-Discussion...

After Leon went inside the room.

Hina just stood on the doorway not knowing if she should go inside or not as this was the office of the Fleet Admiral Of the marines.

Furthermore, there has been only one occasion when she had been in front of the Fleet admiral. That was when she moved to the marine headquarters from the G5 Base.

Hina slowly turned her head backward where Gion was standing and signaled her with her eye to give her some tips on what to do.

Gion just stood there not knowing, what advice she should give to her fellow mate.

"Ah, Usagi nee, are you free tomorrow, I wanted to ask you something?" Suddenly, Leon's called out from the room

"Yeah! Ok, I will be leaving then." She waved her hand towards Hina and quickly disappeared.

"Hina nee, Why are you not coming inside?" Leon asked

"But the Fleet Admiral said..." Hina's voice trailed off from there

"Nah! He was just joking, come inside! And, uncle Sullivan, close the door will you?" Leon assured her and asked Sullivan who was still standing like a statue.

"Oh yes, Lieutenant Hina, please move a little forward." Sullivan requested her.

Hina still didn't move. Not sure, she should follow because of the permission granted by a 5-year-old.

Sengoku, quietly listening to his grandson's shenanigans didn't know what to say anymore.

This brat was ordering his marine officers like, he was the fleet admiral of the navy and he was some kind of 'old man' cleaning his office.

"Enter!" In the end, Sengoku commanded Hina to enter and looked towards Leon who had a big grin on his face.

Getting her permission Hina immediately entered the room and Sullivan closed the door.

"Brat! I already told you. You are not getting any vacation this month! No matter, how many times you ask?" Sengoku started first.

He knew what this little demon wanted! It had already been 5 times since Leon asked him to let him 'leave the island'

"Huh!" Leon exclaimed a bit confused

"Old man, what are you talking about?" Leon inquired

"What I am talking about? How many times did you ask me to leave this island because you are bored of being here?" Sengoku asked acting annoyed

"Oh! You are talking about that. It's ok, I don't want to leave anymore." Leon replied

Sengoku was talking about requests Leon made before he got his memories. Leon always asked to go out with either Tsuru or Garp whenever they went out on missions or general checking of marine bases.

He was bored of being here.

"Hmm. So, what have you come here for?" Sengoku asked

"What? I can't even come here to meet my favorite grandpa who works all the time! You must be tired" Leon replied.

Sengoku right now was sitting on his office chair and looking at the reports brought by Gion. Leon slowly went ahead and sat on Sengoku's lap facing the table

"Oh! So, my little grandson has come to check on my health!" Sengoku replied tauntingly

"Of course! That's how excellent your grandson is!" Leon replied with no shame and a proud look on his face.

Sengoku's eye twitched a little but couldn't say anything. After all, this was his grandson. He didn't generally show it, but he adored him.

"Hmm!?" Suddenly Sengoku's eyes opened up as he was looking at Leon like he was shocked.

Leon couldn't see it as he was sitting on his lap fiddling with the files on the table but Hina noticed it.

"Is…is there anything you need, sir?" Hina asked trying to be as respectful as she can be.

"No, I am fine." Sengoku replied softly

"Now Brat, tell me, what do you need and don't take your grandpa for a fool.

You only call me grandpa whenever you need something from me." Sengoku asked with his usual vigor.

"Tch…" Leon was disappointed as his plan of 'being cute' mission failed.

Leon got up from Sengoku's lap and stood in front of the table.

"So, what is it?" Sengoku

"Well, I had a few small requests"

"Oh! Little guy, has many requests! So, how many ice creams do you want?" Sengoku asked with a grin.

"Oldman! Stop making fun of me in front of Hina nee" Leon flared

"Oh, ok then! Which favorite meat do you want to order. Last time it was the sea king's meat from North Blue, right?" Sengoku teased him a little more.

Leon turned a little red due to feeling embarrassed.

"I will have my revenge, old man. Remember that!" Leon replied.

Hina standing at the side just had a little chuckle but didn't say anything.

"Ok, now for real tell me. What do you need?" Sengoku stopped having his little fun and put aside the papers on the desk.

Leon sighed and calmed down.

"Gramps, I want a place to train! Preferably underground with a big open space where I can fit in all types of equipment and run around a bit." Leon

Sengoku again had a shocked expression for a second but calmed down immediately. Hina standing at the side had the same expression.

"Brat, go home! Enough fun for today. I will come in the evening, tell all your request then."

Sengoku didn't believe Leon. He simply thought this was just another prank of his grandson.

Leon didn't budge. He understood why his grandpa didn't think for a second, before denying him. A 5 old-year-old asking for his own, apartment that's what his request was.

