The best sign of a good fanfic writer is starting several stories and finishing none of them!

One could never really get a decent sense of scale when witnessing something on a screen or a sheet of paper, especially when it comes to a drawing. Nothing serves to humble a person more than realizing how minuscule he was in the world.

Back in his old world, he took a non-insignificant amount of joy when towering over others. At two meters tall, he thought he was the shit.

Then, he was thrust into this body and realized that two meters weren't really all that, especially in this world where everyone and their mother had giant blood in their veins, himself included. It was hard for him to feel big when several of his subordinates dwarfed him in size.

But this…This was definitely too excessive.

"Y'know, whoever made Marineford was definitely compensating for something." He said absent-mindedly. Even from the height he was standing at, he still had to crane his neck all the way just to see the top floor where the Fleet Admiral's office was located.

"…Yes, Sir. The Headquarters is indeed great in size," A distinctly feminine voice came from beneath him. He looked out of instinct, but alas he saw no face. The only thing under his feet was a huge mop of blond hair.

It appears that the 'platform' he stood on had mistakenly confused his pointless ramblings for an attempt of small talk. He couldn't blame her though. He noticed that people never really knew how to talk with him.

At least, the Giant officer hadn't shat herself in fear. That was the common thing his subordinates liked to do whenever he was in the vicinity. It broke his fragile little heart. They were supposed to be on the same side, after all.

"You think so as well, Rear admiral?" He said as he once again looked at the Impenetrable Fortress with a grimace. The fucking thing was simply too big. Height-wise, it was definitely impressive, but nothing really staggering when compared to what he had seen on Earth. Its width, however, was just stupid. the fucking thing was several miles wide. He understood the point of it was to make it an intimidating sight for pirates and a beacon of hope for the civilians, but this was just too damn excessive

'Shame it will be probably destroyed in a year or so when Whitebeard rolls up.'

He really was not looking forward to that. Getting punched in the back of the head by a scale 11 earthquake didn't seem really like a fun adventure, especially with how he was guaranteed to experience it now. Muscle memory was a bitch, and this body really did not believe in the famous art of dodging attacks. When shit hits the fan, he was surely going to be in the front row seat of it.

To be fair, he gave as much as he took. It was also hard to feel bad about it when he realized he won't be the only one. Most people were going to get their shit pushed that day from Whitebeard to himself to Ace to a hundred other characters.

Except for Kizaru. But that was a guarantee at this point. Borsalino was a master of fucking around and not finding out.

Hell even the woman under him will get her shit kicked in by Oars Jr, the same woman who was fidgeting lightly. And when a twenty-meter-tall woman fidgets lightly under you, you feel like a shirt inside a washing machine.

"Is there something bothering you, Rear Admiral?" He gritted out as he tried to maintain his footing, a hard task made even harder with how his feet kept tangling in her hair. Fucks sake woman, you're a soldier, act like it!

"Sir…May I ask you something?" She asked. He was sure she was feeling anxious, but she had at least stopped trying to make him puke his lunch.

"Sure."

"W-why are you standing over my head?"

That's a good question. "Strategic position, Rear Admiral."

"..I understand, Sir." She said, but he knew that she didn't understand. She just thought he was too terrifying to question. To be fair, he wasn't actually lying. He got on her head to get a better view of Marineford. In the few weeks, he had arrived in this god-forsaken place, he had found his mind was liable to commence in weird nonsensical monologues in the times he wasn't fighting. Pondering over the little insignificant things—or the very massive things, in this case- in life was one of the few things that gave this body a sense of calm.

Along with tending his bonsai tree and ripping pirate scums apart.

The other reason was that although he came to talk to Sengoku-san when he arrived a couple of hours earlier, the man was not in his office. At first, he thought his boss was just going to take a shit, but that thought didn't last very long. So, he used his senses. From what his Observation Haki told him, the Fleet Admiral was in a meeting with the Five Elders.

Despite how high his rank was, he couldn't just bust into the room. With the exception of the Fleet Admiral and Commander Kong who could barge whenever they wanted, the rest of the Marine had to be summoned to enter that room.

And he was rarely if ever summoned by them because they didn't clearly like him; which suited him just fine because never liked them either and they knew it.

Of course, he could've chosen to be a pain in the ass and join them. Not like they could stop him. What are they going to do? Fire him.

Ha! He'd like to see them replace him.

He didn't merely go for the sole reason that he didn't trust himself not to punch a hole or five in them. As much as wanted to just fucking wring their necks, he couldn't. So, he was content to spend his time bullying his juniors and making them uncomfortable.

Two hours later, it seemed the Sengoku-san was finally moving again.

He jumped from atop the Giantess woman and landed with no issue. The fall which would have shattered his bones back home did nothing to faze him. He raised his hand in his subordinate's direction. "Keep up the good work, Rear Admiral."

