Laying It All Bare: An Aging Veteran

The New World, Brest Island.

This is a very small island, not on the main shipping lanes. This means that pirates' Log Pose generally wouldn't point here, so those that would stay here are:

Knock knock knock,

"Luffy, I'll fix Sunny! Merry will help too, but it'll take a little time."

The marks left by a battle at the Admiral level indicate that the Sunny Merry has never suffered such severe damage. This forces Franky to consider Roman's proposal to 'reinforce the ship with Wapol Metal '.

Indeed, even a simple adventure on this high seas requires considerable strength.

"Oh, it's up to you, Franky!"

On the other side,

"This is the ship's berthing fee,"

As the little girl stood on tiptoe and handed him a stack of Beli, the port manager chuckled as he took the money.

"What a sensible little one! Already able to run errands for your family?"

"I'm not a little girl!"

The little girl with orange hair and a ponytail stomped her foot in a huff, which made the port managers laugh good-naturedly again.

"I'm the navigator of this ship! Those idiots can't get anywhere without me!"

"Yes, yes, our little navigator."

"Hurry back, or you'll get blown away by the strong wind!"

!?

I'm so angry!

Nami, her cheeks puffed out, returned, growing angrier with each passing thought, and punched Roman in the face.

On the knees.

"I already said I'd handle the negotiations, but you insisted on going."

"Phew, this is my job!"

Because of Ain's Return-Return Fruit ability, Nami is currently a little girl who hasn't fully developed yet. Wearing a little dress created by Roman's ability, she looks both playful and adorable, filling Roman's eyes with—

?!

"Roman, even though we're officially a couple, isn't it incredibly rude of you to look at me like that?"

Nami, now a little girl, crossed her arms and gave Roman a look of utter disdain, as if to say, "Roman, you're such a person."

"No, I was just thinking..."

"Sorry."

"As the Straw Hat crew's strategist and scout, I received absolutely no warning about this attack..."

Theoretically speaking, even Admiral couldn't approach Roman so silently. Besides, with such a large warship, and given Roman's cautious nature, sending out doves to scout around 24/7, unless the opponent possessed an ability like the 'Invisibility Fruit,' a little reflection would reveal numerous suspicious points surrounding the previous attack!

"Phew~~"

"You knew Zephyr was coming all along, didn't you?"

Little Nami, with her hands behind her back, strolled around Roman like a little adult.

"We even anticipated that the other side's ability would 'shrink' us, and look—"

Nami stretched out her small, white, tender finger.

"Me, Chopper, Robin. All those who have been affected by the other's ability have one thing in common: they haven't Awakening Armament Haki yet."

"If Zephyr came here 'targeting' Luffy, then this Devil Fruit user is someone you brought in to 'warn' us, right?"

Nami recognized Zephyr, after all, he was the Navy's "Chief Instructor," but she didn't recognize his subordinates.

·······

"Sorry."

That's right. If Zephyr's intention was to have Luffy, the "prodigy" of this era, come and see for himself, then Ain to give the rest of the Straw Hat crew a clear understanding of the terror of "rule-based Devil Fruit abilities" and the importance of Armament Haki.

It was Roman himself.

Only····

"I suddenly feel a little regretful,"

Although everything was under Roman's control, and he could have Ain dispel her powers at any time, however:

"Planning this and that behind your backs, it seems... it looks like... it's a bit..."

"Hoo hoo hoo, if you weren't like this, you wouldn't be Roman."

Nami rolled her eyes; no one knew Roman better than her.

"Besides, if it weren't for you, our Straw Hat crew would have been wiped out somewhere long ago. —Can we really expect the enemy to let us go every time? Besides:"

"Everyone probably already knows this."

!?

Seeing Roman's surprised expression, Nami tilted her head with a smile.

"Roman, you don't actually think you can fool us with your facial expressions, do you?"

"Ever since Zephyr's surprise attack, you've been silent and expressionless, completely unlike your usual eager self, explaining enemy intelligence to us. Even the slowest among us should have guessed that this is most likely related to you, but..."

"I don't care,"

Nami spread her arms and twirled lightly in place, her white dress resembling a blooming lily.

"It would be nice to experience the life of a little girl."

"Besides, Roman, you would never hurt us, would you?"

"Certainly!"

Roman's original intention was to remind everyone of the importance of Armament Haki, and if all goes well, Luffy could also learn how to Armament Haki!

This is the highest level of Armament Haki application. With this ability, one can release Armament Haki outwards to create internal destruction. It can not only deal with many powerful enemies with high defense, but also be used to remotely isolate Seastone and even seawater! It is the passport for top-level powerhouses to stand proudly in the world.

Otherwise, if they prepared more Seastone Bullets, high-pressure water guns, etc., wouldn't the Navy chase the Four Emperors to the ends of the earth?

Even with Observation Haki, having to dodge attacks from mere soldiers completely ruins your cool factor...

"Don't apologize."

?

"Pirates don't need to regret sticking to their beliefs."

!

"Mr. Roman, you don't look like yourself at all right now."

?!

Sanji, Zoro, and Robin approached; they were clearly among those who had already guessed the truth. Roman sighed as the three who had come specifically to comfort him.

"Well, you're right."

"It seems I'm getting more and more 'greedy.' I want everyone to become stronger, I want to help that veteran, and I want to feel at ease... Fine, I'll tell you the whole story."

As he spoke, Roman turned to look at the other side of the beach where the Straw Hat Trio — Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper —were playing in the mud... no, in the sand.

"Anyway, you all guessed that the previous attack was related to me, right?"

Roman's response was met with three bewildered expressions, followed by a few seconds of silence:

"What? Roman, why didn't you say so sooner!"

"Hey, Mr. Roman, did you know they were going to attack us?!"

