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The next day, upon hearing that Byakuya was going to graduate early, Zephyr felt a sense of sadness.
After all, he had treated Byakuya as his son for the past six months, so the thought of Byakuya leaving the training camp brought a sense of loss.
Nonetheless, before Byakuya's departure, Zephyr decided to personally speak to Sengoku about Byakuya's graduation, hoping to secure the best possible benefits for Byakuya upon graduation.
In the office of the Marine Fleet Admiral, Sengoku looked at Zephyr and, adjusting his glasses, said with some sentiment,
"I didn't expect you to let Byakuya graduate early. I thought you would have him stay in the training camp for at least another year."
Zephyr crossed his arms and responded seriously, "As the Great Pirate Era progresses, the challenges faced by the Marines continue to grow."
"Keeping Byakuya in the training camp given his current abilities is a waste of the Marines' strength. He should start contributing to the Marines earlier."
Sengoku felt reassured by Zephyr's words and appreciated the wisdom of this elder generation of the Marines, acknowledging the importance of understanding the difficulties faced by the Marines and taking action to help.
He thought, "If every Marine had this level of awareness, my hair wouldn't have gone grey so quickly!"
But why didn't some of the other old Marines possess this level of awareness?
Sengoku's mind went straight to Garp. Since six months ago, when Garp's plan to train his grandson to become a Marine failed once again, Garp seemed to have lost his sense.
He started chasing Shanks all over the world, dragging Aokiji along with him. No one could stop him, and he kept saying things like,
"If I'm not going back to the East Blue, neither is Shanks." When asked about his reasons, Garp wouldn't answer.
With Garp and Aokiji effectively out of commission, the Marines were essentially deprived of two top-tier powers.
If it weren't for the relative calm from the other three Emperor-level pirate crews, Sengoku would have died from stress.
Now, Zephyr's willingness to let Byakuya graduate early was a significant positive for Sengoku.
Although he wasn't sure how much Byakuya had improved in the past six months, based on his observations from half a year ago, Byakuya's strength was at least that of a near-admiral.
Having another Admiral power on their side would certainly provide Sengoku with some relief.
Sengoku said, "Don't worry, Byakuya will get all the benefits he deserves with this early graduation."
Zephyr casually responded,
"Well, I don't have any major demands, just assign him the rank of Marine Vice Admiral, provide him with a ship made from the world's strongest wood, 'Tree Adam', and then maybe throw in ten obedient Marine Vice Admirals as subordinates."
"What?" Sengoku's eyes widened in shock, his eyes nearly bursting out of their sockets.
"You call this no big demands? What's next? Would you like me to promote him straight to a Marine Fleet Admiral?"
Zephyr paid no attention to Sengoku's outraged expression and calmly replied,
"Fleet Admiral would be more suitable." This was something Byakuya had taught Zephyr, following Byakuya's words:
{"People often prefer to compromise, so if you suggest something outrageous, like tearing down the roof, they'll try to find middle ground by agreeing to open a window."}
Zephyr found this quite reasonable, so he took Byakuya's advice to the extreme. Sengoku gritted his teeth, asking, "Zephyr! Are you joking with me?"
"Not at all. Those were Byakuya's exact words. If you don't agree, he'll just stay in the training camp for another three years before graduating."
"Anyway, he's not in a rush. He can spend more time with other trainees in the camp."
"You wouldn't believe how much those trainees cried when they found out Byakuya was going to graduate early."
"They said they didn't want him to leave; it was such a moving scene."
"Everyone was shedding tears." Zephyr wiped his eyes theatrically, even though there were no tears, which would have made the performance more convincing.
Sengoku was taken aback; he never thought Zephyr could be so shameless.
Are you sure those trainees were shedding tears of sadness and not tears of relief that Byakuya was leaving?
If Byakuya was really so beloved in the camp, why would the remaining 590 trainees have formed an anti-Byakuya club to resist his monthly beatdowns?
Sengoku gave Zephyr a strange look.
This old guy had changed. Zephyr used to be such an honest and straightforward Marine, never defying his superiors or haggling with them.
Since taking Byakuya as his disciple, all Sengoku could do was sigh. Seeing Sengoku still hesitating, Zephyr added,
"If you're not agree, then I'll just keep Byakuya here for another two and a half years. The trainees in the camp would be thrilled to hear that news."
How could they not be excited? After being beaten for six months, they thought they were finally free from Byakuya's attacks.
But now that Byakuya isn't leaving, and they face two and a half more years of his beatings, they can't help but feel desperate.
If Byakuya stays, they might even apply for early graduation themselves.
With that, Zephyr got up and walked straight out the door without looking back, leaving without any hesitation.
This was another technique Byakuya had taught Zephyr: {"don't give the other party any time to hesitate, show them your resolve."}
If Byakuya had been present, he would have been full of praise for Zephyr's performance.
With this level of acting, Zephyr could have easily won several Oscars in the modern world. Zephyr's decisiveness left Sengoku with a headache.
Byakuya's conditions were incredibly high, graduating from the training camp and directly becoming a Marine Vice Admiral.
Such a scenario had never happened since the establishment of the Marines. But the Marines did indeed need a combat power like Byakuya.
As Zephyr reached the door, considering that Byakuya's methods didn't seem to be working, Sengoku finally spoke up. "Zephyr, come back and sit down."
"Does that mean you've agreed?"
"Byakuya's conditions are too extreme. If I agree to them, how do you expect other seasoned Marine Vice Admirals to react?"
"Then I'll just go," Zephyr replied.
Sengoku implored, "Can we negotiate? The Marines really need Byakuya's combat abilities."
Hearing an old friend plead with such a tone, Zephyr softened slightly. "All right, what do you propose?"
Sengoku considered briefly. "How about this: I'll grant Byakuya the rank of Marine Rear Admiral."
"But I promise, if Byakuya achieves some accomplishments within a year, I can promote him to Marine Vice Admiral."
"I can't provide a ship entirely made from 'Tree Adam' wood, there just isn't enough available worldwide, but I can offer him a 'Tree Adam' tree branch for the keel. He can find someone to craft the rest."
"Finally, Byakuya can choose three subordinates from Marines ranked under Vice Admiral."
"That's the best I can do. If that's still not enough, I guess he'll just have to stay for two and a half more years."
Sengoku's eyes welled up with tears, his voice heavy.
"It's tough being in the Marines!" Zephyr, moved by his old friend's apparent sadness, agreed, "All right, I'll go discuss this with Byakuya."
Sengoku wiped away his tears. "Thank you, Zephyr, for all your contributions to the Marines." Zephyr nodded gravely and left.
Once Zephyr was gone, Sengoku's expression quickly turned cheerful. He muttered triumphantly,
"Trying to outmaneuver me? Being the Marine Fleet Admiral isn't so easy!"
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