In truth, Sengoku and Garp had already discussed this before arriving.
Even if Raleigh hadn't run away, the final candidate would still have been Kuzan.
The first reason: Raleigh had already gained worldwide fame once.
For his own safety, it was better to keep a lower profile.
While Vice Admiral strength is considerable on the seas, in the eyes of top-tier fighters, it might only mean the difference between one or two sword strikes.
There had been instances before of promising Marine talents being assassinated by pirates, so the Marines had become more cautious in this regard.
Unless one's strength had truly become unstoppable.
The second reason remained a matter of factions.
After Kong stepped down, the Fleet Admiral position would ultimately go to Sengoku.
Once Sengoku was promoted, it would leave an Admiral position vacant.
Though Garp wouldn't be promoted, that didn't mean the Admiral position shouldn't be reserved in advance.
Currently, there were only a handful of people in the Marines with potential to become Admirals.
The most outstanding among them was Sakazuki, followed by Raleigh and Borsalino.
Half a step behind was Kuzan, and finally talents like Gion and Tokikake.
Sakazuki didn't belong to Sengoku's faction, and judging by his style, he was a pure military man whose philosophy differed from Sengoku and Garp's.
Though Borsalino had good connections and sufficient strength, his work enthusiasm was lacking, and he enjoyed slacking off appropriately during work hours.
Of course, Borsalino didn't belong to Sengoku's faction either—he was either a centrist or unaffiliated.
Raleigh's situation was the same as Borsalino's.
Only Kuzan was the pure, uncontaminated direct descendant of Sengoku's faction.
So this event was optional for Raleigh, but quite important for Kuzan, and even more crucial for Sengoku and Garp.
You should know, even Sakazuki had never experienced such an event.
"Alright Kuzan, this matter is extremely important for you, so you must not treat it as a joke," Sengoku explained clearly to Kuzan.
"Yes, I promise not to betray the trust of Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp."
Kuzan saluted Sengoku and Garp.
After exchanging a glance with Garp, Sengoku said, "Kid, when there are no outsiders around here, in the future, don't use official titles. It creates too much distance."
...
Meanwhile, Raleigh, who had secretly slipped out of the infirmary, went straight home.
He needed to change clothes before going out.
He skillfully opened the door and found himself face to face with Borsalino, who was lying on a rocking chair drinking tea.
"What are you doing back!"
"What are you doing back!"
The two spoke in unison, then averted their eyes and said evasively.
"Just came back to get something, then I'm leaving."
"Just came back to get something, then I'm leaving."
Raleigh didn't believe Borsalino's words at all.
Would he just come back to get something and leave? Absolutely impossible.
If he was really leaving, why would he be lying down?
Raleigh casually took two bottles of beer from the refrigerator, tossed one to Borsalino, then lay down on the rocking chair next to him.
He opened the can and took a big gulp of the chilled wheat juice.
Raleigh quickly finished the entire bottle of wheat juice, let out a satisfied burp, and said:
"Brother, I'm about to set off."
Hearing this, Borsalino, who originally hadn't planned to drink, was taken aback, then downed the beer Raleigh had given him in one go.
"Have you decided where to go? The Grand Line isn't as safe as the Four Seas where you've been before."
"Even the first half of the Grand Line, known as Paradise, is extremely dangerous. Many powerful pirates who suffered setbacks in the New World like to recruit in Paradise."
"There are also many great pirates who grew tired of the pirate life and now live incognito in the Grand Line," Borsalino explained lazily.
Because he had been stationed in the Grand Line for a long time, he naturally knew much more about it than Raleigh.
"The climate in the Grand Line is unpredictable. Some places have snow all year round, like Vegapunk's hometown. Other places experience twenty-four different climates throughout the year."
"The power of nature is hundreds of times more formidable than pirates."
"Yeah, I know. I'll just be more cautious," Raleigh replied. "Not many people can kill me now if I'm focused on escaping."
Raleigh expressed great confidence.
It was only after being slashed by Roger that he realized he had already become quite an impressive figure.
Vice Admiral of the Marines—this is practically the highest position most people achieve in their entire lives.
There are only three Admiral positions in the Marines.
Even if others reach the required strength, they can't be appointed.
Sometimes the Marines would rather leave Admiral positions vacant than promote someone unqualified.
So for Raleigh to already be a Vice Admiral at his age was truly remarkable.
"I originally wanted to visit you, but when I asked the doctor, I found out that if you'd been sent to the hospital half an hour later, your wounds would have completely healed."
Hearing Borsalino speak such blunt truth, Raleigh felt somewhat embarrassed.
'My acting skills were still rather clumsy.'
'During the fight with Roger back then, I instinctively brought out my full strength.'
'As a result, I was cut through my defenses with a single strike from him, leaving a scar on my chest.'
Thanks to that scar, Raleigh ended up staying in the infirmary for a full seven days.
That was also why he felt so happy inside after winning the battle.
"What are your thoughts on the strength of Golden Lion and Roger?" Borsalino asked curiously.
Raleigh pondered for a moment, then cleared his throat lightly before speaking.
"To be honest, we didn't encounter Golden Lion or Roger at their peak. Our operation was essentially taking advantage of the situation—they were already exhausted before we even showed up."
"Even so, Golden Lion burning his life force made him incredibly difficult to handle. Fortunately, Vice Admiral Garp managed to firmly restrain him; otherwise, with just Kuzan and me, we would have been sliced to pieces."
"And then there's Roger—he was like an unstoppable bulldozer. Aside from Vice Admiral Garp, it took both Kuzan and me working together just to block Roger's attacks."
"Thinking back on it now still sends chills down my spine."
The wound on Raleigh's chest had completely healed.
He had already taken off the patient gown from the hospital, revealing a well-built physique and an extremely faint scar on his chest.
The doctor was right—Raleigh was indeed almost fully recovered.
The strength of the world's top-tier fighters truly lives up to their reputation!
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