The referee's voice echoed throughout the arena. After a brief silence, tsunami-like cheers erupted from the stands.
"Well done! That was incredible!"
"Now that's the kind of fight worth watching!"
"Uchiha Senga actually beat a Vice Admiral from Headquarters? Was that Vice Admiral an impostor?"
"Get lost! I know that Vice Admiral—his strength is among the best even compared to the other Vice Admirals!"
"No matter what, we witnessed the birth of a legend."
"Senga, I want to have your babies!"
Compared to the crowd below, the Marine higher-ups on the platform appeared rather calm. Of course, they only appeared that way.
Akainu slammed a hand against his armrest and declared in an unquestionable tone,
"I want Uchiha Senga!"
Aokiji was having none of it. Still propping up his chin, he calmly spat out two words,
"Your reason?"
Akainu's right arm turned to magma. Molten droplets fell onto the ground with sizzling sounds, sending up billowing black smoke as he said coldly,
"Because I am a Marine Admiral."
Aokiji gave a disdainful sneer. His arm also transformed into its elemental form, radiating bone-piercing cold. He had no intention of indulging Akainu as he stared at him and said word by word,
"Then I'm a Marine Admiral too. You say you want him, and we just give him to you?"
"So you're determined to make trouble for me?"
"Heh heh, how would I dare oppose you? After all, you can order an entire ship of civilians killed, can't you?"
"Childish. For justice, sacrifices are unavoidable."
"Absurd! What kind of justice is indiscriminate slaughter of innocents?!"
The more they spoke, the more heated they became. The situation was on the verge of spiraling out of control. Kizaru, who was closest to them, had no intention of stopping them whatsoever. His body had even begun to turn into light particles. If the two started fighting, he would probably be the first to leave the scene.
Sengoku naturally could not allow that to happen. What would the trainees below think if they saw this? Where would the Marines' dignity be? His expression darkened as he rebuked them in a low voice,
"Enough! Are you trying to disgrace the Marines?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, an imposing aura laced with black lightning erupted from Sengoku's body. To subdue the situation as quickly as possible, Sengoku unleashed his Conqueror's Haki. As the highest commander of the entire Marine force, the strength of Sengoku's Conqueror's Haki was naturally formidable. Akainu and Aokiji, as the primary targets of that Haki, had their expressions change sharply and fell silent once more.
Once Sengoku saw that the two had quieted down, he withdrew his Conqueror's Haki and said coldly,
"No one may interfere with Uchiha Senga's assignment after graduation. He will choose for himself!"
Akainu still wanted to say something, but Tsuru, who had remained silent the entire time, gave him a cold look. He could only swallow his words. No matter how overbearing he was, he could not overpower Sengoku and Tsuru together. The Marines were still, in the end, dominated by the dove faction. He could only endure this for now. Clenching his fists, he thought resentfully,
"Damn it, if I were the Fleet Admiral..."
The conflict that had nearly erupted between the two Marine Admirals did not affect Gion. At that moment, her eyes held only Senga in the center of the arena. She desperately wanted to rush down and hold him tightly. Forget one condition—even several would be fine. She had already set her heart on this boy, more than ten years her junior, who always brought her surprise and a sense of security. Besides, age had never been an issue. Strictly speaking, Senga was far more than seventeen years old.
Ain in the stands covered her mouth tightly with both hands, tears glimmering faintly in her eyes. For her, Senga's final victory and the miracle he had created for the Marines were even more thrilling than if she had accomplished them herself. At this moment, she was simply happy for the boy in her heart!
Still standing in the arena, Senga naturally sensed those two passionate gazes coming from opposite directions. Of course, he knew who their owners were. He had heard Ain's voice in the smoke earlier; even a block of wood would understand what the girl meant. But the problem was that he had Gion. Well, not yet, but wasn't that already a foregone conclusion?
Senga admired Ain very much. This strong, positive girl who had bravely spoken out in the cafeteria had long since left an indelible impression on him.
What a pity! Senga sighed softly and raised a thumbs-up toward the platform. Gion gave a charming smile, her red lips parting as she mouthed,
"After the match, wait for me at the dormitory entrance."
Hiss... they had definitely given her the wrong title. She should really be the Pink Fox! Senga shouted inwardly, though he also wanted to collect his reward and hurry back to the dormitory. So the real reward came afterward.
It had to be said that a certain orange-haired little loli's evaluation was correct, fair, and hit the nail on the head.
Ain naturally saw that scene below. Her heart suddenly clenched, as though she had lost the most important thing in her life. Her face instantly turned pale, and the roommate beside her hurriedly asked,
"Ain, what's wrong? Did your old injury from that battle flare up? Let me help you back to rest."
Ain forced a smile and waved her hand. Weakly, she said she was fine and told her roommate not to worry. Then she fell silent, staring blankly at Senga's back on the platform as two trails of tears ran down her cheeks. She murmured softly,
I know now that you may not be my moon, but there was once a moment when moonlight truly shone upon me.
This year-end assessment finally came to a successful conclusion after Sengoku stood and delivered a speech.
After the match, Senga was also brought to Sengoku's office by the referee.
Sengoku had already sent away the other Marine higher-ups, especially Akainu and Aokiji. Who knew whether those two would start fighting again once they saw Senga in person?
Setting aside those two troublesome fellows, Sengoku found himself liking Senga more and more as he looked at this boy who had brought him so many surprises in less than a year.
He had heard that Gion was deeply fond of this boy. Then why hadn't she made a move already? Could someone I fancy possibly be lacking?
Sengoku could only think those words to himself. He would never say them aloud. Of course, it was not because of Tsuru. Absolutely not!
Seeing that Sengoku had not spoken for a long time, Senga pretended to cough twice to remind him.
Sengoku came back to his senses and coughed twice as well, easing the awkwardness. It had to be said that coughing a couple of times was truly unbeatable when it came to breaking awkward silences.
Sengoku resumed his usual stern expression, took three exquisite boxes from a cabinet, and pushed them in front of Senga.
These three boxes were the rewards Marine Headquarters had prepared for Senga: three powerful Devil Fruits for him to choose from!
Before you continue