The New Hope(s)

Marineford.

The base of headquarter of the Marine, A crescent shaped island of a fortress on the vast blue ocean.

Defense cannons were placed on the edges of the front though most of them are damaged and in the stage of repairing, some were beyond repairing and instead new cannons were placed.

And standing on the back tall and proud is the headquarter building, a large multistory ancient stylized palace. It is surrounded by four watch towers.

All of which were also damaged and are being reconstructed.

The cause of all of this was a single man.

After news of the capture of Pirate King Gold Roger by the Navy spreaded, the notorious pirate, the Golden Lion Shiki suddenly appeared on the skies of the headquarter and caught the marines by surprise as he wreak havoc.

Countless lives were lost, not only the navy's personals but also the families of the marines residening on the island.

His rampage was put to an end by both the current and only remaining Admiral, Sengoku The Buddha and the Marine Hero, Mokey D. Garp whom then subdued the Great Pirate.

Though he was captured, the destruction half of the Marineford and his fight with Sengoku and Garp showed his great prowess.

Afterward, he was thrown into Impel Down and the damages he caused were promptly repair. Now The towns at the center of the island are bustling and lively once again even though the town's condition aren't at it's best.

And amidst all is a tall man with a large body, his back covered by the white coat he daped over his shoulders. A man famous for his intelligence, strength and status—Admiral Sengoku The Buddha.

-[Sengoku]-

As he tread on roads of the streets, he was with the smiles and joy of the children as they play with other children, which somewhat brought a smile on his lips.

'It is great to see them happy like that after that damn Golden Chicken's attack.' He thoughts to himself.

Just the thought of him ruins his mood. Sengoku can't imagine what kind of destruction he could have done if he and Garp were to be just a little bit more late.

Recalling that event just makes him regret not punching Shiki a few times more during their fight. He would have killed him if not for the fear of his devil fruit reappearing somewhere in the world and some evil bastard get their hands on it.

"Hm..." He tried to hide his scowl as best as he could as he smile back at the children who stopped playing to greet him with clumsy bows.

A few of them even almost trip down if not for their friends pulling them back.

Sengoku chuckle at that. 'Ah, what well manner kids.'

Waving at the kids before he continues his way as he wander off into his thoughts.

'Now that I think about it, we are lacking in the numbers of powerhouses we have.' He mused.

He hate to admit it but most of their forces, including nearly all of the vice admirals are nothing compared to the likes of Shiki, Linlin or that beast Kaido and some other infamous pirates.

Not only do they possed powerful devil fruits and strength, they also have their own crews whom are also strong in their right. Some of them perhaps could compete with vice admirals, if not defeat them.

Although the Navy has the three promising Sakazuki, Kuzan and Borsalino, they can't always be at everywhere where the Navy want and need them to be.

That Shiki's attack was an evidence of that.

'And not only that, we need even more manpowers than we have right now. Even more so now with that bastard's last speech!'

He gritted his teeth as he thinks about the execution that took place not too long ago.

Now, even more pirates are popping left and right from the blue seas to the new world which is also why even the high ranking officers are busy now.

It is a miracle that he manages to get some time off from that endless stocks of paperworks.

'Even in your death you're still causing troubles for us, Roger!' His inside boils with rage before he quickly calm himself down.

'Damn, executioners! If they have just done their jobs properly!'

Their morales are dropping and if that wasn't enough, both Linlin and Kaido are still growing in powers, both of whom they consider to be the most dangerous for them.

Whitebeard too, but although that guy's the most dangerous threat to them and the World Government, he's busy playing family house so they don't have to worry much unlike that Linlin and Kaido who suddenly gained a Mythical Zoan after The God Valley event.

'Is there no good news for the navy?' He heaved a tired sigh.

"What's with the long face, Admiral Sengoku?" A familiar voice brought him out of his musing.

"Oh, Hubert. Great to see you." He smile at an old man coming towards him. "How are you doing? I hope your business is going well."

He's the owner of his favorite tea shop where he usually get his tea. His teas are one of, if not the best that he ever had.

