Over a month later.
Marineford, Marine Headquarters Base, Fleet Admiral's Office.
Kenji's tall figure sat on the sofa, eating rice crackers and drinking tea, not entirely satisfied.
"Ah, since Marie and Anna aren't here, my afternoon tea has devolved to such a simple state." He sighed, shaking his head as he ate.
His secretary, Anna, had been left in East Blue to handle matters concerning the training camp, and without Anna's arrangements, the usual exquisite afternoon tea was out of reach.
Kenji could only mooch food and drinks like this.
"When enjoying someone else's food, you should at least show some respect!" Kong's cold laughter came from behind the desk.
"At least you should say thank you!"
Upon hearing this, Kenji, ever compliant, held up a rice cracker in his left hand and a teacup in his right, giving the busy Kong a relaxed and carefree smile.
"Thank you!"
Kong: "…"
"Just kidding." Kenji laughed heartily, continuing to eat snacks and drink tea, casually bringing up another matter.
"Speaking of which… has this World Conference not ended yet? It's been almost two months, hasn't it?"
"Thirteen new kingdoms have joined this time." Kong replied without lifting his head.
"Also, there were preliminary preparations, waiting for the monarchs and royal families of various countries… The actual conference time isn't long, it should end within this month."
At this, Kong suddenly remembered something, looked up at Kenji, and frowned.
"As an Admiral, you should go to Pangaea Castle to ensure the World Conference proceeds safely…"
"Heh heh, you mean to protect those Celestial Dragons, right?" Kenji curled his lips and chuckled.
"Kong, don't treat those Celestial Dragons as superiors. We are the Marine. Don't let those parasites brainwash you."
After all, Kong was a contemporary and an old friend of many years, so Kenji felt it necessary to remind him.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Kong was clearly not very receptive, frowning and raising his voice considerably.
Just then, a hearty laugh suddenly came from outside the door.
"Hahaha! What are you two arguing about?" The wooden door opened, and Garp walked in, grinning.
"I just got to the door and heard you two arguing…? You ate all my rice crackers?!"
"Ah! And the tea! You scoundrel!"
Garp immediately saw Kenji gulping down tea and eating rice crackers, and his face instantly transformed into one of despair, feeling as if the world had ended.
"Haha, Garp, you've come at just the right time." Kenji continued to stuff rice crackers into his mouth in front of Garp, saying with a smile.
"Quick, curse the Celestial Dragons a few more times. I love to hear it."
"Huh? What's so good about cursing those trash?" Garp looked puzzled.
Kenji couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this. "Well said. This rice cracker is for you."
"What do you mean 'for me'…?" Garp looked at the bag of rice crackers in Kenji's hand and unceremoniously ate the cracker the other party handed him, feeling indignant.
"You two… don't just casually say such things." Kong looked up, frowning, his gaze stern.
"We Marine are ultimately led by the World Government…"
"Alright, alright!" Before Kong could finish speaking, Garp interrupted him, covering his ears with his hand, looking bored.
"Listening to your boring words is making my ears uncomfortable."
Seeing this, Kong immediately became even more annoyed, slamming the table and scolding, "Garp! Be serious!"
"Last time you falsely reported military intelligence, and you even let Roger and his crew escape. Do you know how big of an impact that caused?!"
"What false military intelligence?" Garp became agitated at the mention of this, his neck veins bulging as he angrily said.
"You wouldn't think I let Roger go, would you? It was those CP0 bastards!"
"I had already caught up to Roger, but those bastards just had to interfere… Next time I encounter them, I'll make them understand with my fists, hmph!"
Seeing the two getting more and more heated in their argument, Kenji got up to mediate since he had already eaten and drunk his fill. He pulled Garp out of the door.
At this moment, Kong's slightly impatient voice came from the office again, "Hey! Kenji, don't leave yet, I still have something to say…"
"Heh heh, you haven't finished, but I've already heard enough." Kenji chuckled and waved his hand, then pulled the wooden door shut with a 'bang.'
"That Kong…."
After Garp calmed down, he suddenly realized something was amiss.
Before he entered the office, Kenji had been arguing with Kong, but in the blink of an eye, it had turned into him bickering with Kong?
However, before Garp could delve deeper into what was wrong, Kenji next to him was already patting his shoulder with a smile.
"You're back this time for the World Conference, aren't you?"
Hearing this, Garp subconsciously turned his head to look at Kenji, who was two or three heads taller than him, and couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"Haven't seen him in a while, how did he suddenly grow so much taller? It's really strange. I've never heard of someone's height suddenly increasing when they're older…"
While muttering to himself, Garp subconsciously nodded in response. "I didn't catch Roger, so I returned to Marineford, just in time for the World Conference…"
At this, Garp suddenly thought of something, and his eyes darted around.
Then, he grinned and looked at Kenji with a caring tone. "I heard you don't have an aide recently?"
"That won't do! As an Admiral, with so many complex daily tasks, you can't manage without an aide, it'll work you to death."
Kenji rolled his eyes upon hearing this, feeling utterly speechless.
'You didn't even set it up. You just threw a fastball. Do I look like an idiot? Even a blind person could see your little scheme.'
However, Kenji didn't expose it, also wanting to see what else Garp could come up with.
Seeing Kenji remain silent, Garp thought Kenji had been exposed and comforted him with a smile, "Hahaha! Don't worry, it's just lacking an aide, right? Perfect! I have an excellent candidate… that kid is a talent, you know."
As he spoke, Garp, without waiting for Kenji's reply, eagerly shouted down the corridor.
"Come here, Kuzan! Kenji wants to see you."
"Kuzan?" Kenji raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat surprised.
Just then, a young man, walking with a sway, grinned as he walked and greeted, "Is this the famous Admiral Shirojishi? Oh, it's truly an honor to be your aide."
Kenji took just one look and confirmed that the young man opposite him was Kuzan himself.
With that sloppy demeanor, who else could it be?
Of course, Kenji also knew that the young Kuzan at this time had not yet experienced the 'Ohara Incident' and still held 'Burning Justice.'
Having him as an aide wouldn't be a big problem.
"Has this kid already joined the Marine?" Kenji remembered this and turned to ask Garp.
Garp scratched his head, his smile a bit awkward. "Well, he hasn't graduated from Marine School yet… Let's consider his time as your aide an internship."