Marine Headquarters, Marineford. In the Fleet Admiral's office.
Sengoku, the newly appointed Marine Fleet Admiral, was no longer dressed as formally as he'd been over the past two days. At least he didn't have a seagull perched on his head.
After taking a sip of tea, he leisurely set down the document in his hand.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku looked at Finn, who was sprawled across the sofa, and said with a smile, "I understand. I'll arrange for Jinbe's Seven Warlords appointment soon."
"Mm." Finn responded without elaborating. He remained slumped on the sofa, motionless.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku looked surprised at this display. "Do you have anything else to discuss?"
"Nothing really." Finn spoke casually without even glancing at Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
"Then what are you doing here? Have you forgotten you haven't been to work for three days? Go back and deal with the backlog of documents on your desk!" Fleet Admiral Sengoku raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry, I don't have any backlog. I've processed everything. Just do your work and pretend I don't exist. Let me lie here quietly for a while..." Finn actually stretched out fully on the sofa, looking like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku glared at Finn fiercely but didn't say anything more. He was simply confused. What was this guy doing?
After setting down his teacup, Fleet Admiral Sengoku opened a new document and began processing it.
But he still looked up periodically to observe Finn, who was occupying his office.
Seeing Finn twisting and turning on the sofa like a restless worm, Fleet Admiral Sengoku grew irritated. He slammed the documents on the table and shouted, "Get out! Get out of here!"
Finn looked at Fleet Admiral Sengoku with bewilderment. "What are you doing? I didn't disturb you, did I? I didn't say a word. Just because you became Fleet Admiral, don't turn your back on me, all right?"
"What the hell are you doing? If you don't explain yourself today, don't stay here. Get out!" Fleet Admiral Sengoku's voice carried genuine anger.
"I didn't do anything wrong?" Finn's tone was helpless.
"What's going on? Why are you camping out in my office?" Fleet Admiral Sengoku glared.
Finn sighed heavily. "If you don't want me to go back to my office, just let me sleep here. I'll leave after work hours. I'm going to the North Blue tomorrow anyway. I promise not to bother you for a while..."
"North Blue? Why go to the North Blue? The New World may erupt into war at any moment. I was planning to send you to the front lines..." Fleet Admiral Sengoku asked with surprise.
"It won't delay anything. If necessary, I'll enter the New World directly from the North Blue. I plan to arrange for Doflamingo to become the last of the Seven Warlords. This time I'll handle him personally." Finn waved his hand dismissively.
"Doflamingo?" Fleet Admiral Sengoku froze momentarily. He now harbored considerable opinions about Doflamingo.
After all, that man had made the Minion Island situation so catastrophic last time. Fleet Admiral Sengoku naturally wouldn't place all the blame on his unlucky adopted son Rosinante, who was now imprisoned. In his heart, Doflamingo deserved significant blame.
Now hearing that Finn planned to arrange for Doflamingo to become one of the Seven Warlords, he was naturally somewhat surprised.
However, all Seven Warlords matters had been delegated to Admiral Finn, with the exception of Bartholomew Kuma.
Therefore, Fleet Admiral Sengoku couldn't interfere too much with Finn's decisions. After all, Finn's previous arrangements had been excellent.
"Yes. Do you have a problem with him?" Finn asked.
"Obviously." Fleet Admiral Sengoku responded, then asked, "Are you certain about him?"
"Well, that guy's strength is controllable. He won't become someone extremely difficult to handle. He's also very intelligent and capable. I've studied him for several years. According to my analysis with Chief of Staff Tsuru, although this person disguises himself as a pirate, he's actually not determined to fight to the death in the pirate industry. He doesn't harbor much hostility toward the Marines. On the contrary, this guy has a special identity and seems to carry considerable resentment toward Mary Geoise. Coupled with his superiors' indulgence and tolerance toward him, I believe he must possess some secrets that make those above wary... If there's a chance to extract that information in the future, it would benefit the Marines greatly." Finn's tone was analytical, professional.
After a brief pause, Finn continued, "Of course, this guy is extremely ambitious. He's been eyeing the Warlord position for a long time but hasn't had the opportunity. He values it so much that once he obtains it, he'll definitely use it to cause trouble. I'm telling you now so you're mentally prepared..."
"You know he's going to cause trouble, yet you're still appointing him?" Fleet Admiral Sengoku said after considering for a moment.
"There's nothing I can do. I don't have anyone more suitable right now, so I can only use him first. We already have a bastard like Crocodile, so one more jerk like Doflamingo doesn't matter. At least compared to Crocodile, Doflamingo is more willing to cooperate with us and can be controlled to some extent." Finn waved his hand.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku ultimately didn't insist on punishing Doflamingo for the Minion Island incident. He nodded. "You've always handled this matter. Since you've analyzed it this way, proceed as you see fit. But tell Doflamingo, no matter what he does, make sure he does it properly so we don't lose face. Otherwise, he'll be the one in trouble."
"Understood." Finn nodded.
After a brief pause, Fleet Admiral Sengoku continued, "But his status is special. The higher-ups probably won't approve easily, will they?"
"Then he'll figure it out himself. I'll just handle the Marine side..." Finn smiled.
"Make your own decision." Fleet Admiral Sengoku nodded again.
He picked up the document that had fallen on the table. Just as he was about to read it, he seemed to remember something and looked up at Finn again. "No, wait. You haven't answered my question yet. What are you doing here with me? What's happening in your office? Why don't you want to go back?"
