"Then I'll carry her away, alright?"
With one arm, he hoisted Tina, who had fainted on the ground, onto his shoulder, while his other hand gracefully twirled his sword before sheathing it.
"Uh..."
Smoker didn't know what to say. Tina now looked like a kidnapped chieftain's wife, being carried off.
"Hmm~ Sister Tina is so sly~ Admiral Esdeath~ I want to be carried too~"
Looking enviously at Esdeath being carried, she also wanted Admiral Esdeath to carry her. Just thinking about it gave her a feeling.
Couldn't stand it!
"Let's go!"
Going out for a meal and bringing back an extra person, Esdeath smiled as she glanced at Tina, who was flushed and resting on her shoulder.
...
"Ugh—my head hurts."
She shook her head, forgetting that she shouldn't have drunk so much yesterday. She couldn't even remember what happened.
Her hand casually felt around.
"Huh? So soft?"
She opened her eyes and saw a woman lying beside her, clinging to her like an octopus.
"Ah!"
Tina shrieked, then checked her clothes. Seeing they were intact, she relaxed.
"What's wrong?"
At the shriek, the other five people woke up. Esdeath also opened her eyes and looked at Tina.
She only remembered throwing Tina to Tashigi, and then nothing else. She was too sleepy, and the bed was too small to do anything.
"Why is Tina here?"
She glanced around; it was the Marine women's dormitory. What exactly happened yesterday?
"Ah~ Did you forget?"
Getting up from the bed with a yawn, Esdeath walked to the washbasin and began to wash up.
She still had things to do today; she had to attend the award ceremony and couldn't be late.
"Tina has completely forgotten."
"Well, I don't care. You lost yesterday, so now you're mine. Ain, tell her what happened yesterday."
After washing up, she changed into her Marine uniform. It was fine for a Colonel to buy her own set of clothes.
"I'm heading out first to attend the award ceremony."
She pushed open the door, fastened her sword, and walked out.
"Tina is coming too! Wait for Tina!"
She hastily put on her clothes, quickly washed up, and then followed Esdeath's pace, almost forgetting about this matter.
At this time, there were already many people on the street where the awards were being held, going to watch. After all, it was graduation season, and there were always some people who wanted to join the fun.
Even just watching the future Admirals of the Marine was good; perhaps they could find a good match for their family members.
Most of the people living in Marineford were Marine family members; only a small portion were not, so there would be no disturbance.
Esdeath and Tina arrived late, and many people were already standing on the field, with Smoker prominently among them.
However, this time he wasn't smoking a cigar. Instead, he was wearing a formal Marine uniform, anxiously looking around in the formation.
Only when he saw Esdeath and Tina did his hanging heart finally settle. He had thought they were late.
"The Award Ceremony begins!"
The one presenting the awards this time was Esdeath's old acquaintance, Sengoku.
Although there was Fleet Admiral Kong above, such a small ceremony didn't require Kong's presence.
None of the three Admirals were present; only Garp and Tsuru were there.
Beside Tsuru stood a beautiful woman, whose legs accounted for half of her height, it was Momousagi.
"Drake, outstanding performance during school, excellent grades..."
"Abili, outstanding performance during school..."
"Smoker..."
"Tina..."
"Sentomaru..."
...
A series of names made Esdeath raise an eyebrow; there were even characters who had appeared in the original story.
"Esdeath!"
"Yes!"
She took a step forward, walking towards Sengoku.
"Could it be some kind of second-generation?"
Many people looked at the overly young Esdeath with questioning eyes. To be awarded at such a young age.
Even Drake and the others had doubts in their eyes. He hadn't seemed to have seen this woman in the Marine Elite Training Camp!
"Marine Esdeath, total bounty record for pirates killed exceeds forty million, and outstanding performance in practical sea battles. Hereby awarded the rank of Colonel!"
A medal, plus a white cloak, was handed to Sengoku.
The mention of forty million caused a collective gasp. To be so strong even before becoming a formal Marine.
It seemed they had underestimated her.
"The Award Ceremony ends!"
"Oh!!!"
Cheers erupted. Although it couldn't compare to the generation of General Akainu, the quality of this generation of Marines was not bad.
...
"Are you sure you want to go to the Grand Line?"
Listening to Esdeath's words, Sengoku frowned. The Grand Line was not a good place.
His original intention was for Esdeath to gain experience in the Four Seas, but he didn't expect Esdeath's ambition to go straight to the Grand Line.
"Actually, I'd rather go to Sabaody Archipelago..."
But she kept that thought to herself, not daring to say it out loud. She was afraid Sengoku wouldn't be able to resist hitting her.
"Alright then, since you put it that way."
Sengoku was about to agree when he heard Esdeath's next words.
"You want Tina? No, no..."
"We can discuss this..."
...
It took a full two hundred million in bounty money to successfully acquire Tina. The first crew member was obtained.
"How was it? Did Fleet Admiral Sengoku agree?"
Tina, who had been waiting for a long time, approached Esdeath as she walked out of the office and asked.
"Alas, Fleet Admiral Sengoku agreed."
She first sighed, then slowly and leisurely stated that Sengoku had agreed.
"Ah! Tina just knew Fleet Admiral Sengoku wouldn't... he agreed?"
Seeing Esdeath's smile, Tina realized she had been tricked.
"So where are we going?"
"To the Grand Line, of course!"
However, her ship was still short of female soldiers, so it was a good time to find some new recruits.
"Let's go!"
With Esdeath's charisma, finding a group of female soldiers was no problem, let alone finding many ships. It was just a pity that not many female Marines who appeared in the original story were present.
The Docks!
Standing on her warship, with Tina by her side, this was all she had in the pirate world.
"Little ones, set sail!"
A warship slowly sailed out of Marineford.
On the shore, a purple-haired figure watched the slowly departing warship, feeling an emptiness in his heart.
"Esdeath, you must return safely."
Zephyr still felt some reluctance in his heart. He hoped Esdeath would grow, but he also didn't want Esdeath to be harmed.
He had completely adopted the mindset of an old father.
"Don't worry, Esdeath is very strong!"
Suddenly, a large hand clapped him on the shoulder, startling the dazed Zephyr. Garp had actually arrived.
"I don't need you to tell me. Come on, drink with me."
The two old men walked off the docks with their arms around each other's shoulders.
Navy Queen Esdeath sets sail!
She won't return until she has cut down two hundred million in bounty targets!