"Oh, really?"
Ian didn't mind and just smiled. "You're missing out on a lot, then."
"That's right!"
Prince Loki laughed loudly again. "The feasts in our Giant Kingdom are always the most enthusiastic and grand!"
Aokiji forced a small, awkward smile. No matter how grand the feast, he just wasn't in the mood to attend now.
So, Aokiji stayed behind to reminisce with Saul, while Ian and the others accepted the invitation and headed to the palace banquet.
"Are you really okay with just leaving him be?"
Hancock looked puzzled at Ian's decision. "That guy is an Admiral of the Navy Headquarters. Is it really that easy for him to betray the World Government?"
"After hearing what Saul said earlier, he has no choice but to betray them."
Ian spoke calmly. "So instead of killing him here, wouldn't it be better to just make the World Government gain another enemy?"
For Aokiji, who had already left the World Government, that organization was naturally his greatest enemy. That alone was reason enough for Ian to spare his life.
More importantly, in the original story, Aokiji even joined Blackbeard's crew—so why can't he join the Beasts Pirates?
Ian believed that sooner or later, Aokiji would join under his command.
Because the Beasts Pirates would become the strongest, most invincible pirate crew in the world. If Aokiji wanted to act on his sense of justice, it seemed he had no better choice.
Waiting for Kuzan to sacrifice himself to the devil.
While Ian and the others enjoyed the warm hospitality of the Giants in their capital, Aokiji had finished reminiscing with Saul and quietly left the Giant Kingdom alone.
He silently rode his bicycle alone, gradually drifting farther and farther across the sea surface.
What should he do next?
Should he go look for Zephyr-sensei? But NEO Navy didn't seem to have much of a future.
Or should he first clear his mind out at sea? To truly take a good look at this world?
Surely he couldn't really accept Ian's invitation to join the Beasts Pirates, right?
But before any of that, the more important thing was to call Sengoku-san.
Only after leaving quite a distance from Giant Kingdom did Aokiji pull out his Den Den Mushi and make a call.
Navy Headquarters.
The Fleet Admiral's office.
"Kuzan?"
The voice of Fleet Admiral Sengoku was somewhat surprised upon receiving Aokiji's call. "What is it? Have you found any trace of Zephyr?"
"Not exactly,"
Aokiji's voice was a bit awkward. "Well, this is actually hard to explain."
"Huh?"
Sengoku frowned. "Did something happen?"
"Um, how should I say this?"
Aokiji hesitated for a moment but slowly spoke. "Sengoku-san, I don't plan on returning to Marineford anymore."
"Huh?"
Sengoku was stunned and didn't immediately understand what Aokiji meant.
After a few seconds of silence, he asked incredulously, "Kuzan! What do you mean by that?"
"Well," Aokiji took a deep breath. "I'm prepared to resign. From today on, I'm no longer going to be in the Navy, Sengoku-san."
"Boom!"
Sengoku's fist smashed straight through the desk in front of him as he shouted in disbelief, "Kuzan, are you out of your mind? What kind of nonsense are you spouting now?"
Suddenly, it clicked for him.
"Is this because of Zephyr?"
"That old bastard Zephyr said something to you again?"
"If you say it has nothing to do with Zephyr, that actually sounds a bit unrealistic."
Aokiji said quietly, "But more than that, I guess I just no longer believe in the Navy's justice."
"In any case, I've caused you all trouble over the years."
Then the call ended.
The Fleet Admiral Sengoku stood frozen for a moment, before roaring as if waking from a dream.
"Garp!!"
The Navy hero hurried into the fleet admiral's office and immediately learned the whole story from Sengoku.
"Wahahahaha!" Iron Fist Garp laughed until tears came to his eyes.
"That kid just got promoted to admiral and he's already resigning? He probably hasn't even drawn a full paycheck yet!"
"Is that the point?" Sengoku's anger flared, his hair almost standing on end.
"What's going on with that brat? Garp, as his mentor, don't you have anything to say about this?"
The Navy hero paused briefly, the smile on his face fading a little. Then he said, "Didn't Kuzan already say it? He no longer believes in the Navy's justice."
Sengoku was momentarily speechless.
The news quickly reached Mary Geoise, and the Five Elders were naturally furious.
"That bastard Zephyr is behind this again!! Find him!! No matter what, we have to track down that bastard!"
They didn't care about justice or injustice—they naturally assumed Aokiji's defection was Zephyr's influence.
However, even though their anger towards Zephyr grew, the government couldn't send any more forces to search for the NEO Navy, since they were already giving it their all.
Ian and the others didn't stay long in the Giant Kingdom either—it wasn't their first visit after all.
After a brief reunion with friends, they set sail immediately, heading back to Hive Island.
The copied ancient technology data would be personally delivered to him by good friends once the replication was complete.
On the way back, the news of Admiral Aokiji's resignation once again shocked the entire world.
First, former admiral Zephyr betrayed them, and now the current admiral Aokiji was resigning.
People everywhere couldn't help but speculate.
What is happening to the Navy? Why are these incidents happening one after another?
The allied nations grew increasingly uneasy—could there be serious problems inside the Navy itself?
But these questions couldn't be answered for now.
Almost at the same time Ian set foot on Hive Island, Tesoro came rushing over.
"Ian, my lord!"
Tesoro handed him a den-den mushi with a strange expression. "It's a message from the Cross Guild."
"Cross Guild?"
Ian took the den-den mushi, surprised.
"Ian," At Ian's words, a familiar voice came through the line.
"Let's talk."
"Crocodile?"
Ian raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Interesting. Tell me, what do you want to discuss?"
"The NEO Navy," Crocodile said, "Don't you think they're a bit too much of a nuisance?"
"Anyone who dares act recklessly will face the explosions from the Dyna Stone. The New World won't tolerate such powerful troublemakers."
"Oh?"
Ian smiled, growing interested. "So, you're curious about the Dyna Stone?"
"Aren't you?"
Crocodile sneered.
"Get to the point."
Ian said calmly, "What's your plan?"
"Gahahahaha! I knew reaching out to you was a good idea!"
Crocodile chuckled. "The key issue is how to lure Zephyr out."
"The NEO Navy has taken a territory, but the real target—Zephyr and the others—are nowhere to be found."
"If we attack the NEO Navy directly, the Dyna Stone will strike back."
"So?"
Ian grew impatient.
Why does this guy like teasing so much? Who taught him this bad habit?
"So," Crocodile said, "we'll send some unrelated people to attack the NEO Navy instead."
Crocodile said calmly, "Isn't it enough to make Zephyr unable to find a target for revenge? That way, he would have no choice but to come out in person to stop it."
"Oh!"
Ian smiled with interest. "That's a good idea. So, you contacted me specifically because you're afraid that if this matter is exposed, only you guys would be attacked, right?"
Trying to drag someone else down with you, huh?
"You could also try contacting Charlotte Linlin, Kaido, and even Whitebeard," Crocodile added.
"Hahaha!"
Ian laughed loudly.
Good idea.
Indeed, a good idea.
Spread out the risks.
Even if Zephyr discovers the truth behind the attack, would he dare start a war against all the monsters in the New World at once?
"Sounds interesting, I'm in," Ian said.
**********
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