Chapter 17: Chapter 15: Admiral Candidate
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"How's this even possible? You've already hit peak physical fitness. How on earth did you manage to stir up Conqueror's Haki? You're not supposed to have that kind of mojo."
I was gutted, and Zephyr was scratching his head in disbelief. Sakazuki was pushing thirty, an age where most folks would've ticked all the boxes by now. Those who usually got the Haki knack did it back in their teenage glory days. But here's Sakazuki, well into his thirties, just unlocking Conqueror's Haki out of the blue, and boy, did it make waves.
Sakazuki brushed it off with a shrug, throwing the ball right back in my court.
"Huh?" Zephyr looked utterly baffled.
Sakazuki clarified, "Thanks to your mentorship, Teacher Zephyr, I cracked open Conqueror's Haki."
That hit Zephyr like a ton of bricks, and the room was plastered with puzzled faces, 'cause deep down, we all knew Sakazuki wasn't pulling punches. His sudden Haki surge hinted at something, maybe my influence, maybe the lack thereof.
"Could this awaken Haki too?"
The top brass, chilling at the far end, exchanged glances, shooting Zephyr curious looks. Did he accidentally flick the Haki switch for Sakazuki? But they quickly dismissed the idea. It's not that simple.
First off, you gotta have the goods. Some of them even owned up that they were light years away from Sakazuki's league. Plus, Zephyr's a Marine Admiral; nobody's itching to pick a fight with him.
But then Borsalino butted in, "Well, well, Teacher Zephyr, looks like you've been a real inspiration for our boy Sakazuki here, cracking open that Conqueror's Haki."
Zephyr was fuming, and Borsalino's jab just poured fuel on the fire: "Pipe down!"
Borsalino just shrugged it off, "If you're not feeling chatty, that's cool, but seriously, do you have to be so touchy? Wanna give me a hand with unlocking my Conqueror's too?"
Zephyr's face fell, giving props to Borsalino's savagery.
"That's enough!"
He slammed the table hard, cutting the tension with a knife. Zephyr grudgingly took his seat, bringing back the calm to the room.
But all eyes stayed glued to Sakazuki; the guy had made his mark.
"I've mulled over Sakazuki's fate, as Sengoku proposed, weighing the pros and cons, so, no rewards or punishments!"
Nobody piped up, not even Zephyr. Sakazuki's newfound Haki mojo had bumped him up the ladder big time. He could be eyeing the Admiral's chair soon. And taking down Sakazuki? That'd be a tall order even for the current Admirals.
But then Kong dropped the bombshell.
"However, starting now, Sakazuki's been tagged as an Admiral hopeful for a two-year trial run. Unless he messes up big time in two years, he'll slide right into the Marine Admiral gig, filling the gap."
The term "Admiral hopeful" had everyone's eyes glued to Sakazuki. It was like dangling a carrot in front of a horse. It might be temporary, but it meant stepping up a notch above the average Vice Admiral. And it opened doors to the top dog position, bridging the gap.
But not just anyone could snag the Admiral hopeful title. Right now, in Marine HQ, only Sengoku and Zephyr rocked the Marine Admiral badge. The vacancy had been gathering dust, despite plenty of Vice Admirals breathing down the necks of the bigwigs.
As for the sole other Marine Admiral hopeful, Borsalino, he'd scored the title not long ago, but with a five-year trial, unlike Sakazuki's two. The difference wasn't lost on anyone with a brain.
The bigwigs, like Sengoku, Garp, and Crane, stayed poker-faced. And Zephyr might've looked grim, but he kept his mouth shut.
Borsalino had a wistful smile as he eyed Sakazuki. They were cut from the same cloth, trained in the same elite batch by Zephyr, but Borsalino's career hadn't quite hit the jackpot yet. And now, with Sakazuki potentially zooming past him to Admiral-town, it stung.
The rest of the gang, like Kuzan, couldn't hide their envy. Being an Admiral hopeful meant a golden ticket. Barring any nasty surprises, Sakazuki was on the fast track to the top spot in two years, second only to the big boss.
And they all had dreams too, but they kept 'em locked up tight, at least for now.
Oh, and by the way, we've snagged the Golden Lion Shiki and his band of merry pirates. They're chilling in Impel Down now.
Kong's face turned icy at the mention of Shiki and his crew. Their little stunt at Marine HQ cost us big time, the first-ever direct hit on our turf. Even though they got lucky, they still packed a punch.
The fallout from that stunt? It's gonna embolden pirates all over the New World. Kong's not losing sleep over pirates; he's losing sleep over what they might do next.
So, to throw a wrench in their plans, we're going ahead with Roger's public execution. We're setting up shop in Loguetown, East Blue. It's gonna be a big spectacle, a reminder to all wannabe pirates about the consequences of messing with the Marines.
After Roger threw in the towel and surrendered to us, we debated long and hard. But we figured a worldwide execution was the way to go, just like Roger wanted. And Loguetown? It's got that symbolic vibe, marking the end of an era.
Kong's thinking is crystal clear: Roger's end is gonna send shockwaves, reminding everyone that chasing the One Piece leads straight to a date with the executioner.
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