy would be enough.
"No problem... Let's go, Mr. Garp."
Kizaru slung an arm over the still-confused Garp's shoulder, and the two of them left the Fleet Admiral's office together.
While Kizaru was already the most beloved admiral among the Navy's lower ranks...
He still paled in comparison to Garp, the Navy's living legend.
This was a man the World Governnt reluctantly turned into their poster boy, complete with an entire comic series based on him.
Countless marines had joined the Navy inspired by "Hero of the Marines, Garp."
Sengoku's ssage was clear: let Garp lend Kizaru so of his shine.
"Ti really flies... Even you are about to beco Fleet Admiral now..."
It wasn't until they were nearly outside the massive fortress of Marineford that Vice Admiral Garp finally snapped back to his senses, a bit slow on the uptake, and sighed.
His ntal image of the Fleet Admiral still lingered back in the days when Sengoku had just assud the position.
"Tch, it didn't feel fast at all. I've been waiting for this day for years," Kizaru shrugged. "If the Five Elders hadn't been such bastards, I might've beco Fleet Admiral even earlier than Sengoku."
Of course, Kizaru was the sa guy who gave up and slacked off the mont he felt targeted. When Sengoku was promoted to Fleet Admiral, he didn't complain at all—in fact, he even cheered him on with both hands raised.
Still, that didn't stop him from spinning the narrative in his favor now—painting himself as the poor, hardworking soul who was unfairly overlooked by the Five Elders.
After all, history is just like a young girl—it can be dressed up however you want.
And with the Five Elders still owing him a favor, and soon to be at his rcy again, this was the perfect ti to rewrite the record. He had to lock in the legacy of being the "overlooked and oppressed loyalist," before anyone had a chance to dig up the truth—that the new Fleet Admiral used to be the Navy's biggest slacker.
That thought made Kizaru seriously consider "silencing" the witnesses, but it had just been too long—there were too many people who knew the truth. The cost of cleaning it all up was too high. He gave up on the idea.
Especially with high-IQ guys like Dragon. The price of buying his silence would be astronomical. Kizaru wasn't about to walk into that trap.
The plaza of Marineford, once the gathering ground for a hundred thousand marines, was now covered in thousands of dical tents.
Those lightly injured had already been transferred to nearby branches for recovery. Only those in critical condition, who couldn't be moved, remained here for ergency care.
But when Kizaru and Vice Admiral Garp appeared on the plaza, even marines with broken legs tried to crawl out of their beds just to catch a glimpse of Admiral Kizaru and the Hero of the Marines.
The dical staff who were encouraged by Kizaru were practically overwheld with excitent. In the blink of an eye, the two were completely surrounded by a sea of wounded soldiers.
"Back to bed, all of you! I'm not a pretty lady, there's nothing worth staring at! Once you're healed, I'll let you gawk all you want!"
Kizaru joked as he scolded the injured marines and gently sent them back to their cots.
Only then did he and Garp begin visiting tent after tent, offering comfort and support to the injured marines.
It was the usual: asking if they had any difficulties or concerns. If the problems were simple, Kizaru fixed them on the spot. For more complicated issues, he took notes to resolve them later. And finally, he gave them words of encouragent—telling them to recover quickly and continue to fight for justice.
But even that small gesture was enough to move most of the injured to tears.
They were just short of swearing an oath on the spot to serve in the Navy until their dying breath—and in the next life, too.
The morale and loyalty were through the roof. At this point, even if the Whitebeard Pirates ca back for another round, Kizaru believed these marines would charge forward without hesitation.
Among the injured were also marines who, even with treatnt, were destined for retirent.
Sure, this world had monsters like Luffy, who could recover from near-death with just a al, but for those who had lost limbs or suffered severe injuries, even the best treatnt couldn't bring them back to how they were.
"Your compensation will be issued very soon. No matter what you choose to do after this, if you ever run into trouble, go to your nearest Navy branch. And if that's not enough—co straight to Headquarters and find .
The Navy doesn't abandon its own. Not a single one of you."
Kizaru placed a hand gently on the shoulder of a marine who had lost an arm, and spoke with rare seriousness.
The once-despondent marine broke into tears on the spot. After becoming a cripple, he had ntally prepared himself to be discarded. He never imagined Admiral Kizaru would still treat him as part of the Navy family.
But now, with Kizaru's promise, their futures had a solid anchor. In this vast sea, no one who has the Navy's backing will be left to fend for themselves.
Soon, the injured but less seriously wounded marines in nearby tents had spread word of what Kizaru said, and the morale across Marineford skyrocketed. Every marine suddenly felt a renewed sense of loyalty and belonging.
At the sa ti, Kizaru's reputation soared to unprecedented heights.
"Ahahaha, not bad! I've gotta say, you've earned so real respect from ."
Vice Admiral Garp gave Kizaru a firm slap on the shoulder, looking genuinely proud. As a veteran of the Navy, Garp could feel exactly how much those words ant to the wounded marines.
"Please don't talk like Sengoku… you saying that kind of stuff just feels wrong sohow."
Kizaru rolled his eyes. Garp had just built up too strong an image of being unreliable. Even when he tried to speak seriously, it just sounded off.
"But Sengoku does talk like that…"
Garp muttered, digging in his nose with complete innocence.
Bla Sengoku for asking him to say so good things about Kizaru—but even when he did, Kizaru didn't seem grateful!
"Say, Garp-san, when's the last ti you took a vacation?"
Kizaru suddenly smiled with squinty eyes, turning to Garp.
"That smile's got sothing shady behind it… Last vacation? Uh… wait, when was it again…? Hahaha, I forgot!"
Garp scratched his head and tried to rember. Every ti he took a vacation, he went to visit his grandson Luffy, so he just had to think about the last ti he saw him.
Marineford didn't count… The last ti was at Water 7, but that was just passing through—not a vacation!
And before that… when?
Garp racked his brain for a while, and finally gave up, laughing loudly and patting his own head.
"Once I officially beco Fleet Admiral, how about I give you a vacation?"
"You must be missing Straw Hat, right? Maybe you can find ti to visit Ace too."
Kizaru reached for Garp's shoulder, but pulled back at the last second—he didn't want that nose-picking hand wiping off on him.
Before long, the new na "Pirate King Boros" would echo across the seas. If Kizaru wanted to corner the Five Elders with no way out, he needed to cut off all their hopes in advance.
First, give Garp a vacation to visit his grandsons. Then, do the sa for Aokiji. Even Akainu, the workaholic, would need so kind of "arrangent."
If the Five Elders were left with no muscle to command, then when Kizaru ca calling for more funds, they'd have no choice but to cough it up.
"Wait… you're not trying to trick into doing sothing, are you? What's the catch?"
Garp first lit up with joy, but then narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Kizaru.
He wasn't being paranoid—it's just that Sengoku had used that exact sa trick too many tis. Every ti he wanted Garp to do sothing, he'd promise him a vacation first… then play dumb and pretend he never said it.
Garp had been played so many tis that even soone as "straightforward" as him had learned to be cautious.
"You don't need to do anything," Kizaru said. "I just think soone like you, who's fought pirates for so many years, deserves a proper rest."
He wasn't just planning vacations for Garp and Aokiji—he intended to have the headquarter vice admirals do so team-building too, maybe even a vacation on Skypiea.
°°°
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