Chapter 84: Darker Sunglasses

Paradise, Sabaody Archipelago waters.

On a luxury yacht, Kizaru stood expressionless on the deck; the enthusiasm shown by the Celestial Dragon Elaine Saint—perhaps it was enthusiasm—was overwhelming him.

Not only had he invited Kizaru aboard the yacht, but he had also gifted Kizaru his twelfth mermaid wife.

Gifting a Marine Admiral a wife? Only a Celestial Dragon could pull off such an absurd act.

In Barzab Seven’s words: this is a piglet born from a giant pig—don’t judge it by human moral standards.

Kizaru understood that if he refused, the mermaid girl would almost certainly be shot; but if he accepted, his reputation would be ruined.

Kuzan and Garp need not be mentioned.

Even his former superior, Sakazuki, would likely look at him askance: What’s going on? Aren’t there enough outstanding young women at Marine Headquarters for you to choose from?

Do you really want to become one of them?

Only Sakazuki might pat him on the shoulder and comfort him: The Marine’s duty is obedience, brother—you’ve suffered enough.

Just as Kizaru was struggling with his thoughts, Elaine Saint’s bodyguard narrowed his eyes.

“Kizaru, this is Elaine Saint’s gift—why aren’t you accepting it and thanking him?”

At that moment, Kizaru’s ears suddenly echoed with a question Barzab Seven had asked him two and a half years ago.

【Brother Porusarino, how much is a man willing to sacrifice for justice?】

He had eaten the fastest Devil Fruit, he could go anywhere with his speed, yet he had become the least free man alive.

What a terrible world.

Humans live like beasts, while beasts rule above—enjoying supreme power and squandering wealth that requires no labor and never runs out.

“Thank you.” Kizaru accepted the maid.

Hearing this, the bodyguard smirked triumphantly, his eyes brimming with contempt—

So what if he’s a Marine Admiral? He still bows obediently to Elaine Saint’s orders, with not a shred of defiance allowed.

Upon learning that Kizaru had accepted the gift, Elaine Saint puckered his lips in satisfaction.

This guy’s good—too bad he’s only a Marine Admiral. If he were Fleet Admiral, I could have one accompanying me everywhere, never again worrying about being kidnapped by damn pirates.

Still, thinking of how he’d lost his beloved mermaid wife to win over Kizaru, Elaine Saint gestured to his family guard.

“When we reach Sabaody, have the yacht coated. I’m going to Fish-Man Island myself to pick up slaves.”

“Yes, Your Excellency Elaine Saint.”

As the Celestial Dragon nobility was about to arrive, the Marines and CP agents had already cleared Island No. 1 of Sabaody and formed an impenetrable security net.

So tight, not even a fly could get through.

Soon after, the bodyguard took the yacht away for coating.

Elaine Saint, wearing a glass dome on his head, sat on the back of a giant slave, idly scanning the commoner slaves kneeling along the streets.

Whenever he spotted a slave worth his notice, Elaine Saint didn’t even bother speaking—a single glance was enough; his family guards and CP agents pounced like hounds, bundling the target and dragging them away.

Witnessing this scene, Kizaru silently put on a pair of sunglasses with darker tint—as if doing so could shut out the filth before his eyes.

In a newspaper article introducing the Morning Star Pirates, there was one line about why Tenghu had blinded himself that had deeply embarrassed Marine Headquarters:

【Not seeing is, in itself, a blessing—there are too many things in this world too awful to look upon.】

Kizaru suddenly understood Tenghu’s life.

Not seeing—under this terrible world—was, in a way, a kind of fortune.

For such a great swordsman with a heart for justice to become a pirate, Sakazuki had complained more than once—

The Marines must expand recruitment to bring more righteous people into our ranks, at least better than letting pirates recruit them.

But the World Government had firmly rejected the idea.

【You were right again, brother.】

Two and a half years ago, Kizaru and Barzab Seven had a soul-deep conversation on the Sky Island about why the world shouldn’t be this way.

Barzab Seven had said:

The Marines’ primary duty has never been to uphold justice, but to maintain the order established by the World Government.

Within this order,

the Celestial Dragons’ privileges must not be violated, the World Government’s authority must not be questioned—even if the masses cry out under tyranny, as long as the foundation of rule remains unshaken, the Marines may turn a blind eye.

In the end, justice is merely a shiny veneer over this order; when the veneer is torn away, what lies beneath is cold, privileged rule.

Thus, the World Government would never allow the Marines to exceed its control; indeed, from a fundamental standpoint, pirates are a product of the World Government’s balance.

Kizaru walked with a blank expression, yet a ridiculous thought rose in his mind: How could a pirate like Barzab Seven understand the Marines so well?

Soon after, Elaine Saint’s party entered a private booth at the slave auction house; the guard who had taken the yacht for coating returned as well.

“Your Excellency Elaine Saint, your yacht has been urgently coated—it will take about two days.”

Elaine Saint was about to speak when two CP agents burst into the booth, panicked, still unable to report the emergency.

Bang~

Elaine Saint blew smoke from his gun barrel and stared at the surviving CP agent.

“You’d better tell me something that interests me—otherwise, next bullet’s yours.”

The CP agent swallowed hard.

“Your Excellency Elaine Saint, Barzab Seven has arrived on the East Sea Emperor, leading the entire Morning Star Pirates, to have their yacht coated at Sabaody Archipelago.”

Bang~ The gunshot rang out again.

The CP agent’s head exploded and he collapsed.

Elaine Saint’s eyes turned blood-red; he panted at Kizaru: “Kizaru, go capture that bastard—I want him to wish he were dead.”

As a member of the Nerona family, Elaine Saint was the Celestial Dragon among Celestial Dragons, raised with the conviction that he was a descendant of gods.

Before encountering Barzab Seven, he had never suffered the humiliation of being kidnapped or forced to sit on someone like a footstool—because of that damned commoner, Elaine Saint had become a laughingstock in Mary Geoise.

Though no one dared laugh to his face, Elaine Saint knew countless Celestial Dragons and Nerona family members were mocking him behind his back.

Today, Elaine Saint vowed to erase this disgrace.

But Kizaru merely spread his hands.

“I’m sorry, Your Excellency Elaine Saint—I alone cannot stand against the Morning Star Pirates.”

Half a year ago, during the Ohara Massacre, neither Sakazuki nor Kuzan could stop Barzab Seven’s group—how could I, alone, do it now?

Elaine Saint, eyes blazing like a madman, roared word by word:

“Then summon every Marine Admiral.”

“Go now!!!”

……