Shiki Prison Break (2/3)

"Hahahahaha!"

"Hahahahaha!"

In the Fleet Admiral's office, the soothing and smooth laughter of Zephyr and the Sengoku was so long-lasting that the soldiers standing on duty outside looked at each other, not understanding why the always calm and steady Admiral Zephyr and Fleet Admiral Sengoku were laughing so happily.

"Hey, hey, have you two assholes had enough of laughing?" Garp was biting senbei with a bitter face, making a crunching sound, as if what he was biting was not senbei but the flesh of these two old bastards.

Looking at Garp's bruised and swollen right eye, Zephyr and Sengoku looked at each other and laughed once again, "Hahahahaha! I didn't think you Garp would have a day. It's a great joy!"

"Huh? You two better not let me get a hold of you next time!" Garp looked depressed, and while there were carelessness and shock involved, the truth was that a fifteen-year-old Marine recruit had beaten him up.

If that's all, he wouldn't be too concerned about it, but the critical point is that Longinus' "justice" iron fist, filled with holy light, punched him into a panda's eye, and the swelling hasn't gone down entirely in almost a week.

So much so that he was wondering, "My beloved iron fist can amplify pain dozens of times, could it be that that kid Longinus' justice iron fist is the one that keeps injuries for dozens of times longer?"

"This bullshit Iron Fist is so annoying, is it hard to let the old man go out with a panda's eye on his head all this time?"

"Okay, time for jokes is over, let's get down to business." Vice-Admiral Tsuru, who was not surprised, said knocking on the table.

"Well!" Sengoku nodded and restrained his smile to be formal, "I'm sure you've all heard about the big incident that happened in Impel Down!"

"The Captain of Golden Lion Pirates, Golden Lion Shiki, has escaped from the great prison of Impel Down and made a mockery of the myth of Impel Down Impenetrable Defense!" Vice-Admiral Tsuru said, picking up the conversation.

"I also heard that he cut off his legs and escaped from Impel Down by his fruit ability, and the fact that this happened is enough to show that there is still a big flaw in Impel Down's system," Zephyr said with a stern face.

"Let's put that aside for now. The main task now is to let this storm die down as soon as possible and make sure that the deterrence of Impel Down doesn't break down again, while ... doing everything in its power to capture Shiki!" Sengoku said in a deep voice.

"Capture Shiki?" Garp pulled his nose out and said, "Sengoku, you know that's not going to happen, and with the mobility of Fuwa Fuwa no Mi, there's no way we'll catch him unless he breaks into the headquarters on his own again like he did last time."

"But we have to do that! Among the Three Great Sea Pirates of the old era, Shiki was the most ambitious, and he had always dreamed of ruling this sea. Although he lost both of his legs this time, his power wouldn't be much diminished by Fuwa Fuwa no Mi's ability. Hatred, coupled with ambition, will drive him to challenge the order of this world constantly, and our navy must not tolerate such a dangerous character to continue to roam about." Sengoku said righteously.

"Well, Sengoku, what's the point of all this nonsense? You might as well just tell me what to do?" Garp interrupted directly.

Sengoku twitched the corners of his mouth and said patiently, "According to the latest information received, Shiki has recently shown himself in Whitebeard's territory, and he's likely heading for Whitebeard. Although his purpose is still unclear, the gathering of two dangerous sea pirates like this is bound to bring a shock to the order of this sea."

"So, Garp, I want you to take a fleet to the New World to meet your old friend and, if possible, try to apprehend Shiki without angering Whitebeard."

"Hahahahaha, Sengoku, leave this matter to me!" Garp laughed and stood up, pushing out the door.

"Stop, Garp, I'm not finished!"

"You didn't finish your sentence, but I've heard it all!"

"Garp, stop right there ..."

Bang!

Seeing that Garp had even walked right out of the room, Sengoku gripped the corner of the table in anger, "This asshole ..."

"Never mind, don't you know what kind of person Garp is? By the time you told him to head to the New World, his heart was long gone." Vice-Admiral Tsuru said calmly.

"Shiki has always been fond of planning and making a move, and if he manages to miss this capture, he'll probably hide until his plan is well prepared and then show himself again. So, why don't you let me come along?" Zephyr suggested.

"No need, I'll have Dragon and Kuzan go with me, but if we do get into a fight, the lone Shiki is bound to be no match. Instead, your student, I intend to detach him for a mission."

"Longinus?" Zephyr frowned and said, "But the ... boot camp's first year of assessment will be coming down soon."

"With his strength, do you think the assessments and such still matter? Or ... I'll schedule this assignment as his assessment."

...

Shades of green, insects, and birds chirping.

A look at the past as if the island of leisure and sanctuary. But from time to time in the forest, is a hostile roar, visible everywhere the vast footprints, and proves the ferocious here.

The precious Beast Island, located in the Calm Belt, is the island's name and is also the assessment site for the first year of the training camp.

While this assessment method had been far too mild compared to fighting a pirate to the death, there were still many recruits who couldn't pass.

Because the pirate world's precious beasts can be more than merely unintelligent beasts, able to survive in such a harsh environment as the Calm Belt, the island even has no shortage of terrifying monsters of the size of the Sea King class.

The assessment time is now over, and all personnel is being withdrawn.

Looking at these blood-soaked recruits, Zephyr nodded in satisfaction. Although there were still more than forty people who had failed to meet the assessment standards, this result was already much better than the last year's shocking pass rate.

"As expected, the influence of the ethos on these recruits is quite strong. It's just a pity that there is a high probability that there won't be another leader like Longinus who can drive the ethos in the next class of recruits." Zephyr thought instead, unfortunately, and suddenly had a change of heart, "Wait, perhaps another approach can be adapted to allow Longinus to continue to play his role."

On the other side, an instructor handed the roster to Zephyr and said, "Chief Instructor Zephyr, this is the final assessment ranking."

Zephyr nodded his head after going through it, and when he was instructed, the instructor began to inform, "The first place in this assessment, Gion, beheaded one fourth-grade rare beast and twelve third-grade rare beasts, for a total of two thousand two hundred. Second place plus count, beheading a fourth-grade rare beast ..."

The crowd began to stir even before the words died down.

This year they had accepted that Longinus was undisputed number one, and now when they suddenly heard that the number one in the assessment was even Gion, the first reaction in their minds was - something shady!

"Wait, Instructor Jace ..."

Jace, who was interrupted, frowned rather unhappily. Still, after seeing that it was Gion who spoke, he calmed his inner agitation. After all, the best students always got more preferential treatment.

"What do you want, Gion?"

Gion puffed out her cheeks, rather like a small hamster with a mouth full of food, "Instructor Jace, is Longinus still on the Beast Island and hasn't come out? Otherwise, I would never have been able to get this first place with my strength."

Instructor Jace looked to Zephyr for his opinion.

Zephyr spoke after a brief thought, "In fact, Longinus did not participate in this examination, and the Headquarters had other arrangements for him."

"If the timing weren't bad, he would have arrived at Impel Down by now!"