'I'm glad he survived.' He smile in relief as the old man raised his head up, there was a big difference in their height after all.

"I'm doing well. Just waiting for my last day. It seems that Shiki's attack wasn't." Hubert smile wryly, his eyes closed. "As for my business, you know how it always has been. Hasn't change a thing even after all of this."

"You haven't been visiting lately." He said, opening his eyes.

"Yes, with the number of pirates rising, my works have been stacking."

Hubert sighed with a troubled look, "I've heard from my relatives that pirates are being more daring and aggressive than ever before in the four blues. I'm worry about their safety there."

"Don't worry. These pirates will soon be put to justice." Sengoku replied sternly.

"I hope, Sengoku. I hope, truly." Hubert nodded.

With his hands behind his back, Hubert starts walking back into his tea shop. "Don't forget to visit sometimes. I will always prepare your tea for you or you can just send someone to pick it up."

"I will." Sengoku replied before lifting his head up and stare at the blue sky with clouds.

'Will there ever be good news for the Marines?'

"Admiral Sengoku!"

He head a shout and promptly shift his head to see an officer hurrying his way towards him before saluting as he arrived.

"What's wrong?" Sengoku asked the officer taking a breathe with furrowed brows. He has already expected bad news. "Something urgent must have happened since you have to find me. Are the great pirates making a move?"

"No, but I think it's important. It's related to this month's batch of recruits."

Sengoku sighed, "Did the recruit numbers doesn't match with meet our expectation again?"

"No, it's not that, Admiral. It's one of the recruits who has eaten a logia fruit." The office replied, gulping down. ".....and we believe it's the Rumble-Rumble Fruit"

"What?!" Sengoku's eyes instantly widened as he exclaimed, startling the people nearby. "Is that true?! You didn't mistake it right?"

"No, sir! I am sure." The officer shook his head.

"Finally! Good news." Sengoku smile in delight as he quickly head towards the main building, followed by the marine.

~~~

[General Pov]-

The heavy footsteps of Sengoku reverberated as the marine officers he met hurriedly made way for him while saluting.

On his way, he was accompanied by two friends. One which he welcome and another which he didn't.

To his right is a man with a muscular body, wearing a black suit with a white undershirt, a red necktie and a vice admiral coat hanging over his shoulders. His face, opposite to Sengoku's grimace has an amused expression.

"So....what's the hurry for, Sengoku?" Garp said with a grin.

"Why are you here, Garp? Don't you have better things to do?" Sengoku grumbled.

"Eh, not really." Garp shrug. "I was bored and then I saw you hurrying so I thought something must interesting happened."

And beside him is an old lady crossing her arms, The Great Staff Officer and also their friend, Tsuru. She stayed silent with a calm expression as she watched them both bicker.

Unlike the two of them, she has a less formal attir as her outfits consist of her marine coat, a tucked orange shirt with flowers pattern and red long pants, a necktie and gloves.

"Sooo...Sengoku, what's the hurry?"

"Hmph!" Sengoku scoff and ignored Garp as he walk faster.

However, for the bored hero, it only add more to his curiosity.

"Heeeyy"

"Stop, Garp! You're creating a scene in the morning." Tsuru scolded, finally speaking up from the side.

"Eh~" Garp turned to her. "But aren't you curious too, Tsuru-chan?"

"That, I am." She replied with a nod to which Garp's grin broadened and before he could speak, she spoke first.

"But be quiet and don't make a fuss. We'll eventually know."

'Since we're heading to where the recruits are being welcome, it must be related to them...' She mused, peering ahead.

"Bhahahaha! I will tell you, Sengoku! There's nothing better than to see that face of yours in the morning!" Garp bursted into peals of laughter.

"SHUT UP GARP!"

The marines in the vicinity flinched at the powerful shout of their Admiral and it was yet another average day for them.

~~~

After some times, they slowed down and stopped. In front of them was a wide field and almost half of the space was taken by the young people standing in lines while an instructor is giving them a speech.

All of them are wearing the standard marine recruit uniform which is a white, short-sleeved shirt, a blue neckerchief and a dark blue trousers.

