Chapter 148: Sorry, Gao Wen

Thinking of this, the eyes of these marines turned red.

Ain, who had just stepped onto the deck, felt the same.

However.

To her surprise, what appeared before her was a bustling port.

Countless merchant ships came and went, cramming the entire port so full that even the warship beneath her feet struggled to find a berth.

"This... why is it so different from what I imagined?"

Ain paused, then immediately found the answer she sought within the Navy's internal case files:

"Disguise! This must be a disguise!"

"Just like Dressrosa, hiding all the evil underground while maintaining peace on the surface!"

Recalling the intelligence regarding Dressrosa, Ain's teeth gritted in fury.

Although the Navy's intelligence network could not match the near-omnipresent reach of the CP organization, it was far more developed than anyone else imagined.

Almost every major power had a Navy mole within it.

The newly established SWORD organization was created specifically for this purpose.

They naturally knew the actual situation in Dressrosa but dared not act rashly due to Doflamingo's status as a Celestial Dragon and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

In Ain's eyes at that moment, Raven Port and Dressrosa had perfectly overlapped.

After all, even the model of the Raven Colosseum was exactly the same as the Corrida Colosseum in Dressrosa, wasn't it?

Thinking of this,

she instructed:

"Everyone be careful!"

"The prosperity we see might all be a false disguise, designed only to lure more people into a trap!"

"You have seen countless examples of this within the Navy!"

The group of marines stood solemn and shouted:

"Yes!"

The gangway was lowered.

Ain led the marines off the ship, yet it did not draw much attention in the port.

While she was puzzled, she saw a blind man wearing a purple haori walking toward her.

"I have been waiting here for a long time on the orders of Mr. Zephyr. Follow me."

Hearing that this was Zephyr's request, Ain felt a bit more trust toward Xiang Tenghu and asked with concern:

"How is Mr. Zephyr?"

"He is fine; his injuries have already healed."

Xiang Tenghu spoke to comfort her, then immediately changed the subject:

"He also specified that you alone should come, saying that as a teacher, he must give his student one final lesson."

"No!"

A man dressed as a Navy officer suddenly stepped forward, looking at Xiang Tenghu with caution:

"We cannot determine if this is a trap set for Colonel Ain!"

"Duoze!"

Ain reached out and held down her subordinate, named Duoze, then looked coldly at Xiang Tenghu:

"I will go with you. The moment I find something amiss, the warships in Raven Port and those moored outside Raven Port will open fire immediately, leveling everything here."

"You had better be mentally prepared."

Having said this, Ain went forward alone, following behind Xiang Tenghu, and slowly walked into Red Longjie.

At that moment, her concern for Zephyr's safety made her forget about her own life.

After all, he was a man she respected.

She had seen Zephyr's desperate look in front of pirates and knew that for him, falling into the hands of pirates was almost worse than death.

Soon.

Ain disappeared into the distance.

Duoze led a group of marines to guard the port, looking alertly at the crowds passing by on all sides.

Unexpectedly,

they did not see a single trace of fear on these people's faces.

Apart from occasional curious glances, their presence did not attract any attention at all.

And the man who had just seized the title of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea had not shown his face from beginning to end.

It seemed that to him, and to this place, they were nothing more than a speck of dust.

Suddenly.

Several mischievous children were chasing and playing in the distance, emitting bursts of laughter like silver bells.

But very quickly, they were driven away by a tall man holding a long spear; the glance he cast unintentionally sent a chill through all the marines present.

"A top-tier sniper!"

Duoze made the judgment instantly, his skin crawling with goosebumps, and instinctively assumed a combat stance.

Van Augur had already walked far away.

He gently stroked the Thousand Land in his hand, turned to gaze at the several warships in the distance, and calculated in his mind exactly how many shots he would need to detonate all the ammunition depots on the warships.

"Five shots?"

"No!"

"Two spears are enough!"

Doze, his face full of wariness, looked toward the guards patrolling in the distance.

The Marines standing behind him, however, slowly lowered the weapons in their hands.

Looking at the peaceful harbor before them, looking at the smiles on those faces, they could not help but begin to doubt.

"Is this place... really, as Colonel Ain said, a pirate disguise?"

"But are the smiles on those civilians' and children's faces really fake?"

The voice of doubt had just risen when it was suppressed by Doze's cold gaze.

He looked at the assembled Marines present and said calmly:

"Justice is absolute!"

"Do not be deceived by these appearances!"

"What you face are the most cunning pirates in the world!"

The assembled Marines fell silent instantly, yet the seed of doubt had already been planted.

Is this blind faith, given without explanation, truly correct?

No one could answer the questions in their hearts, but as long as doubt existed, it would not vanish.

