Marineford, Marshal Office. "Alright! I understand, let's leave it at that for now!" After listening to Zephyr's report on the Lulusia Kingdom incident, Sengoku hung up the den den mushi in his hand. He subconsciously raised his right hand and rubbed his slightly throbbing forehead. Unexpectedly, after Sephiroth left the Marine, he actually mixed with a group of Pirates of unknown origin...
Fortunately, Zephyr stopped the conflict between Akainu and Sephiroth in time, preventing the situation from escalating to the worst-case scenario. Sengoku let out a long sigh and looked at the white-haired old man with a robust build, who was sitting on the long sofa in the office, leisurely making tea with a tea set.
He said with a bitter smile:
"Commander-in-Chief Kong, when you were the Fleet Admiral, were you as troubled as I am?" "What do you think?" When I was the Fleet Admiral, the three legendary Pirates emerged and rose, and that guy Roger even became the Pirate King. My troubles back then were no less than yours!" Kong said with a sigh. "Ah! I say...
Commander-in-Chief Kong, why did you agree to let Sephiroth leave the Marine back then?" Sengoku said with a slightly resentful tone. Hearing this, Kong's tea-making action paused slightly. He was silent for a moment before slowly speaking:
"Some things, I think it's time you knew... The reason why I indulged and allowed Sephiroth back then." Just at this moment. Bang-!
The door of the Marshal Office was suddenly pushed open from the outside. Garp, holding two bags of senbei in his arms, said carelessly:
"Sengoku, I brought the senbei, quickly serve the tea!" As he spoke, Garp's gaze swept around the Marshal Office and saw Kong sitting by the coffee table. "Huh!? Old man Kong, you're here too!" Sengoku's face turned dark, and he gritted his teeth:
"Garp!
Can't you knock on the door?" Hearing this, Garp immediately raised his hand to pick his nostril, saying indifferently:
"Anyway, whether I knock or not, you'll still let me in in the end." "You guy..." Sengoku held it in for a while, but in the end, he still didn't know how to complain about this old bastard. "Alright! Garp, quickly close the door. The matter we are about to discuss is top secret.
No one else can hear it..." Kong smiled and raised his hand to signal Garp to quickly close the open office door. "Oh! No problem..." Garp nodded, casually closed the door, and locked it. "So... Sengoku, you asked me to return to Marineford from the G3 Branch just to talk about this top-secret matter?" "No!
I asked you to come back to Marineford because I actually wanted to discuss having you serve as the chief instructor of the Marine Academy." Hearing this, a look of disgust immediately appeared on Garp's face, and he directly refused:
"I don't want to!" "Garp, among the current Marine, the only person I can think of who is suitable to be the chief instructor of the Marine Academy is you."
"Isn't the current chief instructor of the Marine Academy Simon Amanne? Why did you suddenly think of having me be the chief instructor?" "After that guy took over the Marine Academy, he led the whole academy's atmosphere astray, and he also privately used his authority to accept bribes... I have already warned him to voluntarily apply for resignation, otherwise I will deal with him officially..."
Sengoku patiently explained. He had Simon Amanne serve as the chief instructor of the Marine Academy back then merely as a political compromise. After finding a suitable opportunity, he would naturally take back the position of chief instructor and give it to someone he trusted. "Tsk! Then why don't you just let Zephyr go back and be the chief instructor of the Marine Academy again?
I don't want to take on such troublesome things." Garp smacked his lips, still unmoved, firmly refusing to take on the responsibility. Hearing this, Kong's expression couldn't help but become serious:
"That incident forced Zephyr to resign voluntarily. He took full responsibility."
"Now if we reinstate him as the Marine Academy's chief instructor, it'll stir up controversy. The Academy shapes the future of our entire force... Which is why you're the only one who can hold this position, Garp. We need your authority to keep the schemers in line."
