The Grand Line.
Marineford, Marine Headquarters.
Inside the conference room, a group of core high-ranking officials stared wide-eyed at Sengoku. Every single face in the room screamed the same thing: 'You've got to be kidding me!'
"Cough, cough. I know this sounds bizarre, but it is true!"
"Hancock has already abdicated her throne of Amazon Lily. She is currently stationed at Sean's 16th Branch."
"You are all well aware of her strength. Even an elite Vice Admiral would struggle against her; she is very close to, or perhaps has already reached, the level of Gion."
"Furthermore, the people of the Kuja have never committed massacres of civilians, nor have they engaged in mindless pillaging."
"Most importantly, I have discovered her motivation for joining the Marines, and she isn't plotting anything sinister. Therefore, my opinion is that we approve her application!"
Everyone in the room was stunned. So, this was actually happening?
"Fleet Admiral, you said her motivation is sound. What exactly is it that makes this woman want to become a Marine?" Akainu was the first to speak after a moment of silence.
Even if it were true, the situation was too surreal. He wanted to hear the reason himself.
"As for that... it has a great deal to do with Sean."
"While I was on the phone, I overheard a conversation between him and Hancock. At the time, Hancock mentioned that being a Vice Admiral would be sufficient. She said that if her rank were higher than Sean's, it would negatively affect their married life..."
...
'Married life, my foot.'
In other words, these two had fallen for each other and were already discussing marriage?
No wonder the Fleet Admiral said her motivation for joining the Marines wasn't a problem. But then again, how on earth did Sean manage to land a woman like her?
"Then I have no objections!"
Akainu froze for a second, but he quickly voiced his approval. If it had been anyone else, he would have had reservations—after all, Hancock was once a pirate.
But if it was Sean... that seemed acceptable.
If he had to explain why, it was simply because Sean was exactly his type of soldier, and more importantly, Sean provided far too much. A billion Belly for a single warship—the man had just given it away.
On this point, even Akainu wasn't immune to temptation. Besides, he had absolutely no resistance to those massive steel ships and heavy cannons.
"Tsuru, what do you think?"
"I agree as well. I've looked into Hancock; she isn't inherently evil. Her personality is just... how should I put it? Well, willful. Extremely willful!"
"Then how should we arrange her posting going forward?"
"Where else can you put her besides the 16th Branch? Don't forget the reason she joined the Marines in the first place!"
Sengoku blinked. Right. He had just asked a very stupid question.
Hancock joined the Marines specifically because of Sean. If they tried to station her at Headquarters or another branch, who's to say she would follow orders? She might just flip the table on them.
"Fine, I suppose that's the only way. However, having two Vice Admirals in a single branch of the Four Seas is a bit exaggerated, wouldn't you say?"
"Fleet Admiral, I don't think you need to worry about that," Akainu spoke up again.
Sengoku looked confused, not entirely understanding the implication behind Akainu's words.
"Whether it's his personal strength or the strength of the Marines under his command, Sean has already surpassed all other naval branches, including G1."
"Having such power in the East Blue is a waste. That's why, during my last visit to the 16th Branch, I asked him about his future plans."
"According to Sean, he is currently laying the groundwork. He's building a foundation so that he can eventually enter the New World and face the Four Emperors head-on."
"So, Fleet Admiral, you don't need to worry if the configuration of a single branch is too exaggerated. Sean is destined to lead his core team into the New World to plant the flag for the Marines."
'So that's it. That brat already has a plan.'
Regardless, it didn't matter; his plan aligned closely with what Sengoku had in mind. After all, the Marines had already considered establishing a new G-series branch in the New World. By having three G-series branches acting as strategic anchors, they could gradually expand the Marine's zone of control in the New World.
If Sean's strength continued to grow over the next year, and considering his subordinates were far above the average standard, making him the commander of this new branch would be an excellent choice.
With that thought, Sengoku reached a decision.
'''
The next day.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office.
