Chapter 232: My Heart and Deeds, Clear as a Bright Mirror; All I Do and All I Act, Are All Justice!

For the old man before him, Gao Wen felt respect.

Counting the entire pirate world, from the Rocks era thirty years ago to the Great Pirate Era stirred up single-handedly by Luo Jie.

The Navy produces strong men constantly; throughout its history, the number of Emperor-level experts has exceeded what two hands can count.

If discussing peak combat power, Zephyr certainly does not rank, likely placing in the middle or lower ranks, but when it comes to the firmness of his faith in justice, few can compare to him.

It can be said that this unshakable firmness, even after losing everything, forged his past glory and also limited his scope.

This was not because he was not smart enough.

Or rather, quite the opposite; being able to become a Navy Admiral, and even single-handedly cultivate the current three Admirals, as well as countless Navy officers, Zephyr's mind must have been one of the most outstanding of his era.

What truly limited him was this era.

Past history and high-end technology were either suppressed single-handedly by the World Government or buried in the sea.

The way people exchanged information was, compared to the era where Gao Wen lived in his past life, almost primitive.

Even standing at Zephyr's height, the information he could access in a lifetime was probably far less than that of an ordinary person with a mobile phone.

It was precisely this gap in the total volume of information that created the limitations in thinking for Zephyr, and indeed for the vast majority of people in this era.

Even those like Kuzan, who are current Navy Admirals, are the same; they can see some problems within the Navy or even the World Government but find it difficult to glimpse the full picture.

In Gao Wen's view, within the pirate world, the only person who had truly seen through the surface to understand the essence of the World Government, and had even taken action to overthrow it, was one man.

The Pirate King, Gol D. Luo Jie!

Therefore, Gao Wen did not answer Zephyr's question, but instead asked:

"Why do you think Luo Jie, even risking his life, wanted to stir up the Great Pirate Era? To make this already incredibly chaotic era run completely wild?!"

"To put it bluntly, the number of people who died directly or indirectly because of him can almost be called astronomical!"

Zephyr was stunned for a moment.

The words of criticism against this era that Gao Wen had just spoken swept one by one through Zephyr's mind.

"I..."

Zephyr's lips parted slightly; he felt he had vaguely grasped something, but it was stuck at his lips and he could not say it.

Yes!

With that man's vision, he could absolutely foresee such problems.

Having even reached the end of the world and uncovered the truth of One Piece, they would know only more than him, more than the Navy.

Simply to drag this world completely into the abyss before dying?!

Don't be ridiculous!

For Luo Jie, even something as small as having a drink with a friend was more meaningful than destroying the world.

Even setting aside the exploration of history and the pursuit of One Piece, Luo Jie's actions in that era simply did not seem like those of a pirate.

Only people like Shiki the Jin Shizi could be called true pirates.

This was something Zephyr, as a former Navy Admiral who had even fought Luo Jie multiple times, naturally understood clearly.

But the clearer he was about Luo Jie's character, the more it seemed like a layer of fog covered the process of deducing Luo Jie's goal now.

"Why?!"

While Zephyr was confused, a trembling voice from Kuzan rang in everyone's ears:

"I think... I should understand why."

In his words.

Kuzan's eyes fell on Gao Wen; reflected in his trembling pupils was something like a non-human monster:

"You just said the World Government single-handedly constructed the current world order, and the Navy plays the function of a pressure relief valve within it."

"On one hand, suppressing the various member nations of the World Government; on the other, keeping the number of pirates within a stable range."

"But the Navy's capacity is ultimately limited."

"As more and more people set sail and raise the pirate flag of rebellion, the pressure facing the Navy will rise endlessly."

"The World Government's control over the situation will also become smaller and smaller with the passage of time, until finally..."

"Bang!"

"It collapses directly!"

The Huang Yuan on the side reacted in time, murmuring:

"So the establishment of the Seven Warlords of the Sea system was, for the World Government and for the Navy, inherently an extremely dangerous signal."

"Only when the World Government realized that the Navy might no longer be able to rely on its own strength to combat the increasingly treacherous situation would it make the choice to use the power of pirates to balance the pirates."

"That's about right."

Gao Wen nodded; he was not surprised that Kuzan and the Huang Yuan could see this layer.

Those who could serve as Admirals within the Navy lacked nothing in combat power, strategic judgment, or scope; after his prompting, they naturally understood instantly.

Gao Wen turned his head to look at Zephyr and asked his original question again:

"Why did Luo Jie, even risking his life, want to open the Great Pirate Era? You should have an answer in your heart now, right?!"

