“Phew, I’m exhausted!”
Bringing Uta back to Foosha Village, Raizen deactivated the third stage of his Thunder Dragon Body and collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
Funnily enough, Shanks had barely touched him from start to finish; all the injuries on his body were a result of activating the third stage of his Thunder Dragon Body.
At that moment, Uta’s voice sounded from beside him.
“Why did you save me?”
He followed the voice and saw Uta sitting blankly on the ground.
“Are you asking me?”
Uta nodded, her eyes completely dull.
“Yes, why did you save me?
After all…
to you, I’m the musician of the Red Hair Pirates, which makes me a pirate too, right?”
Raizen stroked his chin.
“That’s a good question.
It’s probably because I’m a Marine, and I can’t just leave an innocent girl to die.”
Uta looked up.
“But I heard that even among Marines, there are many who don’t care whether civilians live or die, right?”
“You’re right about that, but I’m not one of them.”
Raizen smiled.
“My justice is one that distinguishes right from wrong.
I don’t belong to the hawk faction.”
Uta nodded, her eyes vacant, lost in her own thoughts.
It was obvious that Yasopp’s betrayal and coercion had dealt her a massive blow.
Her concept of family had shattered in an instant, and the respectful filter through which she viewed pirates had completely collapsed.
For a nine-year-old girl, this was indeed a heavy psychological hit.
A moment later, Uta asked again, “What are the Marines like?”
Raizen raised an eyebrow.
“What do you think they’re like?”
Uta thought for a moment.
“Probably people who resort to any means necessary to catch pirates, often sacrificing civilians in the process.
It feels like, in the eyes of the Marines, there’s no real difference between pirates and civilians.”
Raizen chuckled and couldn’t help but reach out to rub Uta’s head.
“I admit there are Marines like that, but the difference between Marines and pirates is that Marines operate under the banner of justice and won’t actively target civilians.
Of course, a small number of scumbags do exist.”
Uta looked thoughtful.
“Looking at it that way, you seem to be quite special even among the Marines?”
Having followed the Red Hair Pirates in the New World for years, she had never seen a Marine who would go out of their way to save an innocent girl.
“Maybe.
I also think I’m the most special one, haha.”
Uta turned her face, carefully observing Raizen.
He had a muscular physique and a handsome face, looking leagues better than the hideous brutes in the Red Hair Pirates.
As she stared, Uta’s face suddenly flushed red, and she buried her head in her knees, falling silent.
Seeing Uta hugging her knees and going quiet again, Raizen shook his head.
He then took out a Den Den Mushi and called Mayor Woop Slap.
Before long, the Den Den Mushi took on the appearance of an old man wearing a hat.
“It’s Raizen!
Are you alright?
What happened to the pirates?”
“Don’t worry, Mayor Woop Slap.
I’ve already chased the pirates away.
Everyone in Foosha Village can come back now.”
“That’s good, that’s good.
As expected of Raizen, you really put our minds at ease.
However, Luffy and the others are making a huge fuss.
It seems they’re upset they didn’t get to send the pirates flying themselves.”
Raizen laughed.
Those three brats were so young and didn’t even know Observation or Armament Haki, yet they wanted to fight pirates?
After hanging up with Mayor Woop Slap, Raizen dialed Sengoku’s number.
“Instructor Sengoku, I ran into Red-Haired Shanks in the East Blue and got into a fight with him.”
“What?!”
The Den Den Mushi, which had morphed into Sengoku’s likeness, looked utterly shocked.
“Are you okay, Raizen?”
‘That damn Shanks, why would he appear in the East Blue, and right near Foosha Village of all places?’
‘That’s Garp’s hometown, and Luffy and the others are all there!’
“I’m fine, Instructor Sengoku.
I just chopped off one of Red-Haired Shanks’ arms and killed one of his crewmates named Yasopp.
If Hawkeye hadn’t shown up at the end, I would have hacked Shanks to death too.”
Raizen spoke casually, but his words exploded like thunder in Sengoku’s ears.
‘Wait, wait, wait.
Does this kid mean he single-handedly fought the entire Red Hair Pirates, killed one of their combatants, severed Shanks’ arm, and would have wiped out the whole crew right then and there if Hawkeye hadn’t intervened?’
The Den Den Mushi fell silent for a moment before suddenly erupting into a fit of uproarious laughter.
“Hahahaha!
Beautifully done, Raizen!”
‘That damn Red-Haired Shanks, let’s see him act arrogant now.
The older generation who knows he’s a Celestial Dragon can’t lay a hand on him, but the younger generation doesn’t know that!’
‘Shanks and the Five Elders will just have to swallow this massive loss.’
Just thinking about the looks on the Five Elders’ faces made Sengoku feel as refreshed as having a cold drink on a scorching summer day.
After laughing for a long time, Sengoku finally calmed down.
“I’ll send someone to verify this matter.
Once confirmed, it will be recorded in your list of merits.
Also…
Luffy and the boys aren’t hurt, are they?”
“No, I had the village mayor take them all to a shelter.”
“That’s good.”
At this point, the Sengoku Den Den Mushi’s expression suddenly turned grave.
“Red-Haired Shanks appearing in Foosha Village might just be a coincidence, but we can’t gamble on that probability.
Raizen, I will place all the Marine branches near Foosha Village under your command.
You must protect Luffy and the others during this final month!”
“Rest assured, Instructor Sengoku.
Leave Luffy and the others to me.”
Simply based on the fact that Luffy and the boys were Instructor Garp’s grandsons, Raizen would never just stand by and do nothing.
Raizen hung up the phone, and soon after, he saw Woop Slap leading the villagers of Foosha Village down the road.
An hour later, Raizen and Uta were sitting in Makino’s bar.
Raizen was eating like a starving man; no matter what food Makino brought out, he grabbed it and stuffed it into his mouth.
With the massive energy replenishment from the food, his injuries were slowly healing.
He estimated it would take another day to fully recover.
Raizen took a moment to squeeze his arm, feeling that his physical recovery rate was getting stronger and his physique was improving.
Looking at it now, being out in the field was much better.
Half a year of training in the boot camp couldn’t compare to the gains from fighting two real battles.
[Ding!
Congratulations to the host for defeating the future Four Emperors, Red-Haired Shanks, severing one of his arms, and killing Red Hair Pirates member Yasopp.]
[Rewarded 100 million Berries, one weapon evolution, and one Observation Haki cultivation insights (Advanced)!]
Seeing this, Raizen revealed an intrigued expression.
‘Weapon evolution?’
‘My current weapon is one of the 21 Great Grade Swords.
If it evolves again, will it become one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords?’
With a thought, Raizen checked the details of this so-called weapon evolution.
[Weapon Evolution: Can evolve the host’s weapon once to perfectly suit the host’s abilities.]
‘So it basically means evolving it into my own signature weapon,’ Raizen realized.