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"What are you thinking about?"
Kong let out a quiet chuckle.
Then he shook his head.
"A few sentences aren't enough to convict him, let alone kick someone like Kyle out of the Navy."
"What really matters isn't what he said, but what he can do for the Navy."
Hearing this, Sengoku finally relaxed a little.
"Still," Kong went on, regret in his voice as he shook his head again, "that kid Kyle will probably be sidelined for a while."
A young Marine with that much potential had a future so bright it was hard to overstate. He could even inherit the position of Fleet Admiral one day and make real contributions to the world.
And yet, a few words had derailed that future.
"There are a lot of people inside the Navy who support him," Sengoku said darkly.
"Of course I know that," Kong replied with a faint smile. "Both he and Garp have deep roots at the grassroots level. Plenty of people admire them."
"That's also why the World Government can't just move against him without consequences."
"But what he said can't simply be treated as if it never happened."
Kong narrowed his eyes slightly. After a long silence, he sighed.
"Let him leave Headquarters."
"Give it ten years. Maybe twenty."
"When he's more mature, then he can become a truly qualified Marine officer."
"And by then, those words will have long been forgotten."
That decision left Sengoku silent.
Truth be told, he genuinely approved of Kyle. His strength, his character—yes, those words had angered some people and even made Sengoku furious at the time, but deep down there was also a strange sense of admiration.
Seeing Sengoku like this, Kong sighed again.
"The order can be delayed for a while."
"And don't worry. With his strength and his current reputation in the Navy, no matter what position he's assigned to…"
"He won't be mistreated."
Only then did a faint smile finally appear on Sengoku's face.
Yesterday's anger had come from pain more than anything else—pain at wasting such talent. Garp's disciple, his own disciple—was there really any difference?
From the bottom of his heart, he still hoped Kyle would end up with a better outcome.
Inside the villa.
Kyle sat there, thoughtful.
The handling Kong had discussed was more or less what he had expected.
Political mistakes were serious in any world, in any era. Their impact was always far-reaching.
"Still… rather than letting you say it for me, I might as well bring it up myself."
He murmured to himself, a small smile forming as a plan took shape in his mind.
In the blink of an eye, the night passed, and the next day arrived.
Life at Marine Headquarters was calm, but also painfully dull.
In the morning, Bullet, Crocodile, and the others were still training as usual. Two new trainee Marines had joined the unit—faces bruised, constantly falling behind, looking utterly miserable.
After morning drills, Kyle called Bullet and Crocodile over.
"Starting today, I'll be teaching you the Six Powers."
"You can either learn all of them, or focus on one or two that suit you best and really master those."
"Trust me—this kind of powerful physical technique is a huge help in real combat."
Both men froze for a moment, then their eyes lit up.
The Navy had its own cultivation system, and the Six Powers were unquestionably one of its cornerstones.
It was precisely these superhuman techniques that had produced countless elite officers, playing a massive role in battles against pirates and criminal organizations.
As former notorious pirates who had clawed their way out of countless life-and-death fights, neither of them would ever pass up a chance to get stronger.
Kyle began demonstrating the mysteries of the Six Powers.
"I'll guide your training for a while," he said. "Until you've truly mastered them."
"If there's anything you don't understand, ask."
Bullet and Crocodile exchanged a glance, then nodded heavily.
Kyle was taught by Garp himself, the Hero of the Marines—and Garp was famous for his mastery of physical combat. With an officer like that guiding them, it would be impossible not to improve.
Watching the two of them repeatedly attempt the Six Powers, Kyle smiled.
There was no doubt about it—both men had the potential to reach admiral-level strength.
Bullet might still be young, but he was already formidable. He possessed all three types of Haki: Conqueror's, Armament, and Observation. In terms of Haki alone, he was even more well-rounded than Kyle himself.
His weakness lay only in quantity, not quality.
As for Crocodile, with his Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit and his own unique approach to fruit development, once his physical skills and Haki improved, he was unquestionably admiral material.
In the future, when he truly grew strong, he might even be able to go toe-to-toe with the three admirals.
These two were also the core of the team Kyle had in mind.
Crocodile was manageable enough. But Bullet's ambition ran deep—and after Kyle's words to the world, that ambition had clearly begun to stir.
At this moment, Kyle even felt like he was being pushed toward the top before he was ready.
At the same time, his gaze shifted forward.
"Smoker."
"Buggy."
"T. Bone."
All of them were promising talents from the original story, worth investing time and effort into.
"And Ivankov's sniping talent is impressive too," Kyle mused. "His Observation Haki has a wide-area sensing type."
"If he could pair that with Seastone bullets…"
Thinking of this, Kyle sighed softly.
Seastone was precious beyond measure. Even the Navy found it difficult to obtain in large quantities. Most of it was tightly controlled by the World Government.
"And one more thing."
His eyes sharpened.
"Rouge's situation needs to be dealt with as well."
Roger was dead, but the existence of his bloodline was bound to be discovered sooner or later.
That afternoon.
"Bullet. Crocodile."
"I have a classified mission for you."
Kyle spoke calmly.
"Hm?"
The two exchanged glances and listened intently.
"South Blue. Baterilla Island."
"Roger left his bloodline there."
As soon as the words left his mouth, both men's pupils shrank violently, shock written all over their faces.
"Roger actually left behind a bloodline?!"
"Was it that woman?"
They were stunned.
"That's right," Kyle nodded.
"So you want us to kill that woman?" Bullet said with a feral grin.
In his eyes, it was because of that woman that Roger had fallen—an old man indulging in love, so muddled that he even turned himself in to the Marines.
"That wasn't the Roger he admired. There was no trace of the old dominance left."
Kyle stared at the big man in silence.
He genuinely couldn't understand how this guy's brain worked.
"Is it just the two of us?" Crocodile asked in a low voice.
He had already guessed what Kyle intended to do, and his expression was grim.
Roger's bloodline was no small matter. One wrong move, and they'd be finished.
Compared to this, saying a few outrageous things to the world was nothing.
"I'll be going with you," Kyle said with a light smile.
"But you can't exactly leave Headquarters freely right now," Crocodile hesitated.
After those words had been spoken, Kyle was under intense scrutiny within the Navy. Wherever he went, whatever he did, reports would inevitably end up on the desks of the higher-ups.
Kyle smiled faintly.
Of course, he already had a way to deal with that.
As long as your Devil Fruit was developed well enough—and your imagination was big enough—any problem could be solved.
"..."
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