"Gramps, I am not playing. I want to train." Leon replied with a determined voice.

Sengoku, already back with his work immediately shifted his attention toward Leon and was shocked inwardly.

"So, I wasn't imagining it..." Sengoku murmured and then looked towards Hina, who was simply standing beside him.

"You are still 5. You can start your training after 10!" Sengoku calmly replied

"Old man, I already look like a 10-year-old. If you ask a stranger to guess my age. He will definitely, call me a 10-year-old kid or even 11! So, I already got that covered." Leon didn't back down

He wanted to start training right now for many reasons, especially before he turned 10. Few incidents may or may not happen during that period. He wanted to be ready before that atleast as much as he could.

"Why do you need your personal place to train. There are a lot of training grounds here plus you will have instructors" Sengoku had an idea but still asked

"Grandpa, I want to train alone" Leon gave a simple reply

"Mm…" Sengoku just hummed.

He also didn't want Leon to get in the limelight right now. Not this early, Leon was still too young.

If the world government finds about his overwhelming talents, especially when he is this young, things could get nasty.

He wanted Leon to be a marine, not a mindless puppet of the government like CP9 or even worse CP0.

"Leo, why do you want to start training so early?" Sengoku inquired.

"I want to get strong and capable" Leon replied

"Then, why do you want to get strong?. To beat up bullies or to do whatever you want!" Sengoku already got news about the morning incident and wanted to test him.

"Both! And also, so that i can show off a little." Leon straight up replied without a pause. He wasnt lying either! Saying he wants to protect the innocent and rid the world off evil Or to 'conquer the world' will be bullshit. His goal was a noble one 'Get them LADIES and ENJOY this WORLD.'

.

Silence...

.

"Haaa!" Both Sengoku and Hina reacted at the same time with their mouth open.

Hina was shocked by Leon's answer because even she could tell that Sengoku was testing him.

Despite Leon's young age, given how he handled the morning situations, both with the runts and the girls. She was at least, expecting Leon to have a proper understanding of the question.

"Guess, I was overthinking. He is a kid in the end…" Hina felt a little disappointed for some reason and looked towards Sengoku who was still silent.

"How many times have I asked this question but never got this kind of answer.Guess the apple has not fallen far from the tree. Now did he, Garp?" Sengoku thought to himself

Grandpa?" Leon called out

"Hmm, I understand Leo. Can you tell me, why you want to do those things?" Before giving Leon any advice, Sengoku wanted to make sure his reasoning behind it.

"What? Why do I want to bully the bullies? Because they are bullies. Besides, I don't really care about them. So, I won't do anything if they don't.

"I see, and?" Sengoku was intrigued to hear his next reason

Well, if there is something that I want to do and I believe it to be the right choice, then I will do it even if the whole world is against me or hates me for it" Leon replied without blinking an eye

"Sengoku as if stirred by Leon's answer asked immediately. "How will you know what is the right choice?"

"Well Grandma, you, grandpa Garp have always told me to follow my 'own' justice. So, I guess i will follow that" Leon replied while scratching the back of his head.

"A big smile followed up on Sengoku's face after hearing Leon's answer.

"Of course, You will! That's the sign of a true marine" Sengoku couldn't control his happiness and replied excitedly

Hina was speechless, not being able to cope up with the number of shocks and simply stared Leon.

Leon continued "I believe, that everyone who has worked hard, to achieve a certain goal or a vision has a fair right to Show-off" Leon then pointed towards his belly "If tomorrow, I work hard and go for being a Flab to Fab then, why wouldn't I show off in front of Hina nee!?" Leon gave his brilliant reasoning.

"Huh!?" Hina's wasnt sure what to say.

Sengoku quietly listened to Leon while drinking his morning cup of tea already satisfied with Leon's answer.

"Seems our little Leo is getting bigger every day." Sengoku tried teasing Leon again.

"Oldman, you have no idea…" Leon thought of the changes in his body.

"Ok, brat I understand. Although these reasons are enough for me. Are there any other? Garp aside, I must give a proper reason to your grandma, for letting you start your training so early, or else she will have my head!" Sengoku asked while a drop of sweat ran down from his head.

"Well there is one more reason but I don't think it is needed" Leon replied

"Let's hear it then," Sengoku asked, happily sipping his specially made Tea.

"To make a harem!" Leon kept it short

"Pfuuuu…" The specially made tea came out just as quickly as it went in.

"Huh! what?" Hina standing beside him took a second to process what Leon said.

"Brat, what did you say? Say it again. I didn't hear it properly" Sengoku asked with his mouth open comically!

"Ahem!" Leon cleared his throat

"I said. I want to be loved by every beautiful Onne-chan, I ever meet." Leon replied with a big smile on his face while giving a big thumbs up to Hina.

