As the esteemed Fleet Admiral of the Marine, Kong actually had to give his subordinates a look when assigning tasks.
And that subordinate was so oblivious, he didn't respond.
Ignoring a superior's hint like that was undoubtedly very impolite, and if it forced the superior to speak up, it would be even more impolite.
However, Kenji was not flustered in the slightest. All his recent affairs had already been handled perfectly, and he was simply attending the meeting as an observer.
If Kenji hadn't been flawless in his work since becoming an Admiral, Kong would have already stood up and angrily lectured him.
But now, Kong couldn't find any fault, nor could he accuse him groundlessly, which was not in line with his character.
The scene was awkwardly stalled for a moment.
Fortunately, not long after, a voice came to Kong's rescue.
"I'll take on the task of pursuing Roger!" Garp volunteered, full of vigor.
"It's not pursuing, it's resolving the conflict between them..." Kong rubbed his forehead and shook his head.
This time, he wasn't acting, he really had a headache.
"Forget it, you handle it, Garp."
Finally, Kong wiped his face, waved his hand as if giving up, not even wanting to look at Garp.
Although he knew that Garp's expedition this time would inevitably cause quite a stir, he had no better option at the moment.
"It could have been solved with just one sentence... Damn Kenji!" Kong secretly grumbled in his heart.
If he hadn't known Kenji for many years, if they weren't in a meeting, if there weren't too many people in the office... he would have already blurted it out.
"Next item." Kong no longer dwelled on it and picked up another document from his desk.
This time, he turned and looked directly at Kenji and said, "The Heavenly Tribute was stolen, just three days ago!"
"I entrusted you with escorting the Heavenly Tribute before, so what's going on now?"
Kenji raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this, then waved his hand and explained, "I've already handed this matter over to Zephyr. It's a good opportunity for him to give his students some training."
"Those cadets are all important future forces of our Marine!"
"Hmph! You're shirking responsibility!" Kong snorted coldly.
Then his expression suddenly turned serious as he said, "You must take this seriously this time, Shirojishi Admiral!"
"Oh my, calling me Shirojishi Admiral so seriously, it seems you're under quite a bit of pressure!" Kenji's heart stirred, and he guessed.
Kong said, "Sigh, there's a very important treasure among the stolen 'Heavenly Tribute'... We must get it back!"
Kenji asked, "What kind of treasure? Even you are being pressured?"
Kong said, "CP9 hasn't sent over the detailed intelligence, but I speculate it's probably a Devil Fruit."
Kenji remained silent, already having some conjectures in his mind.
Actually, it wasn't hard to guess. A Devil Fruit that could draw the attention of the World Government's higher-ups would certainly not be simple.
He thought for a moment and asked, "Who are the people who stole it?"
Kong handed over a document, explaining along the way, "The ones who robbed the 'Heavenly Tribute are the World Pirates."
"Ward Pirates? Is their Captain that Byrnndi World who's been very active recently?" Garp, who was eating senbei, spoke up upon hearing this, seemingly a bit surprised.
Sengoku also frowned and said, "It's said that the World Pirates have robbed five countries in the past year."
Kong nodded, his expression gloomy. "This kid is getting more and more out of hand, daring to rob the 'Heavenly Tribute."
Kenji chuckled. 'It's just robbing the Heavenly Tribute. How many times has the Heavenly Tribute been lost every year?'
However, before he could speak, his expression suddenly froze, and lines of glowing text lit up in his vision.
[The one-month period has ended, the actual combat ranking competition is over, calculating points...]
[You defeated 'Supernova' Pirate 'Roaring Thunder' Thor, defeated 'Supernova' Pirate Kaido, defeated Pirate...]
[Final ranking result: Your points are at the top of the list, significantly leading the second place!]
[Mission (Main): Surpass at least half of the cadets in the actual combat ranking competition! — Overcompleted]
[Reward has been changed to: Upgrade the lowest rarity trait you possess 3 times!]
[Superspeed Regeneration (White) has been upgraded to Superspeed Regeneration (Light Blue)]
[Traits: Armament Haki (Super Purple), Observation Haki (Dark Purple), Conqueror's Haki (Dark Blue), Physique (Light Gold), Hand-to-Hand Combat (Light Purple), Swordsmanship (Light Blue), Sea Beast Power (Super White), Superspeed Regeneration (Light Blue)]
"The [Superspeed Regeneration] trait has advanced!"
Kenji could clearly feel some changes happening within his body.
These changes probably meant his body would become even younger?
"However, does only upgrading [Physique] have the potential to increase lifespan?"
"Next time I'm on vacation, I'll go ask that guy..."
Kenji's thoughts returned to the document in front of him.
This information about the World Pirates was very detailed, especially the intelligence about their Captain Byrnndi World.
'Byrnndi World, 46 years old, More-More Fruit user, nickname - World Destroyer!'
"Hmm, Byrnndi World has caused quite a few incidents in the past year. It seems this kid has grown bolder, constantly doing big things in secret."
"In terms of strength, he's probably not as good as Kaido, but his guts are even bigger than Kaido's."
Dealing with a pirate of this strength was not very difficult for Kenji. But he still didn't want to go on this distant assignment, only responding with 'considering suitable candidates to pursue the World Pirates'.
Kong didn't press further, nor did he assign the task to the other Marine Admirals present.
In reality, the Marine's military allocation was very tight, as the entire world was full of pirates, and countless pirate robbery incidents occurred every day.
Even the Marine Admirals had their own missions, and when their tasks were heavy, they couldn't spare extra time.
This Heavenly Tribute incident, it could be said that besides Kenji, Kong had no better candidate to resolve it.
At the end of the meeting, Kong sternly instructed Kenji, "If you decide to pursue the World Pirates... remember to bring the Heavenly Tribute back!"
"You can't secretly keep this Heavenly Tribute this time..."
Before he could finish speaking, Kenji had already waved his hand and walked out of the office, without looking back.
Kong sat down indignantly, but his expression gradually softened.
"Forget it, let him be."
Actually, Kong didn't care much about the Heavenly Tribute. As long as the World Pirates could be dealt with, that was fine.
As for the lost Heavenly Tribute... it wasn't the first time anyway, at most, he'd just bear a bit more pressure, no big deal.
In fact, Kong even secretly had a slight expectation. With this Heavenly Tribute in Kenji's hands, it might play a more important role and be used for true justice.