Dimensional Chat Group: Speed-o'-Light

They had been thinking about giving Fleet Admiral Sengoku a higher pension—just in case the brilliant strategist ever felt the pinch and considered a comeback.

But before the pirates could even throw a party to celebrate, they were hit with a massive piece of bad news: the successor to the Fleet Admiral position was none other than Admiral Kizaru, the man who killed Whitebeard and gravely injured Red-Haired Shanks!

And to make matters worse, another piece of slightly less terrible news came along with it... The retired Sengoku would now serve as the Grand Inspector of Marine Headquarters—in other words, his retirement was basically a joke.

Let's not even mention the chaos among the pirates—who, in mixed joy and horror, hacked to death the unlucky info brokers who had brought them such cruel news.

Meanwhile, Kizaru, with the letter of appointment in hand, returned to Marineford.

After a full day and night of post-war cleanup, Marineford had effectively become a massive battlefield hospital.

Thousands of wounded marines were receiving treatment in makeshift tents, while those with lighter injuries had been transferred to nearby branches to recover.

The higher-ranking officers weren't so lucky. Except for the lucky few who were too injured to move, the rest had to return immediately to their assigned bases and sea zones to prevent large-scale upheaval across the seas.

To deal with the Summit War, Marine Headquarters had pulled almost all its top forces—even Zephyr had been dispatched to the New World to stabilize the situation. Now that the war was over, everyone had to be sent back as quickly as possible.

---

"What a sight…"

Haibara Ai, who had returned to Marineford along with Kizaru, couldn't help but sigh as she took in the grand fortress and the countless white tents spread across the square.

Just thinking that a battle involving over a hundred thousand people had taken place here a few days ago, she could almost still smell the lingering scent of gunpowder and blood in the air.

"Seeing so many wounded people… don't you want to do something?"

Kizaru's mood wasn't great. He wouldn't claim to be especially loyal, but he did have a strong sense of belonging to the Navy.

Otherwise, back when the Navy and World Government leadership disgusted him to the core, he could've just quit and turned pirate.

Looking at the devastated Marineford—where he had lived for decades—he couldn't help but question whether his plan had been too cautious.

Maybe Imu was no longer even a threat. Maybe the so-called national treasure of the Celestial Dragons couldn't stop him either.

What if he just revealed his full power and bulldozed the World Government, dragging Imu out for a proper beating?

But Kizaru quickly dismissed that thought. If things really went south, sure, he could escape via the dimensional chat group—but what about the Navy and the people he cared about?

"But… I'm not a doctor…"

Haibara replied meekly, completely forgetting to ask why Kizaru wasn't doing something himself.

"Didn't you stockpile a bunch of anti-inflammatory and painkillers? Zhang Zhenren doesn't need them right now—give them to us first."

Kizaru said as he pinged Tony Stark in the chat group, asking him to prepare more meds and medical gear.

Although Marineford had its own supply of doctors and medicine, the sheer number of wounded meant those wouldn't go very far.

"Fine. Where are the doctors? I'll go deliver the supplies."

Haibara let out a small sigh. She had no problem handing over the medicine.

She could dissect frogs and rabbits in the lab without blinking, but seeing those bloodied, torn-up patients made her genuinely uneasy.

Kizaru instructed some marines to escort Haibara to the doctors, while he himself took the letter of appointment and went to see Sengoku.

He had originally intended to immediately announce his promotion and hold a formal inauguration ceremony. But now, that would have to wait a little longer.

It would be best to hold the ceremony after most of the injured could walk and sit without trouble. Only then could he fully embrace the title of Fleet Admiral.

"…Immediately begin filling the vacancies for prison staff at Impel Down. Have Magellan compile the losses and list of escaped pirates as soon as possible…"

"What's the situation in the New World? Have the Beasts and Big Mom Pirates made any moves?"

"How long until the hospital ships arrive? Have Branch 143 and 146 escort them here safely!"

Before he even stepped into Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office, Kizaru could already hear Sengoku's somewhat weary voice.

While the injured marines were finally receiving treatment, the Fleet Admiral who had just survived a brutal war had been working nonstop since yesterday.

"Yo~ I'm back~"

Kizaru gave himself a moment of mental prep before knocking on the office door. The first thing that greeted him was Vice Admiral Garp, snoring away on the couch.

Poor Fleet Admiral Sengoku had several Den Den Mushi lined up across his desk, and the floor was littered with scattered documents.

