Chapter 332: Gao Wen Is Truly the Light of the World!

"That guy is nothing but a scumbag who betrayed his beloved and lost his faith!"

Lord Tai Zuo Luo's eyes turned blood-red as he roared loudly.

He simply could not connect the brilliant, valiant, unparalleled man described by Ah Jin with the Gao Wen in his memories.

"Take back your words!"

Ah Jin froze, his brows knitting tightly as his expression grew several degrees colder.

Gao Wen had given him the belief to be reborn, granted him a new life, allowed him to find companions worthy of entrusting his back to, and was the captain he respected most.

He would absolutely not allow anyone to slander Gao Wen's reputation.

"I am grateful that you lent me a hand while I was imprisoned in Britannias."

"I keep this debt in my heart."

"But no matter who it is, they cannot slander the captain's reputation!"

Accompanying these words,

the killing intent on Ah Jin's face was almost impossible to conceal!

"Heh..."

Lord Tai Zuo Luo sneered:

"Is there anything wrong with what I said?!"

"That guy abandoned the woman who loved him most at a critical moment to survive alone, even going so far as to wag his tail and beg for mercy from the World Government!"

"Isn't that exactly how the so-called Seven Warlords came to be?"

"If Wang Fei Guinevere hadn't gambled her life, he would have died in the Goa Kingdom, yet while that woman was on the verge of death, he was wandering overseas."

"I once thought that guy should be the one existence who could understand me best, but now I see that is not the case."

"Unlike me, he has forgotten his original intention and the very meaning of why he is still alive."

Lord Tai Zuo Luo turned around, preparing to leave.

He could not bring himself to attack Ah Jin here; after all, half of the blood currently soaking Ah Jin's upper body had been shed for him.

But asking him to spend money to support someone he hated ascending the throne was equally impossible!

Yet in the next instant,

Ah Jin's voice rang out beside Lord Tai Zuo Luo's ear.

"So... do you still remember your own faith?!"

"Zuo, no—Golden Emperor Lord Tai Zuo Luo!"

Lord Tai Zuo Luo's steps halted; he turned to meet Ah Jin's unusual gaze.

Anger, contempt, and a trace of pity hidden extremely deep within.

Yet it was precisely this pity that, like a thorn, pierced deeply into Lord Tai Zuo Luo's heart.

Lord Tai Zuo Luo no longer cared about when Ah Jin had recognized his identity:

"What do you want to say?"

"The captain once mentioned you to me; while most seas of the New World are under the domination of the Four Emperors, it is not absolute."

"Beneath the Four Emperors, there still exists a group of powerful figures whose strength is one tier lower but cannot be ignored; you are one of them, and the most special among them."

Ah Jin stood in place, looking down from above at Lord Tai Zuo Luo, unable to fully suppress the contempt in his tone:

"The captain said you were once a slave of the Celestial Dragons, and because of their existence, you lost your beloved, yet after gaining freedom, you voluntarily crawled at the feet of the Celestial Dragons."

"All for the sake of obtaining enough money to buy everything!"

"I did not!"

Lord Tai Zuo Luo argued loudly:

"I just... didn't want to lose even more because of money!"

The deepest things within his heart were hit precisely by Ah Jin's words; Lord Tai Zuo Luo's emotions instantly became agitated, his clenched fists trembling continuously.

"I... I... I..."

Lord Tai Zuo Luo's voice trembled; various thoughts flew through his mind, yet he could not find a single reason to refute Ah Jin's words.

Seeing this, Ah Jin became even more firm in his judgment:

"That is why..."

"The captain said that among those people, you are the most pitiful one."

"Clearly having escaped from Mary Geoise and removed the collar from your neck, yet you voluntarily crawled at the feet of the Celestial Dragons."

"Clearly having everything taken away by the Celestial Dragons, yet in the end, you became one of the Celestial Dragons yourself."

"Pitiful."

"Pathetic."

"Detestable."

Dai Si, standing nearby, could not help but step forward, glaring angrily at Ah Jin:

"I, too, cannot tolerate you pointing fingers and giving orders regarding my boss's affairs!"

Dai Si punched toward Ah Jin, but unexpectedly, the latter neither attacked nor dodged, only staring coldly at him.

No!

It was Lord Tai Zuo Luo behind him!

"Stop!"

"Dai Si!"

A sharp rebuke entered Dai Si's ears as flowing gold formed chains, binding Dai Si's movements.

"Boss, you..."

Dai Si turned his head, only to see Lord Tai Zuo Luo with his head bowed and eyes bloodshot.

"This is my affair!"

"Do not interfere!"

Step by step.

Lord Tai Zuo Luo walked past Dai Si, heading toward Ah Jin.

Every step he took was incredibly heavy, his speed growing slower and slower, as if something weighing thousands of pounds rested upon his shoulders.

