Chapter 434: The New Generation

After many years away, he returned to Sky City once more.

At first, the Red-Haired Pirates felt nothing unusual, but when they saw the elegant Uta and the half-grown Usopp, Shanks and Buggy suddenly realized—

The new generation’s seedlings had grown up, and their own group could now be called relics of the old era.

“Old man.”

Uta sprinted forward and threw herself into Shanks’ arms.

“Old man, you finally remember to come back?”

Uta knew perfectly well why her old man had returned—her adoptive father, Seven, was getting married, and if Shanks didn’t show up, Seven would make his life miserable.

Shanks instantly turned into a doting father.

“It’s all my fault. I promise you, I won’t leave without saying goodbye again.”

In contrast to the tender reunion between Shanks and his daughter,

Jesus Bu was far more direct—he hugged his “big son” Usopp, then without warning pinned him across his knees and beat him senseless.

“You little brat, you’ve learned to skip school?”

Jesus Bu was filled with despair.

He and Seven had never been close; Seven only accepted Usopp as his adopted son out of respect for Captain Shanks.

And yet, Usopp spent every day trailing behind Monkey D. Luffy, skipping classes.

Jesus Bu longed to scream at his “big son”:

Can you even compare yourself to Luffy?

Luffy’s grandfather is Garp, the Marine hero; his father is Dragon, the Army Marshal; his adoptive mother is Rouge, Roger’s wife; his brother is Ace, Roger’s son.

Either he’s a core confidant of Seven, or one of the few blood relatives Seven has.

You fool, grow up a little.

Usopp, tears streaming and snot bubbling, looked desperately at Buggy for help.

“Uncle Buggy, save me!”

Watching this scene of paternal love and filial punishment, Buggy shook his head and stepped forward to stop Jesus Bu from beating his “big son.”

“Enough, enough.”

“Jesus Bu … he’s still a child.”

Hearing this, Jesus Bu grew even angrier.

Zoro and Sanji, both from humble origins, were the same age as Usopp and also adopted sons of Seven, yet Zoro and Sanji never slackened in study or cultivation.

In comparison, the difference was clear.

Jesus Bu wished he could go back in time and nail Usopp to the wall before this disobedient son drove him to death by rage.

Across this entire sea,

Who else’s child has both the King of the World, Seven, and the world’s greatest swordsman, Mihawk, personally teaching them Haki, martial arts, and swordsmanship?

Countless people on the sea would kill for such an opportunity, yet this disobedient son doesn’t appreciate it.

He refuses to train swordsmanship—instead, he insists on playing with a slingshot!

Jesus Bu could never have imagined: in a world ruled by Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits and Haki battles, someone would choose a slingshot as a weapon.

And that someone just happened to be his own son.

You could at least pick a sniper rifle!

Seeing Jesus Bu grow increasingly violent, Shanks had to cut short his time with Uta and hurried over to stop him.

“Jesus Bu , let it go.”

At that moment, Shanks finally understood why Seven often said every family had its own hard-to-recite scripture.

Shanks worried over his beloved daughter Uta’s secret crush on Luffy; Jesus Bu worried over his foolish son’s lack of ambition.

The two were truly kindred spirits in suffering.

Seeing the worry in Shanks’ eyes, Jesus Bu felt slightly better.

“Sorry, Captain. I lost control for a moment.”

“Come on, let’s go see Seven first.”

“Alright.”

Jesus Bu understood perfectly why the Captain had credited the Red-Haired Pirates with the Gonglao of bringing back the Gum-Gum Fruit.

Shanks and Seven were as close as brothers; whether or not he had this Gonglao meant nothing—so long as Seven stood, anyone on the sea would give Shanks his due.

But the Red-Haired Pirates were different.

They needed this Gonglao —to secure even a minor official post within the United Kingdom.

Because the age of pirates was over.

During the eight years the Red-Haired Pirates sailed the seas, Jesus Bu had witnessed: peace across all four seas, people living in comfort, lives steadily improving—hardly anyone chose to become a pirate anymore.

The soil that once bred the Great Pirate Era had vanished under the United Kingdom’s rule.

Even if you went to sea as a pirate, what good would it do?

The Marine Corps’ veteran elites were at their peak; the Army’s mid-generation warriors were in their prime; the newly formed Air Force consisted entirely of elite troops with flight capabilities.

Pirates could never grow strong.

Becoming a pirate was a relic of the past; now, the trend on the sea was to take the civil service exams and become a government official of the United Kingdom.

That’s why Jesus Bu despised his disobedient son.

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

Countless people would beg, cry, and spend their entire lives chasing this supreme opportunity.

If he only developed even a little talent as he grew, his life would be a smooth ascent to a position others could never dream of—his future laid out in perfect clarity.

Yet this disobedient son refused to study or cultivate.

He couldn’t focus on learning, couldn’t train properly—only ever followed Luffy around like a lackey.

When the Red-Haired Pirates arrived at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Seven was holding a meeting with the Air Force’s senior leadership.

Attendees included Air Force Marshal Gold Lion, Air Force General Jin, Vice Admiral Jack, and Minister of Scientific Defense, Vegapunk.

“All of you know that until now, the primary requirement for becoming an Air Force officer was possessing flight ability.”

With that, Seven smiled.

“Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Vegapunk and the Scientific Defense Department, the new generation of aircraft has entered mass production. Effective today, the Air Force will slightly relax its recruitment criteria.”

In the nine years since the United Kingdom’s founding, the Navy was strongest, the Army second, and the Air Force the weakest.

Even with Gold Lion as its figurehead.

But those with flight ability on the sea were few—no matter how many flight cloaks Seven issued to every Air Force officer,

what about the common soldiers?

Morgan’s old airship was decent, but its speed and combat methods were hopelessly outdated.

Thus, with Seven’s full support,

after completing the Red Continent transformation and Mother Seed research, Vegapunk led the Scientific Defense Department to immediately begin developing aircraft.

Now, the harvest had finally arrived.

Hearing this, Gold Lion broke into a wide grin.

Even though Gold Lion was merely the Air Force’s ceremonial marshal who rarely interfered in its affairs, the Air Force still represented his honor.

Being weaker than the Navy was acceptable—the Navy had centuries of history.

But being weaker than the Army? That Gold Lion could never accept.

Fortunately, they were about to shed the title of perennial third place.

Just then, Secretary Xia Ni leaned close to Seven’s ear and whispered something; Seven turned to Vegapunk.

“Doctor, you’ll preside over the meeting.”