Vice Admiral Tsuru was sitting nearby sipping tea.

But even she had visible dark circles under her eyes—it was clear she'd also been working tirelessly since the war ended.

As for Sakazuki and Kuzan, they were nowhere to be seen. Most likely, they had already been dispatched to suppress pirates in the New World or other dangerous sea zones.

"Perfect timing. Come over here and see how I've been handling all this!"

Sengoku ran a hand through his messy afro, which looked even wilder than usual. One had to wonder how he even fit all that hair into his cap on a regular basis.

Truthfully, Kizaru had never been Sengoku's ideal choice for successor—not because of strength or merit, but because Kizaru's personality was far too unorthodox.

Under his leadership, the Navy might well drift further and further away from the World Government.

But Kizaru was the only viable option left—especially after the Summit War. Despite the Navy suffering heavy losses, Sengoku knew the Five Elders wouldn't care about their sacrifices or bravery.

They would only be concerned that the Navy's strength was slipping beyond their control.

If Sakazuki or Kuzan took the position, the Five Elders would definitely flood the Navy with spies and puppets to reinforce their grip.

And between the two, neither Sakazuki nor Kuzan would be able to fully resist the Elders' interference.

Only someone like Kizaru—an old, battle-hardened rebel—had the spine to shove all their meddling right back in their faces without blinking.

Sengoku's only worry was that Kizaru might get too comfortable resisting orders and start ignoring even the reasonable ones.

"Ahaha… Well, uh, the weather's nice today, isn't it? Say, did we manage to recapture all the Impel Down escapees?"

Kizaru gave a hollow laugh and tried to change the subject. Normally, if he was asked to do some work, he'd just suck it up—but seeing Sengoku this exhausted? There was no way he was voluntarily stepping into that mess.

"Gion's already captured 27 escapees," Vice Admiral Tsuru said as she slowly sipped her tea. "But it seems most of them escaped along with the Revolutionary Army…"

She was getting on in years herself, and pulling an all-nighter was no small feat.

"We can't let those dangerous criminals roam free! I'll head out to assist Gion immediately and ensure that none of them escape my grasp—I mean, justice!"

Kizaru declared righteously and turned, fully prepared to flee the room.

But before he reached the door, Sengoku's voice rang out behind him.

"Get back here! First, tell me exactly how much extra budget you managed to wring out of them. If it's less than fifty percent, sit your ass down and get to work!"

Sengoku sighed deeply. At this point, expecting Kizaru to act like a normal Fleet Admiral was clearly asking too much.

But from another perspective… Kizaru might actually turn out to be even more qualified than he was.

At least they'd never have to worry about Navy funding again, and when it came to matters of principle, Kizaru was far more skilled at shooting down the Five Elders' outrageous demands.

"Hah! Don't worry, I went myself—of course it went well! Seventy percent! I secured a seventy percent increase for next year's Navy budget! And if that's not enough, I can always go back and ask for more... just give it a little time."

Only then did Kizaru relax and flop onto the sofa, casually grabbing a senbei from the sleeping Garp's hand and crunching into it with a "crack!"

Vice Admiral Garp, who had been sound asleep, groggily woke up. Instinctively, he reached for the senbei in his hand, only to bite down on nothing.

"Hm? I could've sworn I had one last senbei left… Kizaru, have you seen where it went?"

Scratching his head, Garp looked around and only then noticed that Kizaru was sitting on the sofa next to him. He asked the question without thinking.

"You ate it in your sleep. Check your mouth, there's still some crumbs at the corner."

Kizaru replied casually. Garp touched the corner of his mouth and, sure enough, found plenty of crumbs. So, without further suspicion, he believed Kizaru's nonsense.

After all, considering some of the things he'd done while asleep, eating senbei was pretty tame. This was the same man who had fought pirates while sleepwalking.

"With a seventy percent increase in the budget, we'll at least have enough for compensation payments from the war, repairs to headquarters, and maybe a few more battleship orders. We could even upgrade some branch equipment..."

Vice Admiral Tsuru pushed her glasses up, pulled out a ledger from who-knows-where, and started planning how to allocate the extra budget.

"What was that about getting another round of funding? Kizaru, explain."

Fleet Admiral Sengoku finally brought it up. For a navy that had just come out of a massive war, more money was always welcome.

But what puzzled him was—how was Kizaru so sure the Five Elders would bleed funds a second time?

Surely he wasn't holding another chunk of Pure Gold?

°°°

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