Sengoku: Zefa, What Kind of Myth Are You Telling Me?

Fleet Admiral's office.

Sengoku sat in his chair, his fingers interlaced on the desk, wearing the expression of someone listening to a story.

And not just him.

Garp, Kuzan, and Borsalino, seated on a nearby sofa, were also listening intently to Zefa's story.

That was right. They unanimously believed that Zefa was telling a story.

"Zefa, you said you have a student who learned all four Armament Haki techniques—full-body coating, hardening, emission, and Internal Destruction—in a single lesson?"

"Yes."

"Zefa, you said that after learning Armament Haki, your student even created a fifth application himself?"

"Yes."

"Zefa, you said your student created an Armament Haki technique called Still Blood Armor that can defend against Internal Destruction?"

"Yes."

"He accomplished all of that in a single lesson?"

"Yes."

No matter what Sengoku asked, Zefa simply nodded.

Because that was the truth!

"Zefa, I asked you to report on this class of students, not tell me stories."

"And even if you were telling a story, shouldn't you at least make it somewhat believable?"

"Forget three parts truth and seven parts fiction. It should at least be one part truth and nine parts fiction."

Sengoku could no longer restrain himself. He slapped the desk.

"Listen to what you just said."

"Does that sound like a story?"

"That's practically a mythological legend."

He spoke irritably.

"Teacher Zefa."

"Has old age blurred your vision?"

"Monsters like the one you described do exist, but just as Mr. Sengoku said, you can only find them in myths."

Borsalino, who got along worst with Zefa, seized the chance to mock him.

Come to think of it, the two had no deep-seated grudge, nor were their personalities incompatible. Their conflict stemmed purely from differing beliefs.

Zefa firmly believed that only Haki could transcend everything.

Borsalino was the opposite. Haki was certainly important, but the Glint-Glint Fruit was even more powerful.

One was a former Navy Admiral, while the other was a current Admiral Candidate.

Both were immensely proud men, and neither could convince the other.

As their clashes became more frequent, their relationship steadily worsened.

"There's no need to look in myths."

"If you want to meet him, I can call him here right now."

"Do you need me to do that?"

"Borsalino."

Faced with Borsalino's sarcastic tone, Zefa unusually did not lose his temper. Instead, he looked calmly at his student.

"You..."

Borsalino's expression changed slightly.

Though he did not get along with Zefa, he knew his teacher's temperament very well.

Once Zefa wore that expression, he was absolutely serious.

"Zefa, you weren't telling the truth, were you?"

Garp couldn't help but sit up straight.

Kuzan, who had remained silent the entire time, directly lifted his eye mask.

For a moment, every high-ranking Marine and every legendary Marine in the Fleet Admiral's office stared unblinkingly at Zefa.

They tried to find even the slightest trace of a joke on him.

"You weren't telling a story?"

Sengoku looked at Zefa in astonishment.

"Bastard."

"I've been seriously reporting my work to you this whole time."

"And you actually thought I was telling you a story?"

The moment Zefa saw everyone's expressions, he became displeased. He immediately grabbed hold of Sengoku, who was closest to him, and began berating him.

"Fine, that short-sighted Borsalino doesn't count, but even you, Sengoku, think so little of me?"

As soon as those words came out—

Borsalino felt personally offended.

Unable to find the book title? Try searching for the author instead. It may have simply been renamed!

Yet seeing how serious Zefa looked, Borsalino decisively chose to hold himself back rather than get slapped in the face again.

"You're sure you're telling the truth?"

Sengoku stared fixedly into Zefa's eyes.

"Here's the Den Den Mushi."

"Call him yourself."

Zefa took a Den Den Mushi from his pocket and placed it on the desk.

"There's actually a monster like that in this world?"

After confirming that Zefa was not joking, Sengoku leaned back in his chair, an incredulous expression appearing on his face.

"Well, well, well... is that true?"

Kuzan murmured.

"If it's true, then this junior of mine..."

"He's practically a monster born for Haki."

Borsalino saw that Zefa's lips had been curling upward ever since he entered the room, and not even his Cloud-Gathering Sword could suppress it. He understood what was going on.

"Zefa, what's his name?"

Sengoku sat upright.

Normally, a Military Academy student who had not yet graduated was not worth remembering for a man like him, the Fleet Admiral.

Unless they were monsters with the potential to become a Navy Admiral.

But Rosen?

He did not merely have the potential of a Navy Admiral. He possessed the capacity to surpass one.

"Rosen."

"Oh, right."

"He seems to be a Devil Fruit user as well."

Zefa remembered something.

Rosen's Haki talent was simply too astonishing, so Zefa had completely overlooked the fact that he was also a Paramecia Ability user.

"What a waste."

Garp shook his head.

He did not mean that a Devil Fruit had been wasted. Rather, he felt that for a monster like Rosen, born for Haki, eating a Devil Fruit was simply a waste of his own talent.

While it would grant him an additional Devil Fruit ability, it would also create extra weaknesses out of thin air.

Such as the sea and Seastone.

"Zefa."

"I don't care whether Rosen is a Devil Fruit user."

"I only want to know whether he has Conqueror's Haki."

The moment Sengoku said that, everyone pricked up their ears.

Conqueror's Haki was also known as the disposition of a king.

Although one could become a top-tier powerhouse without Conqueror's Haki, without it, one could absolutely never become one of the very strongest among top-tier powerhouses.

Like Roger.

Like Whitebeard.

And Kaido.

Rosen had already gained an enormous advantage merely by developing Still Blood Armor, effectively possessing one more Armament Haki technique than everyone else. Let alone having another kind of Haki altogether.

"I only gave him one lesson."

"Then I came here to report to you."

"What do you think?"

Zefa spread his hands, making his meaning clear.

There had not been enough time to confirm whether Rosen possessed Conqueror's Haki.

"Confirm this as soon as possible."

"As long as you confirm that Rosen has Conqueror's Haki, come notify me immediately."

"When the time comes, I will personally teach him how to use Conqueror's Haki."

Sengoku stared directly at Zefa.

His words shocked everyone present.

The man standing at the pinnacle of a million Marines would personally teach a Military Academy student.

Looking across the history of Marine Headquarters, such a thing was unprecedented.

"Mr. Sengoku will personally instruct him?"

Borsalino was secretly astonished.

But he also understood why Sengoku would do this.

Unlike the pirates, where kings emerged one after another, the Marines had never lacked Navy Admiral-level combat power. What they lacked were kings with Conqueror's Haki.

As far as he knew, among the Marine higher-ups, only Sengoku and Garp seemed to possess Conqueror's Haki.

In other words, throughout Marine Headquarters, the only Marines capable of teaching Rosen how to use Conqueror's Haki were Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral, and Garp, the Hero of the Navy.