In the year 1514 of the Sea Calendar, the 39-year-old Kuzan finally ushered in his Admiral promotion ceremony.
It was a slight regret that he still didn't manage to break the record for the earliest Admiral promotion held by Zephyr.
Zephyr was only 38 years old when he was promoted to Admiral, and he remains the record holder for the youngest Admiral promotion to this day.
The Admiral promotion ceremony was still a grand affair, held in the plaza of Marine Headquarters. Essentially all Marines stationed at Headquarters would attend, and many family members would also come to observe.
Even many Vice Admirals from the Grand Line and the New World would return to participate in this promotion ceremony.
Before long, Kyle and his group arrived at the plaza.
The plaza was already very lively, packed with people, the air filled with the incessant sound of various conversations.
Everyone looked around curiously, their faces full of wonder.
Luffy's mouth was slightly agape as he exclaimed in surprise, "It's so lively!"
"Sure is, people everywhere!"
Ace, standing nearby, also wore an excited expression.
They had been at Marine Headquarters for quite some time, but such a grand spectacle was still a first for them.
As for Kyle, this wasn't his first time.
The situation was pretty much the same when Akainu was promoted to Admiral before; back then, he was carried by Sengoku to watch it too.
However, his mindset during these two occasions was completely different.
The first time, he was still young, and his system hadn't arrived yet. Seeing so many big shots filled him more with yearning.
He dreamed about whether he would have a chance to become that strong himself in the future.
Now, looking at these top-tier powerhouses of Marine Headquarters again, his heart held not a ripple of fluctuation, nor any such daydreams.
Because now, he had clearly already become one of these top-tier powerhouses.
It's just that few at Marine Headquarters knew about his current strength.
Before long, as time passed, the atmosphere on the field grew increasingly lively, the voices of the crowd louder and louder, until...
"Quiet!!"
Sengoku's voice, amplified by the Den Den Mushi, spread across the entire plaza.
Instantly, all the noisy chatter on the plaza vanished. Everyone stopped their conversations and turned their gaze towards Sengoku on the distant stage.
Sengoku's arrival signaled the formal beginning of the conferment ceremony.
Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Sengoku cleared his throat and continued speaking:
"Everyone, the Navy's development to this day, its present achievements, are inseparable from every single one of us present here. It is because of you that we have the Navy of today!"
*Clap clap clap clap clap...*
A series of applause rang out, causing Kyle below to involuntarily facepalm.
Sure enough, no matter where you are, at any major ceremony, the opening act always involves the leadership first delivering some meaningless formalities.
Sengoku spoke eloquently on stage, with bursts of applause rising from below from time to time.
Luffy and the others listened, swaying unsteadily, already starting to nod off.
One by one, they were yawning, their eyelids drooping, as if about to fall asleep the next second.
"Ahh!!"
Ace let out a yawn and couldn't help but say:
"How long is that old man Sengoku going to talk? Does it have to be this boring?"
As he spoke, Ace's eyes swept around. He saw that everyone else was in a similar state, until his gaze landed on Kyle.
He saw Kyle staring intently at the stage above, his posture as straight and firm as a pine tree, looking utterly serious.
!!!
Ace felt a surge of solemn respect, looking at Kyle with admiration.
No wonder he's the big brother. Even during such a boring ceremony, he actually treats it with such seriousness.
Is this the attitude befitting a proper Marine?
But suddenly, he noticed something seemed a bit off.
Why didn't Kyle need to blink?
Being serious shouldn't mean being serious to this extent, right?
Not even blinking?
With this thought, Ace couldn't help but lean slightly closer to Kyle, gently nudging him with his elbow, and whispered:
"Hey, Kyle, how come you don't even need to blink?"
"Huh?!"
Kyle uttered a soft exclamation, raised his arm to his eye area, and then, under Ace's stunned gaze, removed an eye patch.
This eye patch was very thin and remarkably realistic; worn, it was nearly impossible to tell unless examined closely.
Kyle turned his head and looked at the shocked Ace, asking:
"What's up?!"
"You... this..."
Ace pointed at Kyle, then at the eye patch in his hand, his speech slightly stammering.
"Oh, this thing!"
"I felt the sunlight was a bit glaring so I put it on. What? You want one too?"
Ace: ....
After a long moment, Ace once again sighed in his heart:
'Big bro, really is still big bro!!!'
After another stretch of time, Sengoku on the stage finally concluded his speech and loudly announced:
"Next, let us welcome our Navy's new Admiral, Kuzan, to the stage for the formal conferment!!"
As these words rang out, everyone on the field jolted. Those who had been drowsy all snapped alert, widening their eyes to look in a certain direction.
From the side of the stage, Kuzan, clad in the Admiral's greatcoat, slowly walked onto the platform.
At this moment, the gazes of all Marines converged upon him, and Kuzan basked in the glory that belonged to him.
Simultaneously, a narration of Kuzan's entire career since joining the Navy began to play synchronously across the field. The lofty voice echoed across the plaza, letting all Marines know how arduous the journey had been for the man on stage to become a Navy Admiral.
Kuzan slowly approached Sengoku, looking at him with a solemn gaze. Sengoku returned the same look, patted Kuzan's shoulder, and said:
"Kuzan, becoming a Navy Admiral means the responsibilities on your shoulders will grow heavier. Are you confident you can handle it well?"
Kuzan smiled slightly and asked:
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, do you think I have that confidence?"
"Hahaha..."
Sengoku laughed, then spoke again:
"Go on, the time that follows is yours!"
Kuzan nodded, took the amplifier Den Den Mushi from Sengoku's hand, and also began his speech.
However, compared to Sengoku, Kuzan had much less superfluous talk, only covering some basic points about the post-conferment responsibilities.
Most of the Marines below, especially those with younger faces, wore expressions of excitement.
Kuzan's promotion to Navy Admiral meant their Navy's strength had grown even more powerful. Being a member of such a mighty organization, they had every reason to feel proud and honored!
Luffy and the others were the same, looking at Kuzan on stage speaking confidently and basking in boundless glory, full of envy.
Suddenly, Luffy spoke up:
"I'm going to become a Navy Admiral too in the future! I want to be revered by thousands too!!"
"Luffy, having the ambition to become a Navy Admiral is good, but Third Bro will definitely become a Navy Admiral before you!"
Ace glanced at Luffy and spoke with full confidence.
Sabo, standing nearby, also chimed in:
"Mm! Good. Second Bro is very pleased that you younger brothers have this ambition, but the Admiral seat is for Second Bro to take first. I'm afraid you youngsters wouldn't be able to handle it properly!"
!!!
As these words were spoken, many surrounding Marines immediately turned their gazes over. They wanted to see which guys were so audacious, each one wanting to become a Navy Admiral.
Was becoming a Navy Admiral like picking cabbage? Something you just decide to do?!
However, when they looked over, the expressions on their faces suddenly changed...
---
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━