"I don't see it the way you do. I think he can change the Marines," Kuzan said.
"So that's why you left the Navy?"
"How did you know I left?"
"A guess. But you haven't gone too far yet. If you return now, it's not too late."
"You, a pirate, want me to go back to being a Marine?"
"Not really. Why would I want to give myself another enemy for no reason?"
"I just want to see what this world is really like."
"Fair enough. Go out and see for yourself. As the saying goes, 'Reading ten thousand books is not as beneficial as traveling ten thousand miles.' The farther you go, the more you'll see. Maybe one day, you'll suddenly understand things, and you won't feel lost anymore."
"What's your purpose this time?"
"Not telling you."
"Can I come with you?"
"No."
"What if I join the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"Then you'll have to become the Second Division Commander," Roy laughed.
"I can do that."
"You'll also have to call Newgate 'Pops'."
"No way!"
"Hahaha! Then you're not cut out for the Whitebeard Pirates. We're a family, and you'll never be part of that family."
"I said it back at Egghead—the Whitebeard Pirates are a crew of misfits. People persecuted by the World Government, hunted by other pirates, left with nowhere to go."
"It was Newgate who took us in and gave us a safe harbor from the storm."
"You're different. You're capable. You're not like Ace. That kid had no parents. Though you don't either, at least you had a mentor. I may look down on Garp, but I can't deny it, you were one of the few in the Navy who had a conscience. You might not have Borsalino's sense of 'justice,' but at least you've woken up.
"You really think Borsalino is more righteous than me?" Kuzan said, surprised.
"Do you even know him?"
"Not really."
"There you go. You don't know him, so you can't judge his inner kindness or his internal conflict."
"Now that you mention it… Yeah, I guess I really don't know him." Kuzan nodded.
Among this generation of Marine Admirals, the ambiguous Borsalino was actually the most human of them all.
Kuzan was compassionate. Sakazuki was extreme. Borsalino? He walked the line between them.
Even the two future Admirals, Fujitora and Ryokugyu, followed the same pattern. Issho, like Kuzan, shared Kuzan's moral struggle, so much so that he blinded himself after witnessing the world's darkness.
Aramaki, on the other hand, was as extreme as Akainu; he replaced Akainu's former post and became a radical enforcer of Marine justice.
Only Borsalino remained in a gray area, a balance between conflicting principles.
He could follow orders and kill a friend, yet cry in guilt afterward. He could secretly deliver food to Luffy during a desperate moment, giving him a chance to fight again.
His position and his sense of justice were both deeply ambiguous.
"There are a lot of people you don't understand. The Whitebeard Pirates aren't for you. Go out and see the world's darkness for yourself. I bet it's been a long time since you took off that uniform," Roy said with a grin.
"I'll come back and find you again. I hope you can give me a clear answer next time."
"No, I hope you find your own answer. I just want to know what you decide. Come talk to me when you've figured it out."
"Right now, I'm more interested in what you're up to. Where are you going?"
"If you follow me, it'll be dangerous." Roy drew his gun from his waist and aimed it at Kuzan.
A sense of dread ran down Kuzan's spine; this was a genuine threat. If he pushed further, Roy would pull the trigger.
Of course, killing Kuzan wouldn't be easy. If the two really fought, it wouldn't end well; one of them would die.
"Whoa, whoa, what you're holding is way too dangerous." Kuzan raised his hands.
"Then don't follow me." Roy holstered the gun. "Go on, I won't see you off. Maybe we'll meet again in the New World. Oh, I can give you one lead, a man with burn scars. Someone who, like you, was burned by fire. If you can find him, you might get the answers you're looking for."
"Burn-scarred man? Who is he?" Kuzan asked.
"You'll know when you find him." Roy gave a sly smile.
Kuzan was left floating on the sea, full of questions. The Moby Dick had already departed.
He sighed and turned away.
Meanwhile, a few nautical miles away, three Marine warships were stalled in place.
"Still stuck?"
"Sorry, Admiral Kizaru. None of our rudders is working. It's like they're locked," a soldier reported.
"All three ships at once? Let me take a look."
Kizaru walked to the stern, adjusted his glasses, and peered into the ocean.
"Ah, so that's it. No wonder we can't move. This kind of thing will take at least an hour to thaw."
What he saw at the bottom was a massive ice sheet; it had frozen the three ships together and even anchored them to the seabed, like a brinicle pinning everything in place.
At the current rate of melting, it would take at least an hour to break free.
"So that guy's nearby... What's he up to?" Kizaru muttered, puzzled. He raised his hand, about to fire a laser, then hesitated.
"Forget it. Everyone's entitled to their own path."
He lowered his hand and turned to the soldiers. "Let's wait. Just wait a little longer."
"But, Admiral, the Whitebeard Pirates have already left. We've lost our target."
"We can search for them later," Kizaru said casually, then found a spot to sit and started sunbathing.
The other Marine soldiers could only sigh and wait.
"Big bro, we're entering the Calm Belt," Namur called out, swimming ahead in the sea.
"Activate the side paddles. Move at minimal power."
"Yes, sir!"
The twin side paddles began turning. Within a hundred meters, the sails stopped catching wind, and the crew began pulling them in. They had officially entered Calm Belt waters.
Thanks to recent modifications, the Moby Dick was now well-equipped for the Calm Belt. Crossing it was no problem; they were headed straight for Amazon Lily.
The Calm Belt actually had many islands. The reason it remained windless was still unknown, perhaps just part of this world's strange rules.
As for how it became like this, either due to violent tectonic shifts or an overwhelming ancient power, no one could say for sure.
They traveled slowly, careful not to alert the Sea Kings below. At high speed, they might stir up trouble, so they had to proceed little by little.
"I see it," Roy suddenly said.
"The legendary Island of Women!"
"Amazon Lily, a nation of only women."
"Big Bro, can we go ashore?"
"Don't get carried away," Roy warned. "We're not here to fight. But if they don't cooperate, be careful. The women of Amazon Lily are deadly. I don't think any of you can resist their... charms."
...
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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