A call from Sengoku

Miland made his way to the coast. He took out the compass Su Yu had given him and checked it. The needle pointed northwest, ahead and slightly to his right. He gazed into the distance in that direction, his eyes filled with hatred!

Just you wait, Fierce Wolf Pirates. I'm coming to make you pay with your lives!

He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled and summoned the God Cloth of Pegasus again. With a beat of the wings on his back, he soared into the sky, becoming a streak of silver light that quickly vanished over the horizon.

At the same time, Abel returned to his Marine Base.

As soon as he arrived, he hurried straight to his office, took out a Den Den Mushi, and dialed a number.

Purururu~ The Den Den Mushi's distinctive ringing sounded. Then the other party answered, and the snail mimicked his appearance: a pair of glasses and, most striking of all, a long, braided beard.

"Hello, Sengoku speaking!"

His voice was serious and steady, instinctively putting anyone who heard it at ease. This was Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

"Fleet Admiral, this is Abel, commander of the base in the Sabaody Archipelago. I have something very important to report!"

"Oh? What is it?"

"Here's the situation, Fleet Admiral. Would you believe that a frail boy who had never received any training could instantly gain strength on par with a Rear Admiral, or even a Vice Admiral?"

"What? Abel, are you telling me a joke? Because it isn't funny!"

Clearly, Sengoku thought Abel was joking. What he had described defied all common sense. Without witnessing it firsthand, it was hard to imagine.

"I'm not joking, Fleet Admiral Sengoku! I saw it with my own eyes!"

Only after Abel repeatedly assured him did Sengoku reluctantly believe his account.

"Abel, tell me exactly what happened!"

"Yes, Fleet Admiral! Here's what happened. A week ago, a young man came to the Sabaody Archipelago and opened a bar. The bar claims that it can grant any wish, provided you pay a sufficient price. Nobody really believed it, so no one tried it. But today, the first customer showed up..."

Abel then reported everything that had happened that day, from beginning to end. After listening, Sengoku fell silent.

Abel had previously reported the Wish-Granting Bar and its owner, Su Yu, to his superiors, so Sengoku had heard of them. He simply hadn't paid them any mind. These seas had no shortage of blindly arrogant people. He had assumed the owner of the Wish-Granting Bar was another such person, merely one with a little strength to back it up.

But if everything was as Abel had said, and Su Yu really could instantly turn an ordinary, untrained person into someone at least as powerful as a top-tier Rear Admiral, things were a little troublesome!

If that was true, didn't it mean Su Yu could create armies at will? They still didn't know Su Yu's limits, or whether the power he bestowed had any limits or side effects, but even so, the ability was already outrageous!

Moreover, according to Abel, Su Yu himself was exceptionally strong. He had demonstrated a spatial ability, along with what appeared to be the power of the Air-Air Fruit. However, possessing two Devil Fruit abilities at once was unheard of, so it was most likely a new Devil Fruit that hadn't been recorded in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia...

If someone like him joined the Marines and worked for us... Sengoku narrowed his eyes.

He felt he needed to speak with this Su Yu. Even if he couldn't persuade him to join the Marines, he couldn't let pirate forces recruit him-or, in the worst-case scenario, let him become involved with the Revolutionary Army!

"Fleet Admiral? Fleet Admiral Sengoku?"

Abel's voice pulled Sengoku out of his thoughts. Only then did he remember that he was still on the phone with Abel.

"Ahem. Abel, speak to that bar owner-Su Yu, was it? Tell him I'd like to have a chat, then call me."

"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"

Abel took the Den Den Mushi back to Su Yu's bar, only to find it closed for the day. Unwilling to give up, he went up and knocked, but there was no response from inside. He could only return to the base and plan to try again the next day.

Early the next morning, Abel arrived outside Su Yu's bar again. It still wasn't open, but he wasn't concerned. The bar had no fixed opening time; it opened at a different hour every day. Its owner certainly did as he pleased.

Abel had arrived outside the bar at six thirty, but it wasn't until ten past eight that Su Yu finally opened the door, yawning as he did so. Then he spotted Abel waiting outside.

"Oh, you're here early~"

With that, he ignored Abel's reproachful look and turned back into the bar.

Abel rolled his eyes and followed Su Yu inside.

"What are you drinking?"

"The usual! No, wait, I'm not here to drink today!"

"Oh. Do you still want the drink, then?"

"Of course!"

Su Yu set a glass of liquor in front of Abel. Abel picked it up and drained it in one gulp. "Ah~ That hits the spot~"

After his drink, Abel took out a Den Den Mushi and placed it on the counter. "Boss, our Fleet Admiral would like to speak with you. Do you have the time?"

A sharp gleam flashed through Su Yu's eyes. Fleet Admiral Sengoku? He's one of the strongest people in the One Piece World.

"If Fleet Admiral Sengoku is in the mood for a chat with me, then of course I have time."

When Su Yu agreed, Abel quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He had worried that Su Yu might refuse to take the call on a whim. It seemed Fleet Admiral Sengoku's name still carried weight!

Abel then called Sengoku. The call connected quickly, and the Den Den Mushi once again put on glasses and grew a braided beard.

"Hello, Sengoku speaking!"

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! This is Abel. I'm at the bar now, and the owner, Su Yu, is right beside me!"

After speaking, Abel gestured to Su Yu, then left the bar and stood guard outside the door.

In the quiet bar, Su Yu picked up the Den Den Mushi's receiver. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I've long heard of your great reputation!"

"I've been hearing your name for some time as well, Mr. Su Yu. Heroes truly do emerge from the young!"

"You must have plenty of work to do every day, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. How have you found the time to call a nobody like me?"

"Well, I heard you have a way to instantly give an ordinary person combat strength on par with a Vice Admiral, Mr. Su Yu. Is that true?"

"Oh, it's true. But with your strength, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, surely a mere Vice Admiral wouldn't catch your eye."

"You jest, Mr. Su Yu. A single person with a Vice Admiral's strength wouldn't concern the Marines all that much. But what about a whole group? Or someone even stronger?"

"Just tell me what you're getting at, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"

"Very well. Personally, I hope you'll join the Marines, Mr. Su Yu. Given your strength, I can authorize granting you the rank of Vice Admiral immediately. And provided you're strong enough, a future nomination for Admiral wouldn't be out of the question!"

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I'm just a man without any grand ambitions. All I want is to run a bar and enjoy a leisurely life. I'll pass on joining the Marines!"

Sengoku remained noncommittal about Su Yu's claim that he lacked ambition. Still, he hadn't expected Su Yu to agree simply because he offered to recruit him. Capable people all had a measure of pride. He understood that.

"Since you have your own plans, Mr. Su Yu, I won't insist. But as long as you don't oppose the Marines, our doors will always be open to you!"

"Then thank you for the kind offer! If there's nothing else, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, let's end our conversation here."

Su Yu knew Sengoku was certainly interested in the Cloth, but he couldn't bring it up himself. He had to wait for Sengoku to ask.

Sure enough, Sengoku's voice came from the other end. "Wait..."