Kuina watched as the two formidable figures vanished in an instant, letting out a long sigh.
The news she had learned today had truly shaken her.
"So, what is even going on with Garp-jiisan's family…?"
Turning toward the port, she saw that the Straw Hat Pirates had already set sail, leaving behind Buggy's beast tamer and a lion—both of whom had attempted to set fire to the ship but failed due to the heavy rain, only to be sent flying afterward.
"But… it doesn't really matter."
"Being a Marine is just a title. As long as one firmly pursues their dreams, does identity even matter?"
Kuina smiled as she watched the distant Going Merry disappear over the horizon.
"As long as we are prepared to face the consequences of our choices, the rest… we leave to time."
"I won't go easy on you!"
Taking off into the sky, Kuina flew back in the direction she had come from—there were still pirates waiting for her.
"That red-nosed guy… I feel like I've heard of him somewhere before. Is it just my imagination?"
Finally escaping from Loguetown and heading toward Reverse Mountain, the Straw Hat crew aboard the Going Merry let out a collective sigh of relief.
"That was terrifying… Kuina-nee was actually hunting us down! So scary~"
Nami clutched her chest in lingering fear, causing Sanji's eyes to go wide with admiration.
"Nami… Nami-chan, you know that beautiful Marine?"
"Of course~ We even call each other sisters. She was my very first real friend."
Nami sighed heavily.
"Back then, I almost joined the Marines… Ahh! Why did I ever agree to follow that idiot Luffy and become a pirate?!"
Tears streamed down her face. "Just thinking about Kuina-nee and the fact that she has Admiral Wright backing her up makes my future seem pitch black…"
"You guys… actually know such terrifying people?!"
Usopp's long nose trembled in fear. He nervously patted Zoro on the shoulder as the swordsman calmly sharpened his blade.
"Hey, hey, Zoro~ Why is your senpai so ruthless? Did you constantly make her mad during training?!"
"Hah?! Green-haired bastard! How could you dare upset such a beautiful senpai?! That's absolutely unforgivable!"
Sanji was already fuming. "Do you even know how to treat a lady with care?!"
"Tch! We only fought about two thousand times."
Zoro grinned. "Didn't win a single one, though…"
"HAHAHAHA! Serves you right!"
The curly-browed cook cackled triumphantly.
"Hey! Luffy!"
Nami called out to their captain, who seemed to be deep in thought. "Earlier, you said someone stopped Kuina-nee. Who was it?"
"Hmm… I dunno!"
Luffy tilted his head, thinking hard before giving up.
"Oh well! What matters is we got away—what a win!"
"..."
Everyone facepalmed, but soon burst into laughter. Well, Luffy wasn't wrong.
As pirates, successfully escaping the Marines' pursuit was, indeed, a victory.
"I got a gift… what about you guys?"
Nami turned to the others. "I have a good guess who sent it, but it still feels unbelievable."
"Yeah, I got one too…"
Zoro lifted his shirt, revealing that his injuries had completely healed.
"Just as I thought…"
Nami sighed and pulled out a backpack from a pile of neatly wrapped clothes.
"They even made sure to instruct me to open it only after we got back on the ship… as if they were certain we'd make it out safely."
Sanji nodded. "I got one too… not sure what it is."
He took out a small, finely crafted box.
Usopp pulled out a slightly larger box. "I have one as well…"
Luffy, looking utterly displeased, grumbled, "Why do you all have gifts, and I got nothing?!"
"Oh well… let's just open them and see!"
Nami, Sanji, and Usopp exchanged glances before swallowing nervously.
At this point, they all knew exactly who had sent these gifts.
Nami opened her backpack, revealing a collection of brand-new books, neatly arranged.
Her expression darkened slightly as she pulled out the first volume.
The book cover bore the title: "Weatheria's Fundamentals of Artificial Weather (Volume 1)"
A line of golden text underneath read: "Controlling wind and rain is just the beginning."
Sanji opened his box and took out a sleek, gold-tinged windproof lighter, along with an instruction manual.
"Crafted from shape-memory alloy, this includes a full set of portable cooking tools—stove and fishing rod included. See the manual for usage instructions."
A fine line of golden engravings on the lighter read: "Cooking outdoors should be hassle-free."
Usopp hastily tore open his package and found a pair of extremely stylish windproof goggles. The accompanying note read:
"Adaptive magnification from 1x to 50x, windproof and waterproof."
In red text, it added: "Not for peeping."
The trio fell silent, exchanging uncertain glances.
Luffy and Zoro, intrigued, leaned in curiously.
"Whoa—what are these?!"
"Artificial weather knowledge…"
Nami murmured, recalling something Wright had once told her:
"Advanced meteorology can also be a powerful weapon."
"Could Weatheria be a place where they study weather-based weaponry?!"
Sanji carefully examined the intricate lighter, his brows furrowing deeply.
"Shape-memory alloy… how is that even possible…?"
Usopp excitedly tried on the goggles, amazed as the magnification automatically adjusted based on what he focused on, enlarging objects to his preferred size.
"It seems… we each received something perfectly suited to us. This is…"
Nami clenched her fist. "This is Admiral Wright's farewell gift to us, as an old acquaintance."
"Perhaps he's telling us that the next time we meet… we'll be enemies."
"From now on, no matter what happens, never mention our connection to Admiral Wright! Unless you want him to personally deal with us!"
The crew fell into a brief silence before nodding solemnly.
"An old acquaintance…?"
Sanji and Usopp exchanged puzzled looks. What past did they share with the Admiral?
Sanji gripped the lighter tightly, a thought creeping into his mind—one he didn't want to acknowledge.
"Wow~ Wright ol'—uh, I mean, the Admiral—sure is generous!"
Luffy grinned, adjusting his straw hat. "I was stuck on the execution platform earlier, so I didn't get to see anyone else. Maybe Admiral Wright had something for me too, but I missed it~"
"Ah, what a shame!"
"WHY WERE YOU EVEN STUCK ON THE EXECUTION PLATFORM IN THE FIRST PLACE, YOU IDIOT?!"
...
"Dragon, what do you think of the world today?"
Standing atop a cliff, Wright and Dragon overlooked the town below.
"It's rotten to the core…"
Dragon glanced at Wright, this Marine Admiral whom Garp had personally raised.
From the Marines' perspective, Wright's actions embodied absolute justice—he was the very incarnation of righteousness.
But from the Revolutionaries' point of view…
Dragon had always sensed something unusual, but after meeting Wright in person, it finally dawned on him—
Every move this Admiral made seemed to reshape the course of fate itself.
"Admiral Wright, you say our goals are the same… but the methods we choose couldn't be more different."
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