Zephyr's eyes gradually lit up; he said in disbelief:

"Truly shaking the structure built by the World Government, breaking to establish anew, rebuilding a new world upon the ruins?!"

This was perhaps the speculation closest to the truth in his heart, but the decisiveness and determination Luo Jie showed in this process still made him tremble even twenty years later.

Is this the pirate who, after hundreds of years, was the first to be called King?!

"He is using the people of the whole world as a wager; is such a cost too tragic?!"

"Cost?!"

Gao Wen's gaze fell on Zephyr's severed arm; he murmured:

"Doing anything has a cost; the difference lies only in whether you are willing to bear the corresponding consequences."

"Those who refuse to lose anything and wish to protect everything often lose the most."

"Have you not lost enough over the years in defending the World Government's justice?!"

Hoo—!

A gust of wind and sand swept past, whipping up fine grains from the ground that struck Zephyr's face. He showed no reaction whatsoever, his eyes tightly shut, his jaw clenched so hard his cheeks bulged.

Seeing this, the two figures of Green and Yellow fell silent as well.

As students personally trained and raised by Zephyr, they had heard countless times of everything that had happened to him.

Rising to the rank of Navy Admiral in his thirties solely through mastering Armament Haki to its extreme, Zephyr's life then took a sharp downturn.

A few years later, his wife and newborn child were attacked by pirates and both perished. Devastated, Zephyr withdrew from the front lines but never forgot the justice he stood for, training countless elites for the Navy.

Yet even so, fate still did not favor this man.

A few years ago, while leading new recruits on a sea training exercise, he was attacked by pirates once more. Nearly an entire ship of recruits was slaughtered, and he lost his arm in that battle; since then, the name 'Black Arm' had been a misnomer.

One could say Zephyr's entire life had been a series of losses.

"Enough!"

A sudden roar erupted.

Gao Wen turned his head to see a group of Navy soldiers, their eyes red-rimmed, staring at him in anger.

"What do you know of Teacher Zephyr?!"

"He is the man who has given the most to the Navy; no one may tear open his scars!"

"Even if I must stake my life, I will make you pay the price!"

Several Navy soldiers, unable to restrain their raging hearts, moved to advance, but were forced back in the next instant by a single glance from Zephyr.

"Forget that conversation, or I cannot protect you either!"

"Go!"

Reluctant, the crowd gritted their teeth and said:

"But Teacher Zephyr, I..."

"That is an order!"

"Yes!"

The group of Navy soldiers straightened their bodies abruptly, forcibly suppressing their reluctance. After gritting their teeth and casting one glance at Gao Wen, they turned and hurried away.

A few breaths later, the crowd vanished from Gao Wen's sight.

"Continue!"

Zephyr's voice was calm, showing no wavering due to Gao Wen's words.

Seeing this, Gao Wen nodded and continued:

"Now comes my second question... Is Pirate King Gol D. Luo Jie truly justice or evil?!" "What?"

Zephyr was slightly stunned, thinking he had misheard.

How could the word 'justice' possibly be applied to a pirate, let alone Luo Jie, who was backed by the title of Pirate King?

When Zephyr looked up, he saw only Gao Wen's earnest gaze.

He was not joking!

He was asking me this question very seriously!

"Once you see through this question, you will have found the path for the Navy's future, at least the path I believe the Navy should take."

Having said that.

Gao Wen had no further interest in staying. What occupied his mind now was only the Conqueror's Haki coating he had just grasped, which he had not yet mastered.

He could not wait to familiarize himself with the ability he had just acquired.

Whoosh!

After a sound of breaking the air, Gao Wen's figure vanished into the swirling sandstorm, racing toward the distant Alabasta.

!

In the desert.

The master and his two disciples remained silent for a long time.

The wild wind howled, sand and dust rose, and the sky momentarily grew dark.

The cape behind Aokiji fluttered loudly in the wind, yet it was not as loud as the shock within his heart:

"What does Knight Gao Wen mean? Does he approve of Luo Jie's actions?"

"But Luo Jie was a pirate after all!"

"At his level, whether he wished it or not, the influence brought merely by his name was enough to cause countless deaths!"

"And the battles between that fellow and Whitebeard or Jin Shizi—how many innocent people would be dragged into them?!"

Kizaru was indifferent, raising a hand to push up his glasses, his expression utterly Solemn:

"Given that fellow's personality and insight that transcends the era, this question is likely not so simple; there must be a deeper meaning."

