The Fleet Admiral's office at the top of Marineford Headquarters was far from stuffy. A wisp of smoke curled from the ashtray, mingling with the distinctive scent of rice crackers.
Fleet Admiral Gin sat back in his chair with both feet propped up on the desk, completely ignoring the piles of important documents around him. The old man chewed the crackers casually while staring at the three young men who had just entered his office.
On one side of the room, Admiral Kong stood with his arms crossed, while Garp, Sengoku, and Tsuru took their places on the sofa and guest chairs. Garp still wore an unusually somber expression, his arms tightly crossed over his chest.
"Crunch... Crunch..."
The sound of crunching crackers broke the silence. Gin wiped crumbs from the corner of his mouth then pointed at Sakazuki and Borsalino with a piece of cracker.
"So these are Sakazuki and Borsalino, huh?" Gin greeted them in a tone that sounded more like a neighborly grandfather greeting his grandchildren than the Navy's supreme commander. "I hear you two have eaten the strongest Logia Devil Fruits. Good, very good."
Sakazuki saluted stiffly, his posture perfectly rigid. "At your service, Fleet Admiral!"
"It's an honor to meet you," added Borsalino with a crooked smile and his signature laid-back tone.
Gin's weary eyes then shifted, staring straight at the black-haired young man standing in the center. Quentin Seven—the atmosphere in the room felt slightly different. Gin's relaxed aura was still present, but the sharpness of a veteran peeked through his gaze.
"And you… Quentin Seven," Gin muttered. "Vice Admiral Komei always boasts about you on the phone. I watched your brief battle with Garp down there using Observation Haki. It was… fascinating."
Tsuru, who had been leaning against the wall the whole time, crossed her arms and looked at Seven calmly.
"It wasn't just fascinating," Tsuru interjected. "Vice Admiral Komei's report turned out to be incomplete. When Garp tested him earlier, I saw everything clearly. Summoning a giant skeleton coated in Haki to attack and defend, manipulating fire capable of burning everything, teleporting from one point to another, and the strangest of all... Garp's deadly attack passed right through his body as if he were merely an illusion."
Tsuru fell silent for a moment, glancing toward the remnants of the crater in the distance through the window. "Then, at the end, his body exploded into a cloud of white smoke. All those vastly different and unrelated abilities manifested every time the pattern in his red eyes changed."
Hearing Tsuru's sharp analysis, Kong, Garp, and Gin's gazes reflexively turned to one person in the room. Sengoku.
Sengoku let out a long sigh, understanding the meaning behind their stares. In the entire Navy right now, he was the only one who had eaten a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit.
"Don't look at me like that," Sengoku said, adjusting his frog-shaped glasses. "The Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit I ate is the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu. That fruit does grant me extraordinary physical strength and the ability to emit devastating shockwaves when I transform into a golden Buddha. But my abilities aren't omnipotent. I can't block attacks, teleport, or manipulate fire all at the same time."
Sengoku looked deeply into Seven's eyes. "Mythological Zoan Devil Fruits grant immense physical strength along with abilities akin to Paramecia or Logia. But your power… this is excessive even for a Mythological Zoan. What fruit did you actually eat, Quentin Seven?"
Seven had prepared for this scenario in his mind long ago. With an extremely calm expression, he looked back at the Navy high-ranking officers.
"A Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit," Seven replied flatly. "Model: Susanoo."
The room fell silent. Even the crunch of Gin's crackers stopped.
"Susanoo?" Kong muttered, furrowing his brow as he tried to dig through his memory of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
"In my hometown, he's known as the Storm God and the God of Destruction," Seven continued, lying with perfect ease. His ability to manipulate chakra and his lies had fused seamlessly. "Just like Vice Admiral Sengoku's Golden Buddha, my power centers on the manifestation of that energy. These eyes are merely the medium that channels it."
"The God of Destruction," Gin repeated softly. His eyes widened slightly. He recalled the purple skeleton that had blocked Garp's punch in the square earlier. "Wait a moment… the giant skeleton you summoned earlier was about 15 meters tall. That's equivalent to the average height of the Elbaf Giant race. Don't tell me..."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral," Seven cut in with a calm tone that sent chills down his spine. "That skeleton is merely the base form. Those ribs and arms are just the initial manifestations. I don't yet possess the stamina and strength required to unleash this fruit's full potential."
Total silence enveloped the room.
Garp, who had been silent with a grim expression, now stared at Seven with his mouth slightly agape. Tsuru held her breath. Sengoku froze.
They were all top-tier fighters. Their minds immediately began making terrifying calculations. If even the base form had manifested as a 15-meter-tall Giant coated in Armament Haki—capable of withstanding Garp's punch, shattering yet regenerating as long as his physical prowess remained terrifying… what would the "God of Destruction" look like at its peak? Would its height rival a mountain? Would its slash cleave an island in two?
They couldn't even imagine it. Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits are generally already extremely rare and powerful, but the Devil Fruit consumed by this young man is clearly in a completely different league.
Inside Seven's mental space, the Bijuu rolled around laughing at the reaction of the strongest humans in the ocean, who had been completely duped by their master's "Devil Fruit" nonsense.
"Bwahahaha!"
Gin's raspy laughter suddenly erupted, shattering the tense silence in the room. The old Fleet Admiral laughed until he coughed, patting his thighs with glee.
"The God of Destruction! Magma! And Light! Ah, Komei, Komei… you really sent three little monsters to headquarters!" Gin wiped the tears from the corners of his wrinkled eyes.
Gin took his feet off the table. He looked at Kong, then looked at the three new recruits in turn. The smile on his face faded, replaced by a peaceful and relieved one.
"This is the perfect time," said Gin, his voice suddenly softening. "I'm tired of sitting in this chair, munching on crackers and filling out paperwork. In the coming days, I will officially retire from my position as Fleet Admiral."
Instantly, Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Seven looked at Gin.
"The position of Fleet Admiral will be handed over to him," Gin continued, pointing to Admiral Kong, who stood tall beside the table with a proud yet respectful expression. "As for me… I will spend the rest of my days demoted to the rank of Naval Instructor. I will train the young recruits. A new era is upon us, and I want to ensure the Navy has monsters strong enough to weather the coming storm."
Gin looked at Seven with a sharp, gleaming gaze.
"And seeing the three of you today... it looks like my retirement won't be boring."