Looking at the document just delivered by the World Government, Sengoku was slightly bewildered.
The World Government had not rejected his application. Of course, this wasn't surprising; Sengoku had assumed the Five Elders would likely approve the proposal.
However, hadn't it been approved 'too' quickly?
For some reason, Sengoku felt that as long as something was related to Sean, it received a green light from the World Government. Was he just imagining things?
Aside from that, the World Government had sent another document. And the contents of this one were quite interesting.
Over the past year, Doflamingo had been stripped of his Warlord status after attacking Marine Branch 16. Then, Crocodile had been killed by Sean after using Dance Powder to incite civil war in Alabasta in an attempt to usurp an Affiliated Nation of the World Government.
Now, with Hancock joining the Marines, her Warlord status was naturally revoked as well.
Without anyone noticing, three seats among the Warlords had become vacant.
Consequently, the Five Elders believed that if these vacancies weren't filled quickly, it would cause an imbalance among the Three Great Powers. Such an imbalance would directly threaten the foundation of their rule over the world.
Thus, a document requesting the Marine to quickly select successors and report them to the World Government landed in Sengoku's hands.
Sengoku sighed as he put the paper down. Three Warlords gone in a single year? And if he was being honest, all three vacancies were related to Sean.
"That brat really is a magnet for chaos!"
However, replacing three people at once was a difficult task. Sengoku began to fret. After all, the position of a Warlord was nuanced; it wasn't enough to simply pick a few powerful pirates.
He had to ensure that the chosen individuals would follow the orders of the World Government—even if it was only on the surface. Otherwise, the system was pointless.
Most importantly, they needed to be famous enough to carry weight and bring a certain level of benefit to the Marine.
"Messenger!"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
"Immediately notify all officers of Vice Admiral rank and above. An emergency meeting will be held in half an hour!"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
'''
16th Branch.
Sean's office.
"This is for you. It's the appointment that just arrived from Headquarters. Starting today, you are a Vice Admiral. Your position is officially categorized among the elite Vice Admirals, granting you the authority to form a direct unit of three hundred personnel and the allocation of a large warship."
Sean handed the documents to Hancock.
Upon receiving them, Hancock didn't even glance at the papers before tossing them carelessly to the side. She had absolutely no interest in such formalities.
"None of that matters. All that counts is that I can stay here with you from now on, right?"
"That's correct. But we should still take the benefits we're entitled to. Otherwise, we'd just be letting that old man Sengoku off too easy," Sean replied.
"I suppose you're right. I should indeed be frugal for the sake of the household. You handle it for me, then!"
"Fair enough. We'll pass on the standard large warship—those things are garbage. I'll build you an ironclad ship instead; you can design the exterior however you like. As for the direct unit of three hundred, I'll assign the Female Soldier Corps of the 16th Branch to you. They were already your people anyway."
Hancock's eyes lit up. "I can design the look of the ship myself?"
"Yes. As long as you don't change the fundamental structure, the aesthetics are up to you."
"And the warriors of the Kuja will be under my command?"
"Correct. With a quota of three hundred, even if you recruit another two hundred and fifty warriors from Amazon Lily, they will all be under your command!"
"Can I name the unit myself?"
"Go ahead."
"Then the unit shall be called the Kuja Pirates!"
"..."
'Hancock, you aren't a pirate anymore!!' Sean thought, speechless.
'''
A few days later.
Every Marine who had been out on assignment had returned to the branch. The first grand competition of the 16th Branch was about to begin!
Following several discussions between Sean and Lucci, the rules were finalized as follows:
The grand competition would be split into two categories: Physical Combat and Swordsmanship. Both would follow a single-elimination tournament format.
In the Physical Combat category, the top eight finishers would each receive a choice between a Zoan-type Devil Fruit or priority selection rights for a Devil Fruit.
In the Swordsmanship category, the top ten would receive a Skillful Grade Sword, while the top three would be awarded a Great Grade sword.
Devil Fruits and legendary blades!
