World News

Two days passed.

Donzuke Island.

In just two days, the island had returned to its previous state. Everything was back to normal. If not for the port still bearing the devastation of cannon fire, it would have seemed like nothing more than a dream.

Life had to go on. The island's residents had no time to dwell on what had happened; they still needed to survive.

For ordinary people in this world, even simply wanting to stay alive was incredibly difficult.

Perhaps due to the Navy deliberately concealing it, or perhaps for some other reason, news of the incident barely spread.

Not a single ripple stirred across the seas.

Only those who had experienced it firsthand knew that Germa had carried out such an operation.

Germa was still Germa, a member nation of the World Government.

Yun Ye had not seen any reports about the incident in the newspapers. He roughly guessed that Judge had pulled strings behind the scenes to minimize its impact.

He had likely paid some kind of price, but that was none of Yun Ye's concern.

At this stage, Yun Ye had no need for Germa's power to handle anything for him. When he needed it, he would come knocking.

For now, he should think about how to join the Navy...

Yun Ye had always intended to join the Navy, not only because it was the most powerful organization in the pirate world, but also because it belonged to the side of justice.

For Yun Ye, who wanted to be a good person... uh, no, who revered justice and possessed an exceptionally strong sense of justice, it was absolutely the perfect place!!

A villain?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

More importantly, the Navy had a complete training system that could help him avoid many detours on his path to becoming stronger.

This was extremely important to Yun Ye, who needed to strengthen his physique as quickly as possible at this stage.

Besides, all the life-saving skills he possessed came from the system.

The skills were extremely powerful, but before he had fully figured out the System Panel, Yun Ye still felt somewhat uneasy.

He feared that the system might malfunction or undergo some unforeseen change, making the skills he had gained unusable.

What would he do then?

He could only wait to die!

Cautious as Yun Ye was, he considered such possibilities. Therefore, joining the Navy and learning this world's power system had become something he had to do.

Strengthening his physique would not only better support the consumption of his skills, but also prevent him from becoming a weakling if the skills obtained from the system became unusable.

It was the best of both worlds.

It was just that Yun Ye now needed to consider how to join the Navy...

Although Yun Ye had disguised himself before, that did not mean he could not be traced. This world had things like Devil Fruits, after all...

But now that Yun Ye had a Gia Clone, perhaps things would become much easier.

Yun Ye's only concern now was whether there was a problem with his former body's identity as a refugee.

It would be fine if he had been an ordinary person, but if he had been some wanted fugitive, that would be utterly screwed...

After thinking it over, Yun Ye still decided to act according to his original plan.

He was definitely joining the Navy!

But there was no need to rush.

He would wait until the uproar over the incident had completely died down.

Besides, Yun Ye's Gia Clone had disguised itself that morning and already set sail aboard a merchant ship.

Yun Ye had two purposes in doing this.

First, he wanted to take the Quincy identity out to sea and stir up some trouble, completely separating it from Yun Ye's real body and removing all suspicion from him.

This was extremely important. Yun Ye was cautious; even the slightest detail that might expose him had to be hidden.

Second, Yun Ye wanted to test whether those achievement titles could be farmed.

Since both bodies could see the System Panel, could they receive rewards simultaneously?

Furthermore, on the island, unless he attacked the Navy branch, ordinary foot soldiers could no longer give Yun Ye any rewards at his current strength!

This was also one of the reasons Yun Ye had sent his Gia Clone out to sea.

P-5 Branch Base.

A meeting was currently underway.

Rear Admiral Bastille from Navy Headquarters, wearing a mask, sat in the seat of honor.

Branch commander Lieutenant Colonel Yara sat beside him. Looking at Bastille, he said somewhat awkwardly, "Sir, the rumors spreading across the island are becoming more and more exaggerated. Won't this have a bad effect?"

He had also heard the news being spread by the island's residents. Even though he was not thin-skinned, hearing all those praises for the Navy made him feel rather ashamed.

It would have been fine if the Navy had truly driven off Germa's men. Then they could accept the praise.

But the truth was nothing like what the island's residents imagined. Yara felt undeserving of it.

His sense of justice would not allow him to do such a thing.

Bastille looked at Yara and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Yara, remember this: we in the Navy are justice, and justice is absolute! As long as the outcome benefits the Navy, it does not matter what the process was!"

"And you think this is bad? Tell me, what exactly is bad about it?" Bastille said earnestly.

"Th-this..." Yara felt that something was wrong, yet he could not refute him. He could only mutter, "But that masked man..."

Before Yara could finish, Bastille interrupted him. In a deep voice, he said, "As for that person, I have heard your reports and gained some understanding over these past days. Judging from the strength he displayed, he is definitely not from North Blue. He most likely returned to North Blue from the Grand Line."

Yara and the other Navy soldiers listened quietly.

Bastille paused, then continued, "And he wears a mask. Such a person is an unstable element. Even if he is not an enemy now, there is no guarantee that he will not become one in the future. Colonel Yara, you understand what I mean, don't you?"

After speaking, Bastille looked at Yara.

Yara fell silent for a moment. He could tell that Bastille was viewing the matter through a prejudiced lens.

But Bastille's rank was higher than his, and Yara did not dare argue. He could only nod and say, "Sir, I understand!"

Bastille smiled faintly and once again emphasized Yara's words. "You will understand in time, Lieutenant Colonel Yara."

"..."

The meeting did not end until much later.

More than ten days passed.

After mooching off a merit award, Rear Admiral Bastille had already departed and returned to the Grand Line.

The island's residents no longer discussed Germa either. Their attention had been drawn to other matters.

Recently, turmoil had been constant across the seas.

The World News Report spread one piece of news after another across the entire world—

Another Shichibukai position had been filled. The sixth was the fish-man, "Knight of the Sea" Jinbe!

Turmoil continued in the New World. Who would become the final victor? Would the Navy take action?

The Whitebeard Pirates and "Beast" Kaido clashed once again. The world's strongest still stood undefeated!

One of the Great Pirates, Shanks, led the Red Hair Pirates into a conflict with the Big Mom Pirates. They battled fiercely for three days and three nights, but the outcome remained unknown!

"Beast" Kaido fought the Red Hair Pirates. The result was unknown!

Yun Ye naturally paid attention to these major events as well.

The Shichibukai were not yet complete, and the Four Emperors had not yet been established.

From this information alone, he could roughly determine what era this was!

An age of rising winds and surging clouds, where heroes vied for supremacy!

There were still eight or nine years until the original story began. The Shichibukai's members had not yet been fully decided, and the New World remained chaotic, though the situation was gradually becoming clear.

Four pirates had emerged from the crowd and stood at the summit. Before long, they would claim the positions of the "Four Emperors."