A burst of laughter shattered everyone's stupor.
Garp laughed so hard that tears nearly streamed from his eyes. He did not even wipe them away, instead pounding Lin Xuan's back hard enough to seemingly drive him straight into the ground. "Listen! Sengoku, just listen! This is the soldier I trained! Who cares about legends or bygone eras? If they're no match for him, they're no match for him!"
Garp turned around and spread his arms, undisguised pride written all over his weathered face as he shouted at Sengoku, "Sengoku! With achievements like these, with spirit like this, what are you hesitating for? Forget the World Military Draft for that vacant Admiral position. Just give it to this kid! The youngest Marine Admiral-imagine how good that title would make us look!"
Marine Admiral.
Those words struck like a massive bomb, leaving everyone present with their heads ringing.
Sengoku froze for a moment. Looking at the disheveled yet imposing Lin Xuan before him, he actually found himself wavering over that outrageous idea.
Killing Golden Lion was indeed an achievement worthy of an exceptional promotion. His service record might have been short, but this kid's strength...
"Utterly absurd."
Just as the atmosphere approached a boiling point, Akainu's voice poured over it like a bucket of ice water.
Akainu Sakazuki approached across the scattered rubble, his black leather shoes making a dull thud with every step.
His baseball cap was pulled low, its shadow concealing most of his face, leaving only his tightly pressed lips and magma-like, churning killing intent exposed.
"You intend to hand over the position of Admiral, the symbol of the Marines' greatest fighting power, based on one person's claims and a battered sword he picked up?" Akainu stopped three paces from Lin Xuan, looking down at this newcomer whom he