Whether the Marines specialized in hand-to-hand combat or the sword, the entire branch was now in a state of absolute frenzy.
Only Ace looked depressed.
If he entered the Physical Combat category... without using his Devil Fruit powers, he wasn't even sure he could beat Sophia. Moreover, even if he won, a Devil Fruit would be useless to him. He couldn't exactly eat a second one just to see if he had "protagonist luck," could he?
As for the Swordsmanship category, that was even more absurd; he didn't know the first thing about the sword!
'Is this competition specifically designed to screw me over?'
Sean, however, ignored the sulking youth. Instead, he asked, "What about the Armament Haki and Observation Haki Rayleigh is teaching you? Have you mastered them?"
"Almost!"
" 'Almost' means you haven't. Since you haven't mastered them, where do you get the time to waste on a competition?"
"But the others haven't learned them either!"
"Others are others; you are you. Do you intend to spend your days measuring yourself against ordinary Marines?"
"I..."
"Besides, wouldn't it be embarrassing for you to bully ordinary soldiers?"
"That's..."
"Hmph. With such a lack of ambition, and you claim you want to end the Great Pirate Era with your own hands? Get back to training your Haki, now!"
Slumping his shoulders, Ace trudged back to find Rayleigh. He had never won an argument with Sean. He had learned the hard way: never argue with the boss, because the boss can find ten thousand dignified reasons to leave you speechless.
'''
"Sean, can the Kuja warriors participate in this competition?"
Having heard about the tournament and the prizes, Hancock immediately sought Sean out. Since Sean had organized the competition, it was essentially a family affair. As the lady of the house, there was no reason she couldn't secure some benefits for her Kuja warriors.
"Of course they can. They used to be Kuja warriors, but now they are Marines. Naturally, they are eligible."
"In that case, I think the Marines under your command have no hope. The Kuja warriors will sweep all the rewards!"
"Why would you say that?" Sean was stunned. Most of the Marines under his command were far stronger than the average Kuja warrior. Many already had a Doriki nearing a thousand; how could they have "no hope"?
"Because all fifty of the Kuja warriors here know how to use Armament Haki. From what I've observed these past few days, almost none of your Marines have awakened it," Hancock said with an air of confidence.
To her, the difference between knowing Armament Haki and not knowing it was a complete gap in power levels.
Sean, however, simply curled his lip. While it was true that most Kuja knew Armament Haki, he disagreed that it created an insurmountable gap. If two fighters had similar strength, that statement was true. But if the gap in raw power was too vast, Armament Haki wouldn't help much.
Could a person with a Doriki of 10 really defeat someone with a Doriki of 100 just because they knew Armament Haki? Please.
However, this did remind Sean of something.
"Hancock, I've been meaning to ask: how exactly do the Kuja warriors learn Armament Haki? Logically, most of them shouldn't meet the basic requirements to awaken Haki, right?"
"Are there requirements for awakening Haki? You just throw them into the Trial Forbidden Land of the Kuja for a month, and they learn it."
"Trial Forbidden Land?"
"Yes. All citizens of the Kuja must enter it for a month upon reaching adulthood. About twenty percent of them awaken Armament Haki there. Once they emerge, they either join the Kuja Pirates or become national protectors."
...There was actually a specialized crash course?
"And those who fail? Can they awaken Haki later through other means?"
"No. Anyone who fails can never awaken Haki in their lifetime, regardless of the method. They can only remain ordinary citizens."
Good grief, it was a one-shot deal. A single month decided the rest of their lives?
In that case, Sean would pass. His Marines' Doriki were steadily increasing every day; reaching 500 was no longer an issue, and most of his formal Marines had already surpassed that mark. If they followed standard training, awakening Haki was only a matter of time. There was no need to gamble with a "one-time-only" method like the one on Amazon Lily.
Still, Sean remained very interested in how the Trial Forbidden Land forced such a rapid awakening of Haki. He decided that he would find a time to visit; perhaps he would make a great discovery.