Kong had come to Marineford precisely because he understood Garp's temperament. With Sengoku's help, he hoped to convince the stubborn vice admiral. "Think about it, Garp," Sengoku pressed, "can you really stand by while the Academy—the very future of the Marines—falls into decline?"
Garp remained silent for an uncomfortably long time, scratching his stubbled cheek with a grimace. "Fine! Damn it, you're worse than a swarm of seagulls! But mark my words—I'm no teacher. If I turn those cadets into idiots, that's on you!"
Both men sighed in unison.
"Enough serious talk!" Garp bellowed, collapsing onto the sofa. He snatched Kong's freshly poured tea and gulped it down, then grabbed a handful of rice crackers. The crunching echoed through the office like gunfire.
The mention of "serious talk" jogged Sengoku's memory. Garp's earlier interruption had derailed their original discussion. He cleared his throat. "Commander Kong, you were about to explain something before we got sidetracked. About why you tolerated Sephiroth's actions all those years ago. I'd like to hear that story properly."
This wasn't idle curiosity. Sengoku had harbored suspicions for decades about Kong's inexplicable leniency toward Sephiroth. At one point, he'd even entertained wild theories—perhaps the man was Kong's secret bastard son?
Take the infamous Moving Stone theft. Sengoku had been closing in on Sephiroth as the prime suspect. A few more days of investigation would've yielded concrete evidence. Yet Kong had intervened, even blocking the Gorosei's order for a CP Organization probe into Marine affairs.
It made no damn sense.
Kong leaned back, his chair creaking. "This goes back to Sea Calendar 1470. I was escorting the King of Alabasta to Mary Geoise for the World Conference when pirates ambushed our convoy..."
As Kong recounted his tangled history with Sephiroth, Sengoku listened without interruption. Only when the story reached its conclusion did he voice the obvious question: "If preserving history concerned you so much, why take no action after he returned from the past? The Umbrella Corporation isn't some minor nuisance we can ignore."
"And what would you have done?" Kong countered.
Sengoku's mouth opened automatically. Destroy Umbrella. Throw Sephiroth in Impel Down's deepest cell. But the words died in his throat. Would a man like Sephiroth simply surrender?
A darker thought surfaced. If Sephiroth could manipulate time to lay groundwork for his present self, what other contingencies had he prepared during those temporal jumps? To move against him now would require dismantling his entire network—assuming they could even identify all the pieces.
"I've never fully unraveled Umbrella's web," Kong admitted. "Nor do I know how many cards Sephiroth holds in reserve. These seas churn with enough chaos already. Even the Marines' full strength can't stem the endless tide of pirates."
Had I acted recklessly back then, do you honestly believe Sephiroth would have allowed another Sea Emperor to rise in these waters?" When Sengoku remained silent, Kong pressed on:
"The Umbrella Corporation's arms trade may have flourished beyond control, transforming into an unrecognizable monstrosity. Yet..."
He paused, weighing his words. "Their threat pales beside true dangers. At their core, they're merely profit-seekers—nothing like the devastation wrought by the Four Emperors. No, the real scourge remains Dragon's Revolutionary Army." Kong's voice darkened as he spoke Garp's son's name.
Garp nearly choked on his senbei. "The hell? I was just sitting here eating crackers!"
Sengoku didn't even glance his way. Adjusting his glasses with one finger, he exhaled through his nose. "Let us pray the Umbrella Corporation doesn't evolve into another catalyst for global chaos."
Kong stroked his chin, lost in thought. "Unless pushed to extremes, I doubt Sephiroth would willingly make enemies of the Marines. My sources indicate he's... rather preoccupied." A dry chuckle escaped him. "The man collects romantic entanglements within our ranks like trophies. Sengoku!"
The sudden bark made both admirals stiffen.
"You must do some ideological work for Gion and the others! As long as they remain by his side, I suspect Sephiroth will find it difficult to fully oppose the Marines." The ghost of a smirk played across Kong's lips, leaving Garp and Sengoku momentarily speechless.