Kenji was on his way to Marine School to instruct new students, having been invited by Zephyr, who had transferred to an instructor position.
Although he had just been promoted to Admiral, representing the Marine's highest combat power, his daily workload hadn't increased much.
Actually, Kong was perfectly clear in his mind. Asking Kenji to handle disputes of the Legendary Pirate level in the New World was asking too much of him.
Therefore, Kong's true positioning for Kenji was similar to that of the strongest Admiral's deputy. His daily tasks were heavier than a Vice Admiral's, but not by much.
After clocking in for his routine work today, Kenji set off to complete his system mission.
Along the way, he pondered how to approach it, "The mission only says to make a name for myself at Marine School, and there are many ways to do that."
"The key is the system's recognition mechanism. What level of achievement counts as mission completion?"
If it was just about spreading his name throughout Marine School, then this mission should have already succeeded, as those students couldn't possibly be unaware of an Admiral's name.
Soon after, he arrived at Marine School and met his old friend, Zephyr, the current instructor who had just stepped down as Admiral.
Zephyr was currently lecturing a group of elite students on the open plaza, and upon seeing Kenji, he quickly stood up to greet him.
The two had a relationship of both mentor and friend. After Zephyr graduated from Marine School, he served as a private under Kenji, who was a Marine Captain at the time, and could be considered to have been personally promoted by Kenji.
"You actually came, you're really giving face to this old subordinate of yours, Kenji."
Zephyr was very happy. He had originally planned to invite his former superior, Vice Admiral Kenji, to lecture the students, but he hadn't expected the latter to suddenly be promoted to Admiral, and thought he wouldn't come.
Zephyr said, "An Admiral's duties are very heavy and will be very arduous... Alas, I can no longer bear this responsibility."
Kenji looked at Zephyr, who was shaking his head and sighing, and patted his shoulder with a smile. "Hahaha! If you go back and continue to hang out with Garp, constantly facing you outstanding juniors, my pressure will be immense, you know."
"Heh, you're still so fond of jokes... Sometimes I feel like you're the younger one among us."
"Haha, no need to envy me, spend more time with young people, and you too can have a youthful mindset, little Zephyr!"
Kenji chuckled in response, his gaze sweeping over the students on the plaza.
Most of these students were recommended by various Marine branches, and the remaining few had also passed the entrance examination, so there was definitely no problem with their spirit and fighting will.
Kenji's scrutinizing gaze suddenly paused, fixating on two students at the very front.
Zephyr noticed Kenji's gaze, followed it, and a smile appeared on his face.
He said, "Those two should be the strongest among this batch of students. They were already well-known 'monsters' on the sea before entering the school."
Kenji asked, "What are their names?"
Zephyr answered, "The one carrying the great sword is Sakazuki, and the other is Borsalino, a Devil Fruit user."
As the two were talking, Kenji suddenly froze as a large block of system prompt text appeared in his vision.
[Mission (Main) Change: Challenge the strongest monster students of the Marine School, Sakazuki or Borsalino, and let your excellent reputation spread among the students!]
"The mission has become targeted now, a challenge mission, huh."
"If it were during my time at Marine School, challenging these two monsters would be tantamount to suicide."
"However, the mission only requires a challenge, not necessarily a victory... which means as long as I perform well enough in the fight to impress and be remembered by the other students, that should be enough, right?"
Kenji was very pleased.
For him now, the mission change meant it became simpler. He just needed to challenge the two 'monsters' specified by the system, without needing to test what counted as meeting the system's 'making a name' standard.
At this moment, Zephyr noticed Kenji staring at Sakazuki and Borsalino, and he grinned, saying, "It seems you're very interested in this batch of students."
"Why don't you, as the Marineford representative, give these new recruits a speech?!"
Kenji readily agreed upon hearing this.
Subsequently, Zephyr went to the front of the student ranks and introduced Kenji's identity. Upon learning that the latter was the newly appointed Admiral, most of the students present showed expressions of respect.
A few others, however, seemed to know something, and their gazes at Kenji held disdain.
Especially Borsalino and Sakazuki at the very front of the line, who not only showed disdain but also defiance, their faces clearly expressing 'troublemaker' and 'not to be trifled with'.
Kenji noticed these gazes but didn't do anything.
After the speech, they would normally be dismissed, but Zephyr unexpectedly 'extended the class', telling the students present that they could take this opportunity to ask questions and seek advice from the current Admiral.
Kenji chuckled and did not stop him.
Upon hearing that they could ask an Admiral for advice, the two 'troublemaker' students stepped forward without hesitation.
Borsalino spoke first, pouting his lips with a somewhat cynical demeanor, and his words were also rather sarcastic, "Admiral, how terribly frightening and terrifying you are~"
Then, his tone suddenly shifted, and his gaze rapidly turned cold, "I heard you became an Admiral by accumulating seniority, is that true?"
"Oh, we heard a long time ago that Vice Admiral Kenji should have been promoted to Admiral four years ago, but Zephyr-sensei got ahead of him."
"Now it's finally your turn to be an Admiral, I hope it will be my turn to be an Admiral in a few decades too~!"
Borsalino's words quickly piqued the curiosity of the students present. Some students who knew a bit of information began to whisper amongst themselves.
For a moment, the plaza was filled with discussions.
Occasionally, terms like 'quasi-Admiral' and 'weakest Admiral' were interspersed in the chatter.
"Being an Admiral doesn't have that many thresholds. Having a heart of justice is enough." Kenji smiled and explained casually.
"However, it's true that not just anyone can serve as an Admiral. At the very least, you need to have some real strength."
"I'll just take this opportunity to test your strength and see if you're qualified to be an Admiral... Hmm, you, the one with the crooked mouth, come out!"
Kenji smiled and raised his hand, pointing at Borsalino, who was smirking with a crooked mouth opposite him. The latter paused, then smirked again, unhesitatingly stepping out of the line.
"I'm not an ordinary student, Kenji-san!" Borsalino stood very casually, with his hands in his pockets.
"In my eyes, you are all the same students,"
Kenji nodded, indicating, "Remember to use your full strength, otherwise, I might accidentally give you a low rating."
"Heh heh!"
Borsalino dropped his smile, slowly raised his leg, and adopted a kicking stance.
"I'll also give you a reminder, Kenji-san."
"I am a Logia-type Glint-Glint Devil Fruit user, possessing the speed of light!"
"Speed is power! Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
Swish!
A flash of golden light appeared, and Borsalino instantly vanished from his spot.
The next moment, he appeared beside Kenji, his highly raised right foot kicking towards the latter, only to be firmly blocked by a vertically raised, pitch-black Armament Haki-reinforced arm.
No matter how hard Borsalino pushed, that pitch-black arm remained unmoving, like a solid city wall.
"You seem overly confident in your Devil Fruit ability, Student Borsalino." Kenji said, turning his head with a smile.