"..." Hina. One moment he is smart and cool and the other moment he is being childish! She was too confused today. But, she wasn't the only one confused here.

Sengoku just held his forehead with one hand and looked like he was tired. "Ahh! Enough. We will talk about this another day. I have too much work to do." Sengoku replied

"Then my training place? Leon asked excitedly

"You will use one of the unused warehouses in the eastern area. It has not been used for months and needs cleaning.

The space is quite big and it is also not far from your home" Sengoku explained

"Cool!" Leon excitedly shouted

"No need to be hasty! There are some conditions.

1st- You will have to clean the whole warehouse by yourself and take out all the unused material in there deposit in the nearby base.

2nd- You will need to have an instructor watching you and It's compulsory otherwise, I won't be able to sleep at night.

3rd- I will give you six months. In this period, you need to show me the results of your training or your warehouse will be taken from you and will be used for what it is meant to be.

4th- The most important, You will be joining the Marines as a 'Chore Boy'. Right now!

"Haaaaaa?!" Leon yelled loudly. "Old man, stop joking around. Even if I Ignore the rest. Why the hell do I have to join the Marines to train?"

"Sassy brat! You will be using the resources that are used for training the new marine recruits. So naturally, as the Fleet Admiral of the marines, I will not waste any resources of the navy just for my sassy grandson. Therefore, you will join the marines." Sengoku replied firmly

"Oldman, Did you hit your head somewhere? Since, When did I ask for any resources from the navy?" Leon, now almost shouting, asked impatiently

"Is that so? Then you will not need any pieces of equipment to train, right?" Sengoku replied with a sly smile.

"Ah!" Leon suddenly remembered all the types of equipment he will need for his training.

"I… well, I guess I will need a few things" Leon replied

"So, How are you going to get those things?" Sengoku asked quite happy with his victory.

Leon kept quiet for a second, pondering deeply for a solution. Leon then went towards the back of Sengoku and hugged him from behind

"My Dear, best Grandpa! Your lovely grandson is currently broke and in need of some money. So, fork out some cash, will ya?" Leon asked with all the love a grandson could muster with puppy eyes.

"You little monkey! Don't think your normal ways gonna work. You will have to work, for the things you need." Sengoku not wanting to budge closed his eyes.

"Tch… old man, Is it necessary for me to join the Marines?" Leon asked quite fixed on not joining the marines

"Yes" Sengoku didn't back down

"Leon kun?" Hina who was silent till now spoke up. "Didn't you say, You wanted to be the best marine in the world. Do you not like the marines anymore?" Hina asked gently looking towards Leon

He had always wanted to join the marines and always claimed that he will even surpass his Grandpa and today when he is getting the chance, he is denying it!. She felt it was odd.

Leon fell in a bind now. How was he supposed to make them understand that he was not the same ignorant boy as yesterday? If he becomes a marine now, there will too many complications waiting for him in the future.

He didn't hate being a marine. In fact, now that he has lived here for 2 years, he already had a special love for this place. Even after getting his memories back, that feeling hasn't disappeared and above all, it was already too late.

It was idiotic to think the amount of love and affection he had, for his Grandparents or Hina, Gion, Saeko, or Saya for that matter. They were all very precious to him.

Leon already knew it was too late to go back now but if he had to choose one side over the other. He might have chosen the other side. Simply because to him, being a Marine was cool but being a pirate was cooler.

"Guess, I will have to leave my future problems to the future me" Leon thought about a famous Bald man and his divine words'.

Hina was still looking at him for an answer and so did Sengoku as he was interested even more than Hina.

Sigh…

"Of course, I love the marines Hina nee. I just didn't want to work right now, I am still a kid you know? And, this old man is forcing child labor on me" Leon replied while pouting as if he had been wronged.

"Ok, then " Hina replied while giggling with a sweet smile on her face.

'Worth it, i guess" Leon mumbled while looking at hina.

"So, you ready to join?" Sengoku asked from the side. Sengoku had a big smile on his face as if he won a battle.

"Don't get carried old man, I have one more request and it aligns perfectly with your conditions" Leon asked with a grin. He was not taking a loss for free.

Sengoku immediately understood he was up to something. "Let's hear it." Sengoku cautiously asked

"You said, I must have an instructor, right?" Leon asked

"Yes" Sengoku nodded his head

"Then, I want my instructor to be Hina nee!" Leon replied nonchalantly

"What?" Sengoku flared up

Leon ignored Sengoku and looked towards Hina who was shocked as well but was slowly getting used to it.

"Hina nee, Will you be my instructor?" Leon asked

"I…uh" Hina, seeing Leon looking at her with his big eyes filled with hope, she stuttered for the right words.

