Chapter 117: Navy Hero Smoker

Kizaru turned his head and glanced at Sengoku.

Decades of fighting side by side.

Her understanding of Sengoku was even greater than his own; thus, with just one glance, she could discern his general thoughts.

Immediately, Tsuru said calmly:

"You have taken a liking to this newcomer?"

Sengoku, unsurprised, nodded and said:

"That is correct."

"Although intelligence indicates that before engaging Hanafusa, he fought against Zephyr and Smoker first, and was already severely injured."

"But Knight Gao Wen suppressed him in merely an instant; this is an all-around crushing defeat."

"Even if they had fought at full strength, the result would not have differed significantly."

"Judging solely from this battle, this fellow indeed possesses combat power on the level of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

The voice fell silent.

No one voiced any objection, for what Sengoku said was the truth.

Indeed, even Moria, currently holed up in the Devil's Triangle, whether he truly possesses power like Gao Wen's, remains a question mark.

Time takes away many things; not only does the physique inevitably decline after its peak, but so does the mind.

Sengoku glanced around, seeing no one raise an objection for the moment, and continued:

"Then regarding this matter, I will report it separately to Mary Geoise later; once those five give their approval, Knight Gao Wen will be formally inducted into the ranks of the Seven Warlords."

Having said that.

Sengoku paused briefly, then set aside the matter of the Seven Warlords, his gaze falling upon the report concerning Loguetown.

His brows instantly furrowed, a trace of unwillingness visible in his eyes:

"Regarding the incident at Loguetown, those specific individuals issued an order: it must not be known to this world."

"So..."

Having spoken to this point.

Sengoku did not continue, but everyone present already understood his meaning.

Clack!

A piercing sound instantly drew everyone's attention.

Sengoku raised his head at the sound.

He saw Aokiji, seated in the corner, directly prop his two legs up on the table, even casually pulling down the eyeshade on his head, adopting a posture of 'out of sight, out of mind' in its entirety.

This posture was nothing short of having dissatisfaction written all over his face.

For a moment, Sengoku felt as if something were stuck in his throat, especially when he saw the surrounding Navy officers all responding with silence.

In recent years, with the rise of the new generation of the Navy, the invisible barrier between the Navy and the World Government has become increasingly apparent in the hearts of every Marine.

Aokiji's confusion is merely a reflection of a portion of the groups within the Navy.

"Bang!"

A Navy Vice Admiral seated in the corner stood up, filled with indignation:

"How many times has such a thing happened?!"

"Everyone should have the right to know what truly happened at Loguetown!"

Some secretly questioned the World Government's actions, while others supported it immensely.

"Justice is absolute!"

"If such news spreads, it will only cause unfounded panic; concealing certain information from civilians when necessary is also a helpless measure."

"Helpless? This is the World Government; it is us covering up our own negligence!"

In the conference room.

The Navy officers split into two clearly distinct factions, instantly arguing until their faces turned red, even escalating toward greater intensity.

Only Aokiji sat silently among the crowd.

"Silence!"

Sengoku's sudden roar instantly suppressed everyone's voices; he looked at Aokiji and asked:

"Kuzan, what is your opinion on this matter?"

"Ah la ah la~"

Aokiji pushed aside his eyeshade and said lazily:

"Even if we argue more fiercely, we cannot change the World Government's decision, can we?"

Sengoku was momentarily stunned, then said calmly:

"Sometimes, to maintain the stability of the seas, we must make compromises of a certain significance; after all, even the most brutal order is better than absolute chaos."

"So researching history has become a crime?"

Sengoku had no reply.

A few minutes later, the meeting was declared over.

Aokiji, holding his coat in one hand, lazily followed the main group away.

Watching his back, Sengoku sighed inwardly:

"Originally, according to Kuzan's character, he was the most hopeful and best suited to succeed as Fleet Admiral, but..."

Tsuru could not help but comfort him:

"If he truly reaches your position, he will understand us."

"I really do hope that day comes."

……

……

……

East Sea.

A small pirate ship was slowly sailing toward the Goa Kingdom.

The pirates lurking in the surrounding waters, the moment they saw the round-shield-backed skull flag on that pirate ship, broke out in a cold sweat, turned their bows around, and fled at full speed.

Terrified of being targeted by the other side.

And in the East Sea, the only crew with such a presence was the Gao Wen Pirates.

The person on this ship was naturally Xiang Keluo, who had set out from Crow Harbor half a month earlier to head to the Goa Kingdom to pull in sponsorship.

"What is all this even~?!"

"The World Economic News really is something — they'll print any kind of nonsense?"

Xiang Keluo stood on the deck, looked at the newspaper in his hand, and called it utterly absurd:

"That Marine officer who lost to Gao Wen twice in a row actually defeated one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea? Those monsters who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Hawkeye? And even repelled the Red Dragon?"

"Setting aside the possibility that there really are dragons in this world, and that one just happens to be red, the one who got 'repelled' was probably Gao Wen."

"What is he doing?"

"He goes to an auction and still manages to cause this much trouble?"

Whoosh!

Xiang Keluo tossed the newspaper in his hand straight into the sea, yet the corner of his mouth curved up into a faint smile:

"But still."