"Then what exactly is it?!"

A hint of urgency permeated Aokiji's tone.

He even couldn't help but start thinking about whether to capture Gao Wen and question him thoroughly, but reason in his heart forced him to barely control his desire.

Luo Jie was not a typical pirate; how could Gao Wen, known as the most righteous man in the East Blue, be a typical pirate?

Gao Wen was not someone who feared chaos under heaven.

Even though Aokiji had not deeply befriended Gao Wen, he could see this point solely from Gao Wen's words.

In fact, quite the opposite: Gao Wen might be the pirate most likely to stand on the side of justice in this era, aside from Red-Haired Shanks for his special reasons.

The benevolence and righteousness Gao Wen believed in held an essential distinction from the World Government's justice.

Attacking him now would undoubtedly push this man completely to the Navy's opposite side.

"Damn bastard!"

"Why play riddles at a time like this?"

"Tch—!"

Aokiji couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of saliva, but in the next instant, a familiar soft laugh reached his ears.

"Heh..."

"Hahahaha—!"

This laughter grew louder with the passing of time, even drowning out the howling wind at that moment.

"Teacher Zephyr?!"

Aokiji and Borsalino raised their eyes to look at the source of the sound, only to see Zephyr, who had been sitting on the ground, now lying on the sand and soil at some unknown time, his chest heaving violently as he laughed aloud.

"That stinking brat really has a sick sense of humor."

Zephyr's laughter gradually stopped; he couldn't help but raise his hand to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes, then slowly stood up, straightening his back to its full height amidst the wind and rain filling the sky.

When he looked again at his two disciples.

Zephyr's eyes held nothing but an unspeakable solemnity:

"Now then, Kuzan, Borsalino."

"Does only the Navy truly have the qualification to pursue those two words? Or rather, who exactly has the qualification to define justice?!"

"The World Government? The Navy? The Pirates? Or the heart beating constantly within your chest?!"

The words fell to the ground.

Silence returned to the scene once more, yet this time it differed from the confusion and incomprehension of before.

Aokiji and Borsalino's bodies froze in place.

They understood as well.

Zephyr's low whisper came through the wind:

"My heart and my deeds, clear as a bright mirror; all I do and all I act, are all justice!"

At the same time.

Whiskey Peak.

After the Baroque Works was almost entirely wiped out, this place had originally been deserted, and the bar operated by Baroque Works was closed.

But with Gao Wen's Seven Warlords pirate flag here, in less than a month, Whiskey Peak had regained its vitality.

Merchant ships of all sizes gathered from all directions, and the originally desolate small town became lively again.

Shops of all sizes stood in a forest, and the crowds coming and going were dense.

Xiang Keluo and the others naturally had no objections to this and had no mind to interfere; their only concern was the ongoing team ranking battle.

At this moment.

Behind the mountain of Whiskey Peak.

On a flat stretch of sandy ground.

Huge cacti were scattered everywhere, yet many had already fallen.

The broken ends on the huge cacti were either smooth like a mirror, clearly cut by blades, or directly broken by someone's brute force.

"Clang!"

"Boom!"

"Shhh!"

Amidst a series of booming sounds, two figures collided constantly, unleashing terrifying momentum.

Rob Lucci, using the Paper Art Body, and Zoro, with his three-sword style fully unleashed and battle intent fierce, fought evenly in the arena.

Their terrifying force frequently left huge craters on the sandy ground or severed the giant cacti in the distance.

"Not just the Captain, but the strength of the High Officers has made a qualitative leap!"

"I heard that when Zoro first joined, he was humiliated by the Captain with a small knife, yet now he has become this strong?!"

"In my opinion, he is still not as good as Lucci; Lucci is after all from the CP organization. I heard Miss Kalifa mention casually that he is the strongest genius in eight hundred years of CP9!"

"Wait, you actually had the chance to spend time with Miss Kalifa?!"

Xiang Keluo, Arkin, and other officers, along with dozens of ordinary crew members, all gathered here, chatting intermittently.

"Not just Lucci, but even that guy Zoro hid this deep?!"

Arkin couldn't help but shake his head.

It was because he confirmed again that these bastards each secretly held back a few moves, all waiting to overturn himself or even Xiang Keluo beside him in the internal team ranking battle.

Fortunately, I am the same; I have hidden more than one move.

A smile curled at the corner of Arkin's mouth, but his gaze fell on Xiang Keluo beside him:

"Speaking of which, what exactly is the fruit you ate?!"

(End of this chapter)