The New World, Neo Marine Headquarters.
The Fleet Admiral's Office.
Files had piled so high on the desk that Fleet Admiral Kuzan was almost invisible unless someone walked around behind it.
Scratch, scratch, scratch~
After signing several documents, Kuzan stopped.
"Ah la la, my back and shoulders are killing me. Being Fleet Admiral really isn't a job just anyone can do. If I'd known it would be this exhausting, I never would've been the sucker who took it."
As he spoke, he rubbed his temples.
He had become Fleet Admiral with the intention of changing the navy's system.
He hadn't expected everything to turn out differently from what he had imagined once he took the position.
He had gone from a combatant to a clerk, spending all day buried in documents. Pens and paper had replaced the navy as his companions.
Frozen shoulders and cervical spondylosis had become regular visitors, too.
Not only had his temper worsened, but his overall health was also nowhere near what it used to be, as though his body had been hollowed out.
Only now did he finally understand how hard Fleet Admiral Sengoku had had it.
He rubbed his neck with one hand and kneaded his lower back with the other.
Then he reached into his pocket, took out a few pieces of bread, and raised them over his head.
The seagull on his head quickly rose and took them in its beak.
"Mr. Seagull, you're certainly sleeping comfortably."
Squawk, squawk~
The seagull cried a few times, shook its head, then shifted into another position and went back to sleep.
Just then, a voice drifted into the office:
"Being Fleet Admiral isn't easy, is it?"
Hearing this, Kuzan stood and tilted his head, only then managing to peer over the towering stacks of documents