He reached out to touch his neck; the collar symbolizing a slave was gone, yet the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon branded onto his back could never be washed away.

Swish—!

Lord Tai Zuo Luo stared straight into Ah Jin's eyes, tore off his upper garment in one motion, and the crimson mark on his back caused Dai Si, standing nearby, to widen his eyes in shock.

He had seen this mark before, on the slaves of the World Nobles.

"Boss, you..."

"Shut up!"

Lord Tai Zuo Luo roared in anger, reached into his chest pocket, and took out a gold coin that transformed at his fingertips into a thin golden thread.

This golden thread, like a spiritual snake, coiled behind Lord Tai Zuo Luo and tore away all the flesh and skin on his back bearing the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon!

Hiss—!

Blood splattered; the excruciating pain made Lord Tai Zuo Luo's body go rigid, yet his gaze burned hot as a flame:

"I am no longer a slave of the World Nobles!"

Ah Jin looked down at the bloody piece of flesh and skin in Lord Tai Zuo Luo's hand, slowly shook his head, and the pity in his eyes deepened:

"A mark carved into the body can be cut away directly, but your fundamental nature cannot be changed."

"The Captain once evaluated you."

"Even if you control twenty percent of the world's Beli, as long as the power to decide whether Beli has value remains in the hands of the World Nobles, everything you possess is nothing more than a mountain of worthless waste paper."

"What you truly desire has never been money, but power!"

"Power sufficient to torment someone named Stella, just like the World Nobles of old, exactly as you did with everything in Gran Tesoro."

Lord Tai Zuo Luo froze for a moment.

He lowered his head and, through the reflection in a small puddle, saw his own face.

Ferocious, arrogant, supreme...

Yet more than anything, it was the shadow of that World Noble who had once stripped him of everything!

Only then did he realize that, at some point, he had become the very existence he once despised most.

"I..."

Lord Tai Zuo Luo's body trembled; looking at Ah Jin, he gritted his teeth and said:

"Then what about the Knight Gao Wen?!"

"How is he any different from me!" "That is the difference between you and the Captain!"

Ah Jin's tone was firm, his eyes filled with admiration:

"Even though the Captain has never spoken of it, we all know he has never forgotten Wang Fei Guinevere's command."

"That is to survive! Only by surviving is there hope!"

"The Captain gave Kuro Heavy a chance to live, gave me a chance to be reborn, and gave everyone on this ship a chance to be reborn."

"He was not even content with that; he carried this belief from the East Blue to Drum Kingdom, to Water Seven, to Fish-Man Island, and now to Britannias."

"That man not only has not forgotten his own belief, but is also determined to do his utmost to allow more people to obtain a chance to survive."

"As for Gao Wen..."

"As a pirate, he scores zero, but as a leader, he absolutely deserves the recognition of everyone!"

His voice landed like a clap of thunder exploding, ringing in Lord Tai Zuo Luo's ears until they buzzed.

He stood stunned on the spot.

It was only now that he recalled a fact he had nearly forgotten.

Aside from Big Mom, the other person who had just fought Gao Wen was someone he also recognized.

During those few years he barely survived as a slave to the World Nobles in Mary Geoise, he also witnessed many secrets unknown to the outside world, among them the existence of the Holy Knights!

And that face, ninety percent similar to Red-Haired, one of the Four Emperors of the New World, yet possessing a completely different aura, left an impression on him that could not be called anything but profound.

That man was indeed a member of the Holy Knights.

And while the members of the Holy Knights are all World Nobles, they possess the authority to execute World Nobles, making them gods above gods in a certain sense!

The ruling class among the World Nobles!

If Gao Wen were truly willing to become a lapdog of the World Government, how could he possibly take the initiative to attack the World Nobles who dominate the World Government?!

Or even sever the opponent's arm?!

He could not help but recall the intelligence regarding Gao Wen he had seen in the past, only to discover that all of this coincided perfectly with the will Ah Jin spoke of: only by living is there hope.

Establishing Raven Port in the East Blue was to find a path to survival for companions in the pirate crew who had lost their combat ability.

Fighting Golden Lion at Water Seven was to find a path to survival for the ordinary people there.

"Only by living... is there hope?!"

Lord Tai Zuo Luo suddenly understood; looking down at the skin he had cut off himself, a self-mocking smile appeared on the corner of his mouth:

"So the clown has always been me!"

"The one who forgot memories, betrayed his lover, and even lost himself, has always been me~"

Those people in Gran Tesoro who were schemed against and lost everything, how similar were they to his former self?!

Just as Ah Jin said.

The shackles around the neck and the hoof of the Sky-Soaring Dragon branded on the back can be removed, but the shackles branded upon the spirit will cause one to lose oneself.

Unknowingly becoming a new Celestial Dragon!

At least a Celestial Dragon in spirit!

And that man...

