Chapter 101: New Chapter
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Chapter 101: New Chapter
***
Sengoku sighed as he looked at his office one last time... this was it. He now had to let go of his position as Fleet Admiral that he had held on to for years. He wanted Aokiji to take over as he was the best successor that would lead the Marines in the right direction.
Sadly the Ice Admiral had died under unknown circumstances. Most people assume he died in the war bravely. That was what even most Marines were thinking, but the higher-ups and Sengoku knew what had happened.
Aokiji had tried to kill Max and failed miserably, it seemed like no one even saw Max do it so there is no justifiable reason to do anything against him. Plus, the Marines and World Government now needed someone like Max since they had a shortage of Admirals. Max was loved by the people and subordinates, so they couldn't go publicly against him anyway.
*sigh*
Sengoku sighed one last time in regret at the office he was leaving behind. "Well, this is now someone else's duty. I won't tire my old mind to think of complicated things anymore, my time has long since been overdue."
Normally there would be Garp to congratulate him on his new carefree lifestyle as a Marine Instructor with zero responsibilities. Also, Garp had been shipped to an abandoned island to vent out his rage at one of his grandsons dying, they hadn't told him who did it. The higher-ups planned to use this as leverage against Max who had earned himself a lot of glory during this battle.
Sengoku didn't know if it was intentional, but Max had risen through the marine ranks like an arrow and built himself an unshakeable reputation. A lot of higher-ups were very cautious with him and even had the killer order him to some trusted Admirals and CP-0 Agents.
'Of course, it was planned, things just fit in too perfectly to not be planned. But he skipped one major step and still hasn't noticed the spy close to him. That will be his downfall. Such a shame, Max could have been so great.' Contemplated Sengoku, in the end, he shook his head and dismissed such thoughts.
As he walked along the ruined Marineford he couldn't help but grimace at the thought of how many people died in the war. Amongst the builders he noticed someone hauling a huge amount of debris that seemed at the size of a marine warship. The person in question was Max, and he had his Admiral uniform on while others gazed at him in wonder. Some reporters took photos of the newly promoted Admiral Higuma (Brown Bear).
"Max," Sengoku called out with a smile on his face, casually walking closer to him. "I see that you are up and ready already."
"Yo~ Fleet Admiral. I am well. Thankfully I have already recovered from the war and decided to help the workers here. It's good training." Max smiled with an innocent look on his face.
It made even Sengoku who knew of his nature doubt if the reports about him were true.
'No, they are undoubtedly true. Max… I must be on guard against him or I will fall under his charisma if I'm not careful.'
Sengoku nodded. "Glad to hear that. Also, I am not the Fleet Admiral any longer. That title belongs to Sakazuki now."
"Hahaha, I forget sometimes. This will take a while to get used to."
He and Max seemed to be all smiles on the outside. But Sengoku knew of his devious nature, every time Max had been in his office there had been a fight. So the words he was speaking now contradicted his actions in the past.
"Well, I won't keep you any longer from your training." Sengoku walked off, leaving a smiling Max behind. The old Fleet Admiral felt his heartbeat erratically, only now did he notice just how strange it felt to be close to the new Admiral. "That was a subconscious release of Conqueror's Haki," he murmured. Now he could feel that the young man wasn't so simple and still had a lot of growth left in him. "Oh well, that isn't my problem anymore. Akainu can worry about that now."
**
-Max POV-
Seeing Sengoku walk out of his rebuilt office, I felt ecstatic. Now I have some negotiating room to move around. Akainu might seem inflexible when it comes to Pirates. But his sense of Justice was something that we could agree on and was based on a realistic notion. Sometimes we have to sacrifice the few to save the many.
Though it didn't matter to me what sense of justice he had as long as it aligned with my goals.
Also, Marineford was rebuilt especially fast since some devil fruit users came in and did a year's work in a day. No wonder Devil Fruits were so sought after, even the ones deemed as useless could be very helpful.
Though there was still work to be done in Marineford, and that was perfect for me since I could flaunt myself and appear helping the workers.
*
In the evening I sat down at a round table with Akainu right next to me and many other important Vice Admirals and Admirals like I and Kizaru were here too now. Still, some Vice Admirals were left out and only those with a lot of influence were here.
Noticeably, the only important missing here was Garp and Kong. The latter didn't need to be here because the new Fleet Admiral's decisions wouldn't affect him.
"I have gathered you all here with a single motion in mind," Akainu began speaking and everyone had their full attention on him. "So far the Marines have been passive in the world. We only deal with the problems when they come around and by then it is too late."
"When people try to stop a war before it even starts, innocent people always die." Tsuru, one of the senior members of the Vice Admirals, put her opinions on the matter.
"Better that than having people like Kaido and Big Mom rampaging in the New World." I intervened, and Sakazuki looked at me in surprise, he didn't expect help from me.
*cough*
He coughed awkwardly and looked back towards the others. "As Max said, we have to take matters into our own hands. Especially the New World that has become a cesspool of scum. There are even Kingdoms there managed by pirates and it makes my stomach turn."
"Yeahhh~ that's true. The Yonko there do pretty much whatever they want," muttered Kizaru who seemed more concerned with his nails than the meeting as he kept looking at them.
Tokikake, a Vice Admiral with a fedora and cigarette in his mouth rebutted us. "Thousands of marines will die if we try to take over the New World."
"No," I shook my head. "Tens of thousands will die. But it will all be for the greater good."
"Greater good of who?" inquired Tsuru, looking straight at me.
I smirked at her, obviously the greater good of myself. But instead, I said. "The people of course."
"Hmmm…" Sengoku, who wasn't supposed to be here due to his position being low right now. But no one would ignore his presence. "When will the plan start?"
"As soon as possible, hopefully within the month," answered Sakazuki, not missing a beat.
"But the Marines are too tired after this war." Added the ex-Fleet Admiral.
Sakazuki seemed unsure and was contemplating something. That was when I decided to intercede again. "Better strike the iron while it's hot. Not only will our counterattack come as a surprise. But Kaido is injured, and if we go in the New World too late, then Whitebeard's territories will all be taken over by the other Yonko."
Hearing my reasons no one said anything and Fleet Admiral Sakazuki seemed content. He nodded at me thankfully for helping him push his decisions and have the others agree.
I only smiled politely, but in the corner of my eye, I noticed Gion looking at me intently with her bright brown eyes. It seemed like she wanted to say something but stopped herself.
What was that about?
***
A/N: Since college has started again, I don't have time to red all the comments, so if you wanna ask something then ping me on Discord.
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