Year 1514 of the Sea Calendar. Marineford, Navy Headquarters Building. Marshal's Office. Sengoku leaned back in his office chair, staring at the resignation letter on his desk. He looked at it for a long time before finally turning his gaze to Sephiroth, who stood across from the desk.
"After teaching at the Marine Academy for a year, you still don't plan to stay in the Marines?"
"Yes! The Marines... it's not really suitable for me. There are too many restrictions, no freedom to speak of."
"Freedom..." Sengoku looked melancholic, murmuring softly, "The Marines and that word don't exactly go hand in hand."
As if struck by a sudden thought, he wasn't ready to give up.
"Hmm! Oh, Zephyr recently formed the Pirate Guerrilla Unit. That unit has a very high degree of freedom, where you can fight freely... How about you try staying there for a while? It's not too late to leave if it doesn't suit you?"
Hearing this, Sephiroth's mouth twitched slightly. He and Zephyr already didn't get along, and going to the Pirate Guerrilla Unit would probably lead to daily conflicts... Besides, he was here to resign, alright!? He wasn't applying to switch departments!
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, you don't need to persuade me anymore. My mind is made up."
"Alas~! Alright!" Sengoku sighed. "You handed over your work at the G4 Branch already. Now, once you hand over the matters at the Marine Academy as well, you can leave today."
Sengoku shook his head helplessly, picked up the Fleet Admiral's exclusive stamp on the desk, and stamped it on Sephiroth's resignation letter. As the saying went, third time's the charm. Sephiroth had already submitted written applications three times, and Sengoku had tried his best to keep him, but the other party was still determined to leave. In that case, no amount of persuasion would work.
"Then... Fleet Admiral Sengoku, farewell!" Sephiroth smiled, waved at the old man sitting in the office chair wearing the Fleet Admiral's cloak, and was about to turn and leave.
Sengoku watched the young man about to push the door open and leave. He suddenly asked, "Wait! Sephiroth... Finally, can you tell me what the 'flexible justice' you believed in back then truly was?"
Hearing this, Sephiroth chuckled lightly. He didn't turn his head and walked out of the office on his own.
However, his voice, with an inexplicable tone, reached Sengoku's ears. "Flexible justice... isn't that the justice the Marines want the most? As the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, shouldn't you understand this very well?"
"Flexible justice..." Sengoku softly mumbled these words to himself, then thought back to Sephiroth's past words and actions. After a long while, he said with a bitter expression, "Good heavens! So you were satirizing the Marines!"
........... Marineford Military Academy, at the entrance of the auditorium.
Ain, wearing a Lieutenant's rank cloak, walked out laughing and talking with the First Class Military School Students. Today was the day they finished all their courses and graduated from the Marine Academy. They had just held the graduation and commissioning ceremony in the auditorium, so now they were discussing where to go to celebrate.
Starting tomorrow, they would go their separate ways, reporting to different departments. They didn't know when they would see each other again.
Sephiroth smiled and asked the First Class Military School Students, "Can I temporarily borrow Ain from you?"
Hearing this, the group of Military School Students immediately started to jeer.
"Of course, no problem!"
"Instructor Sephiroth, we'll leave Ain in your care tonight!"
"That's right! That's right!"
Due to Sephiroth's reputation within Marineford, and because he'd provided Ain with private sword skill guidance throughout the year, an unusual relationship seemed to be brewing between the two.
The Military School Students kept jeering, causing Ain to blush deeply. "You guys!" she said, glaring at her classmates with a look of embarrassment and annoyance.
Then, with a feeling of anticipation and curiosity, she followed the silver-haired young man towards the distance.
As Sephiroth walked towards the outside of the Marine Academy, he casually asked, "Where are you planning to go after graduation?"
"Hehehe! I want to go to Lieutenant General Sephiroth's G4 Branch. At that time, please take good care of me!" Ain said with a playful smile.
Sephiroth scratched his head. He said, somewhat helplessly, "Hmm!? Well, actually... I've already resigned! After today, I will no longer be a Marine..."
"Huh!?"
Hearing this, Ain's steps paused, and she stood frozen in place, her face full of shock and disbelief. She couldn't understand why this promising Rear Admiral would resign and leave the Marines.
So, she immediately asked, "Why is that?"
Sephiroth thought for a moment before speaking, "For freedom, so I am no longer constrained by the Marines."
Ain watched Sephiroth's back as he continued walking towards the outside of the Marine Academy. She quickly chased after him.
"Freedom... Lieutenant General Sephiroth, aren't you usually quite free in the Marines?"
