Canary

"Ah..."

Sengoku looked at the handsome youth who appeared somewhat embarrassed under the slightly dim light, and for a moment, he did not react.

It was not until a moment later that Sengoku felt a warmth in his heart, and fighting back the urge for tears to well up in his eyes, he asked.

"You brat, did you prepare this to celebrate my promotion to Fleet Admiral of the Marines?"

"Something like that..."

Yaen crossed his arms, his gaze drifting as he spoke with a lack of sincerity.

"As an aside, the truth is, I just felt inexplicably happy thinking that from now on, I will be the foster son of the Fleet Admiral."

Upon hearing this, Sengoku felt an inexplicable sense of tension and trepidation, thinking to himself.

Could it be that this child has truly turned over a new leaf after going out to train with Kuzan? Does he have a brand new understanding of justice, and is that why he feels proud and honored by my promotion to Fleet Admiral?

But the next moment, Yaen's words caused even Sengoku's expression to instantly stiffen.

"With you, Old Man, at the top, let's see who in Marineford dares to mess with me from now on? This is great! How could I not celebrate such a joyous occasion?"

Immediately, Sengoku grabbed a plate of food and hurled it at Yaen, shouting with rage.

"Even if I have been promoted to Fleet Admiral, that is not a crutch for you to throw your weight around! This sea is one where strength is respected..."

"You spineless brat, stop right there!"

"You're going to be the death of me! Stop, I am definitely going to teach you a lesson today!"

Not far from the courtyard where Sengoku lived, Kuzan, who was lying down counting the stars, glanced in that direction. Watching the two constantly leaping shadows reflected on the window, he couldn't help but sigh with a bit of emotion.

"Truly a case of a kind father and a filial son; what a heartwarming life."

In another direction, Vice Admiral Tsuru, who was planning to head out to discuss some details of tomorrow's Promotion Ceremony with Sengoku, noticed the lively commotion in Sengoku's courtyard and pulled back her steps.

"Sister Tsuru, what's wrong?" Gion, who was following Vice Admiral Tsuru, asked.

"Nothing, it's just that the child Yaen seems to have returned. This is a rare moment for them to spend time together as father and son, so let's leave them to it," Vice Admiral Tsuru said gently.

Hearing this, Gion looked toward the direction of Sengoku's courtyard.

"Bang!"

A chair suddenly smashed through a window, crashing heavily onto the road and shattering into pieces.

Faintly, Gion could even hear the roaring sounds erupting from within Sengoku's courtyard.

"Sister Tsuru, this... shouldn't you go and talk them down? They've started fighting, haven't they?" Gion asked.

Vice Admiral Tsuru shook her head and said.

"Gion, you don't understand. The romance of those men is just that incomprehensible; this is also their way of communicating their feelings."

"Is that so?" Gion said, somewhat uncomprehendingly.

"You are still young..."

Vice Admiral Tsuru turned and walked toward the house while saying, "Let's go back. You will naturally understand these things in the future."

"Oh."

Gion replied, took one more look at the direction of Sengoku's courtyard, and then turned to follow Vice Admiral Tsuru back.

The next day.

Under the witness of countless Marines in Marineford, Admiral Sengoku took over the heavy responsibility from the previous Fleet Admiral, Kong Gokei, and assumed the position of Fleet Admiral.

"Everyone, the situation on the sea is becoming increasingly dire. Because of a lie told by the Pirate King before his death, the number of pirates on the sea is growing day by day. Chaos, looting, slaughter... all are constantly breeding!!!"

"And what is our mission? What is the mission of being a Marine? What is the justice that we uphold?"

"..."

"Today, I take on the role of Fleet Admiral. In the name of 'Reigning Justice', I swear to lead the Marines to suppress all evil upon the sea."

Fleet Admiral Sengoku's eloquent and impassioned speech left Yaen feeling completely unmoved, though it made Marines all over the world incredibly excited.

"Hmm, perhaps because I am not a Marine yet and my stance is different, I cannot empathize with the Old Man's passion."

Yaen muttered this to himself, fighting back the urge to yawn, and tried his best to participate in the entire Fleet Admiral Promotion Ceremony with the proper demeanor expected of a Fleet Admiral's family member.

What made Yaen feel somewhat bored was that the many countermeasures the Old Man Sengoku had gone to great lengths to prepare did not end up facing any troublemaking pirates.

Otherwise, this Fleet Admiral Promotion Ceremony would have been much more intense and exciting.

However, this was normal. At this time, having just executed the "Pirate King" Gol D. Roger and captured the "Golden Lion" Shiki, the Marines' deterrent power on the sea was still immense.

Ordinary small-time thugs would not have the chance to break into Marineford, and the Great Pirates would not rashly offend the newly appointed Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who was in need of establishing his authority.

Subsequently, Sengoku, as the new Fleet Admiral, took direct charge of all Marine affairs and threw himself into a new round of busyness.

And what made Yaen quite happy was that Sengoku seemed to have forgotten his existence, or perhaps had given up on the idea of forcing him to become a Marine, and did not pay much attention to him as he stayed holed up in Sengoku's courtyard every day.

"So comfortable..."

Yaen spent his days basking in the sun, watering flowers, and occasionally strolling about with his hands behind his back while carrying a birdcage.

Entering a Buddhist-like retirement life ahead of schedule, this is truly great!

At only sixteen years old, Yaen thought this with immense satisfaction, his whistling growing increasingly loud and rhythmic.

The canary inside the cage tilted its head, its eyes reflecting a human-like glint as it looked at Yaen, letting out a melodious and gentle sound.

"Such a good bird, you're learning very quickly..."

Yaen smiled, continuing to walk his bird while not forgetting to point things out to the passing Officers, seemingly teaching the canary with great patience.

This graceful canary, possessing quite a bit of spiritual intelligence, responded to Yaen from time to time.

Meanwhile, the Navy High Command was holding an important meeting at Marine Headquarters, one that concerned the promotion arrangements and job transfers of a large number of Officers within the Navy.

Following Fleet Admiral Sengoku's ascension, even though he had no intention of purging the previous Fleet Admiral's faction.

In order to steer the "Navy"—that giant ship sailing through the tides of the era—more effectively, it was inevitable that personnel adjustments would be made to various key positions.

"Very well, everyone has worked hard for these three days of meetings; let's leave the job promotion and transfer arrangements as they are for now..."

Sitting at the head of the conference room, Fleet Admiral Sengoku gave a brief summary before speaking.

"Additionally, there is one final issue reported by Vice Admiral Kuzan that I believe requires our study."

With that, Fleet Admiral Sengoku passed the prepared materials to the Navy High Command present and said, "That is the question of how to supervise the Navy in the Four Seas."