𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 (A One Piece Fanfic)

Chapter 9- Juli's arrival at Marine HQ

One hour later...

Juli's eyes widened at the astonishing sight in front of her. As soon as the Gate of Justice had opened, she could see the crescent moon shaped island, better known as Marineford. The islands shape on its own along with the sheer amount of marine ships anchored at its bay brought fascination to her features. "Wow... Smokie-kun, is this Marineford?" Juli asked him in amazement.

Smoker simply exhaled smoke from his cigars with a stern expression. "Yeah..." He replied shortly and watched a marine ship sail past them. "We will anchor now."

Just a few minutes later, their ship had entered the bay and docked. As soon as the preparations were done Juli and Smoker made their way off the ship and stepped finally onto solid ground again.

Juli smiled in sheer excitement and tried to look at everything in interest, even going so far as to stretch herself in an attempt to see more.

Smoker shook his head in fondness with a soft exhale.

"Ahh! It's nice to meet you Juli-sama. I hope your journey was pleasant." Someone suddenly greeted politely from behind them.

Juli and Smoker turned around, just to see Sengoku standing in front of them. The Fleet Admiral was wearing his usual formal uniform, alas his famed seagull hat was missing today.

Smoker stiffened. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku." He greeted respectfully with a nod.

Sengoku nodded back, yet his gaze rested on the princess in barely hidden interest. It was hard to believe for him someone as young as her was supposed to hold such power.

Juli watched their greeting with a soft expression before smiling brightly at him. With a respectful bow of her own head, she went in to greet him as well. "It's really a pleasure to meet you as well, Sengoku-san. My journey was really exciting and fun, I met a lot of nice people, like Smokie-kun." She said happily and pointed at the embarrassed scowling Smoker with a giggle.

A small smile lit Sengoku's face. 'Smokie-kun, huh?' Amusement danced through his eyes as he had to hold himself back from teasing the clearly embarrassed marine captain. "I'm relieved the trouble you had didn't disturb you. Now, shall we go to my office now, Juli-sama. I'd like to introduce you to the admirals."

Juli smiled cheerily and nodded gently. "Of course. And you can call me just Juli, Sengoku-san. There's no need for such formalities anymore." She told him kindly and turned to look at Smoker with a bright smile. "I will see you again someday, Smokie-kun. Have a safe journey home." She hugged him in goodbye, what caused the poor man to stiffen awkwardly and make a funny expression.

"Yeah, see you..." He mumbled quickly as he gently pried her arms off her and literally stormed back onto the ship in embarrassment.

Sengoku watched the exchange in amusement, a ripple of laughter sounding from his chest.  "My, my, looks like you have Smoker wrapped around your little finger, huh, Juli-hime?"

Juli looked up to him with big, innocent eyes and blinked in confusion. 'What does he mean?'

Sengoku shook his head and mentioned for her yo follow him. "I will show you to my office. Follow me, Juli-hime."

Inside Sengoku's office...

Sengoku sat down besides Juli on the couch after he showed her around his office. "I'm really glad you accepted the invitation. I'm sure you will like it here." He spoke softly, smiling as he offered her a cup of tea.

Juli happily accepted the tea with a small nod. "Mhm! I look forward to meeting some of the different marine ranks. I'd like to speak to them so I can obtain a picture about the marines for myself." She told him about her plans while taking small sips from her hot tea.