Chapter 434: The Sapling of the New Era Has Grown Up

After years apart, returning to Sky City once more.

At first, the Red Hair Pirates felt nothing, but upon seeing the graceful Uta and the growing Usopp, Shanks and Benn Beckman suddenly realized—

The saplings of the New Era have grown; they, this bunch, could even be dubbed old-timers of the Old Era.

"Dad."

Uta sprinted forward, then threw herself headlong into Shanks' arms.

"Dad, you actually remembered to come back."

Uta naturally knew why Dad had returned; with God Saint Saint Saiwen's grand wedding, if Dad didn't come back, God Saint Saint Saiwen would surely give him a hard time.

Shanks instantly transformed into a daughter's slave.

"It's Dad's fault. Dad promises you, this time I'll never leave without saying goodbye again."

Compared to the warmth of Shanks and his daughter reuniting,

Yasopp was far more blunt and rough; first embracing his big son Usopp, then without a word, pinning Usopp against his knee and beating him senseless.

"Brat, you've learned to skip school now?"

Yasopp's heart was filled with worry,

originally his relationship with God Saint Saint Saiwen wasn't very close; only because of Captain Shanks' sake did God Saint Saint Saiwen acknowledge Usopp as a godson.

And what happened? Usopp spent all day trailing behind Monkey D. Luffy, skipping school.

Yasopp wished he could question his big son with one sentence.

Can you compare to that Luffy?

That guy's grandfather Garp is a Marine Hero, his biological father Dragon is an Army Marshal, his adoptive mother is Luo Jie's wife Rouge, and his older brother is Luo Jie's son Ace.

Either God Saint Saint Saiwen's direct confidant, or one of God Saint Saint Saiwen's few relatives.

Foolish son, you need to use your head a bit.

Usopp, beaten until snot bubbled and tears welled in his eyes, looked at Benn Beckman for help.

"Uncle Benn, save me!"

This scene of fatherly kindness and filial piety made Benn Beckman shake his head; he had to step forward to interrupt Yasopp disciplining his big son.

"Enough, enough."

"Yasopp... he's still a child."

Hearing this, Yasopp became even angrier.

Zoro and Xiao Shan Zhi, both from humble origins, were Usopp's age and also God Saint Saint Saiwen's godsons, yet Zoro and Xiao Shan Zhi never slacked off in either study or cultivation.

In comparison, the difference was immediately clear.

Yasopp wished he could return to the beginning, pin Usopp against a wall, so he wouldn't be driven to death by this rebellious son in the future.

Looking across this vast sea,

whose child can have both the King of the World, God Saint Saint Saiwen, and the World's Greatest Swordsman, Mihawk, personally as teachers, instructing them in Haki, Body Arts, and Swordsmanship cultivation?

You must know, how many people on the Great Sea crave such opportunities but cannot get them, yet this rebellious son doesn't know how to cherish it.

He refuses to practice swordsmanship, yet insists on playing with a slingshot!

Yasopp exhausted his lifetime of imagination and couldn't conceive: in this world where Mythical Zoan types run rampant and Haki clashes, someone actually chooses a slingshot as a weapon.

And that person happens to be his son.

You could at least pick a sniper rifle as a weapon!

Seeing Yasopp beating him harder and harder, Red Hair had to temporarily interrupt his quality time with Uta, then quickly stepped forward to intervene, saying,

"Yasopp, let it go."

At this moment, Shanks realized once again why Saint Saint Saiwen often said every family has its own difficult scriptures to chant.

Shanks was troubled by his beloved daughter Uta secretly developing feelings for Luffy, while Yasopp was troubled by his foolish son lacking ambition.

The two could be said to share the same plight.

Seeing the worry in Shanks' eyes, Yasopp strangely felt a bit better.

"Sorry, Captain, I couldn't resist the urge to hit him for a moment."

"Let's go, we'll see Saint Saint Saiwen first."

"Mm."

Yasopp naturally understood why the Captain wanted to attribute the credit for bringing back the Gomu Gomu no Mi to the Red Hair Pirates.

Shanks and God Saint Saint Saiwen are as close as brothers; whether there is this credit or not doesn't matter. As long as God Saint Saint Saiwen is here, anyone on this Great Sea must give Shanks some face.

But the Red Hair Pirates are different.

They need this credit; they need this credit to secure a minor official position within the United Kingdom.

Simply because the era of pirates has passed.

During the eight years the Red Hair Pirates traveled the seas, Yasopp witnessed with his own eyes: the Four Seas are peaceful, the people live in comfort and happiness, life is getting better and better, and almost no one chooses to set sail to become a pirate.

The soil that nurtured the Great Pirate Era no longer exists under the rule of the United Kingdom.

Even if you set sail to become a pirate, what then?

The older generation of powerful figures within the Marines are at their peak, the middle-aged powerful figures within the Army are in their prime strength, and the newly formed Air Force is a special forces unit where every member possesses flight capabilities.

Pirates simply cannot grow strong and powerful.

Setting sail to become a pirate is already a thing of the Old Era; now, what's popular on the Great Sea is taking civil service exams to become a civil servant of the United Kingdom.

Therefore, Yasopp hates his rebellious son for being so unambitious.

The adopted son of the King of the World, what an exalted status.

An supreme opportunity that countless people cry for their parents, exhaust their lives, and fawn over the powerful, yet still cannot obtain.

As long as he has a bit of skill after growing up, he can rise rapidly in his career, occupying a status and future that others can never reach; his path ahead can be said to be completely smooth.

But, inevitably, the rebellious son was good for nothing.

He could not study, his cultivation was inadequate, and he only knew how to follow Luffy's rear as a lackey.

When the Red Hair crew arrived at the Interior Ministry, Saint Saint Saiwen was holding a meeting with leaders of various Navy departments.

Attendees included Navy Fleet Admiral Kaido, Navy Admiral Shanks, Vice Admiral Jack, and other core members, as well as Dr. Vegapunk, Minister of the Science and Defense Division.

"Everyone should be clear that before this, the primary condition for serving as a Navy officer was possessing one's own ability to fly."

Having spoken, Saint Saint Saiwen smiled.

"Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Vegapunk and the Science and Defense Division, the new generation of aircraft has entered mass production. From today on, the Navy can slightly relax recruitment conditions."

In the nine years since the United Kingdom was established, the Navy was the strongest of the three services, the Army came second, and the Air Force was the weakest.

Even with Kaido stationed there.

But after all, those possessing the ability to fly on the Great Sea were few; even if Saint Saint Saiwen equipped every Navy officer with a flying cape, what then?

What about ordinary soldiers?

While Morgans' previous mobile airships were certainly good, both the airship's sailing speed and its methods of attack were far too outdated.

Therefore, with Saint Saint Saiwen's strong support,

after finishing the Red Earth Continent transformation and the Mother Flame development work, Vegapunk led the Science and Defense Division to immediately begin developing aircraft.

Now, the moment of harvest had finally arrived.

Hearing this, Kaido immediately beamed with joy.

Even though Kaido belonged to the Air Force as a mascot Fleet Admiral, almost never interfering in Air Force military or internal affairs, in any case, the Air Force represented Kaido's face.

Being inferior to the Navy was one thing; after all, the Navy possessed hundreds of years of history.

But being inferior even to the Army, this was something Kaido could never accept.

Fortunately, the title of eternal number three was about to be removed.

Just then, Secretary-General Xia Ni whispered something into Saint Saint Saiwen's ear, and Saint Saint Saiwen looked at Vegapunk.

"Doctor, you will preside over the meeting."