Chapter 227: Coronation

"Ah-la, ah-la~"

Aokiji raised a hand to touch his forehead, his tone becoming rarely serious, even the usual lazy cadence vanishing completely.

He lowered his gaze to the woman lying in a pool of blood on the photograph, yet the scene floating before his eyes was from over a decade ago.

Ohara burning amidst artillery fire, his close friend Saulo laughing as he froze into an ice sculpture, and Robin sobbing wildly yet still rowing desperately to escape...

Saulo's accusation appeared before Aokiji's eyes once again.

Only this time, he no longer had the chance to ask whether his choice back then was right or wrong; he felt only as if something tightly gripped his heart, creating a suffocating illusion.

"It was merely the dying wish of some man."

The tone was casual, as if recounting something utterly ordinary, yet Zephyr could sense the surging emotions beneath Aokiji's seemingly calm exterior.

How could a man who once believed in Burning Justice possibly possess a heart as cold as his ability?!

The only possibility for a man like Aokiji to go from full of passion to his current dazed state was that he had begun to doubt the very concept of Justice behind it all.

"A hesitant fist cannot defeat that fellow Sakazuki."

Zephyr reminded Aokiji as if joking, yet the latter didn't even lift his eyelids, sighing:

"Although between me and that bastard there exist all sorts of contradictions, and even until now I cannot agree with his justice, which is so extreme it borders on madness."

"But..."

Aokiji looked at the newspaper, unable to resist reaching out to touch the woman lying in the pool of blood, murmuring:

"Sometimes I actually envy him, for being able to act according to his own will without a shred of hesitation."

"No matter what, I cannot achieve that."

Zephyr reached out and patted Aokiji's shoulder:

"Sakazuki's path is too extreme and leaves no room for maneuver; it cannot be called the right way."

"Knight Yu Gaowen might perhaps offer you a different hint."

"He possesses a perspective that transcends this era, and his understanding and perception of Justice far exceed anyone I have ever seen."

Aokiji was slightly startled.

This was not the first time he had heard Zephyr praise Yu Gaowen, nor had he ever seen Zephyr hold any man in such high esteem.

"What kind of person is that fellow?!"

"Once you meet him face to face, you will know."

Zephyr smiled faintly, then ignored Aokiji, signaling the marines on the ship to lower the gangplank before walking toward Rapeseed Port on his own.

"Teacher Zephyr, wait for me!"

Seeing this, Aokiji helplessly sighed; after instructing the marines on the ship to stay and wait for his return and settling subsequent matters, he hurriedly chased after him.

His curiosity about Yu Gaowen, however, grew heavier with the passing of time.

Exactly... exactly what kind of person must one be to earn such high praise from Teacher Zephyr?

Even when that fellow Smoker mentioned Knight Yu Gaowen, he wore a look of shame, even saying he had no face to see Yu Gaowen again?!

One must know that both of these men had a tolerance for pirates that was nearly zero!

"Buru Buru—!"

A sudden ringtone interrupted Aokiji's thoughts.

He fished the Den Den Mushi from his pocket, and upon connecting, a lazy voice came through the receiver.

"Moshi moshi~"

"So this is Borsalino; where has Teacher Zephyr arrived?!"

"It's you~"

Aokiji scratched his scalp:

"We just entered Rapeseed Port; at our pace, we should reach Alubarna in about two or three days."

"Is that so?!"

Kizaru let out a long breath, his entire body relaxing at that moment:

"During this period, dealing with Teacher Zephyr's affairs, this old man's waist has nearly been worked to pieces~"

"Ah-la, ah-la~"

"I still have a few bottles of good wine in my cellar; they are all yours."

A trace of helplessness permeated Aokiji's voice; thinking of Yu Gaowen, he couldn't help but ask:

"What kind of person is Knight Yu Gaowen exactly..."

On the other end of the line.

Kizaru looked at Yu Gaowen opposite him, bare-chested, gripping a long blade, and striking a posture eager to try, unable to resist making a pained expression:

"A madman with excessively overflowing energy; you have no idea what kind of torment I have endured during this time!"

"Hurry over; I really can't hold on anymore!"

