Under the sunlight.
Tatsuki stood in the center, still wearing that punchable smile.
Sakazuki was at the front left, magma rolling.
Kuzan was at the back left, radiating a chilling air.
Borsalino was on the right, golden light flashing.
The future Three Admirals stood beside Tatsuki all at once for the first time, forming a solid wall.
Watching this scene, Zephyr's heart twitched violently.
He took a deep breath, looking at these four 'geniuses'.
One was a liar who spoke nothing but nonsense.
One was a fanatical radical.
One was a slacker who only wanted to fish for leisure.
One was a lazy bum who hated trouble.
This was the future of the Marines?
This is the damn elite class I raised?!
Zephyr suddenly felt very tired. That sense of powerlessness was more exhausting than fighting a battle with Roger back in the day.
His justice, in the end, had failed to be passed on to these monsters. They had grown up, grown their own fangs, and were ready to use them to tear apart this chaotic world.
"You've all grown capable."
After a long time, Zephyr slowly withdrew his fist, the Haki on his body dissipating.
In this instant, the 'Admiral Who Does Not Kill' seemed to age ten years.
His gaze swept over these four young and defiant faces with complexity, finally settling on Tatsuki's face.
"Your wings have hardened, I can no longer teach you."
Zephyr turned around, his coat of justice fluttering in the sea breeze. His back looked a bit lonely, yet carried a trace of relief.
"All units! Withdraw and return to headquarters!"
"Since you're so opinionated, don't stay in the training camp and corrupt the other New Recruits! I will apply to Fleet Admiral Kong to have you bastards... all get out!"
Looking at Zephyr's departing back, the smile on Tatsuki's face gradually became more genuine.
It worked.
Not only did he fool Sakazuki, but he also catalyzed the early debut of the 'Monster Generation'.
And...
[Ding! Successfully sowed discord between teacher and students, causing Zephyr's convictions to waver!]
[Ding! Facilitated the preliminary formation of the Marine rogue group, severely distorting the future Three Admirals' style!]
[Subversion level extremely high, calculating Violation Points... A bumper harvest! +15,000 points!]
[Violation Points: 45,500]
This was a huge sum of money, he was getting closer and closer to the lottery.
Tatsuki suppressed the urge to laugh out loud, turned around, patted Sakazuki's shoulder, and said earnestly, "Great job, Sakazuki. It seems you've also understood the true essence of 'Justice'."
Sakazuki disdainfully swatted Tatsuki's hand away and snorted coldly, "Shut up. I was only stating facts."
"Hey, don't be so heartless."
Tatsuki leaned in, rubbed his fingers together, and lowered his voice. "That... it seems the boss has already brought over that fifty million. Although I'm taking the lion's share, since you also helped out, I can reluctantly give you ten percent to support the renovation of your future branch."
Sakazuki stopped in his tracks, veins throbbing on his forehead. "Get lost!"
"Twenty percent? I can't give any more."
"I told you to get lost!"
— — —
The next morning, Marineford.
The rising sun shone, and the cries of seagulls echoed over the fortress.
However, the Fleet Admiral's office door was tightly shut, and the roars emanating from within made the Marines outside tremble.
Smack!
A copy of the World Economy News Paper was slammed onto the solid wood desk, making the teacups on it rattle.
The current Fleet Admiral, Kong, was furious.
He pointed at the newspaper on the desk and roared at Zephyr, who stood before him, "Zephyr! Look! See for yourself! Is this the Elite Camp student you brought out?!"
Zephyr's face was dark, and he silently smoked his cigar, his expression obscured by the swirling smoke.
On the nearby sofa, Garp was sitting cross-legged, munching loudly on his senbei, while craning his neck to look at the newspaper.
The front page headline featured a massive photo that took up half the page.
In the photo, Tatsuki stood in front of the ruins, backed by three terrifying figures and a group of rescued hostages whose eyes were filled with terror.
The title was typical Morgans style—bolded, black, and shocking.
"Sabaody Drenched in Blood! The Marine Star's Demonic Rescue!"
"Thunder of Justice, or Butcher's Carnival?"
"Exclusive Commentary: On "A Dead Hostage Is a Good Hostage"—A Quote from a Certain Warrant Officer Tatsuki Who Wished to Remain Anonymous!"
"Pfft! Kyahahaha! Cough, cough!"
Garp burst out laughing when he saw the subtitle, spraying senbei crumbs all over Sengoku's face.
"A dead hostage is a good hostage? That kid Tatsuki, what a genius!"
"Garp! Shut up! And get that damned senbei away from me!"
Sengoku wiped the crumbs off his face, adjusted his glasses, and frowned deeply. "Fleet Admiral Kong, this is a bit troublesome. The World Government has received numerous complaints from nobles of affiliated nations, claiming that the Marines openly massacred civilians on the Sabaody Archipelago, frightening many national nobles. They are even starting to boycott the Marines."
"Massacred civilians?" Kong snorted, about to explode.
Just then, the office door was pushed open.
Tatsuki led the other three "accomplices" in. He wore a righteous expression, his eyes clear, and he held a written self-criticism in his hand.
"Reporting, Fleet Admiral! I believe the newspaper is spreading rumors!"
Tatsuki stood at attention and saluted, his voice loud. "Facing pirates who were extremely wicked and attempting to detonate the building, we merely took necessary measures."
"As for the pirates' death throes being slightly... tragic, that is purely because they suffered from osteoporosis and lacked honor, choosing to ram their faces into our fists."
Kong's eye twitched uncontrollably. "Ram their faces into your fists? That Spring Man was smashed into the ground! Are you trying to tell me he was trying to dig a hole to escape?"
Tatsuki replied without changing his expression, "Reporting, Fleet Admiral, we cannot rule out that possibility."
"Enough!"
Kong rubbed his throbbing temples.
Sakazuki, who had been silent, stepped forward, the heat radiating from his body raising the office temperature sharply.
"Fleet Admiral, if you are here to assign blame, I will take sole responsibility. For scum like that, even if I had to do it again, I would kill them without hesitation. Tatsuki is right—only dead pirates cannot make mistakes again. So-called mercy is the greatest blasphemy against justice."
Sengoku and Tsuru exchanged glances, a hint of shock flashing in their eyes.
Although Sakazuki was always radical, he used to follow the rules. Now, why did it feel like he had been shaped by Tatsuki?