At this moment, an elderly man with slightly bronzed skin sat in an office chair. Behind him was the enormous blue seagull emblem, and he was none other than the current Fleet Admiral, Kong.
"Has that guy Garp returned?"
"He has. His warship just entered the harbor."
Sengoku was in his prime then and still served as the current Marine Admiral.
There was only one Marine Admiral at the moment—Sengoku. Damn, the pressure on him had to be immense.
There had originally been another one, Zephyr, but he had become an instructor at the Elite Training Camp and was practically semi-retired. Although he was still an admiral, he no longer went on missions, so it made little difference whether he was there or not.
They had hoped Garp would become an admiral and share some of the burden, but Garp stubbornly refused.
"I heard Garp brought back a newcomer." At that moment, a man wearing sunglasses and sporting short purple hair slowly took a rice cracker from the bag in his hand. "Zephyr, if you want to talk, then talk. Put down my rice crackers. What's wrong with eating one?"
"I don't even like them anyway. Stingy bastard!"
Zephyr tossed the rice cracker in his hand onto the desk with a look of disgust.
Seeing this, Sengoku picked up the bag of rice crackers, took one, and said, "That guy Garp loves exaggerating. Although our Marines are indeed short on talent right now, the person Garp mentioned is only about as strong as a colonel. He's quite ordinary."
"Here's his file. Take a look."
As soon as he finished speaking, Sengoku pulled out two documents and handed them to Kong and Zephyr.
Kong read through them calmly, then placed them on the desk.
"Zephyr, what do you think of this Adrian Mu Chen?"
Zephyr looked at the file in his hand, his brow furrowing.
"This Mu Chen's ability seems rather interesting. Blood Eyes?"
"I'm a little curious now."
Zephyr first voiced his curiosity about Mu Chen, then continued, "But this Mu Chen likes slacking off, does he? That really is a new term. I dislike that very much. How can a Marine be so lazy?"
"A Marine this lazy dealing with pirates is simply absurd."
Zephyr was famously strict, but no one knew how deeply he loved his students. In Zephyr's eyes, he hated pirates above all else. Next, he wanted to cultivate talent for the Marines. Most importantly, the harder his students worked, the stronger they became. That way, no matter what pirates they encountered in the future, their chances of survival would be greater. Thus, Zephyr had a very poor opinion of Mu Chen, who liked to slack off. Sengoku shared Zephyr's attitude as well. "I told you, that guy Garp just likes recommending people at random. No wonder—someone whose strength is only comparable to a colonel holds no more than the rank of major."
Kong spoke calmly, then immediately said, "Since he's already here, Zephyr, go take a look at that Mu Chen. If he won't do, send him back to the East Blue. This is the Grand Line. Someone like him won't survive here."
"Understood, Fleet Admiral Kong." After Kong finished speaking, he did not wish to say anything further. After all, this was merely a minor interruption.
He then dismissed Sengoku and Zephyr.
Sengoku and Zephyr walked down the corridor, and Sengoku slowly said, "I'll go with you."
"I'd like to see how that guy Garp reacts when Mu Chen gets sent back. It should be quite interesting."
Zephyr had no objection to that. One wanted to see Garp make a fool of himself, while the other wanted to meet the newcomer.
Meanwhile, Mu Chen finally set foot in Marine Headquarters.
"Marineford, Mu Chen. Come on, I'll take you to the Elite Training Camp."
Garp draped his cloak of justice over his shoulders and walked ahead, while Mu Chen followed behind him.
Mu Chen noticed that wherever Garp went, every Marine saluted him. The Marine Hero's reputation was no exaggeration; all the Marines respected him.
Before long, Garp and Mu Chen arrived at a training camp where many Marines were training.
"Mu Chen, wait here for now. I need to report to the Fleet Admiral, then I'll make arrangements for you."
Mu Chen nodded without saying anything.
Garp then left.
Mu Chen looked around and noticed a female Marine training nearby. She had a curvaceous figure, long black hair, and an exquisitely beautiful face.
Looking closer, there was a tiny mole at the corner of her mouth, making her seem all the more alluring.
Mu Chen had never seen her before and could not recall who she was.
"Was there such a beautiful female Marine in the Marines?"
"This female Marine... you, you, you—what did you say?"
"What are you looking at?"
At that moment, a man with a rather sleazy-looking face appeared. To be honest, his appearance was quite rushed. Mu Chen felt like he had seen him somewhere before, but he could not quite remember. "You're a newcomer, aren't you?"
"Let me tell you, Brigadier General Gion isn't someone you can stare at. She's Tokikake's woman. Look again, and I'll dig out your eyes."
Mu Chen was stunned by those words. Damn, so it was him!
This rushed-looking fellow was Tokikake, one of the future pillars of the Marines and a candidate for Marine Admiral. The beautiful female Marine just now was Gion, another candidate for Marine Admiral.
After thinking of them, Mu Chen suddenly remembered a juicy story between them: Tokikake would confess his love to Gion one hundred times, only to be rejected by Gion every single time. Just thinking about it was rather amusing.
"However, your taste is quite good. Gion is one of the great beauties of our Marines!"
"Today, I'll show you the kind of courtship only a handsome man can pull off!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Tokikake seemingly conjured a huge bouquet of flowers in his hand like a magician.
Mu Chen had never imagined that Tokikake, with his rushed appearance, could actually utter the words "handsome man."
When the many Marines saw this, they immediately looked helpless and began whispering among themselves. "Here he goes again. Tokikake really refuses to give up!"
"By the way, how many times has he confessed to Gion now?"
Mu Chen had not expected to get to watch such drama the moment he arrived. He really had to enjoy the show.
"Gion, my dear, give it a try?"
"Your dear Tokikake is confessing his love to you for the fifty-first time. Please accept me!"
Before you continue