Chapter 4: Fame across the seas!
"Sengoku, it's time."
In the Fleet Admiral's Office,
Vice Admiral Tsuru said, her hair tied in a simple ponytail.
Sengoku stopped his right hand as it wrote on a document at his desk,
then rose and headed for the door.
"Tsuru, do you think... I made the right decision?"
With the moment approaching, Sengoku's resolve wavered again.
Vice Admiral Tsuru smiled and said,
"Sengoku, go ahead and do it..."
"The pirates have powerful rising stars like Marco."
"How could the Navy have none?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru's words restored much of Sengoku's confidence.
"Phew... sure enough, the times are moving forward, and we're gradually growing old..."
Elsewhere, Xiu was doing his daily Blade Meditation training,
when he heard a soft knock at the door.
"U-um, Commodore Xiu! Your new clothes are here!"
Xiu ended his Blade Meditation and opened the door.
At the sight of that striking, medium-length pale pink hair,
Xiu froze for a moment.
"Huh? Are you... Hina?"
Hina, who stood outside holding his clothes, was startled,
then a smile appeared on her face.
"Huh? Commodore Xiu actually knows me! Hina is very happy!"
"Haha, how could I not know a famous Navy beauty?"
Xiu teased.
His words brought a faint blush to Hina's face.
"C-Commodore Xiu, honestly... Hina is very embarrassed!"
With that, Hina handed Xiu the clothes, then turned and fled...
Looking at Hina, who was still a little adorably clueless at this point,
Xiu smiled and closed the door.
"Hmm... the clothes fit perfectly."
He looked at himself in the mirror,
dressed in a black pinstriped suit,
paired with pointed leather shoes,
and put on his specially commissioned dark red gloves.
Beneath his short, choppy black hair, his scarlet eyes showed satisfaction.
"Mm~~ handsome no matter how you look at me, just like you fine viewers!"
Done admiring himself, he draped the white coat over his shoulders.
He turned and headed for the outdoor assembly area.
By now, the assembly area was packed with Navy soldiers.
At this moment, they were all eagerly awaiting the youngest commodore in history!
On the raised platform, Vice Admiral Tsuru and Sengoku stood in the center.
"Quiet, everyone!"
Sengoku's booming voice
reached everyone's ears,
and everyone below instantly straightened their backs,
their mouths shut tight and their eyes fixed on Sengoku.
"I'm sure you're all eager for today's star to appear..."
"Xiu, come up!"
At those words, everyone looked toward one side of the platform.
Tap, tap, tap...
The sound of leather shoes striking the ground rang out,
and a slender figure, 1.9 meters tall, appeared before them.
Wearing a black pinstriped suit and a white coat of justice,
the handsome young man walked onto the platform without arrogance or impatience.
"So this is... Era Xiu!"
"The youngest commodore..."
Xiu was quite serious today.
Sengoku nodded in satisfaction as well,
and attached the insignia signifying the rank of commodore to Xiu's shoulders.
"From today onward, you're a member of the Navy..."
"Welcome to the Navy family!"
"Ooooooh!!!!!"
"Lord Xiu!!!"
"Long live the Navy!!!"
Xiu smiled and waved to everyone below.
The newspaper cameras kept flashing, too.
Soon, the news about Xiu spread throughout the seas!
Somewhere in the New World!
An enormous whale-shaped pirate ship sailed across the sea!
It was none other than the Whitebeard Pirates' ship: the Moby Dick!
"Huh? Today's paper is especially early!"
Marco, who had only recently become the First Division commander, said.
He then took the newspaper off the seagull,
and tossed it a dozen or so Beli.
Opening the paper, Marco was immediately drawn to the front-page headlines.
[The leader of the Navy's new era!]
[The youngest commodore in history!]
[Era Xiu!!]
"Pops! Pops! Big news!!"
Marco hurried to the bow with the newspaper.
Whitebeard was drinking sake alone at the time.
"Marco! How many times have I told you not to get so flustered when something happens!"
"No, Pops, this really is big news!"
As Marco spoke, he read the newspaper's contents to Whitebeard.
"Oh? Gurararara!! That Sengoku..."
"Looks like he's found an incredible prospect!!"
Then he turned his gaze to Marco.
"Marco! You'll have to push the others to train hard!"
"Don't go losing to some youngster!!"
"Gurararara!!!"
At those words, Marco curled his lip.
"Pops, how could I possibly lose to some greenhorn!"
"From now on, I'll beat him up every time I see him!"
Little did Marco know how much, because of those words,
in the days to come,
he would suffer...
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