Chapter 4 Philosophy
Ryan was a little startled, but quickly recovered.
He began to think carefully: currently in the East Blue, the experience gained from hunting pirates was no longer significant.
Perhaps he could hunt pirates on the Grand Line to further raise his level.
At the same time, this upgrade unlocked the use of Haki, meaning he would no longer be cannon fodder on the Grand Line.
With Luffy's departure for sea approaching, a series of major events were about to unfold, and he needed to increase his strength as quickly as possible.
Where else could there be more pirates than on the Grand Line?
In this world, elite pirates gathered on the Grand Line, where there were as many pirates as grains of sand in the sea, countless pirates drawn there by dreams or ambition.
There, he could freely hunt pirates, enhance his strength, and rapidly advance his Marine rank.
Ryan knew that with Whitebeard's demise during the Marineford War, his dying words had led to another significant surge in pirate numbers.
Although Whitebeard might have spoken those words to prevent people's dreams from being shackled, it was undeniable that he had caused immense harm to the civilians living in this sea.
Most pirates set sail simply to plunder wealth, and they would only plunder from civilians, causing constant casualties.
Ryan, from modern times, had experienced a society that was outwardly equal, a world where even conflicts didn't lead to such massive casualties.
Thus, he had no good feelings whatsoever towards these chaos-creating pirates; they were the embodiment of disorder.
Although there might be adventurers like Luffy among them, the chaos caused when Luffy and his crew breached Enies Lobby also plunged the sea into turmoil.
Even though in this world, the Government and Marines do not represent absolute justice, they still protect people's safety and guard their peace.
Ryan said to the Lieutenant Commander, "Alright, Lieutenant Commander, after I say goodbye to my subordinates, I will head to Loguetown tomorrow.
Also, can I bring one more person with me?"
Lieutenant Commander Lipar knew who he was referring to and said with a smile, "No problem, but he will also have to train at Marineford.
The training at Marineford is very rigorous, only the most elite soldiers will remain."
"No problem! I believe that guy will definitely persevere," Ryan said with a smile.
That man had a firm desire to become stronger, and he certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity.
A branch Major like Ryan did not have the authority to go directly to Marineford.
At the same time, a Warship would not be dispatched just for him to transport him to Marineford; he had to depart from Loguetown with other personnel heading to Marineford.
After bidding farewell to the Lieutenant Commander and leaving his office, Ryan went to where Antone and the others were.
A banquet was currently being held there, and the atmosphere was very lively.
As Ryan entered, he saw a group of people joyfully discussing their promotions in rank.
Upon seeing Ryan, everyone quieted down and looked at him with respectful eyes.
They looked at the man who had continuously led them in eradicating pirates and whose position had rapidly risen.
Seeing this, Ryan immediately said, "Today is a good day for everyone's promotion in rank, so there's no need to be reserved."
After he spoke, the atmosphere gradually grew livelier, and everyone resumed their party.
Ryan walked directly over to Antone.
"Antone, I'm going to Marineford for further training this time.
Do you want to come with me?"
Antone was his childhood friend, and they had joined the Marines together, but Antone's strength was not great.
Ryan himself had taught him a few moves, but Antone's talent in swordsmanship was truly poor, even worse than his own.
Since childhood, Antone had seen Ryan practicing swordsmanship and followed along, but after so many years, Antone's swordsmanship was still not strong.
Later, as Ryan activated his 'golden finger,' the gap between them widened even further.
Ryan also knew that his childhood friend always had a tenacious heart.
Although he lacked talent in swordsmanship, he had always worked hard to improve his strength.
However, as the disparity in their strength became increasingly obvious, Antone no longer called Ryan by his first name as he did when they first joined the Marines, always adding a respectful title.
Ryan had always urged Antone not to be so formal, but Antone insisted.
Ryan eventually gave up, letting him be, but privately, the two still addressed each other as good friends.
This time, with an opportunity to go to Marineford for training, Ryan immediately thought of Antone.
This was a good chance; the Rokushiki at Marineford was the best way for ordinary people to increase their strength.
Originally, Ryan's plan was to become strong enough, then gather 100 million Berries to buy a Devil Fruit for Antone.
However, 100 million Berries might not even guarantee a Devil Fruit.
Such items were usually eaten directly by those who obtained them to increase their strength; only on particularly prosperous islands were there auction houses that sold Devil Fruits.
But even there, they would be auctioned off, meaning 100 million Berries wouldn't necessarily secure a Devil Fruit.
Now that there was an opportunity to go to Marineford, Ryan planned to take Antone with him.
Antone immediately agreed.
Over the years, Ryan's strength had grown immensely, and he couldn't keep up with him at all, but Antone also hoped to be able to help Ryan.
He had always wanted to help Ryan, or rather, he always had a dream in his heart: to become someone like Ryan, possessing great strength, protecting civilians, eliminating pirates, and guarding a region.
But he had absolutely no talent in swordsmanship.
Ryan had taught him some sword techniques over the years, but he would forget them all after a while, which made him somewhat hate himself.
Every night, he would secretly run to the seashore alone and practice swordsmanship diligently.
So, despite having no talent in swordsmanship, he still learned the few sword techniques Ryan taught him.
Without talent, he relentlessly trained with desperate effort, just to become stronger.
Ryan had always known that his good friend had a determination to become stronger, secretly practicing swordsmanship alone every night, so he constantly looked out for him.
Antone knew this was an opportunity, originally Ryan's own opportunity, but now he was being taken along.
He immediately agreed; to become stronger, he had always strived relentlessly, and this time at Marineford, he would work hard to persevere.
After the banquet, Ryan announced to everyone that he was being transferred to Marineford for further training.
Although the team members were reluctant to see Ryan leave, they all offered their blessings for his decision.
The next day, Ryan took Antone and boarded the ship bound for Loguetown.
They would depart from there with other personnel heading to Marineford.
As the ship continued its journey, Loguetown was already visible in the distance.
There were no battles along the way; after all, this was the East Blue, known as the weakest sea, and also the most comprehensively controlled sea area.
Coupled with the transport by Marine Warships, ordinary pirates would not launch attacks.