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Kōjin didn't know when that vague thought had first taken root.
Was it when a stone smashed a Tenryūbito's head?
Or when he was granted the right to choose three Devil Fruits during his promotion ceremony?
Or when he was at the academy and faced young Marines whose eyes were filled with admiration and awe?
As his strength increased and his fame within the Marines grew, he only knew that some strange, indescribable thoughts had begun to surface in his heart.
He had never understood what those feelings were.
But now, standing high above and taking in the entirety of Marine Headquarters, realization suddenly dawned on him.
It was ambition.
Standing quietly at the height, Kojin's thoughts soon drifted, stretching outward as memories from the past surfaced unbidden.
Two years ago, when he escaped the Bocan family, he encountered a child of about eight years old while utterly exhausted.
Unlike other children, the boy was mature beyond his years, his eyes carrying a depth and weariness far beyond his age.
"Where's your father?" Kojin asked, accepting half a piece of black bread that had long since dried and cracked.
"Dead," The child replied.
"And your mother?"
"Dead, too."
"Do you have any other brothers or sisters at home?"
"Yes, but they're all dead."
The boy's voice was flat and calm, devoid of sorrow or pain as he spoke.
This made Kojin freeze, staring intently into the boy's pitch-black, shining eyes.
"My father defied a noble. My mother was noticed by a Tenryūbito and beaten to death in the street. My older brother and sister went to save Mom, and they died, too."
"That year, I was four. I was so scared that I trembled, but I managed to escape."
The eight-year-old calmly recounted everything he had experienced.
Kōjin hesitated, shocked by the child's composure, and asked. "Are you not sad at all?"
Two years had passed since that conversation, but when the child turned his head, that calm expression and those jet-black eyes were still unforgettable.
"I'm holding it in."
That single sentence... "I'm holding it in"... completely shattered Kojin's emotional defenses.
That was until the day he encountered the unknown Celestial Dragon. They didn't know each other; he didn't know them, and they didn't know him.
From that moment on, Kōjin realized that something was fundamentally wrong with the world.
Freedom? Passion? Dreams? Beauty?
All of it was nothing more than a joke!
The truth of this world was simply the cruelty and coldness that forced an eight-year-old child to calmly say, "I'm holding it in."
He thought of another disciple that Garp would take in the future: a boy named Koby.
"If you think all of this is wrong, then work hard to grow stronger. Climb higher and change it all!"
Those were the words his companion had once said to Koby when he was lost and confused.
At some point, Kōjin clenched his fists, then slowly and silently relaxed them again.
"What matters isn't where you are. But what you are doing."
He turned and left.
That very afternoon, Kojin applied for and obtained his own battleship.
It was a twin-masted, medium-sized battleship, roughly the same size as Garp's. The only difference was that his ship had no soldiers aboard.
When Kojin boarded the battleship, two people followed him.
One was T. Penn, a recent graduate who held him in deep respect and admiration. The other person looked about eleven or twelve years old but was very tall, over two meters and had his face smeared with strange, unconventional, colorful makeup.
"Kid, I originally planned to assign you as the deputy commander in West Blue after you graduated. But since you wanted a battleship, I understand."
"There are spare battleships here, but I can't find soldiers for you in such a short time. You'll have to figure that out yourself."
"Whether you pick people from elsewhere or recruit them on your own, I don't care."
Kong's words brought a smile to Kojin's face.
At that moment, Sengoku, who was standing nearby, came over with a friendly expression. After taking a closer look, he chuckled.
"Short on manpower, Kojin? I just happen to have a pretty good kid here."
And without even asking for Kojin's consent, Sengoku pushed the kid over to him.
Yes, the exact non-mainstream-looking guy now standing behind him.
"Rosinante, can you sail a ship?" Kojin asked after boarding the battleship.
The unconventional Marine immediately shouted, "Reporting, Senior Officer Kojin... yes, I can!"
"Good. Then, I'm handing over sailing the ship, cleaning, cooking, and all miscellaneous chores to you!"
Kojin nodded and glanced at him.
That's right, the Marine that Sengoku shoved over to him was none other than Rosinante. He had been rescued not long ago and had been kept by Sengoku's side ever since.
At present, his status was nothing more than that of a trainee Marine.
"Huh?"
Rosinante froze and scratched his head as he spoke.
"Is all of that... my responsibility?"
Kōjin pointed at T. Penn, then at himself.
"Right now, there are only three of us on this entire battleship: You're the lowest ranked, so if not you, then who?"
Rosinante blinked, then sighed and replied weakly. "Yes, senior officer."
T. Penn looked as though he wanted to say something but remained silent.
Rosinante was only around ten years old, but he was impressively built and strong, looking no different from an eighteen-year-old.
Soon, the battleship set sail, passing through the Gates of Justice.
"Where are we going?" T. Penn asked curiously.
"The Sabaody Archipelago."
"First, we're short on manpower and need to recruit."
"Second..."
After a brief pause, Kojin smiled faintly.
"The first mission Fleet Admiral Kong assigned me is to capture or eliminate a group of Pirate Supernovas who were causing chaos on the Sabaody Archipelago not long ago."
Naturally, missions issued by Headquarters were flexible and depended on the circumstances.
For example, by the time the crew arrived, the pirates might have already fled, or they might encounter other unexpected incidents.
"Understood!" T. Penn nodded.
Rosinante steered the ship while quietly observing his two superiors.
He had heard of Kōjin. Within the Marines, he was known as an extremely terrifying monster and a future Admiral-level prospect.
"Rosinante." Suddenly, the broad, powerful figure standing ahead with his back to him spoke.
"Here!" Rosinante immediately responded.
"No need to be so tense. Relax a bit."
"After all—"
Kojin paused, gazing at the sea ahead, and a smile spread across his face.
"You're a Celestial Dragon, aren't you?"
That single sentence caused both T. Penn and Rosinante to change their expressions instantly.
"A Celestial Dragon?" T. Penn immediately turned to stare at the tall child.
Rosinante's pupils shrank and his mind went blank.
'How did he know? This should have been something only Sengoku knew!'
Kōjin turned around and looked at the child before him. He smiled lightly.
"Why that nervous expression? You were one before, but not anymore, right?"
Rosinante took a deep breath and nodded.
"Keep sailing. We still have a mission to complete." Kōjin abruptly turned away, ending the topic.
...
The battleship soon arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago port, but the scene was completely different from what he had seen before.
Gunfire echoed everywhere. Marines and pirates were locked in fierce combat.
"What a mess," Kōjin sighed. No wonder Kong had rushed to assign him this mission.
Pirates rampaging on the Sabaody Archipelago was practically the same as defecating on the Marines' heads, the situation had already become extremely serious.
At that moment, he seemed to sense something and turned his head to the right.
Bang!
A dull gunshot rang out, and a bullet passed straight through his forehead.
"Senior officer!!"
Rosinante's face turned pale. T. Penn's eyes widened as he instantly drew the long blade from his waist.
Kōjin froze, momentarily stunned.
Then he looked at the newly increased points on his status panel and understood what had happened.
The very moment he arrived at Sabaody Island, he had actually been shot.
The corner of his mouth slowly curved upward into a smile.
"This is getting interesting."
(End of Chapter)