One Piece : From Slave to Fleet Admiral

Late at night, Borsalino sat at his desk, constantly filing his already very smooth fingernails with a nail file, while speaking to the serious-looking Den Den Mushi.

"Sakazuki~ You've really given me a big trouble this time~"

Hearing Kizaru's words, Sakazuki who was currently sitting on the wreckage of a pirate ship, slightly changed his expression and then said.

"What do you mean? Is the trouble referring to Jake, or something else?"

"Of course it's that soldier called Jake. Your luck really makes me envious, actually picking up two such talented kids as soon as you go out. Monet's Snow-Snow Fruit, if developed well, might be on par with Kuzan. Just thinking about someone like Kuzan appearing in your faction makes me want to laugh, Sakazuki~"

Hearing the voice and looking at the extremely lecherous expression on the Den Den Mushi right now, Sakazuki also felt somewhat helpless.

He sighed and then continued.

"If you called just to say these things, I'm going to hang up. There are still remnants of pirates to clean up here and Sea Kings are also coming this way. I don't have much time to chat idly with you."

"Your Magma-Magma Fruit always boils the seawater, most of those pirates who fell into the water probably cooked right now, No wonder it attracts those Sea Kings, how scary~"

"I'm hanging up!"

Hearing this, Kizaru finally put down his nail file and said to Sakazuki on the other end of the phone.

"The troublesome thing is about Jake. Today, after you left, I happened to run into Jake and Monet on my way to the cafeteria. They were chatting at the time and I was curious about what they were saying, so I followed behind them. Do you know what I accidentally overheard?"

Sakazuki's face darkened, then he said.

"Could it be that Jake doesn't intend to sincerely join the Marine? Or does he have some other purpose for coming to the Marine?"

"No, how could you think of that, you scary guy~ But what I heard was also very scary~ That little brat Jake, he actually said..."

After Kizaru told Sakazuki everything he had heard, Sakazuki who was sitting on the ruins of the pirate ship, suddenly fell silent.

Then he said to Kizaru, who was also silent on the other end of the phone.

"Don't let this information spread. Consider it a favor I owe you. If you have any tasks you don't want to do later, I'll complete them for you free of charge."

Kizaru nail-filing motion came to an abrupt halt, then he said with a slightly lecherous tone.

"As for tasks and such, i can complete them himself. But what I want isn't that. Rather, I have some personal requests regarding Jake."

"What requests?"

"I will come to observe Jake's training from time to time and Jake must spend one month each year training with me on Egghead Island."

Hearing Kizaru's words, Sakazuki was a bit surprised.

He wasn't worried about whether Kizaru wanted to poach Jake from him, because Kizaru's sense of justice was vague, even completely lacking compared to his own absolute justice.

For this reason, Kizaru himself was rather resistant to the idea of leading the Marine.

Because of this, he wasn't concerned that Kizaru would try to steal Jake's allegiance from him.

Although there were factions within the Marine, in reality the various factions got along quite well.

Some officers from different factions were even good friends.

They simply had different ideals of justice and it hadn't reached the point of so-called factional struggles.

But most of the time, people still hoped that someone from their own faction would lead the Marine and decide the overall direction of things.

For example, if you let Aokiji lead Akainu, watching those pirates go unkilled every day would be more painful for Akainu than being killed himself.

Back to the point, Akainu listened to Kizaru's sudden words with some confusion, then asked.

"I can agree to your request, but I want to know your reason for doing this. In my impression, you're not such a diligent person, Borsalino."

"Don't be so serious~ I just really like Jake's personality, including those things he said. I'm also very interested. Don't you think it's a very lucky thing to have such a subordinate?"

"It's a very good thing, but also a very troublesome thing. You're calling him to Egghead, probably to introduce him to that person, right?"

"Mm, just to get acquainted. I don't intend to let Dr. Vegapunk conduct research on Jake, you can rest assured about that. I'm very interested in the future blueprint Jake described, so I just want to lend a hand."

Akainu was silent for a moment, then said.

"It's just the world of a kid's dreams. He still doesn't know how vast organizations like the Marine and World Government really are. When he finds out, he may change his mind."

"We'll see about that when the time comes. Anyway, for now, I have high hopes for Jake~ If Fleet Admiral Sengoku retires, I might nominate Jake to be the next Fleet Admiral, you know~"

"Do as you please."

Sakazuki hung up the phone after saying that.

Then countless magma erupted from his arm, instantly cooking the Sea Kings beneath his feet that were nearly as large as dozens of warships.

Looking at the pirate ship wreckage under his feet, he muttered to himself.

"These damn pirates, did you think the Marine wouldn't dare pursue you just because you got close to the Calm Belt?"

"But Jake, that little brat, i hope he didnt disappoint me."

Looking at the thick stack of papers in his hand, these were all originally Kizaru's tasks, but now he had taken them over.

If Jake couldn't make the progress Akainu wanted to see, Akainu would really have to give Jake a good lesson when he got back.

***

Kizaru put down his nail file and blew away the dust remaining on his fingernails.

Then he looked out the window, his expression appearing somewhat lecherous.

The sky had not yet fully brightened, with only a hint of dawn appearing on the distant horizon.

A layer of thin mist covered the sea surface. The somewhat hurried sound of reveille echoed throughout the dormitory.

Jake lay in bed, listening to the familiar wake-up bugle, and unconsciously let out a sigh.

Monet's voice came from outside.

"Jake, are you ready? It's time to go!"

Quickly getting up, Jake picked up his toothbrush cup and called out to the door.

"The door isn't locked, Monet. You can come in directly. Just give me a moment."