"Oh, becoming a Fleet Admiral," Ace smiled and nodded, but then immediately reacted, "Fleet Admiral!!! Wouldn't that mean Sister Robin, you'd be riding on my head!!!"
A superior who knows all your dark history, the boy couldn't help but shiver thinking about this.
He forced a laugh: "Then you have a long way to go, after all, no woman has ever held the position of Fleet Admiral yet."
"Right, precisely because of that, I want to be the first!" Robin strongly agreed with Ace's insincere words. "I remember once, Sakazuki told me this sentence during a meal—'Predecessors cannot, successors dare not, I will do it.'"
"Oh oh oh, worthy of Boss Saka! Such insightful words!" Although completely not understanding what Robin meant, it didn't stop little Ace, who was practically one step away from plastering Sakazuki posters in his room, from seizing these words and praising them intensely.
Robin smiled and watched Ace, but didn't expose this little guy who was impressed without understanding. At his age, wanting to completely understand the sentence Sakazuki said was still too difficult. Understanding its meaning was simple for Robin, but the real difficulty lay in the immense effort and dedication beneath the bold words.
The girl didn't dwell on this topic for too long. The boy's earlier address for Sakazuki successfully caught her attention. Robin tilted her head: "Boss Saka? A new nickname you guys gave him?"
Ace first shook his head, then nodded: "We don't know who started calling him that, but now all members of the Hawk faction privately like to call Vice Admiral Sakazuki 'Boss Saka'. This kind of familiar address isn't something others can casually use."
"Everyone is Navy, where did Hawks and Doves come from?" Robin was caught between laughter and tears upon hearing this. Although factions have long existed in the military, she didn't want to teach children this kind of factionalism. She extended a finger and gently tapped the boy's forehead: "Besides, you aren't even considered Navy yet."
"Soon I will be! Grandpa has already started special training for me. When I enter the newly established Navy Headquarters Youth Corps next year, I'll be the strongest rookie!" Ace replied full of confidence. He slowly raised his hands above his head, interlaced his fingers, and started doing warm-up exercises. "Watch carefully! Next, I'll perform a wave of textbook-perfect Rokushiki for you."
Robin looked somewhat puzzled at this boy trying hard to prove himself. Comparing him to that stunning Rokushiki genius back then, who at the same age had only mastered four of the techniques, she had a premonition this little guy would mess up nine times out of ten.
Sure enough, when Ace used "Soru" and rammed headfirst into his own wall, Robin concluded this half-baked level was comparable to the tree-ramming maniac Kalifa back then.
"Stop it, Ace. Rashly using techniques you're not proficient with will lead to injury." The girl, who had already been in the Navy force for several years, gave sincere advice.
Unexpectedly, this sentence touched the boy's stubborn competitive spirit. This unyielding, non-retreating spirit, seemingly carved into his genes, made Ace in the original work resolutely turn back to face Akainu's heavy fist, and now made him slightly bend his legs and kick off towards the sky.
"Ace! Don't jump so high!" Nami screamed. And Robin, at the same time the boy took off using unskilled Moonwalk, stepped into the air.
The ascent was unusually smooth, boosting Ace's confidence sharply. Seeing Robin leaping into the air at the same time, he held his breath and rushed towards the naval port: "See who reaches the port first! Sister Robin."
"Of course," the girl, arriving first despite starting later, responded with a beaming smile, but grabbed the boy's collar and tucked him entirely under her side. Immediately, Robin, who had long mastered Soru and Moonwalk, exerted force with her feet, letting this half-baked practitioner experience true speed and passion.
"Ahhh!" The boy's miserable scream echoed in the mid-air of Marineford. Robin, playing skillfully with Moonwalk and Soru, utilized their respective characteristics in the air, thoroughly demonstrating spins, sudden stops, and dives for the boy.
The black-bellied girl dived again, bringing her body close to the sea surface of the naval port, and in the boy's terrified expression, abruptly let go: "Here comes the undersea bomb~"
Ace only had time to reply with the first half of the sentence before plunging headfirst into the water: "Are you a devil!!! Glug glug..."
"Alright, stop fooling around. Throw down a rope, don't delay the warship's departure." A steady voice suddenly interrupted. Only then did Robin notice the protagonist of the earlier topic standing with arms crossed, watching the two playing.
In front of Sakazuki, Robin wasn't mischievous. She obediently landed on the deck and greeted him: "Good afternoon, are you going out on a mission again?"
"Yes." A sentence so brief it couldn't be shorter directly blocked the girl's subsequent questions. Robin had long become accustomed to this typical Saka-style conversation over the years. But when she saw the figure standing beside Sakazuki, she realized the seriousness of this mission.
Sengoku the Buddha, currently the only active Admiral with real power in Navy Headquarters, was listening with a solemn expression to the somewhat noisy report from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
What situation would require the Navy Headquarters Admiral guarding Marineford to deploy urgently? The girl, having been a soldier for several years, her mind raced. But regardless of the reason, it was undoubtedly an extremely severe situation.
"You take Ace back first." Sakazuki clearly didn't want the two of them involved in this urgent deployment, pointing back towards the fortress.
Robin nodded, didn't ask further, reached out, grabbed Ace who had just climbed onto the warship's railing, and jumped towards the pier.
The "depth charge," still reeling, was loaded again. The unlucky child let out a wail; his most embarrassing moment just now had been witnessed directly by his idol. The two had just reached the pier when Ace angrily broke free from Robin's arm, complaining: "It's all your fault! QAQ I made a fool of myself in front of Lord Sakazuki! I even saw Grandpa Sengoku! This is double the embarrassment!!!!"
The boy maintained the ORZ posture and beat the ground in frustration, but Robin's mind was no longer on playing around. The girl narrowed her eyes, watching the warship depart: "What kind of major problem do you think would make Uncle Sengoku deploy? You know, back then, even for a major event like Golden Lion's escape, he remained guarding Marineford."
"Why do you call him Uncle while I absolutely have to call him Grandpa!?" The boy's focus was somewhat strange. He looked up at the warship already far away and finally pulled the question back: "Don't know, but I know the Admiral's most recent deployment was at the end of year 1502, when Whitebeard fought Lord Sakazuki on Fish-Man Island, the World Government ordered him and my Grandpa to be on standby at the Holy Land."
The boy shrugged and spread his hands, making a small joke: "It can't be that someone attacked the Holy Land Mary Geoise, right!"