Chapter 318: Aokiji's Travel Log
With a lowered head, he walked down the long, quiet corridor. The surroundings grew more beautiful, the air filled with the scent of exotic flowers, and beautiful butterflies fluttered among them. But the deeper he went, the stiffer Garling's steps became, and his breathing grew heavy.
Finally, he entered the Chamber of Flowers. He looked up, and upon seeing the slender black figure, he stopped and prostrated himself, his forehead pressed against the cold floor. "My lord," he trembled.
There was no response, only an unsettling silence. After a long time, the shadow on the half-empty throne finally spoke, its voice cold and ethereal, as if from the abyss. "You are injured."
Garling froze. He realized his master knew everything. A cold sweat broke out on his brow. "Y-yes… I was reckless. I could not tolerate the stain on my family's honor and sought to clean house, but I did not expect that Shane to come, nor did I expect his strength to have grown to such an extent…"
"Heh." A light laugh, but it only made the atmosphere heavier.
"Garling," Imu slowly rose from the throne, their gown flowing like a cloud of mist. They floated to Garling's side and looked down at his prostrated figure, shaking their head slightly. "I am very disappointed."
Garling trembled, not daring to look up. "I… I beg my lord for another chance! I am willing to personally lead the charge, to lead the Holy Knights, and to mobilize the Marine Admirals to launch a surprise attack and completely annihilate Shane and his crew…"
"Shh," Imu raised a hand and gently pressed a finger into the air. Garling's voice was instantly cut off, as if he were being strangled. His face flushed red, and he couldn't say a word.
"You don't understand why I am disappointed."
"I gave you so much time to consolidate the government's power, and yet you still have not resolved your conflicts with Nusjuro and the others. If you had their help, would this battle have been so disgraceful?"
"Remember, what I need is a clenched fist that can be brought down on the board at any time, not fingers that are separated by selfish infighting."
"My world will soon be complete. Until then, the storms on the board can be left to their own devices. I have no need for you to charge in on your own accord."
Imu casually waved a finger, and the suffocating feeling around Garling's throat vanished. He coughed violently, and as he struggled to support himself with his trembling hands, he heard the final words from above. "This, and this alone, must not go wrong. Do you understand?"
"I understand," Garling said, quickly burying his head even deeper into the ground.
"But that little brat is indeed getting more and more interesting. He's not from the D. clan, nor is he from the Joy… how did he…"
"Heh, if there is an opportunity in the future, I wouldn't mind playing with him."
Imu's voice faded as their figure dissolved into the sea of flowers, leaving only a cold, ethereal echo. "You may leave."
Only when the oppressive presence was completely gone did Garling dare to stand. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, a look of relief on his face. After a moment, as he walked back down the corridor, he began to think. My lord needs me to clench my fist. But even if he could get the other old men to work with him, his fist was no longer strong enough. Including Gunshi and the other who had fallen in the Sabaody incident, he had lost eight Holy Knights in one go. And Shamrock… was most likely dead as well… There was only one solution.—It was time to recruit new strength.
Garling turned and looked down from the Holy Land, towards the distant horizon. In that direction was the New World, and the world's strongest nation, Elbaf… Garling's gaze grew heavy, his mind racing. Elbaf, the land of the giants, a race with the greatest natural talent on this sea. Even the most ordinary adult warrior was as strong as a Marine Vice Admiral. If he could get their support, the World Government could achieve absolute dominance over Shane and the Curtain Call. But the giants were a proud race and had a long-standing grudge against the Holy Land. It would not be easy to win them over.
"Perhaps, I should start with 'that one' who is imprisoned?" Garling's eyes narrowed. A plan was forming in his mind.
"Faster! Faster!" The Red Force sailed at full speed, and as night fell, it finally reached the waters of Raijin Island. The rain was still pouring down. Beckman grabbed an umbrella and rushed off the ship with the others. The first thing he saw was the shocking scene of devastation. The scorched earth, the collapsed black rock mountains, the bodies… it was clear that a great battle had just taken place.
