Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, Sengoku looked kindly at the man standing before him—Corazon—and spoke in a gentle tone.
"Welcome back to the Marines, Rosinante."
Corazon was deeply moved. This time, he had truly come back from the brink of death. Ever since his father was shot and killed by his older brother, he had become a complete orphan. Sengoku had taken him in and raised him as his own.
To Corazon, Sengoku was already like a real father. He had taught him how to live, what justice meant, and had helped him join the Marines, giving him the strength to fight beyond ordinary means.
You could say Sengoku was the one who gave his life new meaning.
Thinking about all this, Corazon opened his mouth with difficulty and said in a trembling voice,
"It's been a long time, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. I'm back!"
Truthfully, he had wanted to call Sengoku "father." But that word weighed too heavily on him. Every time he thought of it, the image of his real father dying would rise in his mind, bringing unbearable pain.
"It's good that you're back! Really good! And it's all thanks to Kaito. He saved your life—he's your savior, and mine too!"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku..."
Corazon couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears streamed down his face, and before long, his cheeks were soaked. Sengoku was also overwhelmed with emotion, his own eyes misting over.
At that moment—click!
"Sengoku! Got any senbei? Ah—huh?"
Garp shoved open the door and stuck his head in. But the scene inside left him stunned mid-action, still frozen with his head poking in.
"Vice Admiral Garp, it's… it's been a while, hehe..."
Corazon hurriedly wiped his face and tried to act normal as he greeted Garp, though the awkwardness in his expression was hard to miss.
A large vein popped on Sengoku's forehead as he clenched his fist, veins bulging.
In a flash, he was beside Garp's head.
"You disrespectful idiot! No senbei! And how many times have I told you—knock before entering my office!!!"
With that, he punched Garp square on the head with a dull thud.
"Ow—what the hell!"
Clearly, Sengoku had been bottling that one up for a while. That punch, despite using no Devil Fruit powers or Armament Haki, was probably one of his strongest.
Hard to say how it compared to the punch he'd later give Luffy during the war at Marineford.
Garp clutched his head and squatted on the floor, face scrunched in pain. Anyone looking at him would wince just from watching.
Sengoku stood in front of him, looking down at the mess Garp had become, feeling an overwhelming satisfaction—like he'd just been rejuvenated ten years.
Maybe he should punch Garp before every battle just to hype himself up? Sengoku raised his fist, the one he'd just used, and stared at it with a thoughtful expression.
"You bastard! Sengoku, how dare you hit me! After all these years, this is the first time you've hit me this hard! Fine! I'll remember this!"
Garp shot up from the ground, his face full of righteous indignation. His eyes held three parts grievance, two parts fury, and five parts disbelief—a textbook emotional breakdown.
"Hmph! That'll teach you a lesson."
Sengoku scoffed and returned to his seat, only to find Corazon looking at him with a very strange expression.
Crap. He'd lost control in front of Corazon because of Garp. That definitely wasn't the composure a Fleet Admiral should show... My years of dignified image, all ruined—damn it!
Sengoku's face turned red. He coughed twice, hard, and put on a stern expression.
"In any case, you must remember Vice Admiral Kaito's life-saving grace. He not only saved you, but also that child who means so much to you. That's a debt you'll never be able to repay."
Corazon replied with utmost sincerity,
"I understand, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. My strength may be insignificant, but as long as Vice Admiral Kaito needs me, I would gladly lay down my life for him!"
"No need for that. If there's something even Kaito can't handle, throwing your life away won't change anything."
"Uh..."
Corazon was a bit embarrassed. He knew Sengoku meant well, but that statement just sounded a little off.
"Alright. Your undercover mission is over. You did your duty and more. After this, I'll promote you to Captain. Go get some rest."
"Yes, sir!"
He saluted, then turned to leave the office—glancing back briefly at Garp, who was still sitting on the ground, holding his head and questioning life.
Once Corazon was gone, Garp couldn't hold it in anymore.
"So what did Kaito do this time? Come on, spill it."
"Nothing. At least not drinking tea and eating senbei in my office."
"Oh. I ran out of senbei. Can I have some of yours?"
"Get out! I already told you, there's not even a crumb of packaging left!"
...
The next day, on a patch of wasteland, Corazon stood with his fingers interlaced, nervously watching Kaito's back not far ahead.
In front of Kaito stood little Law, fidgeting anxiously and not daring to lift his head.
On Minion Island, Law had witnessed everything—how Doflamingo and the Donquixote Family members were casually wiped out by Kaito. Even Vergo, who showed up later, hadn't lasted a single move—might as well have handed his head over.
Though Law had fainted under Kaido's Conqueror's Haki, he had woken up afterward and saw something he would never forget for the rest of his life—the majestic purple giant towering into the heavens, and the green dragon coiling across the sky.
What Kaito displayed was something Law could never even dream of. In his heart, Kaito was no different from a god.
Now, facing this god alone, there was no way he wasn't nervous.
Kaito looked down at Law, who had been standing there nervously since the beginning, and couldn't help but chuckle. Was he really that scary? He'd managed to frighten a kid this badly?
Shaking his head, Kaito bent down and gently patted Law on the head. Law flinched hard from the touch.
Kaito sighed and used the gentlest voice he could muster.
"Don't be afraid. Trust me. The treatment won't hurt at all—it'll be over in an instant."
"Y-Yes!"
"ROOM."
Bzzt! A small, hemispherical space enveloped both Kaito and Law. From a distance, Corazon watched curiously. He didn't associate this ability with the Op-Op Fruit at all.
He only knew that the Op-Op Fruit could heal people—but how it worked or what the power looked like, he had no idea.
Scanning Law's body, Kaito now saw it as a humanoid diagram. Within it, there were several irregular white patches.
Looks like those white spots were the source of the Amber Lead Syndrome.
Now that he had located the problem, Kaito didn't hesitate. His eyes widened, and the white spots inside Law's body were directly extracted.
He pulled out a test tube, and the extracted white mass was transferred into it—forming a small blob of white paste. This disease was still terrifying, so better to be cautious.
After all, health is a person's most valuable asset!
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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