Fleet Admiral Kong smiled.
"That does fit your personality."
"Take some time off first. It's been so long since you came back to Headquarters."
"Have a good look around. Headquarters has changed quite a bit these past few years."
Sakazuki nodded.
"Yes, it certainly has."
"There are a lot more residents on the island."
Fleet Admiral Kong said:
"Yes, they're the families of our officers."
"With the Great Pirate Era Roger ushered in, more and more islands have become unsafe."
"To prevent what happened to Zephyr from happening again."
"Most of our officers' families have moved to Marineford."
"We've built quite a few shopping and entertainment districts."
"The soldiers at Headquarters can relax more when they're off duty, too."
Sakazuki smiled.
"That really is nice."
"All right, I'll go have a look around."
Kong nodded and said:
"Go ahead."
"Hmm... really no interest?"
Sakazuki pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Really. We can talk about it when Sengoku 'doesn't want the job' anymore."
Kong smiled.
"All right, all right. Go on."
After firmly making his position clear, Sakazuki walked out of the office.
Kong still felt relieved. He couldn't help it; both men were equally dear to him.
After a lifetime devoted to the Marines, he had only these two dependable successors.
If something like this drove a wedge between them, that would truly be...
Marine Headquarters Academy.
Sakazuki had just entered the grounds.
He spotted Morris and Zephyr coming out together, followed by a somewhat shy purple-haired boy with a steady presence.
Seeing Sakazuki, Zephyr smiled and nodded.
Morris said in surprise:
"You're back, Sakazuki."
"You..."
Sakazuki raised a hand.
"Stop right there!"
"No, no, I have no interest."
"All right, now you can continue."
Morris shook his head with a smile.
"You..."
At that moment, the purple-haired