Sephiroth smiled, his eyes containing an inexplicable emotion. "The freedom in your eyes is not the same as the freedom I feel... Furthermore, the Marines sometimes give me orders that I find very troublesome and don't want to do. In addition, what concerns me the most is...
As long as I stay in the Marines for a day, I will never be a...
"Lieutenant General Sephiroth, why do you want to fight Kaido?"
"Because eleven years ago, my father was killed by the Beasts Pirates on a tourist sailboat... Is that reason enough? Although the small fry who personally killed my father died at some point, and I personally killed Plague Queen, who led the attack on the sailboat at the time. But..."
Sephiroth's voice was calm, devoid of any emotion, but the steel in his tone was undeniable. "It's not enough, it's far from enough! The flame of revenge in my heart has not been extinguished; it is still burning."
Ain fell silent. The Marines did have a rule against starting a war with the Four Emperors without authorization, a troublesome constraint for Sephiroth. No wonder he chose to leave the Marines...
As if thinking of something, Sephiroth suddenly asked, "Ain, why did you join the Marines?"
"To fight Pirates and uphold justice!" Ain answered without hesitation, her tone full of determination.
Sephiroth turned and studied her. Through Observation Haki, he could clearly sense she wasn't lying; her attitude was serious. "I think, if that's truly what you feel in your heart, then, after you graduate, applying to the G4 Branch is not the best choice. You can consider applying to the Pirate Guerrilla Unit that old man Zephyr just formed. That guy is a very pure person, and his dream is to become a partner of justice... If you go there, as long as you have the ability, coupled with our past teacher-student relationship, he will definitely give you important responsibilities. If you go to other departments in the Marines, you might need to slowly work your way up the ranks, and it might even cause your inner conviction to suffer a great setback."
"I understand!"
Thank you for your advice, Lieutenant General Sephiroth, I will apply to the Pirate Guerrilla Unit..." Ain nodded and said. As the two talked and walked, they had already arrived at a coastal beach in Marineford. Sephiroth drew the butcher knife tucked at his waist, opened his personal space, took out a white Saber with a sheath from it, and handed it to Ain. "This is...?" "I promised you back then that as long as you helped me restore the ancient texts, I would give you two famous swords. The kill intent Saber, I gave it to you when you first restored the ancient texts.
"Now, this is the second sword... Its name is 'Thunder' (Sounding Thunder). Its quality is comparable to Supreme Grade Swords, and it can draw upon the user's stamina to imbue attacks with lightning attributes. Try it here to see if it feels comfortable in your hand..."
Hearing this, Ain immediately took the saber from his hand, a look of joy on her face.
Clang!
The young girl put her hand on the hilt and slowly drew the blade from the sheath. The saber in her hand had a white blade, and on the blade, there was a dazzling purple hamon, making the entire sword look gorgeous and eerie.
Swish!
As Ain swung the saber with force, a flash of purple light cut through the air. A sword energy slash, over twenty meters long and entangled with purple lightning, immediately flew out from the blade, shooting towards the distant cliff.
Boom!
When the sword energy hit the cliff face, the lightning power mixed within it instantly exploded, causing a strong blast that sent countless shattered rocks flying and created billowing smoke.
Sephiroth said, his tone melancholic and filled with emotion, "How is it? Are you satisfied with this sword? It took me a whole year to make this sword!"
Hearing this, Ain felt a little touched. She slowly sheathed the sword, looked at Sephiroth, and said with a smile, "Yes! I am very satisfied..."
"That's good... Then, I should be going!" Sephiroth nodded with a smile. Saying that, he used the butcher knife to open a spatial door, preparing to leave Marineford directly.
Seeing this, Ain quickly called out to stop him. "Please wait a moment! There are some things I want to tell you."
"Hmm?" Sephiroth's steps paused slightly, and he turned to look at the young girl, as if waiting for her words.
"Could I trouble you to lean your ear closer? I'm a little too shy to say these things out loud..." Ain said, her expression shy.
Sephiroth was two meters one tall, and Ain was one meter eight tall. The latter seemed a bit short in front of him and couldn't reach his ear to speak at all. So, Sephiroth had to patiently bend down slightly, lowering his head, preparing to hear what the young girl wanted to say.
After the young man lowered his head, the young girl seemed to gather her courage and took two deep breaths...
The next moment, Ain's soft, pink lips gently kissed Sephiroth's cheek.
"Thank you!" After speaking, the young girl, as if her prank had succeeded, turned around quickly with a red face and fled as if flying away…
That day, defeated by shyness, Ain ultimately failed to say the words she most wanted to say in her heart...