Chapter One: The Salted Fish General

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The solemn and majestic Navy Headquarters, Marineford—this is the ultimate bastion of justice, a naval fortress that strikes fear into countless pirates! Yet, at this very moment, atop the highest point of Marineford, a young man dressed in beach shorts and a floral shirt reclines on a lounge chair, basking in the sunlight with sunglasses shielding his eyes.

The youth has tousled black hair, thin bangs lightly framing a face that looks far too youthful for his surroundings. Compared to the imposing Navy Headquarters, he seems somewhat out of place.

Gazing up at the sky so clear and blue it seemed washed clean, he slowly drifted into memories.

It had been decades since he had crossed into this world and become the younger version of Admiral Kizaru. Though lacking any special perks, decades of training and combat had honed him into a true admiral-level force. In every aspect—fruit ability mastery, physical strength, and haki—he was undoubtedly stronger than the original Kizaru.

Moreover, after years of diligently practicing the technique of Life Return, he barely managed to freeze his appearance at the youthful stage shortly after his arrival. Going out and pretending to be the grandson of Garp wasn’t too far-fetched.

Thanks to Life Return fixing his visage, he casually earned the nickname “The Ageless Admiral,” successfully avoiding the stereotype of a middle-aged, seedy man.

Back when he was truly a boy, Borsalino had once harbored lofty ambitions, but reality had shown he was simply not cut out for greatness.

In this world, where individual strength determines everything, no matter how noble the vision or lofty the ideal, it cannot withstand the harsh storms of life.

Furthermore, due to the existence of Devil Fruits—or rather, the extremely high ceiling for personal power—the world’s class structure was not too rigid.

As long as one had enough talent, effort, and a bit of luck, climbing to higher ranks was entirely possible.

Power breeds ambition, and the talented often refuse to submit.

After several failures and nearly falling into ruin himself, Borsalino completely lost his ideals, becoming a mere paycheck-earning layabout.

Of course, even a layabout occasionally stirs—for example, ten years ago, he made a trip to the East Blue.

He rescued a former female marine, who in turn brought him a greedy little rogue cat. Now, this little rogue serves as his adjutant and financial officer.

Though many anonymous critics grumbled about Admiral Kizaru having a young maiden as his adjutant,

Isn’t a youthful, invincible beauty far more pleasing to the eye than a deadbeat fat man wearing a bellyband?

Anyone with objections is welcome to spar with his Amano Murakumo sword—at worst, they'll suffer an injury or two!

Borsalino was utterly convinced these critics were simply jealous!

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In recent years, he had mellowed somewhat. But over a decade ago, during the World Conference, a rather unhinged Celestial Dragon had clashed with him.

As a result, Borsalino seized three slaves on the spot.

Not long after this conflict between the Celestial Dragon and the admiral, a fishman named Fisher Tiger stormed Mariejois, causing an uproar. He freed countless slaves and killed a noble Celestial Dragon—the very same one who had previously quarreled with Borsalino. This Dragon was the only Celestial Dragon to perish in that rebellion. The World Government was suspicious, given the prior altercation.

But since Fisher Tiger was the murderer, with both witnesses and evidence, and even Tiger himself admitted it, the case was ultimately dropped.

In the end, the admiral had an alibi. Unless the Five Elders were willing to risk turning three admirals into two by sanctioning him, the Navy had no choice but to turn a blind eye.

However, this incident imposed an invisible ceiling on Kizaru’s career. The position of Fleet Admiral, or even Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, would never be his.

But such a “punishment” was meaningless to Borsalino, who only sought to coast through life.

“Admiral Borsalino!”

Just as he lazily reached for a chilled drink beside him, a voice, both sweet and a little sharp, suddenly rang out, pulling the young man from his reverie.

Approaching briskly was a cute girl with long orange hair and a captivating figure. Though dressed in the Navy’s strict uniform, she somehow exuded an unusual allure.

This was Nami, his current adjutant and financial officer, privately dubbed the Navy Fairy by many—after all, what else could enchant an admiral but a fairy?

Nami clicked her small leather boots rapidly as she ascended the rooftop. Upon seeing Borsalino still lounging in the chair with his drink, her fury flared.

She had painstakingly searched all over headquarters, only to find the grand admiral sunbathing here!

“Oh, little Nami, don’t be mad…”

Borsalino spoke lazily.

Work when you must, slack when you can—this was the life philosophy he had grasped over his many years as an admiral.

“You have the nerve to say that! You’re always late for meetings. At this rate, people will start calling you the Tardy Admiral!”

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Nami struggled to pull Borsalino from the lounge chair.

She had once joined the Navy out of admiration for him, but her illusions shattered quickly.

Always late to meetings, slacking off at work, pushing all tasks onto her as adjutant—how infuriating!

In the headquarters meeting room, two admirals below the Fleet Admiral and numerous rear admirals had already taken their seats, waiting for the last to arrive: Admiral Kizaru.

“Tap, tap, tap…”

Footsteps sounded outside the meeting room as Borsalino, still in his beach shorts, was ushered inside by Nami.

The Navy’s upper echelon had long grown accustomed to this.

Even Admiral Akainu, who disliked Borsalino the most, had to admit that Nami’s presence was beneficial. At least she kept Kizaru somewhat restrained.

“Since everyone is here, let’s begin. Headquarters has received a report from the 37th Division: the pirate Blackbeard, who defected from the Whitebeard Pirates, seeks to exchange Fire Fist Ace, the second division commander of Whitebeard’s crew, for a position among the Seven Warlords of the Sea…”

Fleet Admiral Sengoku wasted no words on idle chatter, succinctly delivering the meeting’s agenda.

Borsalino raised a slight eyebrow.

Blackbeard had made his move, huh? Well, the Summit War was about to begin…

But what did this have to do with him, a mere paycheck thief? The Five Elders wouldn’t really expect him to risk his life against Whitebeard just for a salary, would they?

Just as he prepared to slack off as usual, a pleasant chime sounded in his mind.

[Ding] Would you like to accept an invitation to join the Dimensional Chat Group? Accept/Decline.