Refusing to be Promoted to Rear Admiral

Things were going much better than Longinus had expected. And with this incident, his reputation in the headquarters was already catching up with Sakazuki and others.

Even to those uninformed people outside, he was a supernova who was even more powerful than the three monster Vice Admirals.

It happened, not that Sakazuki and the others hadn't caught any sea pirates.

It is so because their deeds are far less legendary than those of Longinus.

To capture the pirates who escaped from his own hands, he spent two years working hard, then rose and entered the enemy camp alone, eventually killing the leader of the pirates, World at the cost of the destruction of an island and the deaths of nearly 10,000 pirates.

Such experiences, which undoubtedly fit the people's fantasies of heroes even more, especially when World is still a great pirate who once fought against Roger and Whitebeard's likes, take on the character of epic and legend.

It's the stumbling epic legend that people will go on to tell.

...

Although things were going smoothly, Longinus was not overjoyed by this, and as usual, he replied to everyone's greetings with humility and gentleness.

"Captain Longinus is so gentle, and like Vice Admiral Garp, he doesn't have an imposter for everyone!"

"How else to call it a legacy of heroes! But you're probably going to have to change that title soon."

"I know, the next time I see you I should be addressing either Commodore Longinus or Rear Admiral Longinus!"

"If it were anyone else, I'd be unconvinced at being promoted to the rank of Admiral at such a young age, but if it were Captain Longinus, I wouldn't have a problem with it even if it were a direct leap to Vice Admiral."

"That's right, from the moment Captain Longinus dared to behead a king for some common man, I've been a loyalist to the Captain all my life!"

Longinus walked calmly towards Fleet Admiral's office as if the whispers of admiration or respect behind him could not even disturb his steps.

Inside Fleet Admiral's office, the familiar trio sat.

Kong, the Fleet Admiral, is in charge of making his presence felt; Sengoku, the mastermind, is in charge of controlling the situation; and Garp, the "watched" man, is in charge of being watched.

"Longinus, sit down."

"Yes."

"By the way, you've been in this headquarters for three years now." Kong praised, "I didn't expect that you gave me such a big surprise before graduation. Your operation to kill World this time however has cleared up this sea of chaos."

"I am merely making up for a mistake I made earlier, nothing to be praised for."

"It's not good to be too modest, but you really should take a lesson from Garp in that regard."

"Haha! That is, I have always ... " Garp was saying, suddenly felt something not quite right, Fleet Admiral Kong said this, should not be turning around to say that he is thick-skinned, right?

"But you did give me a hard time, too."

Kong sighed and said, "Originally, with your merits, I was planning to promote you to Commodore after your graduation, but after you made this mess, I feel like I'm unfairly rewarding and punishing you without giving you a Rear Admiral rank."

"But the seventeen year old Rear Admiral ... " Kong shook his head, no longer knowing the words to describe it.

Kuzan set the earliest Marine record for promotion, a Commodore at twenty-one, a Rear Admiral at twenty-four, and a Vice-Admiral at twenty-seven, a record that was shocking enough.

You know, Sakazuki joined the Marine Corps at twenty-three and Borsalino at twenty-six, and while they may have been promoted at about the same rate, the shock was very different.

And the words of seventeen-year-old Rear Admiral Longinus can only be described as exceptional!

"Fleet Admiral Kong, actually, this is the main thing I intend to say today." Longinus smiled, "Please don't ever think of busting me up because of World, I'd prefer to be promoted up step by step by virtue of my true merits if I can."

"You're going to refuse the promotion to Rear Admiral?" Kong slightly surprised at the same time swept Garp's eyes, one of these two refused to be promoted to Rear Admiral, the other refused to be promoted to Admiral. Is this rank not potent?

Garp nodded to himself; the boy was finally able to comprehend his great personality!

"Yes, please!"

Naturally, Longinus did not choose his refusal for that reason he gave; he was considering it from a more profound interest.

Purely in terms of strength, not to mention the Rear Admiral, most Vice Admirals may not be as strong as him.

But a marine is different from a pirate, and the level of seniority is a consideration that should never be overlooked.

Don't look at the many people who were all convinced about him becoming a Rear Admiral, but there was always a thorn left deep inside, and the seeds of jealousy and resentment were not so easy to take out once they were planted.

It's a harmless sort of thing, but for Longinus, who strives for perfection, he doesn't want a stain on his résumé.

Besides, humans are inherently strange creatures.

If he had been promoted to Rear Admiral, there might have been a lot of discontent and resentment, but if he had been a promoted Commodore, the same group of people might have thought there was something shady and turned against him.

In a sense, seventeen-year-old Commodore is all a bit of a shocker, but that comparison might make most people think he's too aggravated to be a Commodore at seventeen!

Many people are expected to envision a tragic hero for him.

What's more, with his strength and achievements, even if he were to learn Kizaru and fool around, he could be re-promoted to Rear Admiral within a year or two.

Therefore, there was no need for him to affect his reputation within the Marine Corps for a year or two.

Kong is one of the types of people just mentioned.

The promotion to Rear Admiral was a little too much, he thought, but when he heard that Longinus had refused the promotion, he felt that the Commodore was also unfair to Longinus.

"A headache! Why can't we have a Rear Admiral?"

"Fleet Admiral Kong, actually you don't have to be too harsh, it's my own choice, and capturing pirates loses its true meaning if it's only for promotion in rank."

Longinus said without blushing, "What's more, becoming a Commodore at the age of seventeen is already the greatest recognition this headquarters has given to me!"

"Hey!" With a long sigh, Kong says honestly, "Well, it's just aggravating!"

After thinking about it, Kong still decided to add, "In a year or two at most, I'll raise your rank to Rear Admiral."

Naturally, this time, Longinus would not refuse, "Thank you, Fleet Admiral, I will definitely try to make myself worthy of this position."

"Haha! If I wasn't worried about the others being disgruntled, I'd have planned to promote you straight to Vice Admiral, at least you're far more reliable than some bumbling guy!"

Garp looked confused "(ºДº *), How can he dump the pot on him when he hasn't even spoken much today (╯ ° Д °) ╯︵┻━┻?