Halfway through speaking, Kizaru changed his tone, adding several degrees of seriousness:

"However, ignoring factors of stance, he is a fairly decent man."

A few minutes later, Aokiji hung up the phone, yet echoing in his mind was Kizaru's evaluation of Yu Gaowen:

"A decent man, huh?"

"If even that fellow Borsalino evaluates him this way..."

"Perhaps I really can obtain the answer I have been seeking all along from him."

A few days later.

The capital of Alabasta, Alubarna.

A grand ceremony was underway; the entire city was decorated with lanterns and banners, and countless people flooded the streets, surging toward the platform outside the royal palace.

Just a few days ago, King Cobra of Alabasta suddenly announced that, besides Vivi, he had another eldest daughter named Niff.

For years, she had been secretly recovering in the palace due to frail health and poor constitution, and today she would be formally crowned as Alabasta's eldest princess.

At this moment.

Robin stood atop the platform, facing the countless commoners below.

She wore a long white gown, elegant and noble; merely standing there, she sparked wave after wave of screams.

"So beautiful!"

"Her face and bearing exude royal nobility—this is how an Alabasta princess should look!"

"I love you, Princess Niff!!!"

……

Countless Alabasta commoners had come from all directions to witness the first memorial since the great disaster.

And upon seeing Robin appear, they descended into utter madness!

Soon.

Cobra took Vivi's hand, lit a torch before the crowd, and solemnly placed the crown symbolizing the eldest princess upon Robin's head.

"Thank you, my lord."

Robin stepped forward and embraced Cobra tightly; tears slipped from her eyes, yet her beautiful gaze remained fixed on Yu Gaowen in the VIP seating, whispering softly:

"Thank you too, Captain."

She would never forget who had saved her in her hour of peril, who had repeatedly and firmly told her, I want you to live.

Only the knight Yu Gaowen.

The emotion and unwavering resolve behind those words were something she had never felt in her twenty-plus years of life.

At this moment.

The scorching heat of Alabasta—no, it was now almost boiling sunlight—yet as it fell upon Robin, it brought her an indescribable warmth.

After more than a decade, this was the first time she stood beneath the sun without having to hide like a rat in a sewer, as she once had, to survive.

She had finally broken free from her past and stood once more beneath the sunlight.

Robin had thought so.

Until she saw, among the crowd below, a tall, slender figure staring intently at her.

"Admiral… Kizaru?!"

No words were needed; in an instant, they recognized each other's identities.

Memories from twenty years ago returned before Robin's eyes.

Only now did she realize that even now, facing this man, she was no different from how she had been twenty years ago…

Her body began to tremble; fear once again flooded her eyes.

He recognized me—he definitely recognized me!

I must flee…

As Robin's thoughts churned, she saw Yu Gaowen below rise and slowly walk toward Kizaru.

His steps were firm, without a hint of hesitation.

Robin's trembling body steadied; her fear dissipated greatly.

As long as that man was still here, there was still hope—even if they descended into hell together, at least I wouldn't be alone.

Suddenly,

Robin realized that her feelings for Yu Gaowen could no longer be explained as mere fondness.

That emotion was far more complex.

But isn't it beautiful?

"What's wrong?!"

Cobra noticed Robin's unease and asked softly.

"Nothing. Just my wounds have split open a little."

"Then let the ceremony end here. Go rest and tend to your injuries."

With that,

Cobra had Vivi take Robin away; the crowd below murmured in disappointment, making it all the more plausible that Cobra had hidden the eldest princess within the palace for twenty years.

After the coronation, the memorial ceremony continued; Cobra led the people in rites before the collapsed shrine.

The crowd gradually dispersed.

Kizaru and Yu Gaowen stood side by side on the open ground, silently, neither speaking.

Long moments passed.

Kizaru broke the silence:

"I was still puzzled."

"That woman may have some wit, but neither her vision nor her available resources could have supported her in using the Golden Cicada Strategy to completely evade the World Government's pursuit."

"But if the mastermind behind it was you, then everything makes sense."

"The man who earned Master Zephyr's special regard."

As he spoke,

Kizaru's gaze settled on Yu Gaowen, who wore an expression of calm composure, utterly at ease—clearly, even facing Kizaru, one of the Navy's three supreme combatants, Yu Gaowen carried quiet confidence.

