After a long day of paperwork and administrative headaches, Finn finally cleared his desk and took Hina with him to Marineford's residential district.
Sakazuki had invited him for drinks, and there was no way he'd miss that.
The moment Finn pushed open the door to the Marine Club, he was greeted by a surprisingly crowded scene.
Fleet Admiral Kong sat at the largest table, his massive frame relaxed in civilian clothes. Admiral Sengoku occupied the seat beside him, already nursing a drink. Instructor Zephyr leaned back in his chair with a cigar, while Marine Hero Garp roared with laughter at something. Admiral Sakazuki was there too, and so was Gion.
The only major figure missing from Headquarters seemed to be Chief of Staff Tsuru. She was probably still buried in work.
"Wow, quite the turnout today," Finn said with a grin as he approached.
Ever since Bell-mère had taken over as proprietress of the Marine Club, business had absolutely boomed. Fleet Admiral, Admirals, and other high-ranking officers frequented the place regularly now, and their presence naturally drew others.
Sakazuki had his arm around Ace, the two of them looking oddly close. If you didn't know better, you might think Sakazuki was the boy's father.
Finn couldn't help but wonder if Roger was resting peacefully in the afterlife, or if he was spinning in his grave.
Ironically, Ace genuinely adored Sakazuki. The Admiral's ideology had rubbed off on the boy considerably. At this rate, Ace would probably grow up to be a hardline hawk just like his mentor, constantly spouting lines about becoming an Admiral and eradicating all pirates.
"Hahahaha! It's a rare occasion when Sakazuki offers to pay. How could I possibly miss it?" Garp slapped the table, still laughing.
Although he and Sakazuki clashed ideologically, Garp couldn't deny that Sakazuki was willing to train and teach Ace seriously. Even if the boy turned into a hawkish Marine, he'd still be a Marine, and that was what mattered. As long as Ace became a pillar of the organization, Garp had no objections.
Besides, no matter how much they disagreed on philosophy, Garp had to admit that Sakazuki was already one of the Marine's strongest assets. If Ace could become someone like Sakazuki in the future, that wouldn't be a bad outcome at all.
And aside from their ideological friction, the relationship between Garp and Sakazuki had improved dramatically over the years. They got along well now. There was no reason to interfere.
It was currently early 1509 on the Sea Circle Calendar. Ace was already seven or eight years old, sharp and precocious, raised in the vibrant environment of Marineford.
Unlike the original timeline, where Garp had left him in Windmill Village to grow up wild with questionable influences and a rebellious streak, this Ace was energetic, focused, and determined to become a Marine Admiral.
Garp had never told anyone about the boy's background or bloodline. Finn kept his mouth shut as well. As far as Ace knew, he was simply Garp's adopted grandson, and his mother, Portgas D. Rouge, had died giving birth to him.
But the boy didn't dwell on it. After all, the siblings around him shared similar circumstances.
Luffy was Garp's biological grandson, but he might as well have been an orphan given how often Garp was away. Nami and Nojiko were both adopted. The four of them had grown up together like actual siblings, and Bell-mère treated them all as her own children. There were no lingering wounds or identity crises.
Ace considered Garp his grandfather and Bell-mère his mother. That was enough.
Originally, Garp had planned to tell Ace the truth about his father when he was older. But now the kid talked nonstop about becoming an Admiral and killing pirates, and Garp genuinely didn't know if revealing Roger's identity would devastate him. What if Ace went crazy and tried to dig up Roger's grave? Whose grave would that even be at this point?
"What do you mean 'rare'? I..." Sakazuki frowned, clearly offended. But after thinking it over, he couldn't come up with a recent example of treating anyone, so he let it drop.
Ace turned his bright eyes on Finn and shouted, "Uncle Finn! I've learned Soru and Shigan! Can I join the Marines now?"
Ace's talent was undeniable. Top-tier, no question. That was why Sakazuki had taken such an interest in him from the moment the boy declared his intention to become an Admiral.
"You've only learned two of the Six Powers, and you want to join the Marines?" Finn said dismissively. "You're way too early for that, kid."
Ace puffed up indignantly. "Just you wait! When I join the Marines, I'm going to take your position as Admiral!"
"Hahahahahaha!" Finn burst into laughter.
Hearing Ace's declaration, which sounded like something straight out of a revenge novel, all the Marine brass in the tavern started laughing too.
"I am! I'm the man who's going to become King of the Marines! I'll be even stronger than Ace! I'll be the Fleet Admiral!" Another high-pitched voice piped up from Gion's direction.
It was Luffy, standing beside her. The kid was two years younger than Ace, only five years old, but he'd grown up under the care of Marine leadership instead of meeting that damned pirate Shanks.
With an older brother constantly shouting about becoming an Admiral, Luffy had naturally developed his own ambitions. If Ace wanted to be Admiral, then Luffy would become King of the Marines and claim the rank of Fleet Admiral!
But the moment the words left his mouth, Nojiko, with her short light-blue hair, punched him squarely on the head.
"There's no such thing as 'King of the Marines,' you idiot! You think this is some pirate crew?!"
"There isn't one now, but there will be when I grow up, stupid Nojiko!" Luffy yelled back, clutching his head.
"What did you just call me?!" Nojiko's eyes flashed dangerously. She grabbed Luffy by the neck from behind and delivered another solid hit to his skull.
Watching the older sister beat up Luffy, everyone in the tavern laughed even harder. The air filled with warmth and joy.
After the laughter died down a bit, Admiral Sengoku reached out and gently pulled Luffy away from Nojiko's grasp, shielding him. "Alright, alright, Nojiko. Luffy doesn't seem very bright to begin with. If you keep hitting him on the head, won't he get even dumber?"