"Hmm....this month's newcomers seems to be more crowded than last month." Garp remarked. Then he nudged Sengoku, "See? I always told you It isn't all that bad but you're always paranoid. "

Sengoku groaned, "Can you shut that damn mouth of yours for once?I

He turns to the officer before, "So which one is the one you told me about?"

The officer nodded and swept his gaze among the recruits and stopped at a young boy with black haired and eyes obscured by a black framed glasses, his lean body standing diligently and well-mannered.

"That would be him, sir."

As he answered, Tsuru and Garp followed his gaze to the young man before they both glance back at Sengoku with questioning eyes.

Feeling their gazes, Sengoku cleared his throat and asked the more reliable and wise friend of his.

"Tsuru-chan, you know about the Rumble-Rumble fruit, right?"

"Yeah, I remember. It's one of the few invincible devil fruits. What about it?" Her eyes widened. "Don't tell me that kid.....!"

Sengoku's lips stretched into a small smile, "Yes! That kid ate the Rumble-Rumble fruit!"

Tsuru turned back to the young mam with the black framed glassed and stared in amazement.

"Unbelievable....that fruit hasn't appeared for hundreds of years and to think it would appear within our ranks..." She muttered to herself, "A logia type devil fruit that make whoever eat it lighting human, giving them the speed of lightning and mass destructive capabilities. If it were to fall on someone despicable or a pirate"

"Which it didn't, fortunately for us."

Suddenly, a voice rang and Instructor Zephyr, the former Admiral walks towards them with heavy steps.

Zephyr is a large and muscular man with tan skinned, wearing a shirt that has the same color as his short purple hair and a frameless glasses.

"Such a fruit shouldn't fall in the hand of pirates." He scorned and didn't hide the contempt on his expression.

"Oh! Zephyr!" Garp was the first one to react with a wave and smiled. "You seems to be going better!"

"I see you're still full of energy as ever, Garp."

"Bhahahahaha! Of course! Who do you think I am?" Garp laughs, flexing his muscles proudly.

As his laughter becomes louder, Tsuru arched her brows at Zephyr. "I thought you were training your students at SITE-2?"

"Yeah, I was. I came here to see this month's recruits." Zephyr glanced across to the group of recruits, his eyes darting between three of them.

"And it appears we have some intertesting ones this month."

Sengoku was curious by that and questioned the officer, "Is there anyone else that I should take notice of?"

The officer hurriedly flipped through the papers he brought with him and stopped as he grabbed two papers showing the profiles of two recruits.

"Admiral Sengoku, I think you might be Interest in these two." He handed the two papers.

Sengoku adjusted his glasses as he took them with Tsuru and Garp peeking at the papers from the side.

"Rakan and Dylan...one of them is the son of a renown ex-bounty hunter and the other is a grandson of vice admiral? Both of them ate an ancient zoan and....a special paramecia, you say?" Sengoku reads out loud.

"Ho? They're more interesting than I thought." Zephyr muttered under his breath.

They all look up from the document to a tall recruit whose a muscular and broad body are far more larger than his peers, with his hair long and messy. And another boy whose face screams he have had enough of the speech.

"That boy is huge. He must be the one that ate the ancient zoan." Garp smirked. "I'll take him in."

That got him a glare from the Admiral. "That is not for you to decide, Garp. And don't think I'll leave someone that'll be important to the marines in the future to the care of someone irresponsible like you."

*****

[Abel/Adel]

'They are here?'

He smiled as he saw the group of people wearing high ranking uniforms and pushs his glasses up his nose as it gleams.

'Hm...Garp, Sengoku, Tsuru and Zephyr? Oh, I expected only a few of them to come.'

They were talking and seems to be looking through some document before they stare at two other recruits whom he could already guessed who they are.

'I thought it might be only me whose face still remain mostly the same but it appears not.' He thought.

[We have got quite the attention, Abel.]

He was taken aback as he heard a foreign yet familiar voice inside his head, but he quickly recover.

[Looks like it.] He replied Inwardly, his eyes meeting another pair which belong to none other than his buddy, Andre.

[That's you? You looks the same.]

