One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 55 I'm a fool for having expectations of you

"Crunch." Sengoku, while eating senbei, also made himself a cup of hot tea. He had just finished dealing with a bunch of military affairs and, to be honest, was feeling a bit out of sorts.

There are more and more pirates, and they are becoming increasingly rampant.

Even though Roger has been dead for several years, the impact of his last words is still far-reaching and may continue for several more years.

The biggest impact was on the navy's recruitment of new personnel.

Now, the Navy is also facing the fact that it is short of talent; geniuses are more willing to become pirates than to join the Navy.

Previously, Garp's title of "Naval Hero" had fueled a recruitment frenzy that lasted for decades.

Kuzan, the current powerhouse, is after Garp, and the hot-blooded Kuzan and the eccentric Garp are a perfect match.

But that's in the past.

Whether it's Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, Gion, or Kakei, they were all recruited before the Age of Exploration.

Now, even the Warring States period is facing concerns about the decline in the number of people joining the army.

Although the number of people enlisting is still far above the safety line, they are still powerless to deal with the endless stream of pirates.

After all, clashes between the Navy and pirates occur every day across the four seas, the Grand Line, and the New World, with hundreds of Navy officers and below suffering casualties daily.

This loss is so great that even the navy, with its massive size, would feel the pinch.

After all, their target isn't any one royal crew, but all pirates.

Theoretically, the navy has enough high-end combat power, but it is impossible for them to send out all of their forces.

With his duty to guard headquarters, Zephyr is currently focused on instructing his students. As for Garp, his mobility is indeed exceptional, and many times we've benefited from his presence, but...

There are footsteps.

Sengoku quickly put away his high-grade senbei and assumed a ready-to-fight stance.

"Sengoku, I've brought you some good tea again, and your senbei..." The voice was booming, it could only be Garp.

"Shut up, Garp. Can't you come to me with something serious?" Sengoku was trying to put on a smiling face, but Garp's words made him slam his fist on the table in anger.

I must have been an idiot to have pinned my hopes on him.

Afterwards, Zhan Guo sighed helplessly, rubbing his forehead.

While Garp is indeed a reliable combatant who relieved Sengoku of a lot of pressure, it was also thanks to Garp that Sengoku not only had to handle his own military affairs but also his military affairs and clean up his messes. And this heartless old man even coveted his senbei.

Delusion.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Sengoku, who was getting angry, was about to unleash a barrage of witty remarks at Garp.

"Oh, do I need to report on Roman? I went to see her at the training camp today."

“Syl Roman?” Upon hearing this, Sengoku finally managed to control his anger. After all, he was also very interested in this person. His adopted son, Rosinante, believed that she “possessed gentleness and light in her heart,” which was completely different from the people he had recruited before.

Most importantly, she is very talented.

She had also read Roman's report. Even if there was some exaggeration, he was indeed a genius. Although he didn't know the specific outcome of the sparring match between Onigumo and Roman, judging from Onigumo's unpleasant expression lately, it wasn't hard to tell that he hadn't gained any advantage from Roman.

It's important to know that Onigumo was an elite graduate of the training camp and a master of life restoration.

The fact that he could suffer a loss speaks volumes about Roman's strength.

More importantly, she was young enough when she joined the Navy, which not only indicated that she had a lot of room to grow, but also made it easier for the Navy to rebuild her values. At this age, it was enough to forcefully instill justice in a lost teenager and bring her back to the right path. Moreover, she had a yearning for justice.

"of course."

"How is she doing at the training camp?" Sengoku asked, intrigued.

"Completely crushing her! Even with four times the training volume, no one else could match her. Speaking of which, she even blocked my punch! These young people these days are amazing, hahaha!"

Perhaps no one knows better than Sengoku, his comrade-in-arms for over 40 years, just how powerful Garp's punches really are.

One punch, just one punch, and most guys will lose their fighting ability. Even Zoan-type Devil Fruit users are often knocked back to their original form after being hit by Garp's punch.

Although the relative strength of Devil Fruits and Haki remains inconclusive, countless facts demonstrate that the strongest individuals are not necessarily Devil Fruit users, but are definitely masters of Haki.

"She was able to block it, so her skill in using domineering techniques must be quite high."

"Well, that's quite impressive. In short, her sword was completely undamaged after the punch. Besides, her sword wasn't some kind of supreme large sword, so it must have been the power of Haki."

Although Garp the Iron Fist uses his fists, he has clashed countless times with Roger, who wields a sword, and of course, with other powerful swordsmen. However, most of the time, their beloved weapons are reduced to scrap metal under Garp's iron fist.

Sengoku's heart began to race. You see, Kuzan, Borsalino, and Sakazuki were just kids fighting and dominating when Roman was their age. But Roman was already a mature fighting force. The Navy didn't need to put too much effort into training her, but she could quickly give back to him. It was like a windfall.

With an additional admiral in the future, whose combat power is comparable to that of thousands of troops, the navy's dominance at sea will be further stabilized.

However, this is based on the premise that she will not perish halfway. After all, she is still very fragile. If someone with ulterior motives sets their sights on her, this tender seedling is in danger of being destroyed.

Pirates don't care if their enemy is a child; they'll do anything to destroy the Marines. Otherwise, how could Zephyr have suffered such a tragic fate, even losing most of his fighting spirit?

From this perspective, Kuzan's decision is very rational. It would be very dangerous for her to go to sea rashly now. By spending some time in Zephyr's training camp, she will gradually mature and become very useful in the future.

Thinking of this, Sengoku finally smiled with relief. Perhaps he had thought the situation was too bad. Even if there were some troubles, the navy would still be the hegemon, and always would be.

Garp still cares about the future of the Navy, huh? Just now it was him...

???

What about people?

"Ah, Sengoku, you hid the senbei again, but I still found it, so I'll..." He swallowed the whole bag of snacks into Garp's mouth.

"Burp. Not bad!!" Garp let out a satisfied burp and then began his critique.

"Kapp!!!"

Suddenly, a loud noise came from the Naval Headquarters building.