Her body snapped in position. Cradling her gigantic spear closer, she saluted back. "Ha!" It was clear that his words had made her happy. It was a very rare occurrence for him to give words of encouragement.

She was definitely going to brag to her colleagues.

He turned towards the castle and started moving. He prayed to whatever gods listening for the elevator to be working.

Luckily, it was.

So, in a few minutes, he was standing in front of his boss's office. He paid no attention to the two guards shaking in fear on both sides. He was more than aware of how unpopular he was.

He raised his fist, and carefully knocked on the door. By this point, he had shattered several doors because he was still having trouble controlling his strength.

"Enter." Sengoku's voice came through the other side. His boss hadn't bothered to ask 'who is it?' because he had Haki and had obviously sensed him coming. If he had asked, he was receiving 'It's me' as a fuck you for wasting his time.

The guard on the left twisted the knob for him. He was far above opening doors after all.

He entered the room and found the fleet Admiral at his desk working through mountains of paperwork. He really didn't envy the man.

Garp was also there eating crackers and reading the newspaper because where else would he be? Somewhere else doing his job? That would be a silly thing to expect from the Hero of the Navy.

He walked into the center of the room and gave a half-assed salute. "Sengoku-san, I have something to talk to you about."

Sengoku's brows furrowed at his lack of respect for etiquette which was weird. Since when did Sengoku give a shit about etiquette? For fuck's sake, Garp was laying on the couch right next to Sengoku with his feet on the table. Don't go around playing favorites now, Fleet admiral. Especially when Garp was the lowest-ranked marine in the room.

Sengoku's hypocritical disappointment was swiftly gone as he noticed the serious expression on his face. He let out a sigh. "Though it is surprising for you to come unannounced, you were never the type of person to waste my time. Very well, what is it that you wish to discuss?" Sengoku said while raising his tea to his lips.

"I'm quitting the marines. I want to become a pirate."

Sengoku spat his tea in shock drenching the paperwork on his desk, while Garp fell off the couch, choking on his crackers at his words. Even the goat started screeching in the background.

"w-WhAt!? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR DAMN MIND!" Sengoku yelled as he stood up, papers and documents scattered as he rose.

He raised his arms slightly to calm his boss, moving his hands in placating manner. "Calm down, Sengoku-san. It's just a joke. I'm not seriously quitting. I'm just here to request a paid leave."

"Then what the hell was that about becoming a pirate!?"

"It's a business tactic. You drop a bomb, and then you soften the blow." He explained to the bearded man. It was somewhat disappointing that Sengoku didn't know about it. Wasn't he supposed to be the master negotiator? No wonder he chose Aokiji over him. He clearly didn't know better.

Garp coughed, finally getting the crumbs out of his windpipe. " I thought I was going to die," He turned to look at him with tears in his eyes. "Don't do that again. That brought up bad memories. "

Sengoku collapsed into his seat. He raised a hand to massage the bridge of his nose. "Just when I thought one of them took this job seriously, he goes and turns into a comedian." The Fleet Admiral muttered under his breath before he regarded him again. "You want a vacation?"

"Yeah, all the work is making me burn out." He tried to make a joke.

Garp didn't get it.

Sengoku gave him a flat look.

The goat chuckled..in its own goat way, probably.

One out of three. He chalked it up as a win.

Sengoku let out a heavy sigh. He regarded him for a second before he leaned back in his chair. "Your reasons aside, you have never actually asked for a vacation. I'm sure you know what you're doing. Though I'm not sure why you didn't notify me through the Den Den Mushi."

"It would have been disrespectful towards you. A person in my station cannot simply announce his leave on the phone." That was a lie. he just wanted to see Marineford with his own eyes before it got Gura-Gura'd. But Sengoku was preening like a peacock at his words, so he kept it to himself.

"Going back to your home in North Blue?" Garp asked, trying to act nonchalant. Despite how the two of them barely got along, Garp still couldn't resist being curious. Like Grandfather, like Grandson.

"No, I'm thinking of heading to the Weakest Sea." He answered and noticed how Garp went very still. If he remembered correctly, Luffy was planning on venturing into the sea this year. 'Can't say I blame him though. If there is one person that should be kept away from a dumb kid who wouldn't shut up about becoming the pirate king, it's me. Especially when said dumb kid happens to be the son of the most wanted man on the planet.'

He turned towards Sengoku once again. "So, can I leave?"

Sengoku shrugged in response. "Unless there is an emergency in which case you will be called back. If there isn't, I guess congratulations are definitely in order. Enjoy your first-ever vacation..

Sakazuki."

The man nicknamed Akainu saluted once again and left the room. The only thought in his head:

He was going to burn this bitch to the ground.

Kind of a lighthearted start because what is one piece if not lighthearted?