Faced with Sakazuki's concern, Sengoku was instead somewhat helpless and troubled. "One fleet, two fleets, let him raise ten fleets, so what? For Marine Headquarters, that doesn't amount to much. As for that kid, Ian..."
He tapped the table, fell silent for a moment, then sighed with melancholy: "I know your worries, but it's not to that extent."
Thinking of this, Sengoku inwardly cursed again those marines he had sent before to the court-martial.
If those people had approved it outright when that kid had applied to the Marine Headquarters back then, these troubles wouldn't have happened.
But facing such a decision, Sakazuki was rather dissatisfied. "Now he can already influence the seas' situation, we—"
"I know what you want to say."
Sengoku waved his hand at Sakazuki, who still wanted to continue speaking: "If he really threatens the balance of the seas in the end, I definitely won't let him off!"
He waved his hand again: "It's decided then. As for how to reduce the impact, I leave it to you, Tsuru! Everyone, you may go out! Let me get a good rest!"
"But..."
"It's alright, Sakazuki."
Tsuru reluctantly pulled Sakazuki by the arm and shook her head: "That kid... won't reach that level!"
Pulled along, Sakazuki calmed down at that moment, glanced at Tsuru, then looked at Sengoku deeply before standing and walking toward the door.
As he walked, he said coldly, "When the time comes that the kid truly threatens the seas' balance, I hope you won't regret it!"
"This guy... whatever, don't bother with him, Tsuru, you go down too!"
"I know. You rest well, too."
Only after Tsuru left did Sengoku heave a long sigh and mutter helplessly: "Absolute Justice? If we take action against that kid for no reason, Zephyr might really split away from Marine Headquarters."
Thinking of this, Sengoku's mind involuntarily flashed again to that phrase, Marine Headquarters' justice is a… but he quickly shook it off, pulled out his Den Den Mushi, dialed a number without hesitation, and in a calm tone said: "Old man, your messing around should be over by now, right? Is that wine really that easy to sell?"
"Wine?"
Hearing that familiar voice, Zephyr, who had been about to hang up the call, couldn't help but show a cheerful smile and said, "It really sells quite well. What, you want to sell it too?"
"As if I, the dignified Fleet Admiral of the Marines, need to sell that kind of thing?"
Sengoku raised an eyelid with a tone full of disdain. "Even if it sells well, with that little money, how many fleets can you form? One fleet? Two fleets? Just a single brewery, does it have that kind of capability? Tell me, how many people have you assembled so far?"
Before Zephyr could respond…
"Zephyr-sensei, the three large warships we ordered are already completed."
Binz walked over happily and said, "Also, I contacted someone responsible for scrapping ships in the Marine Headquarters. He said he can get us the Marines' warships. Although they're scrapped ones, many of them can still be used after repairs and reassembly!"
Then he lowered his voice. "He asked if we wanted them. The price is very favorable. The cost of one new large warship can buy us two."
As he spoke, he noticed Zephyr's odd expression and scratched his head in confusion.
"Zephyr-sensei, what's wrong?"
"Shut up. Quiet. Don't you see I'm on the Den Den Mushi?"
Zephyr covered the Den Den Mushi and glared at Binz, saying, "Good thing I covered it in time. Whatever it is, say it later. Get lost, don't disturb me!"
After Binz awkwardly ran off, Zephyr turned back to the Den Den Mushi and burst into exaggerated laughter. "Hahaha, not many, not many. Why are you asking?"
"Of course, I know it's not that many! Hmph. With that tiny bit of money, how many fleets do you think you can gather? I bet you can't even form one."
Sengoku snorted again. "Anyway, it's been long enough. You've had your fun. You should come back now."
"Sengoku."
Hearing his words, Zephyr suddenly sounded disappointed. He sighed before bitterly saying, "You should know I'm not joking."
Those words made Sengoku fall silent on the other end. After a moment, he spoke again.
"You should understand that stabilizing the seas is something only the World Government can accomplish."
"... I know."
"Well then. I'll see how long you can keep this up."
Seemingly understanding Zephyr's resolve, Sengoku changed the topic.
"That kid you value, he sure knows how to cause trouble."
"Ian?"
Zephyr immediately guessed who he was talking about and asked curiously: "What did that kid do this time?"
"He defeated a Warlord again, no, more accurately, the person beside him defeated one. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about."
"Hahahaha, defeated another Warlord? The person beside Ian? Bartholomew Kuma?"
Zephyr burst into laughter. "It's only been a few days, and they've already pulled off something big again!"
"You can still laugh?"
Hearing Zephyr laughing made Sengoku even more irritated. "Do you know how much trouble this brought to Marine Headquarters? And that Kuma, that man, is a vicious criminal wanted by the World Government."
"That has nothing to do with me. As for Kuma..."
Zephyr picked his nose, clearly in a very good mood, and casually said: "The South Blue Marines are really bored, huh? They even went to interfere with a national coup?"
"Sorbet Kingdom is the World Government's affiliated country!"
"I know. But the previous king of the Sorbet Kingdom didn't have any objections to Kuma."
Zephyr curled his lip with disdain. "It's you guys who seem to have plenty of objections."
Sengoku: "..."
Sengoku fell silent again. Of course, he understood what Zephyr meant.
The previous king of the Sorbet Kingdom, King Bulldog, was overthrown by King Bekori. Now King Bekori was overthrown by Bartholomew Kuma, and King Bulldog had no objections... Yet the Marines showed up to meddle.
"King Bulldog and King Bekori's conflict was internal. But Bartholomew Kuma is an outsider interfering in other nations' internal affairs. The Marines have the responsibility to protect affiliated countries. Anyway, I'm not calling you to argue about that."
Sengoku sighed and continued with a neutral tone: "I plan to recommend that kid to become a Warlord."
"Ian? Become a Warlord of the Sea?"
Zephyr sounded surprised, then indifferent. "Recommend him if you want. I can't control that kid. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."
"Wait, you—"
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