He chuckle at his remark, gaining a weird looks from nearby recruits which he ignore.

[Thank you, wouldn't want to lose my handsomeness. And the same goes for you.]

The grin on Andre's face widened. [Oh! I can't wait to fight!]

He watches in amusement as people near Andre got startled by his sudden bloodlust.

[This feels weird.]

He heard the voice of Dylan with the same usual tone and he shift his gaze for him.

It wasn't hard to know which one is Dylan, he could sees the same lazy expression and constant yawning of his habit on someone his age with black hair and tired grey eyes.

[We'll have to get used to it since we'll have to use it alot.]

Dylan nod slowly, sighing. [Can't the instructor hurry it up? I'm already sleepy here.]

"Speak of the devil.' He thought as the instructor concluded his speech and clapped.

"Now! Give me a few laps!"

"Yes, sir!"

"And for those who ate devil fruits, you guys aren't permitted to use them!" The instructor looks at a few of them and specifically him.

He chuckled. He understand why he got that look. With his lightning speed, he can ran around this field multiple times within seconds.

Then All of them slowly start running as a group around the large field and he was running beside a few whom he could immediately tell are quite frail and weak. He didn't even need his observation haki.

'They won't last long.' He remarked, seeing as they have already start panting after a few minutes. 'Oh, it's them. No wonder they're weak.'

He has seen some of them before. Nobles and rich kids. They probably joined for fame and he's sure they will become corrupted officers in the future. If they do not immediately quit after a few more basic training, that is.

'I should remember them just in case they did become corrupted for merits in the future.' He chuckled internally.

This world's military boots camp trainingz are surely going to be more harsh than the ones in his earth. And he's sure these kind of kids and such other things wouldn't even last in his old world's military.

Not that he judged them for trying to gain fame and powrr through the Navy though, if he did, he would be a hypocrite.

'So please become corrupted.' His glasses gleamed.

"Why do I suddenly feel chill?" Those said kids speak between their ragged breath as they shiver.

Not that he needed them to rise through the ranks. After all, he is the current holder of a powerful logia devil fruit and will definitely be valuable to the Navy. He'll be vice admiral at least if he didn't disappoint them.

But that's not the first reason why he wanted them to become corrupted officals. If he deals with corruption then he will get, respect, admiration and more importantly trust from within and outside the ranks of the Navy.

That way, it'd be more easy to become friends. Then if they become friends, it will be much more easy to backstab them in the future.

'We're bound to clash with the world government later after all.' He thought, glancing at Andre who was at the front running past many enthusiastically and Dylan who's the very opposite of Andre.

And he didn't put the appearance and vibe of a good, humble and easy going guy for nothing after trying to get it for years.

'So in that mean time, I'll get as many trust as I can and suck them dry of their resources. Perhaps even pit them against each other.' His lips stretched into a smirk.

[What devious plans are you cooking?] Andre's voice rang in his head as he saw him looking over his shoulders at him weirdly.

'Haha.' He shrug with a soft chuckle as he ran past multiple unconscious bodies. 'Ah, I didn't realize time i've been musing for some time.'

Out of all the many recruits, only a few are still running. And even among them, only several are in good conditions while the rest are on the brink of collasping.

"Hah....hah....how long is a few laps?!" He heard one of them said in frustration as he passed by.

At the very front, Andre was still sprinting and sometimes slowing down deliberately to let another recruit who suprisingly managed to match with Andre.

Andre smirk at the guy provokingly before sprinting even faster leaving the guy in dust.

'Maybe not.'

"On your left." He heard Dylan's voice as he ran passed him to which he smile in amusement.

'Anyways, those plans for the future.' For now, he'll try to enjoy life as much as he can along with them.

"You really do like to smile alot." He heard another voice, a feminine cold voice.

He turns to get greet with the apathetic face of a tall woman just about his age with jet black-hair and green eyes.

"Is that a bad thing?" He said, his lips stretching into a gentle smile.

"....." She merely stared at him and didn't reply. He don't get offend by that and continue smiling at her before she shift her head away and increased her pace.

'What were those types called again?' He looks at her back with mirth.