Chapter 715: Aoi Kiji and Zephyr's Reunion
After chatting with Robin for quite a while about the Poneglyphs, Ian came out of the treasure room.
It was clear that Robin had been in a good mood lately. Having suddenly obtained so many Poneglyphs for her research, she now felt quite content and reluctant to leave.
Besides studying the red Road Poneglyphs, Robin was also attempting to number the other Poneglyphs, organizing historical eras based on the ancient texts she had translated so far.
Gathering all the Poneglyphs was undoubtedly a very difficult task, but since she had followed Ian, she had already seen quite a few of them. Perhaps, with some guesswork, she could roughly reconstruct part of the historical truth...
Ian didn't disturb her. After coming out, he gathered the members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates and told them he would be going out for a while. He planned to visit the Whitebeard Pirates first, then set off for Wano Country.
However, when he heard that Ian wanted to go to Wano, Dorry, a member of the crew, suddenly spoke up and said to Ian, "Captain, if you're going to Wano, then I want to go back to my homeland too!"
Where would a Mink's homeland be? Zou, of course!
Ian asked curiously, "What made you suddenly think of going back to your homeland?"
Dorry scratched his head sheepishly and said, "Well, before, I followed you as a pirate, Captain, and that was fine. But now that I've become a pirate in a Yonko crew, it's a bit unexpected. I have to go back to my homeland because I was once a member of the Guardians... well, a reserve member. When I wasn't famous, I could put it off, but not anymore. I need to go back and report!"
When Dorry said this, Bepo, Law's former subordinate, hurriedly spoke up as well: "B-Boss! I want to go too!"
Seeing Ian's gaze turn to him, Law pointed at Bepo and explained, "Bepo left his homeland when he was very young and has been with me for a long time. His memories of home are vague, but it would be good for him to go back and see. If Dorry is going back, Bepo can accompany him."
Ian nodded. He knew about the Guardians that Dorry mentioned—it should be the guard led by the jaguar Mink, Pedro. In his impression, Pedro held considerable prestige among the Mink tribe...
But Dorry, that glutton, was once a member of the Guardians? Ian was quite surprised by this.
So, out of curiosity, he asked Dorry about it. Dorry replied, embarrassed, "Actually... actually, back then, I was curious about the outside world, so I sneaked out. But not long after I left, I was caught and sold into slavery..."
Hearing this explanation, Ian was speechless. He knew that, judging by their personalities, both Dorry and Bepo were quite naive. Many Mink were simple-minded, and venturing out into the world without understanding the complexities of human nature made them easy targets for misfortune.
"Alright, if you want to go back, then go!" Ian nodded. "But can you find your way back?"
Zou was a giant elephant that was constantly moving. Log Pose couldn't reach it at all. Aside from Vivre Cards, there seemed to be no other way to get to Zou. Dorry had been out for so long; Ian wondered if he still had a Vivre Card pointing to Zou...
However, Dorry nodded and patted his chest, saying, "Don't worry, Captain, I can find my way back!"
"Good, you and Bepo be careful!" Ian nodded, then turned to Sardine and Zeke and asked, "By the way, do you two want to go back and visit? To the homelands of the Giant Tribe and the Longarm Tribe? If you want to go, I'll give you leave."
Sardine, who had been sitting cross-legged on the ground, crossed his arms and thought for a moment before saying, "I'll pass. For us Giants, it's normal for our people to become pirates out in the world."
Zeke also said, "Same here. I'm not going back. I have no interest in returning home in glory or anything like that."
"Alright, then you all stay on the island. My trip shouldn't take too long," Ian said.
Crocodile then spoke up, asking, "Captain, what about that Caesar guy? Are we just going to keep him on the island? He's been clamoring to go back lately!"
Ian thought for a moment and said, "We can't let him go back. Give him some money and have him stay here, join Waldo's research, and assist him. The cooperation plan with the Germa Group should also start soon. That Caesar guy might be a fool, but he's still somewhat useful in scientific research!"
"I'm afraid he won't be willing," Konenai said worriedly. "He keeps saying he was once the chief scientist of the Marine Science Unit. Assisting Waldo..."
