Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 135 The Warring States Period, Kuzan, and World Conscription.

While Bane and the others were discussing these matters with Zephyr.

The battle on the battlefield has ended, and the remaining members of the Whitebeard Pirates, with no way out, have either died or surrendered.

The remaining tasks were to clean up the battlefield and take stock of the casualties and prisoners.

These matters don't require the personal attention of the navy's senior officers; those who need to rest should rest, and those who need to be hospitalized should be hospitalized.

In the office of the Warring States Marshal, Kuzan was sitting at this moment.

His condition wasn't good either. His entire right arm was in a splint and draped with a triangular bandage, hanging at his chest. It was obvious that his arm bone was fractured.

Meanwhile, there were bandages wrapped around his chest, indicating that he had been slashed by Charlotte Linlin, and there was still a trace of blood seeping out.

"Marshal, look at me in this state, why won't you let me go to the hospital for treatment? Why did you have to call me here?" Kuzan asked, pretending to be very weak as he leaned against the sofa.

Although the battle was difficult, it wasn't particularly exhausting for Kuzan. After all, he was a man who could fight Sakazuki for ten days. This battle, which lasted less than a day, didn't put much strain on his stamina; it was just a matter of his injuries.

Sengoku was naturally aware of this situation, so he glanced at him with amusement and said, "You really did learn a trick from Borsalino."

As soon as the battle ended, Borsalino pretended to be seriously injured, took a long leave of absence, and went to the hospital.

As Borsalino's former direct superior, Sengoku was well aware of the guy's flaws and knew that he wouldn't take the work seriously under these circumstances, so he simply approved it.

In contrast, Sakazuki immediately began to take charge of the overall situation after the battle, leading the navy to handle various matters after the war. Even though he was injured, he never complained about the hardship or fatigue.

Why else would someone be considered a potential next marshal?

"No, the fact that he can go to the hospital while I have to stay here and listen to your lecture just proves that he's still holding back something from me," Kuzan retorted.

Sengoku almost laughed at these words, then shook his head helplessly and said, "You're really getting lazier and lazier. How can you be a good new marshal if you continue like this?"

"That's all wishful thinking on your part. I never said I wanted to be a marshal," Kuzan quickly shook his head and said.

He doesn't even really want to be a general now, let alone a marshal.

However, the Warring States had plenty of ways to deal with him. Hearing this, he said with a slightly regretful expression, "Is that so? If you don't want to be the marshal, then Mary Geoise will definitely push Sakazuki into the position."

"Sakazuki?" Kuzan's expression gradually turned serious this time, and he said in a deep voice, "I don't really want to say anything about him behind his back, but there are some issues that you can certainly see clearly. Sakazuki is an outstanding person and an excellent admiral, but he is not suitable to sit in the position of Fleet Admiral. If he becomes Fleet Admiral, then the Navy may go down a very dangerous path."

Sakazuki is a man who will stop at nothing to achieve justice.

Kuzan could barely accept that he wasn't a marshal, but even under these circumstances, he had to admit that Sakazuki was an excellent admiral.

But if he becomes a marshal, that's a different story.

In Kuzan's view, a naval admiral can be mediocre, can be not outstanding enough, but he cannot be so extreme!

Because at this stage, just like in the Warring States period, every action, appearance, and even a casual remark will carry the so-called "naval will".

If an extreme person like Sakazuki becomes a marshal, it might not be immediately apparent, but over time, it could very well influence the entire navy and turn it into an extreme military organization.

On a smaller scale, the Buster Call might become something that happens everywhere.

On a larger scale, the things that Zephyr would have done in the original story could, under certain circumstances, have happened to Sakazuki.

Therefore, Kuzan was firmly opposed to Sakazuki becoming a marshal.

"If you won't take it, then who will? Borsalino? Fine, I agree. Go ask Borsalino if he's willing." Sengoku glared at Kuzan and said.

Kuzan's face twitched. Ah, he might wholeheartedly agree to Borsalino's retirement, but he would absolutely never agree to making him marshal.

"So can't you just step down in a little less hurry? What's the matter? Who's forcing you not to be the marshal?" Kuzan changed his approach and began to obstruct Sengoku's retirement plan.

