After Dragon left, York turned his head to look at Tom, who hadn't yet had the chance to leave.
"Master Tom, you should leave quickly too."
"Water 7 is about to become a brutal battlefield. It's very likely the entire island will be destroyed. Hurry and notify the civilians on the island to evacuate."
Tom also looked at York with deep worry, then at Garp and his group surrounding York.
In the conflict between these two sides, no matter which side he tried to persuade or which side he resented, it didn't feel right.
York had simply sailed to Water 7 normally and asked him to build a ship; he hadn't done anything bad.
The Marines had only come to this island to arrest York, a wanted criminal.
Neither side seemed to be in the wrong.
But once this battle broke out, Water 7 would suffer...
Who should he blame?
Blame Garp and York for being too strong? For destroying an island just by fighting?
After thinking it over, Tom ultimately said nothing, nor did he dare to say anything.
He just sighed softly before leaving.
Watching his retreating figure, York continued to speak to Garp, "Notify the Marine fleet to transport the evacuees off the island as soon as possible. If you delay, it will be too late."
Garp frowned, but seeing York emphasize this matter repeatedly, he chose to take it seriously.
He waved his hand, and immediately, several veteran Marines broke away from the encirclement to notify the arriving Marine fleet.
Not long after.
Ship after ship departed from Water 7.
There weren't many stubborn people unwilling to leave in the face of danger.
After all, with the Marine army pressing down on the border, it was obvious a big fight was about to happen.
If they didn't leave now, what if they got blown up by stray bullets? Cannonballs didn't have eyes, and they weren't monsters who could tank cannonballs with their bodies.
Just like that, the evacuation continued from dawn until dusk.
It wasn't until everything was done that Sengoku and Tsuru led a few of their trusted aides to the Marine encirclement.
"Adolf D. York?"
As soon as Sengoku arrived, he looked York up and down.
"It really is you, kid, Adolf York!!"
York looked at Sengoku and grinned.
"Long time no see, Vice Admiral Sengoku. Thank you for turning a blind eye back then; otherwise, I wouldn't be alive today."
Hearing this, Sengoku couldn't help but sigh faintly.
"Why did you have to go down this path? The past is in the past. Wouldn't it have been better to live quietly as a civilian in an allied nation?"
"No!!"
York refused decisively, his eyes turning cold.
"The vengeance for my parents is irreconcilable!!"
Although it was difficult for York to consider his parents in this life as his original biological parents, they had ultimately fulfilled their responsibilities as parents.
To put it bluntly, aside from his soul and memories coming from another world, this body was indeed bestowed by his parents in this life. They were York's biological parents!!
16 years ago, before the Ceramic Kingdom, York's birthplace in this life, was destroyed, York had indeed thought about being a civilian.
Even though he was already attempting to distort reality to create a Devil Fruit back then, compared to becoming a pirate, he still leaned towards joining the Marines.
After all, for a transmigrator who neither arrived in Luffy's era nor possessed a system or cheat, the best choice was actually to join the Marines.
Join the Marines, slack off, manage a small branch somewhere in the Four Blues, become a local tyrant, live peacefully until old age, wait for Luffy and the others to set sail, and then act as a mentor-grandpa figure for the protagonist group. Even if the World Government were overthrown later, he could still have a good ending.
York had even planned out exactly what he would do after joining the Marines.
But the result...
The peaceful island was suddenly surrounded by the Marines. The World Government flag appeared on the shore, and CP agents came down from the ships, announcing loudly: "This place will become the summer camp venue for the Celestial Dragons. No one on the island is allowed to leave!!"
The other people on the island didn't realize the severity of the situation. The King even thought his long-standing request to join the World Government had finally been answered.
Only York knew what was about to happen.
But unfortunately, he hadn't obtained the Devil Fruit at that time.
It wasn't until that moment, when his parents in this life were shot dead by a Celestial Dragon while protecting him, that York erupted with extreme rage. The small melon he had been carrying with him was finally completely distorted into the Pleasure-Pleasure Fruit (Kairaku Kairaku no Mi).
After eating the Pleasure-Pleasure Fruit, York killed the Celestial Dragon who shot his parents, then used his ability to hide on Sengoku's ship. Finally, because of Sengoku's compassion, he was able to become who he was today.
Putting away his memories, York stared fixedly at Sengoku.
"Vice Admiral Sengoku, you saved my life once, so I don't want to go to extremes. It's not too late for you to take the Marines and leave now."
Sengoku also shook his head gently.
"I am a Marine. Capturing pirates is my natural duty!"
"Moreover, since I was the one who let you go back then, it is even more fitting that I be the one to bring you to justice now!!"
Hearing this, York closed his eyes regretfully.
"It has come to this after all..."
"Although I foresaw this day from the moment I chose revenge, I didn't expect it to come so quickly..."
While he was lamenting, and neither Sengoku nor Garp had made a move, Tsuru suddenly flashed behind York.
A pair of fair hands reached out, grabbing York like wringing water out of wet clothes. With a forceful shake, York turned into a light, fluttering strip of cloth.
Then, Tsuru pinched the cloth-strip York and scrubbed him thoroughly. Under her scrubbing, York's originally regretful expression rapidly transformed into a look of clear and innocent stupidity.
After a busy moment, the fully washed York was hung on a clothes rack.
This clothes rack had been brought by Tsuru's subordinate.
"Let me wash away the evil in your heart!"
Tsuru clapped her hands, looking at the cloth-strip York hanging there, and said with a smile, "Sengoku said you were originally a good child. The power of the Wash-Wash Fruit can help you wash away the hostility in your heart."
"Is that so?"
The eyes of York, who had turned into a cloth strip, instantly regained their clarity. At the same time, a terrifying Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body.
The black-red Haki lightning instantly knocked out most of the Marines. Only Sengoku, Garp, Tsuru, and the elite members among their subordinates could still stand.
But even so, aside from their deputies, most of them could only kneel on one knee, struggling to resist.
The flattened York returned to normal under this burst of Haki, breaking free from the clothes rack.
Landing on his feet, he looked calmly at Tsuru.
"Your Woshu Woshu no Mi seems to have no effect on me."
"Impossible!!"
Tsuru turned pale with shock on the spot.
"How could my fruit ability have no effect on you!!"
York suddenly grinned.
"The ability of the Woshu Woshu no Mi can indeed wash away the evil and filth in a person's heart."
"But... if my heart was already inclined towards the light, what can your fruit ability do then?!"
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