Chapter 63: Spending Time
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Chapter 63: Spending Time
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"Rear Admiral Max, you have been summoned to Marineford."
My face went from playful to unreadable. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, what did I do to have the honor of getting a call from you?"
Ah, this was why I never really talked with the Marine HQ, those guys sucked.
Especially the ones who acted like dogs and followed every order given to them. Kinda like Sengoku was acting light now, like a dog who got his leash pulled too hard.
"Are you drunk?" I asked him like he was stupid.
Nami gasped at my words, even she knew that the Fleet Admiral was the top position of power within the Marines.
"What did you say?!" Sengoku roared angrily, the eyes of the transponder snail widening and becoming bloodshot, clearly expressing the anger of the man on the other side.
"I said that some punks were bothering me and had to chase them," my wording changed. We both knew what I said, but it will take a while to reach Marineford. "It will take a long time to reach Marineford, anyway, talk to you later. Currently, a couple of pirates are attacking and I have to take care of them."
I turned off the Transponder Snail, well, this was a surprise. By the tone of his voice, even if I used Sharlia as my defense, he would have insisted on me going to Marineford. Well, I will take my sweet time going there, he didn't specify a date so that's kinda expected.
Unlike other marines, I didn't care if I got kicked out of the force. Hell, if the situation came down to it, then there will be no need to kick me out. I would leave anyway if the situation became not necessarily in my favor.
Still, would Sengoku call me to Marine HQ to get rid of a troublesome marine like myself?
No, that would be too inconspicuous, but… if I was in his place, something like that would undoubtedly cross my mind. Masking my death as an accident or pirate attack wouldn't be hard.
This created an even more troubling situation.
"Are you okay?" Asked Nami, noticing my long silence.
I smiled at her reassuringly. "Yeah~ Yeah~ it's just that work can sometimes be troublesome."
Also, I just learned that Nami might be into me. That would be missing the chance of a lifetime. Though since this is pre-time skip, she isn't quite the bombshell she would grow up to be later on. It's a shame I won't have the time.
But how the hell did she fall for me? Am I that charming? Must be my handsome face?... Yeah, I wish it was so. But the most logical explanation was that during the date because I didn't make advances on her too much she must have thought that I was in it for her and not her beauty.
Well, in reality, I was for her Vivre Card, but why would I mention that? This is a good misunderstanding.
"So? Why did they call you back?" She questioned me with a curious look on her face. It was obvious that she was in her information-gathering mindset and her emotions were a little fake. By now I knew her normal smile from the fake ones she put on. "Did you make a mistake?"
*sigh* "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose," my explanation seemed to catch her off guard.
Nami looked at me with a dazed look, as if she was contemplating life. But I continued. "That is not weakness though, it's just how life is."
It was true, my plans were impeccably organized and I kept up with the new laws. In my whole career as a Marine, I never broke the law. So they can't do anything in the legal way of things. Yet the world wasn't controlled by people who followed the law either so this was a dubious sign at best.
Well, it wouldn't be bad to prepare. Sometimes that was the difference between life and death. If it devolved into a fight, my chances of winning against Sengoku were pretty much nonexistent even with my Awakening. At best I would be able to hold him back for a little while. But in Marineford, where there are Admirals and Garp, anything that developed into a fight was a loss already.
I had someone in mind who would be perfect as my escape partner.
***
A couple of weeks passed since Max had contact with the Marine HQ and Sengoku sat in his office, with Garp there too. The latter kept eating crackers, he had heard the story from Sengoku a week before about what had happened.
"Bahahahaha!!" Garp suddenly laughed. "I still can't forget how he called you a drunk."
Initially, Max had only asked if he was drunk, implying that the Fleet Admiral was drinking on the job. But Garp seemed to inflate the story, every time he told it. Becoming more outrageous with each version.
Sengoku frowned as he read some papers. "He has another excuse to not come," he saw the reason on the paper and his teeth clenched.
"What is it this time?" Garp seemed amused by it and felt like this was his drama entertainment.
His friend sighed in annoyance and started reading out loud Max's quotes. "My ship accidentally ran over a dolphin and killed it, so we went to the nearest island and held a three-day funeral for it. With a feast for the whole island that lasted three days."
"Feast?" Even Sengoku was confused by that, reading the paper once again. "Where the hell does he get the money to do that?"
"Probably stealing from pirates," Garp answered without missing a beat.
The Fleet Admiral narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "And how do you know that so certainly?"
Garp shrugged. "What? Haven't you ever needed some cash and… well… pirates have money."
"You have a wage, and everything you need to live a comfortable life is paid by the World Government," Sengoku reminded his nonchalant friend who just confessed to stealing from pirates. Which is a crime, as all treasure and Devil Fruits found should be admitted to the Marine HQ. "Also the wage is quite high for marines."
"I was a bad gambler," was Garp's answer as if that was supposed to explain everything, he yawned and fell asleep. The Fleet Admiral was even more baffled by this, he had known Garp for decades yet never knew he lost his salary gambling away.
Yet he also knew that in the end, he wouldn't do anything to prosecute Garp because they were friends.
Suddenly the door opened, and a marine came in breathing heavily. "S -Sir, Rear Admiral Max has arrived!"
Sengoku nodded, "Make sure that he comes to my office as soon as he can."
*
On the docks of Marineford, Max had arrived with his ship being painted like a rainbow. Normally a journey from Jaya to Marineford would take under two days at worst as the marines and Vegapunk had calculated and made the best routes possible.
Max had stopped multiple times along the way due to 'emergency' situations. As he came out, he was wearing an official suit that he had handmade by an old woman who worked especially slow. Of course, the excuse he used was that he wanted to appear at his best when in front of the Fleet Admiral.
"Rear Admiral, sir Sengoku has requested your presence in his office," a marine came forward, ready to escort him back.
But he was shocked when Sharlia came out, her hair down, but she was wearing her celestial dragon uniform, together with the helmet too.
The marines waiting to escort Max blushed a little when they saw her, she had grown to be quite a beauty. But then they came to their senses and remembered just how cruel the World Nobles could be, even looking at one of them wrong could get you killed.
"This place seems boring," she sneered. Max bowed down towards her a little as a sign of respect. This made Sharlia clear her throat to hold back a chuckle, while they had practiced these lines in the ship, it was different when performing in front of a real audience. "Max! I want a 265 Days old wine, find me some or else your head will roll."
Raynare and Negan were at the deck of the ship and saw the action going on below them.
*PFFFFT!!*
Negan used his hand to cover his mouth, barely able to hold his laughter. Raynare rolled her eyes in annoyance, especially with the looks Sharlia sent her. But the Celestial Dragon didn't know that her relationship with Max had gone further than she could imagine.
....