Marine || One Piece [ENG]

11

Her promotions were very quick and explosive. Some people initially thought she got it because her grandfather was the great hero, Vice Admiral Garp. She constantly had to prove her worth, not only to others but also to herself. She finally gave up and, surprisingly,  became a Vice Admiral.

"You will truly become a Vice Admiral, Captain!" one of the recruits said to her, looking at her with puppy eyes, more excited than she was.

"A little respect, Toru," said Vincent, who had been silent until now, looking at the young man with his purple eyes.

Toru shuddered at that terrifying look.

"It's okay," Leona said, patting the recruit on the shoulder. "I can't wait too, kid."

"I never would have thought that I would be on the Vice Admiral's ship, it is such a great honor!" Toru said with stars in his eyes, looking like he was about to jump out of his shoes.

"Be careful or you'll be transferred," Vincent threatened in a hollow tone.

"What?! I do not want to! Captain, don't give me up!" he asked, making pleading eyes.

"Your pleas are useless," Vincent replied.

"Nandeyoo?!" Toru replied indignantly.

Leona burst out laughing, looking at the two arguing. Vincent enjoyed teasing the youngsters far too much. Toru was too easily drawn into this. Cute.

"Captain!" one of the soldiers shouted. "We'll be there soon!"

"Okay."

When she was about to disembark, soldiers were waiting below and saluting her. The promotion to Vice Admiral was different from the others, there were many soldiers waiting for her, she saw several captains she knew standing somewhere far away. Behind all the people, she saw her grandfather, radiating pride. It makes her smile slightly, even though she feels a twinge inside.

She took a deep breath, calming herself with the salty smell of the ocean and the rocking of the ship.

"Vincent, you're coming with me," Leona said, perfectly aware of his presence a few steps away from her.

"Of course," he said in a pleased tone, moving closer to her.

She was about to take a step forward, but she stopped and turned to the entire crew standing in front of her, immediately targeting two people.

"Toru, you wanted to see it, come too."

"Really ?!" he exclaimed, more excited than ever, his blue eyes radiating happiness. He quickly straightened his uniform, combed his blond, messy hair back with his hands, walking quickly towards the captain.

He stood right next to her, staring at her with happy eyes. Leona looked at his now slicked back hair and unabashedly ruffled it with her hand, making it messy again.

"That's better," Leona said, straightening his collar.

"Haruka?" Leona asked, looking at the girl.

"But me?" she asked, surprised. "I shouldn't, I'm just a cook."

"Don't give a damn, though," Leona said firmly.

They walked through all these soldiers, Leona first, and at some distance her Great Trinity.

"I really don't think it's a good idea for me to go with you," Haruka said quietly, turning to Leona and Vincent.

Toru just walked forward, looking everywhere with excited eyes.

"You should be happy, Haruka-chan!" Toru said. "It's amazing that we can be here, we don't know if something like this will ever happen to us!"

"I guess so," the unconvinced girl said, and Toru looked at her with a surprisingly calm expression for him.

"The captain just wanted us to be with her," Toru said. "Let us be happy with her and support her."

Leona smiled slightly when she heard his words.

"That's how it is," Leona agreed. "I want you to accompany me as long as possible."

"Oh, I see," Haruka said quietly.

Leona looked back out of the corner of her eye and gave Haruka a smile.

"My favorite granddaughter!" Garp said proudly. "Now Vice Admiral, then Admiral, right?"

"That's the assumption," Haruka told him, smiling crookedly.

They stood in silence for a moment, looking at each other.

"Is this THE Garp?!" Toru whispered loudly from behind, before grunting as Vincent hit him on the head.

Garp placed his hands on Leona's shoulders.

"I'm really proud of you," the man said, squeezing her shoulders. "You are my pride."

"I'm glad," Leona replied, smiling at him.

"Let's move on," Garp said, taking his hands. "The rest will wait here."

"I see," Leona said, following Garp as he walked.

"Good luck, Captain!" Toru shouted after her.

"Take care of yourself," Vincent said.

"Be happy, you deserve it" Haruka said after a long while.

Leona just smiled, not looking back.

"I'm glad you climbed so high, Leona," Sengoku said. "You did it with incredible speed, you can be proud of yourself. I hope you will surprise us more than once. Don't rest on your laurels."

"Thank you. I'm not going to," Leona replied lazily.

"You're clearly a Monkey," Sengoku said with a sigh, looking at the equally laid-back and lazy attitudes of the girl and her grandfather.

"Is that all?" Leona asked, bored with the argument about her achievements and the reasons why she would be promoted.

"No," Sengoku replied, calling someone to him with a wave of his hand.

One of the soldiers approached them. He stood in front of Leon, handing over a white cloth. New uniform.

"Please, Vice Admiral," he said.

"Thanks," she reached out for the outfit, hesitated before touching it, but eventually took it.

She ran her thumb over the visible "Justice" inscription, and with the other she touched the gold threads running from the blue shoulder pad. Only these two things had changed from her previous Rear Admiral uniform, and the responsibility was much greater. Will he be able to meet even greater expectations? She quickly washed away her hesitation.

"We are still preparing all the papers you need and the things you will receive as a result of increasing your rank, so –"

"So you haven't sorted it out yet?" Leona asked disappointedly.

"If you didn't do everything so quickly, we would normally make it," Sengoku replied, irritated. "That's why we will make preparations as quickly as possible so that everything will be ready by tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow? " Leona asked, surprised. What were they preparing that took so long? What has she gotten herself into?

"Finally, we still have to celebrate your promotion," Garp said happily. "Won't you have a drink with grandpa?"

She looked at him with a doubtful expression.

"We're about to finish preparations," Sengoku interjected. "We need another half hour before we start."

"Okay," Leona said. "Well, then, I'm going to explore the base."

Satisfied, she moved towards the door.

"Could you at least let me finish," Sengoku said, irritated.

"Yes, yes."