Chapter 18: Outburst of emotions
"Since no one can decide, let's vote, it's not a good job, we need someone determined and strong, anyway, we all know each other well, let's just vote."
When the rest of the group hesitated, Peberton, the eldest, spoke up and turned his attention to John first: "I will vote first, I choose John, for the reason that John has the ability to calmly analyze, and also because of his powerful will observation, and will definitely be able to make the most correct decision at a critical moment."
"I?"
He did not think about going on stage and did not think that he would get it, he had the same idea as before, he could live with it, his goal of coming to the fleet headquarters was achieved in any case, he I didn't need to draw too much attention to myself.
But he never thought that if he didn't fight, then someone would fight for him, and that was the older Peberton.
The older one recommended the younger one... there was something fishy here, wasn't there? He couldn't remember when he had ever caught Peberton's attention, and they didn't even interact much, so how does this man know his characteristics?
John himself was confused, not to mention the others, who looked at Peberton with incredulous eyes, as if to say: you're not kidding, are you?
Although the crowd did not pay much attention to the age, it was clear that John's age was too young, that they could not trust him; a teenager who is not even eighteen years old, why should he be given command? That was on the minds of the vast majority of people.
Peberton twisted his fat body and threw up his hands: "Anyway, this is a vote, so naturally you vote for who you trust, I chose John, it's none of my business who you vote for."
"I vote for John too."
Suddenly, another person spoke up and voted for John.
John's face was full of depression, Doberman, what are you doing? Although we have a partnership, but you have to distinguish the situation, can't you see the expressions of these people?
Twenty people and John had two voices, which made everyone else look at each other.
"I will follow Sakazuki, Sakazuki is the strongest and has excellent leadership qualities, no one else will convince me, I am ready to follow Sakazuki's orders."
Finally, someone voted for another person, and the choice fell on Sakazuki, who was consistently the best this semester.
"I vote for Vitesse."
"I also vote for Sakazuki, only the strongest can be the leader."
"Sakazuki, I vote for him too."
"Vitesse is also strong, he has been a soldier for seven years and is most familiar with fighting pirates."
"Vitesse".
"Sakazuki".
"Sakazuki".
"Vitesse".
"I vote for John."
"Me too".
"......"
Before the clock turned, seventeen people cast their votes, and the only three names that appeared before and after were Sakazuki, Vitesse, and John.
Sakazuki and John needed no introduction, and Vitesse had been in the Navy for many years, had previously served in West Blue, and also possessed the power of a Devil Fruit, strong and experienced enough that many people chose him.
It gave John a headache that he received four votes for and against, and besides Peberton and Doberman, the two men in charge of running the warship chose him, much to his surprise.
But precisely because there were only four votes, he felt relieved.
Of the seventeen votes already cast, John received four, Vitesse six, and Sakazuki seven, with only three of them left unvoted at the end.
Even if by some miracle Sakazuki and Vitesse were mad enough to vote for him, otherwise he was the least likely candidate.
"I refrain!"
John was the first to raise his hand, indicating that he was abstaining.
Sakazuki was dry and voted for himself without hesitation, resulting in Vitesse losing to Sakazuki by one vote.
"Now that the result is in, Sakazuki will be the captain of our group, and we...".
Peberton was the first to speak, and he was about to take stock when he was furiously interrupted.
"Stop this shit, the other band has already left, we can't afford to be slower than them."
Vitesse interrupted Peberton, only for others to see his face, full of impatience and displeasure.
Vitesse was so tactless, but Peberton didn't get angry, continuing to smile as if he didn't care.
At that moment, Sakazuki said in a deep voice, "Let's go."
All the men quickly took their places: those who sailed on the ship, those who watched, those who were looking for a room, and Sakazuki stood at the bow, his face was as cold as ever, no one knew what he was thinking .
"It's an interesting group and I wonder where they're going next."
Commodore Baruch, who was in charge of keeping records, watched the developments with interest.
This time he had a big responsibility - not only to record, but also to observe the behavior of the group.
John followed Peberton into the kitchen and watched as Peberton went about his business in an orderly manner.
"You didn't come here with me just to watch me cook?" Peberton asked John.
John shrugged and said, "I'm just wondering why you just voted for me, we don't know each other that well, do we?"
Peberton's hands didn't stop moving: "Like I just said, I thought you were the best fit, so of course I voted for you."
"Why? Sakazuki is the strongest of us, Vitesse is also better than me, there are twenty of us in total, it would be more correct if the strongest is the leader, right?" John asked.
Peberton said: "If we only fought pirates, the strongest would be the best, but let's not forget that this time we are not only fighting pirates, there is another group of opponents. As you can see from Zephyr sensei's distribution , both sides are almost equal in strength of battle, and in moments like this, a good commander is extremely important, even."
"Even what?" John fell silent as he longed for Peberton's words.
"Nothing".
Peberton thought for a moment, but said nothing further, which made John very uncomfortable, who hated it when people only spoke half.
"I voted for you because you fit the best, it's just that the others wanted to express themselves and didn't see it as clearly as I did."
"Take Sakazuki and Vitesse, Sakazuki is really the strongest and in our term, I think only Borsalino can match him.
But Sakazuki is too relentless, cold, impulsive and easily succumbed to emotions, perhaps this has something to do with his life experience; but as far as his performance is concerned, I don't think he is a qualified captain at the moment."
"As for Vitesse, I come from the same sea as him, and I heard something about him; this man is strong, but he is a careerist, and will do everything to achieve his goal, sometimes he can even throw away the lives of his comrades, to complete his mission, is he a good fit for our leader?"
"You, on the other hand, are very young and have not seen as much as others, perhaps you have not even participated in a naval battle, but this is not a disadvantage, because you have not experienced it, on the contrary, you are more able to stand in an objective perspective, we do not lack experienced people; plus you are calm, at least among us, you are the most calm, which greatly contributes to your control over the big picture. "
"Am I as good as you say?"
Peberton's analysis startled John.
"No".
As John's face turned pale, Peberton laughed, "Don't be angry, after what just happened, I found that there are downsides."
"For example?" John asked.
"You are too reserved, or don't want to show yourself, always trying to hide behind your back, which is both good and bad; maybe it's safer this way, but this is not a normal reaction for someone your age, so I don't understand how you got such thoughts. Shouldn't this be my strategy, by definition?".
Peberton laughed to himself, he had found John a little reserved before, but he didn't expect him to be able to resist such temptation.
John shrugged and said, "I call it hiding, if I were as strong as Sakazuki I wouldn't have to hide like that, hiding is based on not being strong enough."
"That's a good idea, so you and I really get along."
Peberton was very pleased, only to see how quickly he went about his business, and then brought John a plate of fruit.
"It's amazing how rich the ingredients are here, it's not time to eat yet, so let's eat some fruit first."
Then John did not go anywhere, he stayed in the kitchen and helped in the work.
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