Become My Disciple

Of course, he had backup plans as well, but they would not leave such a deep impression on every Marine at the port like today had.

The report Hina had entered into the navigation log was one of his backup plans.

If Sengoku, Garp, and the others had not sensed his unfamiliar Conqueror's Haki, he would have submitted that report through the proper channels to Sengoku, letting the Marine higher-ups know that he likely possessed Conqueror's Haki.

It simply would not have been as effective as what had happened today.

As expected, news that he possessed Conqueror's Haki would spread throughout Marineford through the word of the Marines present.

It might even spread across the world along with the Marines' patrol missions.

After years of honing, Beiyuan Heng had gradually become adept at using the system.

Now that he had the [Celebrity (Blue)] trait, he could slowly accumulate recognition and improve the trait's quality.

As long as he remained in the public eye, his strength would steadily grow.

Not to mention [Heaven Rewards Diligence (Blue)]; every bit of effort he put in would yield results, and his physical abilities and strength improved every day.

He could even be certain that his traits would undergo some changes in just a few days.

Sure enough, after Beiyuan Heng left with Zephyr and the others, the Marines present began chattering among themselves.

"Have you ever heard of Conqueror's Haki before?"

"No. And let me ask, what even is Haki?"

"Vice Admiral Tsuru said only a tiny handful of people could awaken it. There are at least a hundred thousand people at Marine Headquarters, right? So how come I've never heard of it?"

"By the way, aren't you curious about who this Commodore Beiyuan Heng is? I've never seen him before. He's such a young commodore."

"No idea, but for someone that young to become a commodore and be taken away by Admiral Zephyr, he must be pretty strong."

"I heard Admiral Zephyr seemed to be planning to take on a final disciple. Could Commodore Beiyuan Heng be the one?"

Fleet Admiral's Office

A room that usually only held two or three people now had four or five extra occupants.

Sengoku, Zephyr, Tsuru, Garp, Beiyuan Heng, and Zephyr's two prized disciples were all present.

Beiyuan Heng was calm inside, but his face showed surprise, as though he were wondering why he had been brought here.

He said nothing, as if the scene had intimidated him.

Zephyr and Vice Admiral Tsuru were explaining to Sengoku what had just happened.

"So my premonition came true after all."

Sengoku narrowed his eyes and looked at Beiyuan Heng.

At the same time, he glanced at Zephyr, who was looking at Beiyuan Heng with approval.

He said to Zephyr, "Zephyr, do you know what this kid's identity is?"

Zephyr froze. "Isn't he a Marine commodore? What's wrong? Does he have another identity? Is he a pirate?"

Sengoku rolled his eyes at Zephyr and pushed a file toward him. "See for yourself."

Zephyr took the file and looked it over. His expression immediately became animated as he muttered, "A CP9 agent, hailed as the strongest Genius in eight hundred years."

"No wonder... no wonder he has Conqueror's Haki."

Then, ignoring Sengoku's dark expression, he burst into laughter. "Looks like I, Zephyr, really am going to have a disciple with Conqueror's Haki."

"Zephyr!"

Sengoku roared, "Didn't you see that he's an agent of Cipher Pol?!"

At those words, Garp and Zephyr both dug at their ears, making it clear they had heard nothing.

Zephyr said, "I think it's perfectly fine for this kid Beiyuan Heng to stay with the Marines."

"Besides, I may not be some cultured man, but I can read. Doesn't it say right there that Beiyuan Heng is a Marine now?"

It was not that Zephyr particularly coveted Conqueror's Haki.

Rather, after reading Beiyuan Heng's record, he became even more determined to take Beiyuan Heng as his disciple.

The intelligence Sengoku had given him was not the same file he had shown Garp a few months ago.

It had already been updated with everything Beiyuan Heng had done over the past few months.

It specifically recorded what Beiyuan Heng had done at the Sabaody Archipelago.

Beiyuan Heng might look gentle and amiable now, but the number of pirates he had killed at the Sabaody Archipelago was enough to leave corpses strewn everywhere.

Ever since Zephyr's family had been killed by pirates,

Zephyr had abandoned his so-called principle of "not killing."

Whenever he left Marine Headquarters to carry out a mission, it was a massacre for pirates.

And Beiyuan Heng's way of doing things happened to suit his tastes perfectly.

That's right!

This was how the Marines should be: show pirates no mercy while loudly proclaiming their justice, making those who wanted to become pirates tremble in fear and those who upheld justice hold their heads high.

I, Zephyr, am definitely taking this kid as my disciple!

Looking at Zephyr, who had already made up his mind, Sengoku felt deeply helpless.

It was not that he did not trust Zephyr. Rather, if Beiyuan Heng truly became Zephyr's final disciple,

then at the very least, he could become an admiral candidate.

But Sengoku could not completely trust Beiyuan Heng.

He knew very well how Cipher Pol trained CP9.

They began with orphans, brainwashing them from childhood and training them according to the standards of perfect tools.

The ideology instilled in them was not even to devote everything to the World Government, but to devote everything to the Celestial Dragons.

And all they came into contact with were the darkest, most grimy, filthy affairs.

As though he had noticed the hesitation in his old friend's eyes, Zephyr patted his chest and said, "Don't underestimate my judgment."

"If this kid ever does anything to betray the Marines, I'll personally haul him off to Impel Down."

Watching the two of them decide his future in just a few words, Beiyuan Heng let out a sigh of relief.

He had originally thought Zephyr would be somewhat resistant to his identity as a CP9 agent.

He had not expected Zephyr not to care in the slightest.

"However..."

Zephyr changed the subject and looked at Beiyuan Heng.

"But not everyone can become my personal disciple."

"Although you possess the one-in-ten-thousand Conqueror's Haki, you still need my approval."

"Much as I would like to have a disciple like you, if your strength is not up to standard, you should go back and be an agent."

As Zephyr spoke, he cracked his knuckles.

Beiyuan Heng narrowed his eyes slightly and watched Zephyr approach.

At that moment, Vice Admiral Tsuru suddenly stepped forward and said,

"Zephyr, you haven't even asked the kid what he thinks, have you?"

"Ah, I forgot..." Zephyr suddenly looked a little embarrassed as he turned to Beiyuan Heng.

"You should know what this is about by now, right?"

"So? Do you want to become my disciple?"

This did indeed fit Beiyuan Heng's plans.

Becoming Zephyr's disciple meant he could legitimately shed the CP9 label and smoothly advance his career.

However, he looked at Garp, who was eating rice crackers nearby.

If he could become Garp's disciple, that might be even better.