Chapter 754: Standing out

...

"Um... Marshal Sengoku, if you have nothing else to tell us, we will leave first."

Seeing Sengoku sitting in the chair in silence, Kizaru, who wanted to slip away, asked softly.

"Huh! You four wait a moment."

Zhan Guo let out a long breath, adjusted his emotions, and spoke in a calm tone.

"I will report to Marijoa tomorrow. As the Admiral of the Navy, I cannot escape the blame for the many misjudgments in this battle or the serious mistakes in Impel Down. So even if the World Government does not hold me accountable or dismiss me, I will take the initiative to step down."

"Ah, hey, hey! Marshal Sengoku! Why are you also going to retire at this time?!"

Aokiji asked with a frown.

"We just went through a war, and the navy is facing internal and external troubles. What do you want to do?"

There was a hint of dissatisfaction in Akainu's tone.

"Ah, that's really bad!"

Kizaru put away the nail clippers and pretended to be surprised.

"What happened today? First, Mr. Zephyr resigned, and now Marshal Sengoku wants to step down. Could it be that you have discussed this long ago and specially invited us to watch this drama? Vice Admiral Garp, shouldn't it be your turn next?"

Akin looked at Sengoku and Garp, who was sitting calmly and eating senbei, with suspicion.

“Crack, crack! Ahahaha, you’re right, little Jin. But I’ve been semi-retired for a long time, so I won’t join in the fun today. Or are you just waiting for us old guys to leave?”

Garp shouted loudly while stuffing snacks into his mouth, still looking careless and asking for a beating.

"Cough cough!"

"In short, the navy will be handed over to you young people from now on!"

After saying this, Sengoku took a few senbei from Garp's hand with a serious face.

"Ah, la la, you are all the pillars of the navy, and you suddenly quit your job. It really puts a lot of pressure on young people."

Kizaru's face is full of wrinkles and he looks even older than Sengoku. He said this with a lewd smile and turned to look at Akin.

"But then again, it seems like there's only one young man sitting here?"

...

A small, hidden harbor behind Marinford.

A warship is loading supplies here in preparation for sailing.

"Crash!"

The waves wash tirelessly, the moonlight sprinkles gently, and the water sparkles.

An old man with short purple hair sat alone on a stone, staring intently at the naval flag fluttering in the wind in the distant Marinford Square.

"Crack!"

Under the cover of night, the flashes of electric current are even more dazzling.

"You're here! Jin, what? Are you here to dissuade me from going out to sea?"

Zefa came back to his senses from his daze and turned to look at his proud disciple who appeared behind him.

"No, I won't stop you, Mr. Zefa. I'm here to see you off."

As Ajin said this, he threw a bottle of wine to Zefa.

"Wow! The strongest liquor from the Bra Chamber of Commerce? This is good stuff! Hahahaha!"

Zefa caught the bottle, unscrewed the lid, gulped down a few mouthfuls, and laughed comfortably.

Ajin said calmly as he looked at the warship without the naval flag.

"This bottle of wine is my apology to you."

"Apologize? You have never let me down. Although I am called a teacher, I am really unworthy of it. Since the first day you came to the Marine Headquarters, you have already had a very good foundation in both physical skills and Haki. You just lacked some training. You have a calm mind and are very serious and hardworking in your daily training. Therefore, I have never doubted that you can reach the level you are today with or without me. It is just a matter of time."

Looking at this perfect disciple in front of him who looked like a demon, Zefa was generous in praising him.

"Teacher, do you still remember? I said a long time ago that if you can't stay in the navy anymore and want to leave, I will leave with you. You will be the marshal and I will be the admiral, and we will rebuild a navy together."

"What do you want to do?"

Zefa frowned when he heard this and looked at Ajin warily.

Ajin bowed and continued.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zefa, I have to break my promise. For some reason, I can't leave the navy with you now!"

"Hahahaha!"

Zephyr breathed a sigh of relief.

"What is there to be sorry about? I was actually afraid that you would say you wanted to leave with me. That would be a real headache! Hahahaha!"

Zefa couldn't help but burst into laughter, and tears came out of the corners of his eyes.

"Akin!"

Zefa suddenly put away his smile and spoke seriously.

"I won't hide it from you. I actually plan to adopt your suggestion and go out to sea to rebuild a new navy that lives up to the word justice!"

"Are you serious, Mr. Zephyr?"

"Of course!"

Zefa's eyes were determined. This former "non-killing" general was now full of murderous intent.

"Among the prisoners who escaped from Impel Down, many were spared by me because I believed in the so-called justice of the World Government. Now these vicious guys have returned to society. I really regret it! So I must personally kill them all before they commit more sins!"

"Teacher Zefa, actually..."

"You don't have to persuade me! I have to get this matter over with!"

A Jin thought to himself: I'm not trying to persuade you, I'm actually thinking about how I should tell you that none of those criminals can return to society.

"Ajin, don't forget our agreement. I am still waiting to see what changes you can bring to the navy!"

"In that case, Marshal Sengoku will step down. I will do my best to fight for that position. Teacher Zefa, why don't you stay and help me? Why do you choose to leave the navy at this time? If you want to deal with those escaped prisoners, you can choose to join the navy special forces. Then you can arrange these people to obey your orders. Anyway, the special forces are also composed of navy members who have submitted resignation reports."

"No! That's just one of the purposes."

Zefa shook his head.

Ajin narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Grrrrrr!"

Zefa took a few more gulps of wine before continuing.

"I want to be the first to speak out! I want to let those five old men of the World Government know, and let all the navy who believe in justice know, that our navy has more than just one way to go and that is to obey their orders! If we are forced into a corner, we can also overturn the table! Do you understand?"

The moonlight was reflected on Zefa's sunglasses.

Ajin was stunned.

"I understand. I will definitely remember your teachings, Mr. Zefa!"

"Don't you think what I said is a bit outrageous and shocking?"

Zephyr grinned.

"No, this is your justice, teacher. A man spends his whole life implementing his beliefs! Isn't that the coolest thing? This is what you told me, teacher Zefa."

Ajin said with a smile.

...