As he spoke, Sengoku pulled out a chair from the other side of his desk and offered it to Jake, smiling as he said.
"What I'm about to say will take a while. You'd better sit down to listen."
"No, no! It's alright, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. I'd prefer to stand."
Seeing the chair Sengoku had personally offered, Jake quickly waved his hands in refusal.
But Sengoku chuckled and said.
"If you keep standing, this old man will have to keep looking up while talking to you, and that's quite tiring. Jake, sotis you shouldn't just think about yourself—consider us elderly folks too, hahaha."
Hearing Sengoku's teasing words, Jake smiled and accepted the chair, replying.
"I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
After Jake sat down, Sengoku took a sip of tea before speaking slowly.
"There are two reasons why I want you to remain in the Marine Training Camp. One is personal, and the other is a suggestion that will benefit your future."
"First, let talk about my personal bias. When you first entered the Marine's Elite Training Camp, Zephyr must have told you that every year we engage in combat exercises with the CP organization of the World Governnt. This year, the World Governnt has produced a genius said to appear only once in centuries—Rob Lucci. That guy is indeed strong. To be honest with you, when you were still with the Whitebeard Pirates, he had already arrived at the Elite Training Camp."
Hearing this, Jake had already guessed the general outco, but he couldn't help asking.
"And the result? What was the outco?"
Sengoku sighed, then took out a docunt and handed it to Jake, saying slowly.
"See for yourself. The docunt records his matches and results against everyone. The Marine suffered a complete defeat. Even Zephyr's personal disciples, Ain and Binz, couldn't last long against him. Smoker was soone we had high hopes for, but unfortunately, Rob Lucci had already mastered Armant Haki by the ti he arrived and was even ard with seastone weapons."
"Smoker fought as hard as he could, but the gap in strength was too vast. He couldn't keep up with that man's speed at all. After losing a significant amount of blood, he passed out, lasting only twelve minutes in the end. As for the others, it goes without saying—none even lasted eight minutes."
"If it were just that, it wouldn't be so bad. After all, we knew the World Governnt was deliberately humiliating us, trying to further weaken the Marine's future influence. But then, those bastards changed the sparring schedule from once a month to once a week. And during the fights, Rob Lucci would go out of his way to humiliate the trainees. No matter how hard everyone trained, even to the point of collapsing from exhaustion, Rob Lucci's talent was simply too high. No one could defeat him."
"You haven't graduated from the Elite Training Camp yet, so I'm telling you now—before you graduate, go and teach Rob Lucci a lesson! That's an order! And my personal wish! Understood?!"
"Yes! Don't worry, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I'll crush Rob Lucci under my foot!"
"Just defeating him is enough. Whether you crush him underfoot or not is up to you."
Though he said that, the smile on Sengoku's face grew even brighter.
Seemingly aware of his own lapse in composure, Sengoku coughed twice before continuing to Jake.
"Now, the second point. You should be able to tell that I'm grooming you to be the leader of the new generation of the Marines. As a leader, aside from overwhelming personal strength, you'll also need a powerful network of connections. The people in the Marine's Elite Training Camp will beco the backbone of various departnts in the future. Building good relationships with them will provide you with imnse support and convenience when you eventually take command of the entire Marines."
"Moreover, those in the Elite Training Camp aren't just assets for the future—even now, they can offer you strength beyond your imagination. Do you know why?
"Jake, upon hearing this, looked at Sengoku, who was smiling at the mont, and replied softly.
"Because almost all students who can enter the elite training camp are likely to have so form of nepotistic ties with high-ranking officers at Marine Headquarters. Even if they aren't relatives, there's usually a ntor-disciple relationship. If I can build good rapport with the students, they'll inevitably put in a good word for with their teachers or sponsors. So officers who dote on their disciples might even directly choose to support ."
Listening to Jake's words, Sengoku's smile grew even wider. He nodded in satisfaction and said.
"You truly live up to being the next Fleet Admiral successor I personally selected. At least when I was your age, I couldn't quite grasp these intricate matters. You have real talent, Jake. Since you understand these things, I don't need to worry anymore. Proceed with the initial arrangents I gave you - you'll remain in the Marine Elite Training Camp but won't participate in daily drills, only taking the exams. The rest of the ti, you can lead your fellow cadets on cleanup operations!"
"During these cleanup operations, rember to protect your classmates. This approach will not only improve their combat abilities but also serve as a warning to them."
After speaking, Sengoku took a deep breath, drank a large gulp of tea, and continued.
"Do you have anything to add regarding the cleanup operations and the Elite Training Camp?"
"No, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Your arrangents in these docunts are already very clear."
Hearing this, Sengoku smiled and lightly knocked on the table.
The next mont, familiar voices ca from outside the door.
"Hey hey hey! Sengoku you bastard, making wait outside for so long! This ti I'm eating all your rice crackers!"
"Jake, how's your health? That bastard Whitebeard didn't give you any trouble, did he?"
"So scary~ Jake~ Going out once and bringing back so much gold, even I'm a little envious now~"
"Well done."
"Arara, young Jake, I'm a bit short on money recently. Next ti you go treasure hunting, can you take along? Hahaha."
Watching as these top brass entered the Fleet Admiral's office one after another, Jake instinctively jumped up from his chair.
But at that mont, several large hands simultaneously pressed him back into the seat.
Garp laughed and patted Jake's shoulder and said.
"You silly brat! With the rits you've earned this ti, I'd be happy to stand! Hahaha!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)