What kind of man was the future Fleet Admiral Steel Kong?
Truth be told, neither Yoriichi Tsugikuni, who had only been in the Navy a few years, nor Admiral Sengoku, who had worked with him for decades, truly understood Steel Kong. Not completely.
Power was something that held fatal allure for ordinary people, let alone those who had already tasted it, like the Marine brass. If you were sitting in the position of Fleet Admiral, would you be content to remain a puppet of the Five Elders?
And yet, in this world, reverence for the Celestial Dragons ran deep. After eight hundred years, in a world not threatened by existential crises, obedience to the Celestial Dragons had become ingrained in everyone's soul.
Compared to civilians who paid the Heavenly Tribute, Marines lived in relative comfort. In some ways, that comfort made their obedience even deeper, because they were beneficiaries of the world's structure.
A Navy like that would never allow Steel Kong to break free of his strings.
So he needed to make the Navy uncontrollable.
Even if the Marines became hard to command, as Fleet Admiral, he would still hold some influence. They were, at the very least, his comrades-in-arms.
But the Five Elders? They had no such relationship. If the Fleet Admiral couldn't control the Navy, how could the Five Elders possibly expect to? It was absurd.
Perhaps the most underestimated person in the Marines was Steel Kong himself.
He tolerated Garp's existence within the organization, even let a renegade like Zephyr form his own "NEO Navy" without issuing a bounty. If Zephyr hadn't sought to destroy the world with Dyna Stones, the Marines might have continued turning a blind eye.
All of these anomalies revealed just how much tolerance Steel Kong had as a Fleet Admiral.
He allowed his subordinates to hold onto their beliefs. To a man like him, what kind of people were most valuable?
Obedient ones?
Not necessarily.
In a world like this, men like Yoriichi Tsugikuni were the rarest treasures. People who had unwavering beliefs, who could not be swayed by wealth or power.
The Five Elders could always offer more power, more gold than Steel Kong ever could, but to men like Yoriichi, none of that mattered.
And to the Five Elders, Yoriichi would be intolerable. Steel Kong, however, could endure it. He valued people like Yoriichi precisely because they made the Navy harder to control by others.
Ironically, someone with a strong sense of conviction was easier to manipulate. Because belief itself becomes a chain.
The migration fleet left the South Blue quickly. But as they neared the Calm Belt, a significant problem arose.
Unlike the Dawn, the other ships weren't equipped with seastone plating. They hadn't been modified by Marine Headquarters. That meant they couldn't pass through the Calm Belt safely.
Changing course would take too long and be less secure. So Yoriichi split the fleet.
Kyros took command of the Dawn, which was loaded with as many civilians as it could hold and would sail directly through the Calm Belt.
The rest, aboard commercial vessels packed with supplies, followed behind with Issho, Mihawk, and Borsalino.
The Marine ships? They were sent back.
"Flying over the Calm Belt like this... quite a bold move."
"Issho-san, your ability really is fascinating."
A merchant ship hovered a few meters above the sea, gliding swiftly. Borsalino leaned over the railing, watching it skip across the surface, a smile on his face.
He'd gotten to know Issho somewhat, even calling him "Mister" instead of his rank. No matter how many times he saw it, Issho's gravity powers were astonishing.
In Borsalino's eyes, Issho's Devil Fruit was a superior version of the Float-Float Fruit, its potential far beyond even that of Golden Lion Shiki.
"Heh heh, you're too kind, Vice Admiral," Issho chuckled, resting a hand on the railing.
Crossing the Calm Belt might seem like a major event to others, but not to Yoriichi's team.
In just under two days, they cleared it, faster even than the Dawn could sail.
They encountered a Sea King one night, but it was dealt with easily by Borsalino and Mihawk. Even Sea Kings posed no threat to them.
After that, the journey went smoothly. They encountered a few pirates, but to a crew like this, even those with bounties over a billion were mere small fry.
On their way back to Dressrosa, Sengoku, on Steel Kong's instruction, announced the reform of the Dawn Marine Branch. But the notice was limited to officers ranked Captain and above.
The earlier promotion of Yoriichi to Admiral was silently canceled.
Regular sailors had no idea what was happening. They only noticed one thing: news about Yoriichi had vanished.
It was as if the Navy had suddenly erased him from the record.
Back on Patrilia Island, CP9 agents were withdrawn. The higher-ups in the World Government turned a blind eye to the possibility that Yoriichi had taken Roger's family with him.
They didn't seem to care.
As the Great Pirate Era began in earnest, stories of pirates wreaking havoc quickly drowned out everything else. Yoriichi's actions, the evacuation of Patrilia, were buried in the information flood.
December, Year 1500 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
On the shores of Dressrosa, the Dawn Division was back to major construction, but this time, not of military structures.
They were building homes, schools, and hospitals.
The Marine dorms were only a temporary shelter. Civilians needed homes of their own.
