Zephyr Wants to Be a Principal?

The atmosphere in the office made it clear that the Ed War Sea Battle had, for the time being, brought a relatively favorable situation for the Marines.

Fleet Admiral Kong and Admiral Zephyr were chatting and laughing, both seeming as though a great weight had finally been lifted from their hearts.

After all, Shiki, the pirate captain who had run rampant across the New World and whom the Marines had regarded as their greatest threat, had suffered a devastating setback. Naturally, the Marines were the happiest about it!

After exchanging a few more jokes, Zephyr took another sip of hot tea before suddenly saying, "Now that Shiki's problem has more or less been dealt with, we're not under quite so much pressure anymore..."

Fleet Admiral Kong paused slightly at those words, then quickly caught on. "You're not going to bring that matter up again, are you?"

"I was just thinking of discussing it with you again. I'm not that young anymore..." Zephyr said with a chuckle.

"If I remember correctly, you only turned fifty this year?" Fleet Admiral Kong cut him off, looking rather annoyed.

Fifty? How was that old? Out at sea, whether pirate or Marine, that was the prime of one's life—the peak of one's strength!

"Ahem..." Zephyr coughed awkwardly before saying, "But you know my physical condition, Fleet Admiral."

Fleet Admiral Kong fell silent for a moment. Zephyr truly was not old, but he suffered from fairly severe asthma. His attacks came from time to time, and they were no easy thing to deal with.

"Besides, I never said I wanted to leave the Marines. I just want to step down from the front lines. Haven't I spent the past few years handling training for new Marine recruits? The results have been quite good, haven't they? So I was thinking, why not let me step down from my position as an admiral and focus entirely on this? I even have a detailed proposal..." As Zephyr spoke, he took out a folder from beside him and placed it in front of Kong.

Fleet Admiral Kong picked up the folder and opened it. Sure enough, it contained a detailed proposal. He first looked up at Zephyr, then, somewhat helplessly, began to study it.

In broad terms, Zephyr believed that Marine Headquarters still had many shortcomings in cultivating fresh talent. After years of practice and reflection, he felt that Marine Headquarters needed to establish a complete, systematic, and large-scale elite training program!

That meant specifically selecting talented and gifted young people from within the Marines, giving them systematic training, and directly preparing them for the path of becoming officers!

The proposal mainly called for the construction of an Officer Training Camp at Marine Headquarters to handle these matters, with Zephyr naturally volunteering to personally oversee the plan.

At first, Zephyr had wanted to establish a full-fledged Marine military academy. But he was afraid of biting off more than he could chew—if it fell flat, that would be embarrassing. So he had proposed this "training camp" plan instead, to test the waters first. If the results proved truly good, then converting the training camp into a Marine military academy later on would not be impossible.

It was obvious that Zephyr had prepared thoroughly this time. At least on paper, Kong could not find any issues, and over the years, Zephyr had indeed accumulated considerable relevant experience.

As early as several years ago, Zephyr had mentioned wanting to step down as an admiral. Fleet Admiral Kong had refused him at the time. Still, considering Zephyr's physical and mental condition—his entire family had been killed by pirates back then—Kong had indeed lightened his workload afterward, transferring much of his work to Sengoku. He had even dressed it up as training Sengoku to become the next Fleet Admiral.

Of course, given the current state of the Marine high command, Fleet Admiral Kong truly did regard Sengoku as a candidate for the next generation's Fleet Admiral.

After that, Zephyr had become relatively free, so he began focusing on the recruit training that interested him. He had run several training courses, and they had indeed brought new changes and promising talent to the Marines.

Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan—the three future admirals—had all come out from under Zephyr's guidance a few years earlier.

Later, famous Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals such as Vice Admiral Momonga and Vice Admiral Hoshigaki had mostly followed the same path.

So, as things stood, Zephyr was not merely making empty claims. He had years of practical experience in this field, and his results had been genuinely impressive. For a moment, Fleet Admiral Kong found himself tempted, yet deeply hesitant.

He was tempted because he truly hoped that, if Zephyr could carry out the proposal as written, the Marines would be supplied with a steady stream of backbone personnel, officer candidates, and outstanding talent in the years to come.

But he hesitated because this generation of Marine Admirals was already short one person. That bastard Garp refused to fall in line no matter what, and if Zephyr stepped down as an admiral too, then the Marines' so-called "highest fighting force" would truly rest on Sengoku alone.

That would place immense pressure on Sengoku!

And Fleet Admiral Kong would have a hard time explaining it to Mary Geoise as well.

"You really are putting me in a difficult position, Zephyr." Fleet Admiral Kong exhaled a cloud of smoke, tapped the ash from his cigarette, and spoke hesitantly.

Seeing that Kong seemed tempted, Zephyr's eyes lit up. Smiling, he said, "Then why don't we each take a step back? I won't resign as an admiral, but the duties I normally handle can gradually be transferred privately to Sengoku. As for me, I'll devote most of my energy to this matter and train more elite personnel for the Marines. What do you think?"

Ask for a high price, then settle for less. Zephyr understood that principle well enough. If he started by making a greater demand, Kong would definitely refuse. But if he took a step back during the negotiation, many things would become easier to discuss!

"So you're trying to play tricks with me..." Fleet Admiral Kong said, looking at Zephyr with amused exasperation.

He was no fool. How could he fail to see through Zephyr's tactic?

Zephyr laughed heartily without any embarrassment. After taking a sip of tea, he said, "Given my current condition, it's better for me to stay away from the front lines. If I don't go, I'm still a capable war commander. People probably haven't forgotten my reputation from a few years ago so quickly. But if I do go, and my asthma acts up in the middle of a battle, then I'd truly be exposing my weakness, Fleet Admiral..."

Given Zephyr's status as a Marine Admiral, his illness was naturally classified at an extremely high level. In fact, only a few members of the Marine high command knew the details. The outside world had virtually no chance of learning about it.

So, just as Zephyr had said, as long as he did not fight, he remained one of the Marines' top combat forces, a powerful deterrent. But if his illness were accidentally exposed, that deterrence would undoubtedly plummet. That would be no good for either him personally or the Marines.

Therefore, it was quite suitable for him to remain in the rear and handle training. It would be best for him to avoid the front lines whenever possible.

If anyone else had said such things, Kong might have suspected them of being afraid. But Zephyr's achievements and strength over so many years were right there for all to see, and the situation truly was what it was. Naturally, Kong would not doubt him.

Just as Fleet Admiral Kong was about to say something, there came another knock at the door. After he answered, a Marine Lieutenant Commander entered. He appeared to be from the Intelligence Department.

"Report! Latest intelligence: the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates have joined forces and gone to war with Wang Zhi's pirate crew!" the Marine Lieutenant Commander reported swiftly.

Fleet Admiral Kong froze for a moment, then looked at Zephyr and said, "Sure enough, we can't let down our guard against those bastards in the New World for even a moment... Look, trouble has already come again. How about this? I'll give your proposal careful consideration, but let's wait until this wave of chaos has passed first?"

Zephyr knew it was not the right time to press the matter further. Otherwise, he would seem unable to distinguish priorities. So he nodded. "Understood."

After speaking to Zephyr, Fleet Admiral Kong turned to the Marine Lieutenant Commander. "Aren't Garp and Sengoku on the New World front lines? Have them decide their actions themselves according to the situation!"