Red Longjie.

Xiang Tenghu led Ain, walking through the streets and greeting the pirates passing by.

This scene even made Ain feel the illusion that she was among civilians, yet she could still see traces of pirate insignia in their clothing.

The sense of dissonance between them was so great that it left her at a loss.

"These are all pirates?!"

Xiang Tenghu nodded:

"They are pirates, and they were once civilians."

Ain's eyes instantly grew cold, especially after thinking of Zephyr's fate.

"Even if they were once civilians, it does not mean their crimes after becoming pirates are justified; even pirates under the Seven Warlords are the same."

"Of course."

Xiang Tenghu nodded indifferently, then said:

"But besides capturing pirates who cause chaos, shouldn't the Navy also think about how to reduce the birth of pirates from the root, isn't that so?"

Ain was slightly stunned, then looked up at Xiang Tenghu and said:

"As long as all pirates on the Great Sea are defeated, no new pirates will be born."

Xiang Tenghu fell silent.

He instinctively quickened his pace, walking toward the fields behind Red Longjie.

Quickly.

The two found Zephyr and Smoker in a wheat field that had just sprouted fresh green shoots.

Contrary to Ain's expectations,

Zephyr was now bending down, carefully weeding the field, looking entirely like an old farmer, even chatting and laughing with the pirates nearby from time to time.

"Zephyr... Teacher?"

Ain spoke in disbelief, then saw Zephyr's smiling face, and she instantly froze.

It was because the murderous aura all over Zephyr had completely vanished.

The whole person was as peaceful as when he once taught at the Marine Officer Academy, watching students one by one grow into the backbone of the Navy.

Calm, serene, even hope was present in the expression on his face.

Yes! It was hope!

She saw hope again in the eyes of the man before her, not merely a revenge-seeker supported by hatred.

Instantly.

Ain wept with joy, because the teacher who had once led her onto the path of justice had returned.

"Ain, have you finally arrived?"

Zephyr smiled faintly, then pointed his finger at the wheat seedlings in the field and said:

"Look."

"These are all planted by me; in just a few more months, you will be able to eat bread made from the wheat I planted with my own hands!"

"What exactly happened?"

Ain asked, confused.

Regarding Zephyr's sudden change, she felt joy in her heart, because the man before her had been completely reborn, yet she also had doubts, not knowing where this change originated.

Zephyr said calmly:

"All of this must thank that person in the harbor; he woke me up, making me start to examine this world, examine the Navy, examine our justice."

"In the end, I found my own answer."

Accompanying his words,

golden, warm sunlight fell from the sky, shining upon Zephyr.

In that instant, Ain even had the illusion that Zephyr was glowing, and at the same time, a face floated into her mind, making her say in disbelief:

"That man... are you talking about Knight Gao Wen?!"

In the next instant, Ain rejected this answer:

"Impossible!"

"He is merely a pirate; how could he possibly accomplish what no Marine has ever done!"

"No!"

Zephyr cut off Ain's words, his tone even carrying a hint of gratitude:

"It is him."

"To be honest, if he had not already become a pirate, and had not even seized the title of Warlord of the Sea, he would be the man most fit to bear justice."

"Even Sakazuki or Kuzan cannot compare to him."

"Those eyes can see through the surface to the essence."

"Whether regarding the pirates themselves, or the current ills within the Marines, he sees far more clearly than I do."

As the voice fell, Ain stood there, stunned.

She had never heard Zephyr give such high praise to a Marine, let alone Gao Wen, who was a pirate?

Even the current three Admirals of the Marines, or even Sengoku, in Zephyr's eyes, all had more or less problems; it was just that, overall, the flaws did not obscure the merits.

But now, Zephyr's evaluation of Gao Wen had reached a level she could not understand.

"Teacher Zephyr, are you serious?"

"Of course I am serious."

Ain was slightly stunned, then turned her head to look at Smoker; the latter also nodded and said:

"That fellow has indeed gone much further than us."

Saying this.

Smoker's expression was slightly stiff; he turned his head to look at Xiang Tenghu, and seeing that the latter was blind and could not see his expression, only then did he force himself to say:

"Although I am not very willing to admit it, what that fellow said... is correct."

"The ills within the Marines, the current path of the Marines, have major problems; our justice has detached itself from the foundation of growth and has also drifted far from those who truly need to be protected."

"Only thus does the situation arise where the more pirates we fight, the more there are."

Xiang Tenghu was stunned, feeling the emotion in Smoker's voice, and a smile curled at the corner of his mouth:

"Are you saying sorry to him?"

Smoker twitched at the corner of his eye, yet did not deny it:

"If you say so, then so be it."

(End of this chapter)