"That was Admiral! My head, worth two hundred million, almost went missing... cough cough, actually I knew all along that it was Roman who orchestrated all of this!"

·········

"I'm sorry, it was my mistake to have unrealistic expectations of your intelligence."

"Here's what happened..."

If we were to find someone from this vast ocean who could represent a 'hero'...

That Zephyr absolutely deserves the title.

His childhood dream was to become a 'hero' who protects everyone, so Zephyr joined the Navy. Leading from the front and fighting bravely, he is a strong figure of the same era as Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru!

He believed everyone should have a chance to reform, so although he captured countless pirates throughout his life, he never intentionally killed them. He was known as the "Non-Killing" Admiral. However:

The pirates who escaped found his old home and brutally murdered his wife and young son!

Human beings are creatures that can be as virtuous as angels and as wicked as demons. Not everyone deserves to be shown kindness—not even the slightest bit!

Disheartened, Zephyr stepped down from frontline duties and devoted himself to training new naval recruits: Akainu, Kizaru, Aokiji, and many other well-known vice Vice Admiral were once his students. But fate still wouldn't let him go:

Nine years ago, Zephyr's training ship was attacked by pirates. During the battle, his asthma flared up, resulting in the deaths of all his beloved students except for Ain and Binz, and severe injuries to his right arm.

Even so, after attaching a Seastone weapon to his right hand, and bearing a scarred body and soul, he persisted in upholding justice and fighting pirates. Until:

A year ago, the pirate 'Whitebeard Jr..,' who had murdered countless of his students, became a 'Shichibukai' (Shichibukai), openly entering and leaving Marine Headquarters. The beliefs that this old man had upheld his entire life finally crumbled!

Hatred consumed his heart, and he was willing to destroy the entire New World in order to eliminate the pirates.

Of course, in Roman's view, Zephyr was simply 'seeking death'.

This is the story of a veteran.

"Waaaaah, the uncle is such a good person!!!"

"Damn those damned pirates—"

"Waaaaah, why do good people end up like this?"

As Roman recounted Zephyr's life story, everyone on the Sunny Merry wept uncontrollably, with Franky, who was supposed to be repairing the ship, crying the most! This was partly because Franky was a sentimental person, and partly because:

Franky was the only one who truly understood the pain of losing loved ones and students.

"Waaaaah, I won't beat up Uncle Fei anymore," Luffy, snot and tears streaming down his face, "But you have to give me back my hat!"

"It's not that simple,"

Roman waved his hand.

"If we want to get the hat back from Uncle Zephyr, a big battle is probably inevitable. After all, he is completely disillusioned with this world. He even planned to destroy the entire New World with 'Dyna Stone' some time ago. Although I delayed him with words, it's hard to say when he might have another sudden change of heart and take extreme measures."

"At the same time, the Navy has dispatched an army led by Admiral Kizaru. If the two sides collide, a battle is inevitable."

Now, the old and ailing Zephyr is no match for Kizaru, who is in his prime.

This is why Roman said Zephyr was 'suicidal'.

Kizaru!

Everyone's expression turned serious. That Admiral who kept saying "How terrifying!" and who kicked a Supernovas every time had left an indelible impression on the Straw Hat crew in Sabaody.

"Then what are we waiting for!"

Luffy dusted off his pants and stood up.

"Let's set off right now, find that old man first and beat him up! We'll also steal my Straw Hat and that 'Dyna Stone' thing!"

Ah, this...

That's Luffy's problem-solving mindset for you.

By the way, didn't you just say you wouldn't beat them up?

"Yeah, I don't want to look like this forever~~"

Chopper, already petite, has shrunk even further after being affected by the 'rewinding ability', jumping up in approval! As for the others affected:

"If it can't be recovered, I'll have a real headache." (Read in a monotone tone)

Usopp turned around and complained when Robin's voice was completely flat.

"You must be incredibly happy to be able to go back to being 18, right?"

Eight-flower blooming—

Click!

"I was wrong, I was wrong!!!"

"Actually, I also fell for their 'regression' ability."

After observing Brook's gloomy face for a long time, everyone realized:

"Isn't this exactly the same?"

"Speaking of which, I remember Brook is 90 years old this year, right? Even 12 years ago..."

"No, no, no, look at my hair! It's regained the shine and strength it had when I was over 70!"

"Who cares about that?!" X5

"Anyway, let's find that 'NEO Marines' first, and then beat up Seastone!"

"Oh!!"

·······

Law, standing nearby, was completely numb. Going out of his way to cause trouble for a 'former Marine Admiral'... only the Straw Hat crew would do that, right? His shoulder had recovered completely after the Seastone Bullets was removed, thanks to the Straw Hat crew's highly effective treatment, but:

The thought of being 'dead' with just a single bullet made Luo start to think about how to deal with such a situation.

"Since we're looking for Uncle Zephyr, let's go to the island next door."

This is just a small island used for dismantling and repairing ships; there's no possibility of 'finding someone' or 'gathering intelligence' here. Meanwhile, the neighboring island is a huge hot spring resort with a massive influx of tourists! Also:

It was also one of Zephyr's targets in destroying the New World.

"But our ship..."

Roman waved his hand at Luffy, who had just realized what was happening and was now looking dejected.

"Don't panic, the 'Sea Train' has recently opened here, we can take the Sea Train directly over."

Yes, the opening of the Sea Train to the New World was entirely driven by Roman, and Roman even has a 'share' in this Sea Train!

But no matter what,

The sea is watching~

The origin of the world

The ocean knows too~

The end of the world

If I really disappear

The all-knowing ocean will still guide us forward.

No need to hesitate,

Because you are here;

No need to be timid,

Because a friend was by my side.