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"What are you thinking about?"
Kong chuckled softly.
He shook his head. "A few words aren't enough to condemn him, let alone kick someone like Kojin out of the Marines!"
"We value what he can do for the Marines far more than what he said."
Hearing this, Sengoku let out a sigh of relief.
"Still, Kojin will likely be sidelined for the foreseeable future," Kong said, shaking his head regretfully.
Such a promising young Marine, with a bright future ahead of him, even the potential to inherit the Fleet Admiral position and contribute greatly to the world, had his future jeopardized by a few careless words.
"Many within the Marines support him!" Sengoku said gruffly.
"I'm well aware. Both he and Garp have strong support at the grassroots level, with a large following of admirers. This serves as a barrier preventing the World Government from easily moving against him." Kong said with a faint smile.
"But what he said can't be ignored."
The Marine Fleet Admiral narrowed his eyes slightly, falling silent for a long moment before sighing again.
"Let him leave Headquarters. Perhaps in ten or twenty years, he'll mature. Only then can he become a truly qualified Marine officer."
"By then, these words will have faded from public memory."
This decision left Sengoku in silence.
In truth, Sengoku deeply admired Kojin, both for his strength and his character. Though his words had angered some and infuriated him, he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of admiration.
Seeing Sengoku's expression, Kong sighed again.
"The order can be delayed for a while."
"And don't worry. With his strength and current reputation in the Marines, whatever position we assign him..."
"...it won't be a demotion."
Only then did a faint smile appear on Sengoku's face.
His anger yesterday had also stemmed from heartache and regret. How was an old friend's disciple any different from his own?
Deep down, he still hoped Kojin would have a better outcome.
...
Inside the villa,
Kojin wore a thoughtful expression.
The outcome that Kong had just discussed wasn't actually very different from what Kojin had already guessed.
Political mistakes were, in fact, significant and far-reaching in any world and era.
"It's better for me to bring it up myself than to let you be the ones to say it." Kojin murmured, a faint smile playing on his lips as he made up his mind.
...
In the blink of an eye, one night passed, and the second day arrived.
Life at the Marine Headquarters was peaceful but dull.
In the morning, Bullet, Crocodile, and the others were already training. Two new Marine recruits, bruised and battered, frequently lagged behind, looking utterly miserable.
After morning training ended, Kojin called Bullet and Crocodile over.
"From now on, I'll teach you Rokushiki (Six Powers)."
"You can either practice and master all of them or focus on deepening your understanding of the one or two techniques that interest you most and suit your strengths."
"Believe me, this powerful Rokushiki will be an enormous help in real combat!"
Hearing this, they were both stunned for a moment, and then their eyes lit up with excitement. The Marines had their own training system, and Rokushiki was undoubtedly a crucial part of it.
This powerful, superhuman technique had created many elite officers at the school level and played a huge role in the struggle against pirates and dark forces.
As men who had crawled out of life-or-death battles time and again and who were once famous great pirates, they naturally wouldn't miss any opportunity to grow stronger.
After that, Kojin demonstrated the mysteries of Rokushiki.
"I'll guide your training until you've completely mastered it. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me."
Crocodile and Bullet looked at each other, then both nodded.
Kojin had been taught by the Marine Hero Garp, who was also a renowned Rokushiki expert within the Marines. With such a senior officer guiding them, it would be impossible for them not to improve.
As he watched the two of them attempt Rokushiki constantly in front of him, a faint smile appeared on Kojin's face.
There was no doubt that both men had the potential to become Admiral Level powerhouses.
Bullet was still young, but he was already quite strong. He had mastered all three types of Haki... Haoshoku (Conqueror's), Busoshoku (Armament), and Kenbunshoku (Observation), making his Haki mastery even more comprehensive than Kojin's own.
His only weakness was quantitative; his reserves weren't deep enough yet.
Crocodile, on the other hand, possessed the Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit and had his own unique strengths in fruit development. Once his Rokushiki and Haki improved, he would undoubtedly be an Admiral Level Powerhouse.
In the future, once he became more powerful, he might be able to compete with the Three Admirals.
These two were also the core members that Kojin had in mind for his future lineup.
Crocodile was easy enough to handle, but Bullet's ambitions were enormous. After Kojin spoke those words to the world, it became clear that something in Bullet's heart had begun to stir.
At that moment, Kojin felt as though he were being forced into the top position.
At the same time, his gaze shifted forward.
"Smoker."
"Buggy."
"T. Penn."
All of these were good characters from the original story, worth investing time and effort into.
"Evans's talent for sniping is also very strong. His Kenbunshoku (Observation Haki) perception is long-range."
"If he were paired with Seastone bullets..."
Kojin let out another soft sigh, thinking of this.
Seastone was extremely precious. Even the Marines had difficulty obtaining it because the World Government tightly controlled most of it.
"Also..."
His pupils contracted.
"Rouge's matter should be dealt with as well!"
Roger was already dead, and the fact that he had left behind a bloodline would inevitably be discovered very soon.
...
That afternoon.
"Bullet, Crocodile. I have a classified mission to assign to you!" Kojin said.
"Hm?" The two looked at each other, then listened carefully.
"South Blue. Baterilla Island. Roger left his bloodline there." Kojin said in a low voice.
Upon hearing this, Bullet and Crocodile's pupils shrank sharply and their expressions filled with shock.
"Roger actually left behind a bloodline?"
"Is it that woman?"
The two exclaimed in disbelief.
"Correct." Kojin nodded.
"So you want us to kill that woman?" Bullet asked with a ferocious grin.
In his view, Roger had fallen precisely because of that woman. He was an old man who enjoyed love and was foolish enough to turn himself in to the Marines.
That Roger didn't have any of his former aura.
Kojin was speechless, staring straight at the big man in front of him.
He really couldn't understand how this guy's brain worked.
"Will it be just the two of us?" Crocodile asked in a deep voice.
He had already guessed what Kojin intended to do, and his expression became extremely serious. Roger's bloodline was of the utmost importance. One wrong move, and they'd be finished.
The consequences of Kojin saying a few outrageous words to the world were nothing compared to this.
"I'll go with you." Kojin said with a light smile.
"You don't seem to be able to leave Headquarters freely right now." Crocodile said hesitantly.
After those words Kojin had spoken, he was undoubtedly under intense scrutiny within the Marines.
Wherever he went and whatever he did, documents would probably be placed before the higher-ups.
Hearing this, Kojin smiled faintly.
He naturally had a way to solve this problem.
As long as one's Devil Fruit was well developed and one's imagination was big enough, any difficulty could be resolved with ease.
(End of Chapter)