Most of the pregnant women had families with them, along with doctors and nurses. Yoriichi poured money into helping them settle.
The division's finances were tight, but King Riku heard what was happening and offered help. He funded the building of schools and hospitals, a massive support.
Destruction was easy.
But building, building was hard.
Yoriichi had no experience in this. His talents were all in strength, not logistics or city planning.
Same for Issho and Mihawk. Give them a sword, and they were unstoppable. But urban planning? Not so much.
Fortunately, Yoriichi knew when to call in the experts.
He went personally to ask King Riku to assign someone experienced to help.
The king was going to send a minister, but his daughter, Scarlett, showed strong interest.
Given that many of the evacuees were women, it made sense. A gentle, well-educated female noble could help manage things more smoothly.
Scarlett took over much of the outreach. She had the same down-to-earth charm as her father, mixed with a refined femininity. She calmed the frightened refugees, helped integrate them, and earned their trust.
With Scarlett's help, Kyros took the lead in construction, and the operation quickly found its rhythm.
Yoriichi could finally return to his training.
He hadn't gone to visit Rouge yet. Staying away was better for both of them.
Still, single pregnant women like Rouge had no source of income. Yoriichi struggled to come up with a solution.
In the end, he instituted subsidies to support them during childbirth and recovery.
He also funded training programs, hoping to help them become nursery aides or pediatric nurses. In this era, that didn't require extensive training, just a kind heart, a steady hand, and some knowledge.
As time passed, the evacuees began to blend into Dressrosa's society.
Peaceful days, after all, often slip by unnoticed.
March 1, Year 1501.
A special day for the Dawn Division: Shimotsuki Kōshirō was getting married.
His bride was a local girl from Shimotsuki Village. They'd met during Kōshirō's trip home, and within half a year, decided to tie the knot.
Now a Marine Captain, Kōshirō had made major strides in power since joining.
But he seemed to have reached the limits of his talent.
Yoriichi hadn't seen growth in Kōshirō's swordsmanship lately. Even his Haki progress had slowed.
Still, he had learned three of the Rokushiki techniques, Soru, Rankyaku, and Tekkai.
In Yoriichi's estimation, Kōshirō's future was solid: stronger than someone like Vergo, combining decent swordsmanship with Haki. His ceiling? Probably that of a top-tier Vice Admiral.
A respectable level, but below Yoriichi's expectations.
Compared to Issho, Mihawk, and Borsalino, whose potential was world-class… and Kyros, who might even surpass Zephyr…
Kōshirō was the first to fall behind.
His wedding wasn't extravagant, but it had all the proper customs.
Yoriichi clapped with a warm smile from the audience. As the applause faded, he leaned toward Kyros beside him.
"Kyros, arrange something for me tomorrow. I'm establishing a Naval Swordsmanship Academy."
"It'll be under the Navy school system. Two groups: adults and youth."
"The adult group will train our Marines, swordsmanship, Rokushiki, and Haki."
"The youth group will be for civilians under fifteen. Keep the fees low. The goal is to discover talent."
"Kōshirō will run it."
Kyros turned to look at Yoriichi.
"A sword academy… open to civilians?"
"Our division has barely 600 people. We don't have many who can serve as instructors. Kōshirō's strong, sure, but if he has to train both Marines and civilians…"
Before he finished, Yoriichi raised a hand.
"Civilians can be taught by junior officers."
"The talented ones, the real prospects, Kōshirō will handle personally."
"Besides, I'm not assigning Kōshirō to field missions anymore."
"He's married now. A stable life is better for them both."
"This isn't a demotion, it's a transfer."
Onstage, Kōshirō was standing beside his wife, beaming with happiness. His father was giving a speech.
Kyros glanced at them and sighed.
Yoriichi smirked. "What's wrong?"
"You mad at me? Think I'm throwing him away?"
"Peace, stability, health, a loving family, that's what everyone wants, right?"
"Our job as Marines is to protect that."
"Everyone deserves happiness. Even us."
"If you find someone worth protecting, don't hesitate."
"Chase it."
At that moment, applause filled the air again as the speech ended. Yoriichi clapped along, smiling.
Kyros stared at the smiling couple. A figure appeared in his mind… but he shook it off, expression tightening.
"My life and future belong to the Navy," he said firmly. "You brought me out to sea, sir."
"If a Marine doesn't go to sea, is he still a Marine?"
Yoriichi didn't disagree. He simply replied, "You're still young."
"Don't limit yourself. I won't."
"If Kōshirō doesn't like the assignment, we can adjust it."
"There are many paths in life. And many roles in the Navy."
"Being a Marine means fighting for the ones you want to protect."
"You've already found that someone, haven't you?"
"Keep going, Kyros. Kōshirō's a step ahead of you."
Yoriichi chuckled. Kyros stared at him, stunned, his thoughts laid bare once again.
Talking to this young Vice Admiral always made Kyros feel like he was the younger one.
He slowly nodded, joining the crowd in applause.
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