MTL NOVEL Chapter 160: Hope
"Zephyr… sensei?"
Ain spoke in disbelief, and then she saw Zephyr's smiling face and was stunned for a moment.
It's because Zephyr's hostility has completely disappeared.
He was as calm as when he was teaching at the Marine Academy and watching his students grow into Marines backbones.
Calm, serene, even the expression on his face was filled with hope.
Yes! It's hope!
She saw hope in the eyes of the man in front of her again, not just an avenger supported by hatred.
At this moment, Ain cried with joy because the teacher who once led her on the path of justice had returned.
"Ain, are you finally here?"
Zephyr smiled faintly, then pointed to the wheat seedlings in the field and said: "Look."
"I planted all of these. In a few months, you will be able to eat bread made from the wheat I planted myself!"
"What happened?"
Ain asked in confusion.
She was surprised by Zephyr's sudden change because the man in front of her had been completely reborn, but she was also confused as to where this change came from.
Zephyr said calmly: "I have to thank the guy in the harbor for all this. He woke me up and made me start to look deeply at the world, the Marines, and our justice."
"Finally, I found my answer."
Accompanied by his words, the warm golden sunlight fell from the sky and hit Zephyr.
At this moment, Ain even had the illusion that Zephyr was glowing. At the same time, a face appeared in her mind, and she said in disbelief: "That man… Are you talking about White Knight Gawain?!"
The next moment, Ain denied this answer: "Impossible!"
"He is just a pirate; how could he be able to do something that no Marines have ever done!"
"No!"
Zephyr interrupted Ain, even with a hint of gratitude in his tone: "That's him."
"To be honest, if he hadn't become a pirate and even won the title of Warlord, he would be the man most suitable to shoulder justice."
"Even Sakazuki or Kuzan can't compare to him."
"Those eyes can see through the surface and see the essence."
"Whether it's about pirates themselves or the problems in the Marines today, he sees it much more clearly than I do."
When the voice fell, Ain stood there in a daze.
She had never heard Zephyr give such high praise to a marine, not to mention that Gawain was a pirate.
Even the three current Admirals of the Marines and even Sengoku, in Zephyr's eyes, have more or less problems, but overall, their merits outweigh their flaws.
But now Zephyr's evaluation of Gawain has reached a level that she cannot understand.
"Zephyr-sensei, are you serious?"
Ain was slightly stunned, then turned to look at Smoker, who also nodded and said: "That guy really went much further than us."
After speaking, Smoker's expression was a little stiff. He turned his head to look at Fujitora, and after seeing that the latter was blind and could not see his expression, he gritted his teeth and said: "Although I don't like to admit it, what that guy said is… Right."
"There are serious problems within the Marines and the current path of the Marines. Our justice has deviated from the foundation of its growth and has also moved away from those who truly need to be protected."
"That's why there are more and more pirates."
Fujitora was stunned, feeling the emotion in Smoker's voice; a smile appeared on his face: "Are you saying sorry to him?"
Smoker's eyes twitched, but he did not deny it: "If you think so."
This scene made Ain speechless. She felt that everything in front of her was extremely unfamiliar.
Seeing this, Zephyr was too lazy to explain to her. He just handed the hoe in his hand to Ain, who took it subconsciously and then began to clear the weeds in the field at Zephyr's request.
At night, Zephyr did the same thing to Ain as he had done to Smoker.
As Ain got to know the lower-level pirates better, she also fell silent.
"If the pirates at the bottom are all civilians who are forced to live, doesn't that mean that the birth of pirates… will never end?"
Only at this moment did she understand why Fujitora fell into silence after hearing her answer during the day.
Yes, such an answer is as childish as that of a naive child, and the understanding of the world is also childish to the extreme.
So much so that when she noticed Fujitora at this moment, there was a slight blush on Ain's face.
After realizing her threatening behavior during the day, the blush became even deeper.
The next day, under everyone's gaze, Zephyr slowly put on the coat with the word justice printed on it.
It was only at this moment that the people in Dragon Street realized that the old man who had always treated them as a brother was actually a former admiral of the Marines.
Some people recalled the dirty jokes they had made or the excessive behavior they had done in the past and became anxious for a moment.
Only the pirate with a turban stood among the crowd at the harbor, looking at Zephyr.
In his eyes, this tall man was not a marine admiral but just a poor man who had lost everything like himself.
Finally, the pirate with the turban couldn't help but shout: "Brother Zephyr!"
"When your wheat is ripe, I will send you a portion, and you can taste it."
Zephyr's steps suddenly stopped; he turned around and looked at the pirate with a turban; his eyes under his sunglasses turned red at this moment.
Then he gritted his teeth and said: "Okay!"
"I will be waiting for it!"
After speaking, Zephyr turned around and boarded the warship slowly.
His waist became straighter and straighter, and the determination in his eyes became more and more firm.
When he walked onto the deck of the warship, an invisible aura of dominance was already emanating from his body, symbolizing absolute belief.
All the determination that had been worn away by time and painful experiences has returned at this moment and has even become stronger than before.
Just because its owner found the justice he was truly looking for, found what justice should look like, and found the future path for the Marines.
Zephyr took one last look back at the castle in the harbor. His eyes met Gawain's, then a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he murmured in a low voice: "Although you are a pirate, you are undoubtedly a good person."
"I will prove that the Marines can find true justice, even if the real opponent is the god in the sky."
After speaking, Zephyr turned around and walked into the cabin.
Then, rows of marines, led by Ain, boarded the warships and set out on the journey back to the Marine Headquarters.
Woo!
After a whistle, the warship started, followed the direction of the wind, and disappeared at the end of the coastline.
At this time, Gawain sat on the top of the castle, discussing the follow-up matters of the Martial Arts Tournament with Kuro and others, but his attention was attracted by Zephyr, who was gradually sailing away.
He had already learned from his subordinates about Zephyr's changes during this period and could naturally infer Zephyr's thoughts and plans.
"A revolution within the Marines?"
Gawain murmured, then shook his head. It was obvious that he was not optimistic about Zephyr's idea. "The Marine's power to enforce the law is based on the approval of the World Government, and it must naturally execute the will of the World Government."
"But what you have to do, to put it bluntly, is de-governmentalization in the Marines."
"Even if it is finally achieved, the Marines, without the authorization of the World Government and the endorsement of Mary Geoise, will at best be just another group of traitors."
"That is the essence of the Marines' problem."
"The irreconcilable contradiction between the belief in justice and the foundation of life."
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If this fanfic reaches the top 50 in Power Ranking, I'll publish 8 chapters. (2 regular and 6 bonus)