"The captain's over there!" Lucky Roux suddenly yelled, holding up a torch and pointing to a figure by a reef. Everyone turned to look. Their captain was sitting motionless in a crater, his head bowed, the rain washing over him. Hearing their shouts, he looked up with empty eyes and a face as pale as paper. "It's you… you're finally here…" Shanks managed a weak smile. "It's good that you're all here. It's over. It should all be over."
"What's over? What are you talking about, Shanks!" Beckman frowned, helping him to his feet. Lucky Roux held the umbrella over him and checked his injuries. "You're hurt this badly?! Hey, get a medical kit, quick!"
"Dammit, were we too late?!"
"Captain, what about that bastard Garling? And Shane was here too, right? Did they fight? Who won?!"
Shanks was taken aback. "What happened after… you don't know?"
"Of course we don't know! That's why we're asking, you bastard Shanks!" a shrill, angry voice came from the back of the crowd. In the next moment, Buggy pushed his way through, grabbed Shanks by the collar, and roared, "Where's my ear!! I'm asking you, what did you do with the ear I gave you!!!"
Shanks was even more confused. Beckman pulled Buggy away and explained, "From the moment the ambush was sprung, we've been heading this way. We were listening in through Buggy's ear, but at the most critical moment, the signal was suddenly cut off."
Yasopp also nodded. "That's right, Captain. We only heard that Shane had arrived. After that, Buggy said he couldn't hear anything, and he couldn't even feel his own ear."
Is that what happened? Under Buggy's murderous gaze, Shanks fumbled at his chest. He had been so careful, treating his friend's ear as if it were his own heart. But… his hand came up empty. Huh? Where's my ear?
[You have sacrificed Buggy's left ear. You have received 5,500 points.]
[You have sacrificed Garling's scepter. You have received 4,500 points.]
On a speedboat hundreds of nautical miles away, "Oh!" Shane looked at the new information on his system panel and slapped his fist into his palm in a moment of realization. He had been wondering why that Red-Hair guy had an ear in his pocket. A quick sacrifice, and he understood. It was Buggy's! Was it because the Den Den Mushi had no signal on Raijin Island, so they were using it as a listening device? That made sense. But when had Buggy joined the Red-Hair Pirates? He had thought that guy was still obsessed with treasure and had no interest in rejoining Shanks. Oh well. He thought about it for a while but couldn't come up with an answer, so he just put it aside. The last time he had heard about Buggy was back in the East Blue. So many years had passed, and his butterfly effect had changed the world so much that anything was possible.
Come to think of it, teleporting and summoning Angewomon had cost him 4,000 points. After his last shopping spree, he had only had 6,485 points left, so his pockets should have been empty. But as it turned out, not only had he not lost anything, but he had actually made a net profit of 6,000, bringing his remaining points to 12,495. As expected of the great Buggy, good luck just followed him around. But the next market refresh was still a while away. Shane closed the panel. His focus now was to continue mastering the two martial arts. In the last battle, even his rudimentary mastery of the "Roaring Aura Sky Ripping Fist" had made that old Garling lose his nerve and flee. What would happen when he had fully mastered both? "I'm getting more and more excited!" Shane grinned.
His strength now was, without a doubt, the strongest among the Yonko. Even if Whitebeard's body suddenly returned to its peak, he was confident he could fight him! And after he had completely mastered these two devastating martial arts, he would have a way to break through the defenses of any enemy of the same level, without having to fight for a whole day and night like in the War of Whole Cake Island. His overall strength should also rise to a new level, infinitely close to that of Rocks.
Ting-a-ling~
"Excuse me, Mr. Green-skinned Sea Duck."
"Quack?!" The creature was too slow and was sent flying. Aokiji gave an apologetic tip of his hat and continued to ride his old bicycle across the sea. An ice path formed under his wheels and then melted behind him, as if he had never been there. The sun shone down on the sparkling sea. Occasionally, a flying fish would leap from the water, and a few seagulls would swoop down to look at the lone traveler before flying away.
He looked up, his calm, deep eyes behind his sunglasses following the seagulls. "Such a peaceful quiet…" Aokiji said to himself. After leaving the Marines, this solitude was a welcome and relaxing change. No urgent military reports, no unreasonable demands from the Celestial Dragons, no more having to remain silent after struggling with orders that went against his sense of justice. But just riding aimlessly like this… something was missing. So… to find that answer, he had decided to make some plans for his otherwise empty journey.