Lord Tai Zuo Luo lifted his head.

At the end of his line of sight.

The great sun hung in the sky, radiating ten thousand feet of golden light.

The boundless sea of trees was flattened; sunlight fell upon Gao Wen's bare upper body, making him appear like a god walking among the world, bestowing hope.

And everything Gao Wen did in the East Sea and in Water Seven, how was it any different from a god to those ordinary people?!

Compared to him, those parasitizing Mary Geoise were nothing but demons who presumed themselves gods, surviving by drinking the blood of everyone.

Gao Wen is the light of this world!

The truly despicable one is me!

Lord Tai Zuo Luo staggered back several steps, his face deathly pale, yet his eyes were incomparably firm.

He took a step forward, and the Weight on the Shoulder lightened; it was as if he were reborn, simply because the shackles in his heart had also shattered at this moment.

He even heard a loud bang.

Letting such a man become king seems like a fine thing, at least...

It can allow more people to survive!

Letting that woman's will continue is proof that she is still alive!

In a flash of realization, Lord Tai Zuo Luo saw in Gao Wen a way to make up for the regrets between himself and Stella.

He lifted his head.

Ah Jin had already turned around and was walking toward Gao Wen in the distance.

Lord Tai Zuo Luo could not help but chase after him and called out:

"Wait, Ah Jin, I..."

Before he could finish speaking.

Ah Jin in the distance had already turned around, looking at Lord Tai Zuo Luo with a faint, ambiguous smile.

"I knew it; you aren't the type willing to collude with the Celestial Dragons."

"Let's go!"

"To meet our new king!"

Lord Tai Zuo Luo nodded, reached out to take the clothes handed over by Dai Si, and draped them over his body.

Sweat soaked the wounds on his back; the pain was bone-piercing, yet it made him feel incredibly grounded, for at least in the future, when he met Stella in his midnight dreams, she would not feel strange toward him.

In the distance.

Gao Wen stood under the sunlight as threads of ley line energy flowed into his body, repairing external injuries and restoring his stamina to its peak.

It was also at this moment that he saw Ah Jin walking toward him at the end of his line of sight, along with Lord Tai Zuo Luo, whose face was deathly pale yet still failed to hide his air of immense wealth.

Before Gao Wen could speak, Lord Tai Zuo Luo stepped forward and looked at him with full admiration:

"Captain Gao Wen, if you have the will to reach the summit, I am willing to provide assistance, after all, we should be the ones in this world who understand each other best."

What?!

Gao Wen looked utterly bewildered and couldn't help turning to look at Ah Jin beside him, only to see the latter wearing an expression that said, "We all understand."

From Ah Jin's earlier description, he had roughly guessed that the person appearing in Britannias should be Lord Tai Zuo Luo.

After all, according to the original timeline, Lord Tai Zuo Luo's Glint-Glint Fruit was the prize of the Corrida Colosseum, which he ultimately snatched away.

Furthermore, the ability to manipulate liquid gold had only this single case in the entire sea.

Yet Lord Tai Zuo Luo, who originally acted secretly against the Martial Arts Tournament, appearing here and suddenly proposing cooperation was completely beyond Gao Wen's expectations.

"Uh..."

Seeing the look of confusion on Gao Wen's face, Lord Tai Zuo Luo continued:

"Previously in the Underground World, the move against the Martial Arts Tournament was also my doing."

"I apologize."

"At that time, I was still intoxicated in my own beautiful dream; it was only just now, after being awakened by Ah Jin, that I realized how childish my former self truly was."

"But now I have awakened."

Although Gao Wen did not know exactly what had happened to Lord Tai Zuo Luo, out of trust in Ah Jin, he believed seventy percent of Lord Tai Zuo Luo's actions.

Lord Tai Zuo Luo's combat power was not low.

Apart from Xiang Keluo, who could go toe-to-toe with him on Gao Wen's ship, the others were likely no match, and even Ah Jin was slightly inferior.

His combat power should be close to High-Grade Gold.

More importantly, Lord Tai Zuo Luo now controlled twenty percent of the world's Berries, making him a living God of Wealth!

Gao Wen's upcoming goal of establishing a base in Britannias happened to require massive financial support.

The two Underground Emperors who had previously cooperated with Gao Wen were problematic: Stussy was too deeply entangled, and Do-Flamingo had his own schemes, while both were simultaneously constrained by the World Government.

But Lord Tai Zuo Luo was different!

This guy could run rampant across the seas because thirty percent relied on his High-Grade Gold combat power, thirty percent on his business acumen, and the remaining portion because he had latched onto the legs of certain Celestial Dragons.

Both the Marines and the World Government turned a blind eye to his actions.

It was only later, after Akainu rose to power, that the Marines launched operations targeting the Gold Emperor.

"You want to become my companion?!"

"You have such talent!"

(End of Chapter)