One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 43 A Man's True Character Lies in His Ambition

The three future admirals each have distinct personalities. Even though they are still young, their monstrous strength has garnered them considerable support from the Navy.

Since Marshal Kong was severely injured in the battle with Red Earl, he had been thinking about retiring. However, the Five Elders were reluctant to approve his retirement. But where there's a will, there's a way, and Kong began to delegate a lot of tasks to General Sengoku.

The Sengoku general, who also had to clean up Garp's messes every day, was complaining endlessly. He was already handling three tasks by himself and was simply unable to manage alone, so a large number of tasks were once again shifted to the vice admirals below him.

Sakazuki's attitude was to accept everything, Borsalino's attitude was to try to avoid it, and Kuzan's attitude was to just leave it there, since his adjutant would take care of it for him anyway.

Therefore, Roman's information is still piled up in Kuzan's pile of dusty documents.

However, now that Roman has arrived at the Navy Headquarters and officially joined, his information needs to be formally filed, so Lieutenant Commander Vale still needs to visit Vice Admiral Kuzan.

Yes, that should be the case.

However, Roman looked at the man lying sprawled out with his eyes closed and fell into deep thought.

This was the corridor of the imposing Naval Headquarters building, bustling with people... yet he acted as if he were sleeping in his own bed.

Is this Kuzan?

"Has he fainted?" Roman, who had intended to check his breathing, disregarded the still-rising chest and broke his doubts.

Val was clearly at a loss for words to explain the situation, but considering the Navy's reputation, he whispered, "It's probably because Vice Admiral Kuzan was too tired from approving the documents, so he fell asleep in the corridor."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door to the office next to Kuzan was opened, and the adjutant inside began to shout frantically, "Lieutenant General, I haven't been home in ages because of all the paperwork you've piled up. Please, I beg you, you have to finish it with me today!"

Val: "..."

"How did he become a lieutenant general?" Roman asked a very reasonable question.

"This may seem unreliable, but it's quite dependable when big things happen, and Lieutenant General Kuzan used to be quite passionate." In the end, Val finished speaking in a dry and seemingly unconvincing manner.

"If you join the Navy, you'd better not follow his example." Vale finally said this, even at the risk of being considered disrespectful. After all, he couldn't let such a young seed learn such a negative work attitude.

Of course he can't learn from him. Why is Kuzan like this? It's because there's an even more unreliable Garp above him. Sengoku can tolerate Garp, so how could he not tolerate Kuzan? Moreover, Kuzan himself has a close relationship with both Garp and Sengoku, and Kuzan is also Zephyr's favorite student.

In short, if you don't have any connections, you'd better not be so passive and unhelpful, or you'll definitely get into trouble.

"I think you're right."

"I feel like the army of justice has lost all face," Val thought helplessly.

He shouldn't have spoken so sternly to a child. Rear Admiral Onigumo was even suppressed by him, and he also witnessed Vice Admiral Kuzan's unreliable behavior. Will this child misunderstand the Navy in the future?

It's okay, just join, that should be fine!

"Ha~." Kuzan stretched and finally got up from the ground. Looking at his adjutant, he asked directly, "Is it time for lunch?"

"Lieutenant General!!!"

The adjutant's roar pierced the sky.

"Alright, alright, it was just a joke, but there seem to be some unfamiliar people here."

As he spoke, Kuzan looked directly at Roman, who was standing next to Val, and his gaze suddenly sharpened.

"she……"

The astonishing aura made Roman want to draw his sword. Just his gaze alone brought Roman immense pressure. He was truly a monster. Even without using Observation Haki, Roman could sense the man's powerful combat strength.

"Is she your child? Oh my, I can't believe your child is so big already..."

A gust of wind blew by, and it was very cold.

Roman's lips were slightly stiff, and was the sharpness in his gaze simply due to the comparison between his face and Val's? How did he come to that conclusion? And couldn't he see that I was wearing a marine uniform?

This statement clearly shocked Valley.

“No, no, Lieutenant General, she is the specially invited person this time, Syl Roman, but her information is still in your… pile of files.” Val carefully pointed to the pile of dusty files, his voice growing softer and softer.

"So she's malnourished?" Kuzan interjected after measuring Roman's height.

If Roman hadn't already confirmed that Kuzan was an opponent he couldn't defeat at his current level, he felt he would have just stabbed him directly.

Is 1.6 meters short? Is it short? She's not even an adult yet; she'll grow taller. Are you very tall?

Well, 2.98 meters, that's very tall. You think you're so great, so arrogant...

Roman felt her pride was hurt.

"No, no, no, she's just a child, so she's small and not an adult."

Seeing Roman's face darken instantly, Val tried to smooth things over again.

Kuzan frowned even more deeply this time. He knew perfectly well what kind of people were invited. Although the people there weren't exactly heinous criminals, many of them were indeed doing illegal things that skirted the line of decency.

However, compared to letting them embark on a path of no return in the future, or even raise the skull and crossbones flag and set sail to become pirates, it is naturally more worthwhile to bring them into the Navy's camp.

So this seemingly young child actually has blood on his hands?

This time, Kuzan couldn't help but think of Nico Robin, whom he had let go.

If he could, he would naturally want to bring a child back to the right path. Robin didn't have that opportunity, but this child did.

Regardless, the fall of Ohara was a lifelong source of frustration for him and a major reason for the escalating tensions between him and Sakazuki.

Perhaps due to a degree of empathy, Kuzan suddenly felt a strong sense of responsibility.

"Interested in becoming my subordinate?"

"Oh my god!!!" The adjutant and Val were both stunned.

Just how significant are these words? Wahl knows perfectly well that despite Kuzan's seemingly unreliable appearance, he's one of the Navy Headquarters' recognized monsters, maintaining excellent relationships with Garp, Zephyr, and even Staff Officer Tsuru. Without being immodest, Kuzan is a favored junior. If Kuzan were to become an Admiral in the future, those close to these three would all support him.

That's why they're considered real powerhouses, truly powerful figures.

But how could young Roman know this?

Thinking of Roman's extremely emotional argument with Onigumo, Val began to ponder how to get Roman to agree.

After all, in those few short minutes, Kuzan saw none of the advantages, but saw the absolute unreliability.

If he were Roman, he probably would have thought it was unreliable and might have even refused outright. Although Lieutenant General Kuzan wouldn't say anything given his magnanimity, Roman had indeed missed a good opportunity.

Kuzan seemed to realize that his words were a bit hasty, since his initial impression wasn't exactly stellar, so he was trying to salvage the situation.

But to everyone's surprise, Roman suddenly gave a military salute.

"It is my honor, Lieutenant General Kuzan."