His first stop was the West Blue, a place once called Ohara. Aokiji stood on the scorched earth, a wasteland stretching out before him. Nearly twenty years ago, it was here that he had watched everything go up in flames, had watched the evacuation ship be shelled, had watched the frozen Saul and the crying black-haired girl… and it was then that his conviction had been shaken for the first time. "Passionate Justice" had become "Lazy Justice."
"Hmm?" Aokiji suddenly noticed something. He squatted down and gently touched the scorched soil. After twenty years, a few green shoots had sprouted from the ruins, swaying stubbornly in the wind. Life is so resilient. He gently stroked the green leaves. After a long time, he murmured, "Saul, you were right… some embers can never be extinguished."
Come to think of it, the true ember of Ohara, that crybaby who had finally found her comrades… it had been over a year since he had seen her. With the Curtain Call's current strength, her life there should be even happier than his own. Aokiji stood up, got back on his bicycle, and continued on.
His second stop was Foosha Village in the East Blue. This was the hometown of his master, Mr. Garp. In all these years, it was the first time Aokiji had had the time to visit. He had heard that after he left the Marines, the old man, though he hadn't officially resigned, had essentially retired and was living here in seclusion.
Aokiji rode his bicycle slowly along the coastline, through the quiet village. The windmills turned lazily, and the scenery was quite beautiful. Following a familiar presence he could faintly sense with his Observation Haki, he headed for the forest behind the village. The moment he entered, he heard a series of dull thuds and a piercing scream.
"Hah!"
"Again! Get up! Do you hear me?! Open your damn eyes, you brat!"
"Oww! It hurts, Grandpa! Can't we stop for today? Sniffle, I'm so hungry."
"Don't be ridiculous! It hurts? It's supposed to hurt! You spoiled brat, you think Haki is so easy to master?! Without a strong conviction, without grueling training that defies pain, and without a desire to become stronger, this is not a power a teenager can hope for!"
"You make it sound so dramatic… what's the big deal? I remember Big Bro Shane could do it a long, long time ago, and he was younger than me back then."
"You dare to compare yourself to Shane?! You brat, if you were half… no, one-tenth as motivated, one-tenth as promising, I would be laughing in my sleep!"
"Ah!"
An even more piercing scream. Aokiji's eyelid twitched. He rounded a thicket of trees, and the scene before him opened up. In a clearing, Luffy was being held by one leg by Garp and was being slammed, like a sack, over and over again into a large, cracked rock!
THUD! THUD! THUD!
With each impact, the cracks on the rock's surface widened, and dust fell. Luffy was being beaten black and blue, his head bleeding, barely conscious. But with each impact, his arms, still in Sea-Prism Stone cuffs, would try to cover themselves in a very thin, flickering black substance. It was the beginning of Armament Haki, but it was still far from enough, fragile and weak. Under Garp's terrifying strength and the rock's recoil, it was almost instantly shattered.
"Haki! Haki! You have to condense it! Focus it! It's not just about turning your skin black! Feel the power within you! Imagine it's molten iron!" Garp roared as he swung, completely ignoring his grandson's wails. "Again! That's only ten thousand times! You have twenty thousand more to go! We'll pull an all-nighter tonight! You're not getting a single bite of meat until you've mastered the basics of Haki!"
"NOOO, GRANDPA!!!" Luffy despaired, letting out a scream ten times more piercing than before.
"Ara…" Aokiji finally couldn't watch anymore. He pushed up his sunglasses and sighed. "Isn't this a bit much, Garp-san? If you had trained me this harshly back then, I might have become the Commander-in-Chief by now." His voice was low, but it carried clearly in the empty foothills.
"Hmm?" Garp finally noticed him. He turned, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes, followed by a wide grin. "Bwahahaha! Well, if it isn't Kuzan! What, you finally couldn't stand that damn place either and decided to take a vacation like me?"
I'm saved! Luffy was in tears. He sat on the ground, gasping for breath, and looked up at the tall, strange man with a hint of gratitude. He recognized the face from the newspapers his grandpa had brought back. He was that… Admiral who had left the Marines? Uh, what was his name again? Ak… Akainu?
☆☆☆
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you