"A person of an era should do what their era does. I am what is called a 'remnant of the old era.' As an admiral, you are well aware that the Navy's next step will inevitably be to shift its focus to the New World. This process is of little significance to me, but for a new flanker, it is the best opportunity to cultivate prestige. Therefore, retiring at the height of one's career is the only way to truly know one's limitations! I'm getting old and have to admit that I can no longer fight pirates, and I can no longer fight Mary Geoise either," Sengoku said wearily.

At that moment, Kuzan seemed to notice that beneath the thick black hair of the Fleet Admiral Sengoku, there appeared to be a few strands of silver.

The words I wanted to say are now impossible to utter.

The position of Fleet Admiral not only involves fighting against those vicious pirates, but also against the group on Mary Geoise.

Sengoku had compromised and been angry about this, but looking back now, it was all meaningless. He now realized that he truly envied his two old comrades, Garp and Zephyr. One had retired early, while the other had become a tough nut to crack in the Navy, living as comfortably as he pleased.

"Speaking of the struggle with Mary Geoise, there's something else I need to remind you of." Sengoku suddenly perked up, adjusted his glasses, and said, "Actually, over the years, you should have noticed that my relationship with Mary Geoise has become quite hostile, which is one of the reasons why I can no longer serve as Fleet Admiral."

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Kuzan nodded silently, agreeing.

In his early years, when Sengoku was still a Marine Admiral, he had a good relationship with Mary Geoise. At that time, Sengoku was also a ruthless person. He gave away the Buster Call of Ohara without hesitation. He was tough and stubborn, a completely different style from Zephyr, who was known as the "Admiral Who Doesn't Kill".

Now, the two are completely reversed. Zephyr thinks about how to kill all the pirates and take revenge on the world every day, while Sengoku's personality has gradually become gentler and less sharp.

In the past, Sengoku resolutely carried out the orders given by the World Government. Now, however, he has to occasionally give them a few soft replies and engage in potential clashes with the World Government.

As for the reason, it's quite simple. When you're a general, you're a general. You do whatever your superiors say. That's how you become a marshal. Besides, you already have an old marshal above you. Naturally, people in the Warring States period act without much restraint.

But once he became a marshal, he had no one above him. The so-called commander-in-chief of the entire army was just a place for retirement and living in comfort, and he wouldn't be involved in anything on a daily basis. So he had to face Mary Geoise's sharp edge directly. As an admiral, he had no conflict of interest with Mary Geoise, but as a marshal, any normal marshal would inevitably clash with Mary Geoise!

This is determined by the position of your buttocks!

Mary Geoise is quite used to this situation, as it's happened more than once or twice. So their basic strategy is to win over the admirals after the fleet admiral begins to "awaken," thereby dividing and pressuring the fleet admiral, maintaining a balance through conflict without breaking apart.

Sakazuki is now a naval admiral who has been won over by Mary Geoise. The two sides are currently in a honeymoon period, and Sakazuki is also counting on Mary Geoise's help to make him a marshal.

But later, when Sakazuki actually sat in the position of Marshal, he was constantly arguing with the Five Elders, and conflicts soon arose.

Next, the World Government used the same old tactics, parachuting in two generals to begin dividing and suppressing Sakazuki—the same recipe, the same flavor.

However, Sengoku's prestige was high enough to keep Sakazuki in check, and Sakazuki wouldn't do anything to embarrass Sengoku. Later, the two new generals didn't give Sakazuki any face at all, especially Issho.

After a slight pause, Sengoku didn't keep him in suspense and said directly, "After I submitted the battle plan against the Whitebeard Pirates, it seemed that Mary Geoise had plans to launch a world conscription. The reason was that after the war, our navy would inevitably suffer heavy losses, but time was of the essence. The opportunity in the New World is fleeting. If our navy spends too much time 'recovering,' wouldn't that be like doing someone else's bidding? Therefore, Mary Geoise wanted to quickly replenish our navy's strength through a world conscription and then seize the time to counterattack the New World."

"That sounds nice, but it's nothing more than them thinking we're not listening enough, so they want to sow discord among us and break the current unity from within," Kuzan immediately realized.

"Yes, that's why I plan to stop this global conscription, at least to stop the conscription of officers at the general level," Sengoku said in a deep voice.

(End of this chapter)