His expression gradually darkened:

"If your answer fails to satisfy me, I will not stand by and watch her become the Princess of Alabasta."

"Is that so?!"

Yu Gaowen's expression remained unchanged.

If Kuzan had truly wanted to act, in the nearly twenty years prior, he had countless opportunities to arrest Robin and correct his past mistake, yet he did not.

This alone was enough to show that Kuzan held a certain degree of, what could be called, special feelings for Robin.

Yu Gaowen said calmly:

"There are still many spots on my ship, and she has been alone for far too long; she needs a place to settle."

Kuzan was stunned. He had considered many answers, yet this was the one he never expected; but regarding Yu Gaowen's words, he did not believe a single punctuation mark.

Looking at the confident Yu Gaowen beside him, Kuzan's voice grew cold:

"With a former bounty exceeding two hundred million, even capturing a former Navy Admiral to trade for a Warlord of the Sea position, and only recently fighting Gold Lion head-on, would a pirate who survived possess such boring sympathy?!"

"What you likely value is merely her talent for deciphering the Poneglyphs, isn't it?"

"And if that is the case?!"

Yu Gaowen did not conceal his purpose.

For those standing at the pinnacle, whose Observation Haki had been cultivated to the extreme, even relying solely on intuition, they could judge whether the other was lying.

Crack crack crack—!

A layer of frost spread from beneath Kuzan's feet; the biting cold instantly silenced the stifling air, spreading continuously toward the surrounding earth.

"Then I can only—!"

"Kuzan!"

A steady voice landed; Zephyr raised his hand and pressed it onto Kuzan's shoulder, causing him to retract the cold energy radiating from his body.

"Teacher Zephyr!"

"Nicole Robin joining Yu Gaowen's pirate crew might not be a bad thing."

"You..."

Kuzan looked at the smiling Zephyr, feeling helpless for a moment, and had no desire to say anything more.

He broke free from Zephyr's hand and said:

"I will go see her."

"And I have some things I wish to ask."

Yu Gaowen's brows furrowed slightly; he was about to take a step forward when Zephyr held him back:

"Rest assured."

"Kuzan's feelings for Nicole Robin are complex; although he himself is unaware, to a certain extent, he has already regarded Nicole Robin as his own daughter."

"He would not do anything to harm Robin."

Yu Gaowen sighed in relief and only then turned his gaze to Zephyr.

Yet his pupils contracted sharply in the next instant.

This was because the aura radiating from Zephyr at this moment was like the rising morning sun; the man no longer showed even a trace of the withered old age he had displayed during that battle in the East Blue, nor the feeling of barely holding on by sheer force of will.

The Conqueror's Haki born from this was as vast as a mountain!

The prosthetic arm on his right side was pitch black, but Yu Gaowen knew this was not due to the material itself, but rather the texture resembling a Black Blade, achieved after this man's Armament Haki had been tempered to its extreme limit!

Damn it!

Tempering an entire prosthetic limb into a Black Blade? Just how strong was this guy's Armament Haki at his peak?!

Zephyr smiled faintly:

"I originally wanted to ask you some questions, but between men, nothing is better than fists to clarify each other's thoughts."

"To be honest, I am not content with losing to you last time."

"Let us fight again!"

"Good!"

Yu Gaowen felt no fear whatsoever.

He did not know what Zephyr had truly realized after leaving Raven Port, but there was no doubt that the Conqueror's Haki born of conviction had reformed within this old man.

Zephyr's combat power was now countless times greater than when they last fought.

But during this period, Yu Gaowen's own combat power had also risen rapidly; he was merely one step away from the Admiral-Emperor level, which symbolized the pinnacle of this sea.

How much Conqueror's Haki experience could I harvest from fighting the current Zephyr?

And could I, through the collision of convictions, truly touch the Conqueror's Haki coating that symbolizes the strongest?

On the other side.

Alabasta Wang Gong.

With Vivi's support, Robin returned to the hospital room door; she placed her hand on the doorknob, and her body instantly froze.

The doorknob was cold.

Cold enough to freeze a person's very soul.

(End of this chapter)