"Don't listen to his bragging!" Ian rolled his eyes. "In short, we can't let him go back to Punk Hazard. I don't want him to team up with Doflamingo again and keep making SAD. If he dares to cause trouble, tell him that his research institute has been blown up by me!"
"That guy is really pitiful..." Enel said, silently mourning for Caesar.
Ian wasn't joking. Now that Big Mom was dead, the human giantification research at Caesar's lab had lost its sponsor and had to stop. Ian had already planned to find time to go to Punk Hazard and deal with the problems there.
After finishing all the arrangements, Ian didn't say much more. He spread his Flame Wings and activated his Super Saiyan state, shooting into the sky with a sonic boom, disappearing rapidly.
As Ian grew stronger, distances at sea were no longer a problem for him. That was why he said he wouldn't be gone long.
After Ian left, Dorry and Bepo also set sail, heading for Zou...
Meanwhile, in a certain sea area of the New World, a single Marine battleship encountered a fleet.
This fleet was not small, consisting of about a dozen warships. However, strangely enough, although all the ships were standard Marine battleships, the flag they flew was not the Marine's seagull emblem.
Instead... it was an inverted Marine emblem!
Neo Marine! This fleet belonged to the new organization Zephyr had formed after leaving the Marines—the Neo Marines!
The lone battleship they encountered was, of course, that of former Marine Admiral Aokiji!
On the deck, Aokiji and Zephyr stood face to face, staring at each other. Behind Aokiji were Smoker, Tashigi, Kuina, and a group of officers who had left the Marines with him.
Behind Zephyr were his two students, Ain and Binz.
"Zephyr teacher..." Although Aokiji's sunglasses hid his eyes, his tone was filled with deep emotion. "I never thought that you, of all people, would also leave the Marines..."
Zephyr looked down at his Seastone mechanical arm and sighed, "Yeah, I never thought so either... I originally thought my final funeral would be held within the Marines..."
"Has that Edward Weevil really become a Warlord?" Aokiji asked.
Smoker, standing nearby with a cigar in his mouth, said indignantly, "Have the World Government and the Five Elders gone senile!?"
"What's the point of bringing that up now?" Zephyr said. "The Marines are no longer what they used to be. You know, when I left, I actually met with Fleet Admiral Sengoku. I could see he was disappointed. After he retired, Akainu couldn't hold the last line of defense, and the World Government stepped in..."
"He became Fleet Admiral thanks to the support of the Five Elders in the first place..." Aokiji said expressionlessly. "In the eyes of the Five Elders, the Marines are just the World Government's external face. The 'justice' we uphold has always been a joke to them..."
"So it's good that you left too!" Zephyr nodded.
"But speaking of which, at Gran Tesoro, I intended to capture Edward Weevil and hand him over to you!" Aokiji frowned. "But that kid Ian stopped me. Now that I think back, he did it on purpose. Did he foresee this happening?"
"This shows that Ian kid is smarter than us!" Zephyr smiled bitterly. "He's been opposing the World Government and the Marines all along, so he sees things more clearly than we do. He didn't let you capture Edward Weevil because he knew that if he fell into your hands, the outcome would be different from if he fell into someone else's... Maybe he even predicted that you would come to see me?"
"...I hate to admit it, but it seems that way," Aokiji said, looking up at the sky.
Kuina, standing nearby, nodded thoughtfully. She had felt back then that Ian's look at Aokiji seemed to carry a deeper meaning, and he had been urging Aokiji to preserve the Marine's bloodline or something. She hadn't understood it at the time, but given today's events, it seemed Ian had already laid out his plan long ago.
Now, one was a former Marine Admiral, and the other was a former former Marine Admiral. Both had left the Marines for similar reasons. It seemed only natural for them to join forces.
"So, Aokiji, are you going to keep working with your teacher?" Zephyr grinned.
However, Aokiji didn't answer directly. Instead, he thought for a moment before speaking, "Zephyr teacher, before that, perhaps we should go meet someone first."
"Who?" Zephyr asked.
"The Revolutionary, Dragon!"