Paulie's expression froze; his eyes were full of reluctance, and even at this moment, he still held the blueprint tightly in his hand.
He took a deep breath, and his eyes soon became firm: "Sorry, Franky."
"I want to stay here. The Water 7 is Mr. Iceburg's hard work. I can't give it up."
"After overcoming the current difficulties, I will inherit Mr. Iceburg's will and rebuild the Water 7 with these people and recreate the train running on the sea!"
"Until one day, the sea is connected into one piece!"
Paulie almost shouted the last sentence.
He was very scared.
He was afraid that he would accidentally make another choice here.
But he knew that if Iceburg was here, he would never leave these people alone.
After all, a city is made of people. Without them, Water 7 would be no more.
If even he leaves, then the once glorious Water 7 will only be submerged in history.
"Very handsome."
"You…"
Franky raised his hand to adjust his sunglasses, jumped onto the railing of the deck, and posed his classic pose to bid farewell to his friend's choice: "Super! This is the romance of men!"
"Are you a pervert?!"
Paulie complained, but his face did not show the same disgusted expression as before, only a faint smile.
If there was anyone who could truly understand him after Iceburg, it was Franky standing before him.
Woooo!
After a whistle, the freighter set sail and slowly disappeared from everyone's sight.
… … …
At the same time, in the Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
A report on Gawain's action was delivered to Sengoku's office.
He glanced at them, but his eyes froze at this moment: "There are really such pirates in this world?!"
Originally, in his prediction, Gawain's goal should be the same as most pirates, and he was also going for the Pluton blueprint.
But now that the Water 7 has been destroyed and the Pluton blueprint has been completely exposed, Gawain has no reason and no position to do such a thing.
But he did it.
He even escorted these civilians all the way to a safe harbor before leaving.
For a while, Sengoku was silent; his eyes changed, thinking about whether there was something he missed and whether Gawain had other purposes.
After all, no matter what, a group of pirates could not and would not do such a thing at this time.
Especially when the Marines became the executioner, Gawain's actions seemed more like a slap in their face.
But when he went to review all this, the only thing that flashed through his mind was the praise of the senior Marines officials who had contacted Gawain.
Not to mention Zephyr, Kizaru, Aokiji, and even Akainu, who have the lowest tolerance for pirates, kept silent about Gawain.
They said nonsense like there are outliers among pirates and compromised justice can't save anyone.
"We..."
Sengoku opened his mouth and couldn't say a word for a long time.
But Zephyr, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but smile: "There are always some pirates in this world who are different."
"You were captured by that guy before. Does he have some special Devil Fruit ability?"
Zephyr shook his head, not affected by Sengoku at all: "It is because I was captured by him that I know what true justice is or who created this era."
Sengoku didn't answer. He put down the report, took a deep breath, and looked out the window.
The sun shone over the justice flag in the center of Marineford, and the flag just blocked the sun and Sengoku's sight.
He slowly turned his head to look at Zephyr with a hint of determination in his eyes: "I admit that there are certain problems with my past actions and choices. After all, even if we want to build a stable ocean pattern, we cannot have unrestricted power."
"Zephyr, I need your strength. I need another voice in the Marines. Only in this way can I have the capital to talk to the higher-ups."
Zephyr was slightly stunned, but the corners of his mouth cracked in the next moment, and there was madness... hidden deep in his eyes!
He's not the only one who is crazy!
Sengoku, you too!
Zephyr slowly spoke: "Just one voice may not be enough."
"What do you mean?"
"Why can't it be another... Marines?!"
Sengoku stood up, his breathing almost stagnant at this moment: "Do you know what you are talking about?"
"Of course, I am completely sober."
Zephyr sat up straight without flinching: "You want to talk to the higher-ups? You want the Marines to gain enough power to clamp down on the World Government and even Mary Geoise, just one voice..."
"Is not enough."
"You are simply crazy!"
Sengoku was furious: "Do you know how big a risk this will bring? Once something goes wrong, the whole world will collapse, and countless people will be buried with your choice!"
"Really..."
Zephyr sat in his seat with a calm expression.
He naturally knew the consequences of what Sengoku said.
But even in the worst-case scenario, with the Marines losing complete control of the seas, the world would merely head toward the ending Gawain had foreseen.
The endless expansion of the number of pirates completely breaks down the pressure regulating valve of the World Government.
The era is running wild, and the world pattern is reshaped.
Compared with this, it is a relatively peaceful choice to use the power of the Marines to restrict the World Government.
Besides, Zephyr knows Sengoku...
"You will agree."
"You are splitting the Marines! I can't accept it!"
Sengoku was furious and waved Zephyr to leave but stopped him when Zephyr held the door handle.
"Come back!"
Sengoku closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, there were a few obvious bloodshot veins in his eyes: "Vergo has been confirmed to be Doflamingo's undercover in the Marines. He was imprisoned in the Impel Down a few months ago. That position is temporarily vacant, and you will fill it. As for what you want to do, it has nothing to do with me."
"I won't give you any support... Forget it; the SWORD is also handed over to you."
"Hmph…"
Zeff paused and turned to look at Sengoku with a little more teasing in his eyes: "You are even more impatient than before."
Thinking of the possible consequences, Sengoku's hands were shaking.
But he knew better than if he continued to allow the World Government and the Celestial Dragons to abuse their power at will; there would be more and more things like the Water 7 and direct orders to the Marines without going through him.
"You lunatic!"
"Hahahahahahaha..."
… … ...
At the Paradise.
The seawater was surging, hitting the hull of the freighter, but it was difficult to shake it.
Kuro and others, along with Law, who had just been assimilated, were training on the deck.
For a while, the deck was full of strong men with bare, sweating upper bodies.
Even some of the Franky Family joined in, addicted to the thrill of pushing their physical limits.
Gawain sat in the captain's room, looking through the porthole with satisfaction at the leeks that had already grown and reproduced below.
Law's potential is undoubtedly the same Gold level as Sanji and Zoro, and his abilities also focus on swordsmanship and Paramecia Devil Fruits.
The latter is naturally useless to him. On the contrary, the speed of swordsmanship experience has increased by nearly half due to the addition of Law, and it is not far from upgrading to Level 15.
According to his estimation, it will take at most one or two months to meet the upgrade conditions, and by then, his swordsmanship can unlock the next feature.
Gawain is looking forward to this.
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