Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

"Captain Gion has unlimited potential and the makings of a great general. Today's misunderstanding will likely lead to retaliation from Captain Gion in the future. To avoid conflict, I think I should stay away from the navy and go home to farm."

Upon hearing this, Sengoku's face darkened, and he grabbed Ya'en, saying...

"Facts have proven that you have enough ability to protect yourself. No matter how eloquently you talk today, you still have to join the Navy."

Yaen gently rubbed his forehead and asked, "So... there's nothing to discuss?"

“Yes, we can talk about positions,” Sengoku said.

After a moment of silence, Yann looked at Sengoku, whose attitude was extremely firm and whose eyes even revealed a hint of pleading, and sighed slightly before replying.

"Alright, since this is your request, old man, I agree."

Upon seeing this, Zhan Guo couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

For the past ten years, Sengoku has been busy with naval affairs and naturally has no time to spend with his two adopted sons, Corazon and Yann, every day. However, he still understands the personalities of his two adopted sons quite well.

Unlike Corazon's innate kindness and gentleness, Sengoku never quite understood Aon.

Ever since Sengoku rescued Aon from the sea, he noticed that Aon's eyes were different from everyone he had ever seen on the sea.

Even though Aon was born physically weak, Sengoku firmly believed that a man with such extraordinary eyes was destined to remain unknown on the high seas.

Therefore, Sengoku, who had taken pity on them, simply adopted both Arn and Corazon as his sons.

As if to repay a debt of gratitude, Aon, who was physically weak in the eyes of the Sengoku, quickly demonstrated his value.

Whenever Sengoku faced difficult decisions regarding naval development, he always found answers in Aon.

When it comes to systems, it seems that Ya'en is born with a unique perspective and way of thinking.

With Aon's help, Sengoku, as an admiral, significantly improved the navy's selection, promotion, and military merit systems.

This became an extremely impressive resume and achievement in the eyes of Fleet Admiral Kong, and one of the important proofs of Sengoku's future qualifications to lead the navy as a fleet admiral.

It was precisely because of this that Sengoku, who understood Aon's extraordinary nature, forced Aon to become a member of the Navy, in order to prevent Aon from going down a path of conflict with the Navy.

Because of the Warring States period... I don't want to personally send Arn to Impel Down, the "undersea prison".

[6. Chapter Six: The Glorious Private First Class]

Suddenly, a rare gentle smile appeared on the usually dignified Sengoku's face as he spoke.

"Yarn, welcome to the Navy. From now on, please continue to dedicate your strength to justice. For now, you will hold the rank of Major..."

Before Sengoku could finish speaking, Aon interrupted him with a serious expression. "Admiral Sengoku, this is not in accordance with naval regulations."

?

Warring States Period.

Immediately, a slight smug smile appeared on Yan's lips as he spoke.

"According to the Navy's latest promotion rules, all Navy officers and soldiers must achieve the corresponding merits and undergo the corresponding qualified training and assessment before being promoted. They cannot be promoted to higher ranks arbitrarily based solely on their personal abilities."

After a pause, Yann spoke with an expression of utmost selflessness.

"General Sengoku, even if our relationship is not purely one of superior and subordinate, we must never abuse our power for personal gain or violate naval regulations. Otherwise, it will inevitably affect the fighting spirit of many naval officers and soldiers."

"Once the passion of many naval officers and soldiers is dampened, it is inevitable that many will become complacent and neglect their duties. Under the influence of various effects, it is not impossible that this could lead to unpredictable chaos in the entire ocean."

For a moment, Sengoku looked at Arn with an extremely strange expression, and said through gritted teeth, "Is it really that serious?"

"A thousand-mile dike can be breached by an ant hole. The great generals of the Warring States period must never underestimate the influence of their superiors on their subordinates," Ya'en replied solemnly.

After a long while, Sengoku finally came to his senses and managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth.

"Damn it, no wonder you were so eager to help me improve the Navy's internal promotion system a few years ago. This is the moment you've been waiting for, isn't it?"

Ya'en shook his head without hesitation, his tone brimming with self-righteousness as he spoke.

"General of the Warring States Period, you can eat as much as you want, but you can't speak recklessly. Even if we have an unusual relationship, I will still sue you for defamation..."

Seeing the anger gradually burning in Sengoku's eyes, Ya'en wisely swallowed the rest of his words and instead put on a "filial" expression.

“Old man, you’ve misunderstood my intentions. In the past, I simply wanted to do my part to repay your kindness in raising me. How could I possibly be so rebellious as to plot against you?”

“Tefimo Yann, all I want is to be a good son to you, my old man. My lifelong wish is to take care of you in your old age and see you off in your final days. I’ve even dreamed of getting married, all so that I could have another daughter-in-law to take care of you and let you hold your grandson soon.”

"The reason I spoke up just now was simply because I was worried that you, old man, might break the rules of the navy because of me, which would cause your reputation to be damaged unexpectedly, and even cause a large number of navy officers and soldiers to keep cursing you behind your back."

For a moment, Sengoku's expression, which had been gentle because Aon had agreed to join the Navy, turned into a heavy, dark cloud before a storm.

Even so, Yann still insisted on saying the most important sentence, "..."

"Old man, according to the Navy's internal promotion mechanism and the rules for selecting new soldiers, Tefimo Yann is able to be promoted three ranks on the spot because of his outstanding strength and his defeat of a superior officer in a head-on challenge. He can be promoted directly from the probationary naval stage to the honorable private first class, and will enjoy additional benefits such as: a private dormitory and exemption from daily physical training."

