"Kizaru, regarding the proposal you submitted earlier about building a swimming pool on your ship for the sake of the crew's mental and physical well-being... it's been approved. However, for now, the trial will be limited to your flagship only," Sengoku said with a dark expression, tossing the stamped approval document onto the desk.
The idea of constructing a swimming pool on a warship was absurd, but it was still preferable to having Kizaru slack off entirely.
"Oh! So I can finally have a pool on my ship? Fantastic! I'll get someone to start the modifications immediately!" Kizaru exclaimed, genuinely thrilled. He hadn't expected Sengoku to actually approve the idea—truly a testament to Sengoku's reputation as the Navy's "Tactical Genius."
Watching Kizaru leave the office, satisfied with the approved proposal in hand, Sengoku sighed in relief.
Dealing with someone like Kizaru—who had been an admiral almost as long as Sengoku himself had been in command—was a uniquely frustrating challenge. Even the former Fleet Admiral Kong hadn't had a reliable method for handling him.
Kizaru neither cared for authority nor showed interest in wealth, and unlike Sakazuki or Kuzan, he had no grand aspirations or ideals to chase.
To Kizaru, being in the Navy was just a job. The fact that he managed to get anything done in between his constant slacking off was already commendable. Hoping for overtime from him was a pipe dream.
Ordinarily, someone as lazy as Kizaru wouldn't be well-regarded by his superiors. Yet, his immense strength and the numerous accomplishments he had racked up over time left them no choice but to promote him to admiral.
Both the current and previous fleet admirals had exhausted every trick in the book trying to motivate Kizaru to work properly, eventually arriving at this precarious yet functional arrangement.
As frustrating as Kizaru's laziness could be, he was, in some ways, the ideal subordinate. He rarely acted out, and even his slacking off stayed within acceptable boundaries.
"Hmm, for the pool... should I make it outdoor or indoor? Oh, wait—almost forgot! I should consult with little Nami first!"
Kizaru was self-aware enough to know Sengoku had already reached his limit by approving this project. There was no way Sengoku would agree to fund it with the Navy's budget—not even with the looming threat of Kizaru slacking off further.
Using a "strike" as leverage to get funding for the pool? That would be overkill and unnecessary.
Building a pool—even on a Navy warship—would cost at most tens of millions of berries. Not worth using drastic measures for.
"Little Nami, I'm back~!"
After changing into his formal admiral uniform and trench coat, Kizaru stepped into the office. For some reason, Nami seemed to have a particular fondness for seeing him in his Navy attire.
So, whenever Kizaru wanted to win her over, he would deliberately put on this "battle outfit." As long as his requests weren't too outrageous, Nami usually couldn't resist agreeing.
"Hmph!"
Behind Kizaru's luxurious desk, Nami, who had been busy scribbling notes and calculations, perked up at the sound of his arrival.
However, her expression quickly shifted, and she wrinkled her nose adorably, letting out a small huff.
This infuriating man had disappeared for over ten days and only bothered to call twice! How outrageous!
"Hehe, don't be mad, come on now. Look what I brought for you…"
Kizaru, having anticipated this, casually pulled a stunningly exquisite necklace from his pocket and approached Nami with a smile.
With a few well-chosen sweet words, it didn't take long for Kizaru to coax Nami into smiling again.
Taking advantage of the moment, he slipped the swimming pool construction proposal into her hands, asking her to oversee the project.
As Kizaru's adjutant and finance officer, Nami managed not only his personal treasury but also all the visible budgets and expenses under his name.
"The shipwrights and engineering teams at headquarters are currently busy repairing ships and reinforcing the fortress. I'm afraid they won't have the manpower to spare anytime soon," Nami said after glancing through the proposal.
By then, she had naturally settled into Kizaru's lap, her petite figure looking almost doll-like compared to his tall frame.
"Ah, is that so… Well, how about we outsource it to shipwrights from other branches or even Water 7?" Kizaru suggested without missing a beat.
Kizaru had been looking forward to having a swimming pool for a long time. As a Devil Fruit user, swimming in the sea was out of the question since the PYROBLOIN components in seawater, derived from Seastone, would sap all his strength.
But with a pool, specially treated to remove PYROBROIN, he could enjoy swimming freely. Of course, the real highlight would be watching Nami in a bikini.
"That might not be possible," Nami replied with a slightly troubled expression. "Your flagship has already been assigned to the battle fleet as the first line of defense for the outer seas. If it were sent to other branches or Water 7, it wouldn't be able to reach its designated position on time…"
Nami wasn't as eager about the pool as Kizaru was, but she still thought having one on the ship sounded appealing.
"Already part of the battle fleet, huh… By the way, Nami, how long has my flagship been in service?" Kizaru rubbed his chin, a thoughtful look crossing his face.
"Your flagship? The current one was assigned to you 11 years ago. Including its previous six years of service, it's been in operation for 17 years," Nami replied, showcasing her competence as Kizaru's adjutant. She even remembered every repair the ship had undergone.
"Is there a chance… we could swap my flagship with one of the ships assigned to block the port?"
Kizaru wasn't particularly picky, or he would have refused to use an old ship as his flagship in the first place. But if there was a legitimate opportunity to upgrade to a new ship, why not take it?
"Would that even work?"
Nami immediately grasped his intention. Essentially, Kizaru was proposing to send his flagship to the frontlines. Once it got sunk, he would have a valid reason to request a new ship from Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
And with Kizaru's rank as an admiral, any replacement ship assigned to him would undoubtedly be top-notch.
"That ship would've been decommissioned in a few years anyway. Headquarters has already started rolling out new warships embedded with Seastone, and here I am, an admiral, still using an outdated vessel. How does that make sense?" Kizaru said indignantly, conveniently forgetting the times headquarters had offered him a replacement ship, only for him to refuse because he "couldn't be bothered to move."
Back then, Kizaru's reasoning was simple: as long as he kept using a slow, outdated ship incapable of crossing the Calm Belt, he wouldn't be sent on troublesome missions.
After all, by the time his old ship arrived at a scene, most of the troublemakers would have fled. Even if he wanted to pursue them, his old warship wouldn't have been able to keep up.
°°°
A/N: 300 stones = 1 Extra
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