"I will, but only if Fleet admiral allows it" In the end, she was a marine officer and followed the protocols of the marines.

"Hehe! Yes!" Leon made a victory pose as if he got the permission.

"Old man, I want Hina nee to be my instructor and it's compulsory. Otherwise, I am not joining the marines and from tomorrow, I will start taking fishing courses to be the best fisherman in the world!" Leon replied with a big smile

"You little brat! Lieutenant junior Hina is one of the top elite candidates of this generation." Sengoku immidiatly flared up

"So...?" Leon

"She had already demonstrated her potential, to be on the frontier of the Naval forces. Therefore, she is being trained as the best of the best. Do you think, I will allow such an invaluable asset to be used for warehouse babysitting? Never!" Sengoku was not having it. He was adamant on not allowing this request.

"Tch… this old man spewing bullshit on me but I can't deny what he is saying. Black cage Hina' This would be her future title and how she would be known throughout the world. At least in a future, that I was not involved in." Leon remembered

Weirdly enough, even though he recovered his memories, the memories about his past life were quite hazy, similar to a distant memory.

Hina looking at Leon standing silently felt bad for him

"Fleet admiral, May I speak?" Hina asked Sengoku.

Sengoku nodded giving her permission to speak.

"Fleet admiral, I agree with everything you said but I can promise you, looking after Leon as an instructor will not be of any hindrance to me or my training." Hina tried to speak for Leon

"I believe you, but that is still not good enough for me to agree." Sengoku simply rejected her idea.

"Ask any other request. This one is not possible!" seeing Leon silent, Sengoku clarified his rejection on the matter.

Sigh… Leon looked towards Hina who she had a sad look on her face and had a little chuckle.

He then turned towards Sengoku

"Fleet admiral Sengoku, are you implying that, if lieutenant Junior Hina remains with me as an instructor, It will be waste of her potential?" Leon asked as serious as he can be.

Sengoku's eyebrow shot up. He had seen plenty of times, Leon being upset or angry but this time he felt, it was somehow different by a large margin. This was the first time he saw Leon being serious. But he couldn't back down

"No other way to put it!" Sengoku replied not giving an inch

"Can you explain to me, why?" Leon

"Is there any secret to it? As far as I know, Leo, all these training requests are just for your fun. You are not taking any of this seriously! Furthermore, you are being allowed all these amenities only because you are the grandchild of 3 top tier officers in the marines. If not, you wouldn't even have the permission to enter the Headquarters!

The most important. Do you think the Fleet Admirals of the marines should be listening to the whims of a 5-Year-old Kid!?" Seeing Leon's seriousness on the matter, Sengoku gave him harshest critique he could to Leon.

"Hina was shocked. She didn't think Sengoku would go so far to reprimand his own grandson just because Leon wanted her to be his instructor.

Leon remained unfazed by Sengoku's words. Both were not willing to take a simple step back.

"And, how does any of this affect Hina nee?" Leon

"Isn't it obvious? Officer Hina has great potential but as she moves up in the ranks so will her responsibility.She will have to work continuously as a marine officer and will have to respond whenever an order is given.

Not only that, as she moves up even further. She will have multiple responsibilities on her. From going out on missions to managing her subordinates and base and continuously working in her office on various matters with no break.

"Do you think you can do that? No, forget that! Are you even willing to work like that? No, because you are just a privileged brat!!!" Sengoku was almost yelling at this point.

Leon was already controlling himself pretty hard. Even though he got his memories back, it didn't mean, he did not have a limit. "Old geezer! Do you think, I came all the way here just to make some jokes?" Leon shouted at Sengoku

"So what are you trying to say? Are you willing to work as hard as Lieutenant junior Hina? Are you are even willing to take responsibilities like her?" Sengoku shouted.

"Why can't I work like her? Why won't I take responsibilities? Scratch that, I will work even harder than he…!!!" Leon suddenly stopped

"..." Sengoku.

... ... ...

If somebody asked Hina, what was the weirdest thing that she saw today. She had a few options to choose from, but the next thing she saw took the cake.

"Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral of the entire Navy had the biggest grin plastered on his face that she had ever seen and, by the looks of it, it wasn't going away any sooner!

"This old geezer played me! Again!!" Leon cursed himself.

"AHEM!" Sengoku called out loudly

"Cadet, Monkey D Leon! I understand your passion for the marines and with my reputation on the line, I will take your words as a promise!

Therefore, with regards to your promise of working hard, as a Marine! I hereby grant you, your 2nd request as well as the 1st one.

But, most importantly, My Dear Grandson!"

"Welcome to The Marines…"