"Hey hey hey..."

At this point, Yann finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Old man, if I remember correctly, when would you like to award me my rank? Or you could just assign me any junior officer to award me my rank."

It can be said that at this moment, Yann was completely calm and composed.

Joining the Navy—since this is Sengoku's wish, let's grant it. Otherwise, if we really anger him to death, Aon will really be reluctant to let him go.

However, according to the current systematic promotion rules within the Navy, Yann can only become a private first class at most.

What is this concept?

Within the Navy Headquarters, you could easily spit on several officers of colonel rank.

A mere private first class is probably not even qualified to do cleaning duties at the Navy Headquarters, let alone expect to achieve any merits worthy of promotion.

In this way, Yann can live a carefree life at Marineford, the Marine Headquarters, and just be a private first class who clocks in at Sengoku's office every day.

As for important tasks such as leading warships, patrolling the seas, and fighting pirates...

What? The navy is out of personnel? Sending a mere private to perform such an important task?

Even if Sengoku agreed to something that would seriously damage the Navy's reputation, Aon would not; and even if Aon agreed, countless officers throughout the Navy would not agree!

Of course, the navy is a large organization that can accommodate all kinds of talents. It is not only patrolling the navy and capturing pirates that can be considered meritorious.

In fact, even routine tasks like "cleaning" can be meritorious.

However, Yann knew very well that his meager achievements were limited to cleaning. Even if he cleaned until Sengoku was completely gone, he could at most become a corporal or sergeant, barely qualifying as a "cleaning" foreman.

If Sengoku were to send Aon to the Shikai branch, he would strive to create opportunities for Aon to achieve merit.

However, without Sengoku by his side to supervise, Aon believed he would be utterly useless and unable to seize the opportunity.

'Perfect, old man. Luckily I anticipated your move, otherwise, if you had pulled this off and propelled me to become the youngest lieutenant commander in the history of the navy, wouldn't that have been troublesome?'

With this thought in mind, Ya'en's smile grew even more obedient, already prepared to be scolded by Sengoku.

As for fighting... I won't.

Otherwise, given Aon's physical condition, he would have been knocked down by Sengoku in no time, and his injuries would have been so severe that he would probably have to go home and recuperate for ten or twenty years to recover.

It has to be said that Sengoku was completely dumbfounded by Yaon at this moment.

In order to successfully get Aon into the Navy, he had a hard time persuading Vice Admiral Tsuru to let Gion compete with Aon in this way, trying to use Gion's reputation to make Aon the next generation of leaders in the Navy.

However, Sengoku quickly realized what was happening and said with a smile.

"You little rascal, have you forgotten something important? Your contributions to improving the naval system can also be considered meritorious service."

Yaen waved his hand dismissively.

"Old man, isn't what you're doing a bit inappropriate?"

"Those systems were all perfected by you 'alone,' and you have already submitted this achievement to the Five Elders in a formal written document as an important proof of your promotion to Marshal."

"As a result, old man, you haven't even officially taken office as the Navy Admiral yet, and you've already committed the despicable act of faking your merits and deceiving your superiors. This will leave an extremely bad impression on the Five Elders."

[7. Chapter Seven: Each on its Own]

"You...you brat...you..."

Sengoku pointed a trembling finger at Aon, listening to Aon's almost flawless words, and his entire body nearly lost control of his power, which began to glow golden.

Just as Arn was hesitating about whether to seriously appease Sengoku, Vice Admiral Tsuru couldn't help but laugh.

"Hahaha……"

"Warring States, I've heard you praise Ya'en's intelligence to me many times before. Now that I've seen it with my own eyes, he is indeed incredibly quick-witted and meticulous in his work. You're blessed to have such a worthy successor."

Upon hearing this, Zhan Guo's expression turned ugly, and he spoke with extreme disdain.

"What successor? This brat only thinks about how to get by every day. He uses all his intelligence on being lazy. I just want to kill him now."

"Don't rush, the Warring States period..."

Lieutenant General Tsuru spoke in a kind and peaceful tone.

"However, what Ya'en said just now makes sense. We are at a critical juncture where you may be promoted to marshal. You must be careful in everything you do and be mindful of the consequences."

Sengoku glared at Yaen and said helplessly, "I understand."

To this, Yann subconsciously rolled his eyes, thinking to himself.

"So, when it comes to an old man, no matter how much his son says, he won't listen. On the contrary, he'll listen to whatever his confidante says."

"What do you call this wave? It's all about lust over children!"

Just as Aon was silently complaining and waiting for Sengoku to accept reality and let him smoothly become a glorious private first class, he noticed that Lieutenant General Tsuru suddenly whispered a few words in Sengoku's ear.

Then, Lieutenant General Tsuru waved to Ya'en and said with a kind expression.

"Ya'en, come visit me sometime. I'm sure you and Gion will be great partners in the future."

After saying that, Lieutenant General Tsuru slowly left the training ground.

partner?

Yann was stunned.

Immediately afterward, before Aon could delve into the subtext of Vice Admiral Tsuru's words, a smile inexplicably bloomed on Sengoku's face.

"It's a trap!"

Yaen reacted instantly and instinctively tried to back away.

Unfortunately, Yann's physique was on a completely different level from Sengoku's, and the speed he could unleash was also on a completely different level.

Arn felt a blur before his eyes, and then Sengoku grabbed his shoulder.