"That's right! Stop hitting me!" Luffy clung to Sengoku's arm for protection.
It was clear the kid really was kind of dumb.
Finn glanced around curiously. "Where's Nami? And Bell?"
Originally, Finn had always called Bell-mère by her full name, but Garp was so casual that he'd shortened it to "Bell" almost immediately. Gion and the others followed suit, and eventually Finn did too.
"They went out to buy supplies," Fleet Admiral Kong said with a smile.
Right on cue, the tavern door swung open again. Bell-mère entered carrying bags filled with fruits, vegetables, and other groceries. Beside her walked a small girl with short orange hair, about the same age as Luffy, maybe five or six years old.
The little girl was holding a book, completely absorbed in reading as she walked. Finn caught a glimpse of the cover: World Geography and Nautical Charts.
That was Nami.
Compared to the two troublemakers Ace and Luffy, Finn naturally preferred the well-behaved sisters Nojiko and Nami.
"Hey, Nami," Finn called from his seat, waving.
Nami looked up from her book, and her face immediately lit up. She rushed over and threw herself into Finn's arms. "Admiral! I learned how to distinguish longitude and latitude!"
"Hahahaha! That's great. You're way smarter than Ace and the others." Finn smiled and ruffled her hair affectionately.
He didn't know if it was because he'd given Nami that model Marine warship years ago, but among the four children, she was definitely the closest to him.
She'd even picked up Hina's habit of calling him "Admiral" instead of "Uncle," acting like she was already one of his direct subordinates.
"I just bought this book with Bell! Look..." Nami eagerly opened it, flipping through the pages and pointing at various diagrams with her small fingers, clearly delighted.
Finn held her patiently, nodding at appropriate moments and explaining concepts when she asked questions. He looked genuinely happy.
Bell-mère set down the groceries and waved Hina over to help arrange the drinks and snacks.
The others continued chatting amongst themselves.
"Uncle Sakazuki," Ace said, sitting on the Admiral's lap and holding a glass of juice, "I want to become a Devil Fruit user too."
Sakazuki blinked in surprise. "Why?"
"If I get special abilities, won't I be even stronger? Then I can become a Marine Admiral faster!" Ace said without hesitation.
Sakazuki laughed heartily. "What kind of ability do you want? I can keep an eye out for you. Zoan? Logia? Or Paramecia?"
Ace first glanced over at Fleet Admiral Kong and Admiral Sengoku, who were teasing Luffy. Then he shook his head. "Forget the Zoan."
Sengoku's eye twitched slightly. What's wrong with my Zoan? Are you looking down on me, kid?
Then Ace looked hesitantly at Finn, who was still interacting with Nami, before turning back to Sakazuki. His expression turned unusually serious for a child. He lowered his voice. "Uncle Sakazuki... who's stronger, you or Uncle Finn?"
Sakazuki's expression stiffened slightly.
He knew, objectively, that Finn was probably stronger.
But how could he possibly admit that in front of Ace? So he hesitated, then said carefully, "We're about the same, I'd say. But I'm more confident in myself."
"Then I want to be a Logia user!" Ace declared excitedly.
"Hahahaha! Alright, I'll keep an eye out. If I find something suitable, I'll get it for you." Sakazuki grinned.
He genuinely liked this kid.
Sakazuki thought to himself that he should try to find Ace a fire-type ability, just like his own. That would be fitting for someone as passionate and fiery as Ace, who burned with such devotion to the Marines.
Soon, with the combined efforts of Gion, Hina, Bell-mère, and the others, food and drinks were laid out across the tables.
Admiral Sengoku, Garp, Sakazuki, Finn, and the others all pitched in to help carry dishes, and before long everyone was eating and drinking happily together.
Though nominally it was Sakazuki's treat, it felt more like a family dinner among Marineford's top brass.
While eating and chatting, Fleet Admiral Kong seemed to remember something. He pulled a folded piece of paper from inside his coat and handed it to Finn. "Take a look at this and pick one."
Finn swallowed a bite of barbecue, wiped his hands, and accepted the paper. "What is it?"
"Your Admiral code name," Kong said simply.
"Huh. The title 'Violent Tiger of Marine Headquarters' has been with me for so many years. You want me to change my code name now?" Finn unfolded the paper and glanced down.
Although Finn was somewhat dissatisfied with the origins of the "Violent Tiger" nickname, specifically the parts about punching the Fleet Admiral and making Garp jump out a window, after so many years, he'd honestly grown attached to it.
"Hehe, a code name is a code name, and a title is a title. They're different things. Just like Sengoku's code name is 'Buddha,' but many people still call him 'The Strategist,' right?" Kong said with a smile.
"Fair point." Finn turned his attention to the list.
Black Tiger. Wisteria Tiger. Dark Tiger.
The suggestions were... terrible. An almost unbearable wave of mediocrity washed over him. Finn had thought Sakazuki's code name "Akainu" (Red Dog) was already pretty uninspired, but at least it had a certain directness to it. "Black Tiger," though?
Good grief.
"Are you guys messing with me?" Finn looked up at Kong and Sengoku suspiciously. "You've been working on this for years, and this is what you came up with? I could think of twenty names at this level in one minute."
Admiral Sengoku leaned forward. "Speaking of which, it's not just Admirals who need code names. Admiral Candidates need them too. For example, Borsalino has already accepted the code name 'Kizaru' (Yellow Monkey). Kuzan accepted 'Aokiji' (Blue Pheasant). And Gion..."
"Momousagi (Peach Rabbit)," Gion said with a smile.
"I thought it would be 'Azure Falcon' or something..." Finn muttered.
He'd given Gion the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, one of the most powerful Logia-types in existence, and she was still getting called Peach Rabbit? Why? Because she liked the color pink? How uninspired.