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

Chapter 219 Sakazuki: You went to the concert without me?

New Naval Headquarters, G-1.

Sakazuki was busy at his desk in his office at that moment.

To be honest, he was already a tiny bit regretful about competing for the position of marshal.

When he was an admiral, he was always thinking about fighting and killing, and how to kill pirates more effectively and efficiently. He didn't usually stay at headquarters. But since he became a marshal, he felt that he had lost his freedom and that he was mostly doing clerical work every day.

He lay on the table, writing and writing, writing and writing, never stopping.

When he was a general, he only needed to submit the report to the marshal of the Warring States period and then wait for approval.

But now, he has become the one who has to carefully read all kinds of documents and make adjustments and offer opinions based on the Navy's various needs.

After careful consideration, Sakazuki rejected the naval base's funding request, then stopped what he was doing, put his pen aside, picked up his coffee from the table, and drank it all in one gulp.

To be honest, he used to be a rather old-fashioned person who preferred tea to coffee.

But now, in order to be more energetic at work, he has had to make some changes to his tastes.

Just as Sakazuki was about to take a two-minute break before continuing his work, there was a knock on his office door.

"Please come in," Sakazuki replied.

Soon, the door opened, and Chief Advisor Ahe walked in carrying a stack of documents.

Upon seeing this, Sakazuki couldn't help but say with a headache, "I didn't feel anything when I saw you before, but now when I see you, especially when you're carrying a huge pile of documents, I feel extremely irritated."

Sakazuki still showed respect for his seniors, even marshals. In this private setting, when communicating with Chief of Staff A-He, he would still use the formal "you" (formal).

Chief Advisor Ahe laughed upon hearing this and said, "Now you understand the Marshal's difficulties, don't you?"

"I totally understand." Sakazuki nodded, then asked, "What is it this time?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. It's just some battle reports from the front lines that you need to take a look at yourself," Chief Advisor Ahe said softly.

Then, she placed the documents in her hand on Sakazuki's desk, and rubbed her lower back, saying, "Sengoku ran off to G-5 and hasn't come back. Garp has also retired. Thinking about it, I'm getting old too. Although I'm doing clerical work, I've been feeling a bit lacking in energy lately. Sakazuki, you should find a suitable successor for me as soon as possible."

Sakazuki paused for a moment upon hearing this, a rare hint of impatience appearing on his usually composed face. He said, "I absolutely cannot approve it. If you, the Chief of Staff, also step down, the pressure on me will definitely increase even more."

"That's true, but I can't keep doing this forever, can I?" Chief Advisor A-He said with some emotion.

Sakazuki hesitated, but after noticing the chief of staff's tired expression, he finally sighed and said, "I'll have to wait at least two more years, until I'm completely familiar with the job of marshal."

Without continuing the topic, Sakazuki picked up the newly delivered documents and began to read them.

The above describes the combat intelligence of Beehive Island. To be fair, Aramaki does have considerable talent. This should be his first time commanding a battle since joining the Navy, but there were no problems. Although there were no particularly impressive maneuvers, his steady and methodical approach was to be expected.

"Issou blocked the Big Mom Pirates' support fleet, and there's been no movement from the Beast Pirates. It seems Wang Zhi has nowhere to escape," Sakazuki said, clicking his tongue as he looked at the documents.

"Loki Harbor on Beehive Island has been breached. Facing a ruthless character like Wang Zhi, Huang Mu's strength has been quite impressive. You natural-type ability users have truly produced many masters in recent years," Chief Advisor Ahe acknowledged.

She didn't really like Aramu; she always felt that he wasn't a good match for her, probably because they had some differences in their philosophies.

Even so, Chief Strategist Azuru had to admit that Aramaki's strength was quite outstanding. Sakazuki's decision to appoint Aramaki as the commander-in-chief of this operation, despite opposition, was indeed very insightful.

It should be noted that although the headquarters did not send a general to Beehive Island to oversee the situation, but only arranged for Yixiao to provide support on another battlefield, Wang Zhi was no small figure. As a remnant of the Rocks era, and having managed to establish his own foothold in the New World for so many years, he was someone to be taken seriously.

At the meeting, many people, including Borsalino, suggested that it would be more appropriate to send at least one general to oversee the operation.

However, Sakazuki strongly pushed for Aramaki to take charge of this operation. Some people felt that Sakazuki was too impulsive. Even if he wanted to cultivate Aramaki into his new ally, he shouldn't be so hasty. But now it seems that Sakazuki was very confident.

"After all, I have personally assessed Araburi, and that is why I can trust him so much," Sakazuki said.

"After this, do you plan to nominate him as a candidate for general?" Chief Advisor A-He asked again.

"I do have that idea, but not after this. If I were still an admiral, I might do that, but now I'm the fleet admiral. Looking at the Navy as a whole, the previous drastic changes have shaken the foundation of our Navy. At this moment, we should seek stability. Aramaki should train some more. He should at least participate in a war against one of the Four Emperors' pirate crews to truly gain enough prestige," Sakazuki said without hesitation.