Finn's face twitched slightly. He sighed. "Drinking causes trouble..."
"What happened?" Fleet Admiral Sengoku asked with genuine curiosity.
What else could it be? Hina was in his office, and Finn was simply too embarrassed to face her...
But he didn't want to explain this matter to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. After all, he wasn't Chief Instructor Zephyr, who had relevant experience.
Although Finn would occasionally call him "Happy Buddha" behind his back, in truth, Finn understood perfectly well that Fleet Admiral Sengoku was a serious old bachelor.
There was no point telling him these things. His opinions would be useless.
So Finn waved his hand, stood up from the sofa, and said, "It's nothing, just personal matters. Since you don't want me sleeping here, I'll leave..."
After saying this, Finn turned and walked toward the door.
Faintly, Fleet Admiral Sengoku heard muttered complaints like "the world is corrupted and people's hearts aren't what they used to be. Once you become Fleet Admiral, you turn against me. There's no friendship left from when we were both Admirals."
This made Fleet Admiral Sengoku both laugh and cry. He was too lazy to pay attention to Finn's petty complaints. He shook his head, dismissing it, and returned to processing documents.
Finn walked to the door and placed his hand on the doorknob. Seeing that Sengoku had no intention of asking him to stay, he grew annoyed. Wouldn't losing an excellent subordinate like this be bad for you?
"I'm really leaving..." Finn tried shamelessly once more.
"What? You want me to see you off personally?" Fleet Admiral Sengoku teased with a smile.
"Damn, what's wrong with Marine Headquarters? There's no humanity at all." Finn cursed, then opened the door and walked out.
After leaving the Fleet Admiral's office, Finn considered going downstairs to sit with Garp or Kuzan.
But after taking two steps, he realized hiding like this indefinitely wasn't a solution. He hadn't gone home or come to work for the past three days. He'd stayed at Chief Instructor Zephyr's place the entire time.
It wasn't until this morning, when he'd heard the Secretariat was holding a meeting Hina would attend, that he'd rushed to the office to handle Jinbe's matters. Before Hina's meeting concluded, he'd slipped away to Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office.
Therefore, he hadn't seen Hina in days. Come to think of it, he really was a scumbag.
"Forget it. Worst case scenario, I get stabbed twice. I don't believe she actually wants to kill me..." Finn muttered viciously.
After encouraging himself, Finn drew a deep breath, straightened his chest and lifted his head, and walked toward his office with firm steps.
The moment he opened the door, he spotted Hina watering the potted plants on his windowsill.
Hearing movement behind her, Hina turned her head and responded instinctively, "The Admiral isn't here today. If there's anything..."
But before she could finish, she saw Finn's face sporting a brilliant smile. She froze.
Finn was truly shameless. Now that he'd entered, he acted as if nothing had happened, smiling brightly. "Hey, Hina..."
Hina had originally felt profoundly aggrieved. This guy was such a bastard. He'd taken advantage of everything and then run away, looking like he didn't want any responsibility at all.
Hina had already figured out how she'd punish Finn these past two days. She'd even planned to buy two axes after work.
Yet all the grievances and complaints evaporated the moment she saw Finn's brilliant smile.
"Admiral!" Hina suppressed the joy in her heart, put on a stern expression, and shouted with deliberately poor attitude.
Finn felt genuinely guilty now. He closed the door and walked over to Hina with a flattering smile, taking the watering can from her hands. "How can we trouble our chief adjutant with such small matters? Come on, I can do it myself."
"Hmph, you still have the nerve to come back!?" Hina snorted with dissatisfaction.
However, Finn's attitude made her heart feel lighter.
"I..." Finn hesitated momentarily, then smiled and shook his head. "I was just afraid you'd chop me with a knife..."
"If you didn't come see Hina today and kept hiding from Hina, Hina really would have bought two axes and gone to Chief Instructor Zephyr's house after work to chop you up!" Hina spoke viciously.
But with her deliberately ferocious expression, she looked remarkably cute.
"So I came quickly, didn't I?" Finn replied with a smile.
But after they finished speaking, neither seemed to know what to say next. For a moment, an awkward atmosphere filled the office.
Finn didn't dare look at Hina's expression directly. He watered the flowers honestly, waiting until all these trivial matters were handled and arranged.
He drew a deep breath. "I'm going to the North Blue tomorrow. Will you come with me?"
Hina, who'd been unsure what to say or whether to bring up the previous night's events, suddenly brightened when she heard Finn's question. She responded with obvious joy, "Of course I'll go!"
Finn heaved a sigh of relief seeing this. They gradually regained their original atmosphere and rhythm. He smiled. "Good. Then go back and prepare tonight. Pack your luggage. We'll depart tomorrow."
"Admiral, what are we doing in the North Blue?" Hina asked curiously.
"Finding Doflamingo." Finn's voice was quiet.
"Really? Then should we arrange for Vergo to join the ship?" Hina quickly utilized her adjutant skills to remind him.
"Yes, bring him along," Finn confirmed.
Then the two discussed related matters, as well as documents Hina had organized over the past two days that awaited Finn's signature. They soon seemed to have returned to their previous way of interacting.
It was just that they both understood things were fundamentally different from before. They simply hadn't found the right way to navigate this new dynamic yet. Taking it slowly was fine. This worked for now.