You have to understand—Hope was once a loyal subordinate of Sengoku. He might not be strong enough to serve as a admiral-ranked officer, but his admiration and loyalty to Fleet Admiral Sengoku were absolute.
Demoted for showing disrespect to the Fleet Admiral? That old man really came up with a ridiculous excuse.
It would've made more sense to say Hope was punished harshly for stepping into Marineford with his left foot first, causing the terrain to tilt ever so slightly and thereby offending the Celestial Dragons.
"He can't even come up with a decent excuse,"
Yahn muttered helplessly, then turned to Hope and said,
"Hope, if Sengoku forced or tricked you into this, just blink. I'll take you back right now and fight for your reinstatement."
Upon hearing this, Hope seemed deeply touched by Yahn's concern, his expression and voice firm as he replied:
"Lord Yahn, I appreciate your care—but I did this of my own free will."
"No, you didn't," Yahn replied bluntly.
"Yes, I did."
Hope's voice rose in defiance as he declared loudly,
"I chose to follow you, Lord Yahn! I personally requested this position from Fleet Admiral Sengoku. As long as I can stay by your side, military rank means nothing to me!"
His raised voice carried across the deck of the warship, catching the attention of nearby sailors both aboard the vessel and at the port. Curious and confused gazes all turned toward Yahn and Hope.
A strange wave of secondhand embarrassment washed over Yahn under the growing attention. A vein twitched at his temple. He waved his hand dismissively and said,
"Alright, alright, say no more—just set sail already!"
"Yes, Lord Yahn!"
Under Hope's command, the medium-sized warship began its departure, setting course toward the Gates of Justice.
To be fair, Hope had once served under Fleet Admiral Sengoku and had clawed his way up the ranks from a lowly foot soldier through sheer grit and battlefield experience.
Though he may lack sharp strategic thinking or high-level decision-making skills, his capabilities in ship maneuvering, crew coordination, meteorology, and combat were all more than sufficient.
"Well, I suppose having Hope around isn't a bad thing. As my adjutant, he can handle the trivial matters, and I won't need to waste energy on them."
Yahn sighed lightly, consoling himself.
"But with him around, heading to the North Blue feels more like a sightseeing trip. As a Headquarters Captain, Hope's strength alone is enough to completely overpower the naval standards of the North Blue."
In the current Navy ranking system, the highest is the Fleet Admiral, followed by Admiral Officers, then Field Officers, Commissioned Officers, and then enlisted ranks.
Among the Four Seas, the highest rank available is Captain. Officers above that—Admirals and the like—don't exist there. Moreover, Headquarters ranks are a tier above regional naval ranks.
In other words, Yahn, as a Headquarters Lieutenant, holds equal authority to a North Blue Navy Captain.
That's likely why Sengoku designated the position of Inspector-General of the Four Seas to be at least a Lieutenant rank—it allows them to operate on equal footing without sparking rank disputes.
In a world where strength determines status, one of the unspoken requirements for naval promotion is individual combat power.
Put plainly, if Hope, a Headquarters Captain, went to the North Blue, there wouldn't be a single local officer capable of defeating him.
"Tch. With Hope following me, I'll really need to behave myself from now on. Otherwise, that old man will definitely hear about it… this is practically surveillance in disguise."
Yahn grumbled to himself before pausing. He realized something, then let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
"If the old man really wanted to monitor me, he wouldn't have sent someone I know this well. He could've just assigned a random trustworthy adjutant. So…"
Yahn turned and looked back toward the gradually receding Marineford. He felt as though a distant, caring gaze was silently watching over him.
"The old man acts tough, but he's probably just worried about my condition… That's why he sent Hope, isn't it?"
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Yahn's lips. He spoke softly,
"Still, I'm sorry, old man. I'm too weak right now. So you stay busy in Marineford—I'll be off roaming the world for a few years…"
"No—let's be real, it'll be at least ten or twenty years before I even think of coming back."
Once the ship reached a steady speed, Hope hurried back to Yahn's side and exclaimed,
"Lord Yahn, apologies! I forgot to show you to your quarters so you could unpack. Huh? You didn't bring any luggage?"
Yahn smiled and gestured to the bird perched on his shoulder.
"I'm heading to the peaceful, beautiful North Blue. All I need is my bird."
"Your… bird?" Hope turned to where Yahn pointed and only then noticed the golden songbird perched silently on his shoulder.
What struck Hope as strange was the spark of intelligence gleaming in the bird's eyes. For a moment, it even felt smarter than him.
"That's right. Her name is Little Gold/Goldie. Say hi," Yahn said.
Little Gold lifted one wing and saluted in military fashion. "Cheep-cheep!"
Startled, Hope reflexively returned the salute. But then he hesitated—what exactly was he supposed to say to a bird?
After a moment, Hope suddenly thought of something and asked hesitantly,
"Lord Yahn, you didn't notify us ahead of time about the bird. We didn't prepare any specialized bird food for the journey."
"No worries," Yahn replied. "Little Gold is a Castle-Castle Fruit user. Her body stores all her favorite seeds and dozens of snack types."
"Huh? A bird… ate a Castle-Castle Fruit?" Hope asked in disbelief.
"Yup. It's rare, but animals can become Devil Fruit users. Little Gold accidentally ate the Castle-Castle Fruit."
Of course, in truth, it wasn't an accident at all—Yahn had forcibly fed it to her.
And during the feeding… Little Gold had resisted with extreme determination, almost as if she knew Yahn was trying to feed her something like dog food.
Still, Yahn hadn't had much of a choice. After all, any Devil Fruit he consumed would be converted into his Zanpakutō—he couldn't become a user himself.
And at that time, there was no one around him he could trust fully.
So, after some thought, Yahn recalled Chopper, the reindeer who ate a Human-Human Fruit, and the Sky Dot Bird(Gan Fall's Pet) on Skypiea that ate the Horse-Horse Fruit.
Both had demonstrated high intelligence after gaining their abilities—Chopper even became a doctor.
---
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27