Astrea's affairs are no longer their concern. They are the Navy, not the World Government. If the World Government doesn't care, then they don't care either.
"Stay at headquarters for a while."
After saying this, Sakazuki let Kuro leave.
Kuro, on the other hand, was a little confused. Although he said he would stay at headquarters for a long time, he figured he might as well stay since he had nothing else to do.
But as a marshal, how could he voluntarily say such a thing and ask him to stay at headquarters for a while?
Have you finally figured it out?
Do you realize you're working too hard? Or are you simply giving up on treatment and letting things take their course?
Sakazuki isn't that kind of person...
With this question in mind, Kuro left the Marshal's office and headed straight for Kizaru's office.
Kizaru was there too. In fact, the old man hadn't left the house in a while, even longer than Kizaru had.
"Oh~ Kuro, you've come."
Kizaru was sitting with his legs crossed, clipping his nails.
"Old man..."
Kuro sat down opposite him and said directly, "What's going on? Marshal Sakazuki is acting out of character by asking me to stay at headquarters for a while. Is something important?"
Kizaru glanced at him, put down the nail clippers, picked up the teacup, took a slow sip, and said, "I don't know either. Perhaps something big has happened up there."
"event..."
Kuro stroked his chin and pondered, "What major event could have happened recently?"
As a vice admiral and a powerful figure in the navy, he should be able to receive signals if anything major happens.
He himself hasn't been heard from, which means this matter was discussed privately with Sakazuki by the World Government, but they still need to keep him at headquarters...
Who is planning to launch a sneak attack here?
Is there anything big going on in the alliance between Kaido and Big Big Wolf?
That shouldn't be the case. Those two are busy clearing out the rats in their territory right now. They can't possibly have any free time. Even if they do have some free time, they'll be trying to find the Poneglyphs, get the locations of the road signs, and then conduct a massive search.
If it's not them, then the other two Yonko need not be mentioned.
Shanks is the most easygoing; he won't clash with the Navy and stays put in the New World.
Teach is probably busy rebuilding his power right now. After all, the battle with me almost wiped him out. Without power, his territory will shrink, and other pirates are also eyeing Teach's territory, so they won't have time to spare.
Besides these few, what else is there to wait for?
Other old guys who came out of Impel Down? Given Sakazuki's temperament, if he knew someone was going to deal with Headquarters, he probably would have already taken his men out and wouldn't have left himself at Headquarters.
"I don't know either, but Sakazuki always has his reasons for doing things." Kizaru said meaningfully, "You should stay at headquarters a little longer. By the way, how does it feel to be the world's greatest swordsman?"
How can your words be ambiguous?
Kuro rolled his eyes. "What do you mean by 'what it's like to be the world's greatest swordsman'? It means 'what it's like to become the world's greatest swordsman'. How would I know? I haven't gotten any benefits at all."
It wasn't reported in the news, but it spread in a small circle. How does he feel about that?
He really didn't have any thoughts on it.
Mihawk himself admitted that being the world's greatest swordsman was nothing special.
"Benefits...?"
Kizaru narrowed his eyes and chuckled, "So, Kuro, what do you want in return?"
"What more benefits could I possibly want? I don't want anything right now."
That's true.
Kuro felt he had reached the end of his rope and had a sense of indifference to desires.
He had never really grasped the concept of money. In fact, his business on Pegasus Island was enough to make him live comfortably. Now, with the taxes from Dressrosa and Sabaody Archipelago, he had long since moved beyond the concept of being short of money.
After all, being in the navy comes with excellent benefits and no worries about food or drink; he's content with just enjoying other things.
Kuro has desires for power, but his biggest desire is actually to be a colonel base commander in the branch, sailing warships every day, picking up girls, drinking red wine and eating delicious food, and whether to capture or release small pirates depends entirely on his mood.
That kind of comfortable life, like a local bully, is what he longs for.
But now that he's a candidate for general, what's the point of talking about anything else? He does want to tell his superiors that he wants to become a colonel, but the key is that they have to agree.
Now that things have come to this, I don't want anything anymore.
They'd rather die than live a life of ease.
"You don't want anything, huh... That's true, you've already reached the top. The next step up is my position," Kizaru teased.
"Come on, just sit in your seat."
Kuro rolled his eyes. "It's too early for you to step down. I'm perfectly fine as I am, you don't need to worry about me."
"Well, it's not like that. Since returning from Wano Country, I've often felt exhausted, and I'm thinking about whether it would be better to retire," Kizaru said with a chuckle.
"Stop joking, you're going to step down?" Kuro didn't believe it even if he thought it was true.
Although this person is slacking off all the time, it's probably impossible for him to step down.
This position of general is more comfortable than anyone else's, so why would I possibly step down?
Even for myself...
Pooh!
He won't do it!
Kuro reclined in his chair and suddenly chuckled, "Hey old man, you're probably thinking of retiring if you can't get promoted, aren't you? Back then, I asked you if you wanted to compete, but you didn't. Now you think it's pointless?"
Back then, if the old man wanted to fight for it, he certainly had a chance.
The World Government favored Sakazuki, while Sengoku favored Kuzan, but these centrists hadn't yet spoken up.
Although the centrists have always been indifferent, Kuro is not incapable of taking action if a real conflict were to break out.
If the old man were to become marshal, he would be able to live a much more comfortable life.
At that time, Sakazuki and Kuzan's factions were embroiled in a bitter feud, which dragged on for almost a year before a duel was used to decide the victor.
That's enough time for the old man to fight for it. After all, nobody wants to see the Navy fighting amongst themselves. If the old man takes over, neither Sakazuki nor Kuzan cares.
However, it's impossible to think about it. Precisely because the centrists are not convinced by anyone, if the old man were to come to power, it would lead to a major split in the entire navy. At that time, Sakazuki and Kuzan would definitely go their separate ways.
The old man understood this, and he never even considered arguing about it.
Kizaru looked at Kuro and chuckled, "I just felt that we should make way for the younger generation..."
"Marshal Sakazuki is only two or three years younger than you. You were contemporaries. Kuzan may be a bit younger, but he's not young anymore. What kind of young man is he?"
Kuro didn't think of himself first, but rather of the ages of the other three. Among the original three admirals, Kizaru was the oldest, but he wouldn't be much younger.
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