Things are different now. Back then, Bane and Issho rose to prominence quickly because of the circumstances. The Navy had the necessary conditions at the time. But now the power struggle at the top is over, and there are no more good opportunities like that. Sakazuki has also become more composed.

"It seems the position of marshal is indeed a good tempering of a person," Chief Advisor Ahe said with a smile.

Sakazuki seemed somewhat moved upon hearing this. After a moment, as if reminded of something, he casually asked, "Borsalino is stationed in Marineford without making any moves, Issho is at the front lines holding off the Big Mom Pirates, and what about Bane? Is he busy at G-6 too?"

Speaking of which, Sakazuki hasn't heard from him or any news for quite some time since that guy left headquarters.

Aside from the routine reports and procedures, it was as if this admiral didn't exist at all!

This really made Sakazuki a little uncomfortable. After all, in his memory, ever since the name Bane came to his ears, this guy seemed to never have a moment's rest. He was either causing trouble or on his way to cause trouble. Wherever a major event happened, he would be there.

Sakazuki thought that Bane would also volunteer to join the battle against Hive Island, but he didn't. He only sent some of his young generals to participate in the battle, to gain merit and seniority, and then there was no further action.

"Bane?" Chief Advisor A-He's expression was somewhat strange when he mentioned this name, a cryptic smile playing on his lips. "He's certainly having a lot of time on his hands. While you're busy working at your desk all day, he should be almost there for Eregia by now, right?"

"Eregia?" Sakazuki felt the name sounded somewhat familiar.

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

The islands in this vast ocean are as numerous as the stars in the sky. Even a naval admiral couldn't possibly memorize them all. After pondering for a moment, Sakazuki still couldn't recall this place, so he asked again, "Where is Eregia? What's he doing there?"

"Eregia is a famous music island in the New World, but given your personality, it's normal that you don't pay attention to it," Chief Strategist A-He explained before continuing, "They said there's going to be a concert there in a few days, featuring the most popular songstress right now, Uta. Bane reported his itinerary to headquarters more than a month ago, starting his vacation. He took Zephyr, Kuzan, and apparently even invited Garp, who was originally doing nothing at headquarters, to go to the concert together."

Sakazuki was already starting to lose his composure when he heard they were going on vacation and attending concerts, but when he heard the name "Kuzan," he truly broke down.

Looking at the mountain of documents on his desk, and then imagining Kuzan probably eating hotpot and singing songs right now, he felt a little lost and confused.

I clearly won!

How come I, the winner, am so busy every night that I can't sleep and have to drink coffee that I don't even like to stay awake, while Kuzan, the loser, is living such a carefree life?

A concert? You people shouldn't always judge me, Sakazuki, with stereotypes. Although I'm usually serious and don't smile much, how do you know I wouldn't be interested in something like this if you didn't invite me or ask me?

What if I just really like singing?

Is there any real point in competing for the marshal's title?

Just as Sakazuki was lost in a state of existential doubt, Chief Advisor A-He said with a hint of envy, "How delightful! Speaking of which, I'm quite knowledgeable about music myself. Not long ago, that brat Peacock criticized me for not understanding trends, so I specifically looked up some of Uta's records to listen to. And you know what? No wonder she's the most popular songstress, she's really quite good."

At this moment, thinking of Garp's current happy retirement life, Advisor A-He wanted to retire even more.

After regaining his composure, Sakazuki said retaliatoryly, "No, we can't let them continue like this. How can a Marine Admiral behave like this? Chief of Staff, find a way to give Bane more work."

"Me, a lieutenant general, assigning tasks to a general?" The chief of staff looked at Sakazuki, who was already rambling incoherently, with an expression as if he were a fool. "Isn't this the responsibility of a marshal like you?"

"Damn it!" Sakazuki cursed under his breath. "Since that's the case, don't blame me for being ruthless. Here's what I'll do: I'll assign him a troublesome task right now. Although it's unlikely to be successful, as long as I keep him busy, I'll be happy. When I'm happy, efficiency will improve, and when the Marshal's efficiency improves, it's beneficial to the navy as a whole. It's just!"

With that, Sakazuki took out a blank sheet of paper and wrote on it, "Issued to Admiral Bane to immediately begin planning the annihilation of the Red-Haired Pirates!"

Chief Advisor Ahe looked at Sakazuki's expression and said with some amusement, "Aren't you just setting him up for trouble? Arranging something that's almost impossible to get anywhere with."

To be honest, she hadn't seen Sakazuki like this in many years. It seemed that after being promoted from general to marshal, Sakazuki's cold demeanor had diminished considerably, and he had become more human.

Some of them looked like they did when they first joined the Navy.

Sakazuki seemed oblivious to his own change. After finishing writing, he dusted off the paper and chuckled, "Admiral, shouldn't you be thinking about how to annihilate these great pirates? How can you call it nitpicking? Hehehe."

(End of this chapter)