"After this commotion, the auction business is most likely dead in the water — at least when it comes to making money, Gao Wen can't hold a candle to me."

Thinking this, Xiang Keluo couldn't help but feel a few notches more confident, yet he didn't notice at all the strange smile on Ah Jin's face.

A good few minutes later.

Only then did Xiang Keluo react, turning his head to look at Ah Jin and saying:

"What?"

"We're still a few dozen nautical miles from entering the Goa Kingdom's waters, it's just…"

As he spoke, Ah Jin's expression slowly darkened:

"The batch of people the Mo Li Sect sent out earlier still haven't sent back any word. Logically, even if they couldn't get the money back, they shouldn't have gone completely dark."

"You're worried the Goa Kingdom's royal family might have moved against them?!"

Ah Jin nodded:

"We can't rule out that possibility."

"Heh."

Xiang Keluo said with an indifferent expression:

"If they dare to reach out, I wouldn't mind testing whether the two of us alone can take down a country in the East Sea."

"The other side is, after all, a member nation of the World Government…"

Before Ah Jin could finish speaking, he was cut off by Xiang Keluo:

"We're not destroying the country outright — just swapping out the royal family."

"You really think those lofty Celestial Dragons care about the rise and fall of some royal family?"

Xiang Keluo's voice carried undisguised mockery.

Ever since losing to Gao Wen and hearing him mention the World Government and the so-called Heavenly Tribute, Xiang Keluo had been paying extra attention to matters in this area.

He was always a man of extraordinary intelligence; he had simply been blinded by a single leaf before, unable to see the true face of this world.

Now that he could see the full picture, his understanding of the world's nature naturally far surpassed Ah Jin's.

"No!"

"All they care about is whether these countries can pay their Heavenly Tribute on schedule!"

Ah Jin was impassive, yet his eyes carried trust toward Xiang Keluo:

"You and the captain make the calls — I'll just handle the charging into the fray."

Having said that.

Ah Jin turned and went back to the cultivation room inside the cabin, continuing his daily training.

At least when it comes to Mr. Gao Wen, I'm still someone useful.

Ah Jin in the cultivation room couldn't help but think this, and immediately strapped on his weights, returning once more to his cultivation state,

Even though the progress he could now make was far less obvious than at the very beginning, it was precisely this feeling of still growing stronger that intoxicated him.

"Hah—!"

"Hah—!"

For a time.

The heavy and coarse sound of panting, even Xiang Keluo standing on the deck, could hear.

His eyelid twitched slightly; he cursed Ah Jin inwardly for being sly and secretly getting stronger, yet could only helplessly take over the command of the entire ship.

The sea was calm, and as they neared the port of the Goa Kingdom, the ships passing by gradually grew more numerous.

To avoid causing panic, Xiang Keluo had people switch to the Crow Harbor flag, then proceeded along the planned route.

……

Several hours later.

Xiang Keluo's ship arrived at the port of the Goa Kingdom.

But before they could even steady the ship, everyone's gaze was drawn to several figures strung up in the port.

"Is that… Biyande?! The guards from Raven Harbor!"

On the deck, a sharp-eyed pirate immediately recognized that the figure hanging in the distance was none other than a Raven Harbor guard who had arrived at the Goa Kingdom ahead of them.

Their purpose in coming here was the same as his — to collect a debt — yet they had been treated like this.

"What did they do? Otherwise, how could anyone be punished with a sentence like this?"

"Heh, is that really so strange?"

"Before this, when Lord Gasha sent people several times to demand payment, they fobbed them off with all sorts of excuses. These fellows here are probably the same."

Someone let out a cold laugh, then noticed Xiang Keluo standing to the side, his face dark as iron.

"They actually have the nerve to do something like this?!"

"Ah Jin!"

"Ah, I know what to do."

Accompanying a low, deep voice, Ah Jin strode quickly out of the cabin; his legs slammed down hard onto the pirate ship, so heavily that the entire hull swayed at that moment.

The next instant, Ah Jin's figure shot out like a cannonball, soaring straight past the defensive line formed by the Goa Kingdom guards, and landing steadily in front of the several Raven Harbor guards who had been strung up.

Boom!

The floor beneath his feet could not withstand the impact and shattered apart on the spot.

After Ah Jin barely steadied himself and raised his head, his breath suddenly froze the next instant.

Only because the Raven Harbor guards strung up here were truly too wretched.

Their bodies were covered everywhere with peeled-back flesh and skin; there wasn't even a single patch of intact skin to be found. Bright red blood slowly trickled down their bodies, pooling on the ground into a puddle of blood.

Even by Ah Jin's eye, he could tell that even if these people could be saved, they wouldn't live much longer.

"Captain Ah Jin?!"

The Raven Harbor guard named Biyande, seeing Ah Jin arrive, a flicker of light shone in his eyes.

Yet it dimmed again at once, and only his mouth muttered, unwilling to accept it:

"We only asked one question, about the port's debt, and the king said we had offended him…"

"Captain Ah Jin, if it's possible, please ask for us — why exactly!"

(End of this chapter)