After advancing for five minutes, Ross and the others suddenly stopped.
"Yo, Teacher Zephyr, Commander."
A tall Marine figure suddenly appeared before them.
"Kuzan."
Zephyr narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke the man's name. Instinctively, he stepped forward and shielded Ross behind him.
Kuzan kept his hands in his pockets, taking in Zephyr's actions as a flicker of disappointment passed through his eyes.
The heroic teacher he had respected was completely different from before.
When Zephyr had taught him, it had been shortly after Zephyr's wife and son were killed. Back then, Teacher Zephyr had still been an unwavering hero in Kuzan's eyes.
As time passed, the Teacher Zephyr he admired had vanished, replaced by CP0 Zephyr in a white suit.
Now, only Garp, the teacher who had guided him after he graduated from Training Camp, remained for Kuzan.
From beginning to end, Kuzan did not spare Ross a single glance. After gazing deeply at Zephyr, he turned and strode away coolly.
"Saint Ross..."
Zany quietly moved to Ross's side and asked softly.
In the beliefs instilled in her since childhood, disrespecting a Celestial Dragon was likewise a capital crime.
"Vice Admiral Kuzan."
Just as Kuzan's figure was about to disappear, Ross suddenly spoke.
Watching Kuzan's body pause slightly, Ross said unhurriedly:
"I order you to return to the warship and oversee the preparations to destroy the Tree of Knowledge."
"Commander, I have orders from Headquarters to deal with the Navy Traitor, Jaguar D. Saul."
Without even turning his head, Kuzan continued forward.
But after taking just one step, he was forced to stop.
"Teacher Zephyr, are you going to stop me from carrying out Headquarters' orders?"
He raised his head slightly and looked at Zephyr standing before him, a faint chill radiating from his entire body.
Kuzan Overall Rating: S-
If this had been ten years ago, he would not have been able to take even a single punch from Zephyr.
But ten years had passed. His ice was not necessarily any less sharp than Zephyr's fists.
"A Marine's duty is to obey orders. I recall teaching you that once."
Zephyr frowned slightly. He felt neither fondness nor dislike toward Kuzan.
Among the students he had taught, Kuzan was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding.
But Kuzan's overly lazy disposition truly displeased him, just as Blamenco displeased him as well.
"Teacher Zephyr, have I not been obeying orders?"
The moment Kuzan finished speaking, he suddenly frowned and shifted one small step to the left.
Almost at the same instant, Zany appeared on his right, holding up a Den Den Mushi modeled after Fleet Admiral Kong.
"Kuzan, obey Zephyr and Saint Ross's orders. This is Headquarters' order to you."
Hearing Kong's voice, Kuzan sighed.
"Understood!"
After saying that, he still showed no intention of turning around. Instead, he walked left along a road paved with ice.
Though he still ignored Ross, he nevertheless followed Ross's order.
"Saint Ross, please allow me to make a move..."
Zany returned to Ross's side and respectfully handed over the disconnected Den Den Mushi.
"You are still no match for him. As long as he does not desert the Marines, he poses no threat to me."
Ross said this calmly, then continued walking toward Robin.
Kuzan's appearance was merely a minor interlude.
As a Celestial Dragon, Ross was destined to be at odds with Marines like Garp and Kuzan.
If you can't find a book by searching its title, try searching for the author instead. It may simply have been renamed!
In the eyes of those Marines who could not tolerate even a speck of filth, Celestial Dragons were also targets that needed to be dealt with.
It was simply that pirates were the primary conflict at the moment, so the Celestial Dragons and the World Government were not yet in a hurry to deal with them.
And because of Kuzan and Garp's strength, the World Government would tacitly permit their existence.
So long as they did not betray the World Government, whatever thoughts they held in their hearts were unimportant.
However, Ross knew clearly that Kuzan would betray the Marines sooner or later.
If his strength were sufficient now, he would have wanted to keep Kuzan here on the spot.
Strength.
Zephyr and Gion watched Ross's retreating figure as he continued onward. Their expressions differed, but they silently followed behind him.
Through the matter with Kuzan, Zephyr had roughly come to understand Ross's toughness and his attitude toward justice. But since he had chosen the path of using the World Government to eliminate pirates, he did not intend to change course again.
Unless Ross truly proved incapable, he still planned to wait and see.
Gion, on the other hand, was much simpler.
Previously, she had only known that Celestial Dragons could not be offended. If their demands were not met, even dying would be difficult.
But those were merely rumors. Kuzan's example was right before her eyes.
It was normal for Ross to subdue an elite Marine who had only just graduated, but he had easily made Kuzan yield. It left her feeling as though her horizons had been broadened.
Kuzan's current standing in the Marines was enough to place him among the top five. Yet someone like him could only submit to Ross's orders.
Involuntarily, Gion felt somewhat fortunate about her choice.
At the very least, she would not suffer any more undeserved disasters.
Of course, what had truly changed her attitude was that Ross was not only of noble status, but his own strength was also absurdly powerful.
Whenever they played, Ross's stamina was far stronger than hers. He could even take Stella and another woman at the same time.
Considering his appearance, strength, talent, status, and abilities, Ross was absolutely among the top-ranked men she had ever seen. For another man to reach Ross's average standard, he would need to be over twenty years older.
Whenever she thought of this, Gion felt as though she were Cinderella, as though she had married far above her station by being with Ross...
The group moved quickly and soon reached Saul's hiding place.
Calling it a hiding place was somewhat misleading. It was actually a small bay beneath a cliff.
Saul's obese giant body, dozens of meters tall, was hidden within it, making him seem less conspicuous.
"You are..."
Ross's arrival immediately put Saul on guard.
"Admiral Zephyr!!"
When Saul saw Zephyr's face, despair could not help appearing on his own.
Originally, learning that he had drifted to Ohara had already been despairing enough.
He had never expected to run into an Admiral as well.
"An Admiral? Saul, is that the Marines' strongest combat force?"
On Saul's giant hand stood an adorable little black-haired girl, curiously examining Ross and the others.
"Jaguar D. Saul, Nico Robin. That is correct, isn't it?"
Ross stood at the front of the group, calmly observing the large-and-small pair.
Jaguar D. Saul Overall Rating: A- Nico Robin Overall Rating: E+
Sure enough, even plot characters received frighteningly low ratings if they had not yet grown up.
Ross sighed inwardly and immediately lost interest in Robin.
He was not into children. The Robin he liked was the one twenty years later; he had no interest whatsoever in the little girl before him.
"That's right. Who are you? Are you here to arrest us?"
Saul rose to his feet. His enormous body, dozens of meters tall, carried an incomparable sense of oppression merely by standing there.
Ever since learning that he had reached Ohara and accidentally discovered Robin's identity, he had known what would happen.
He simply had not expected that day to come so quickly.
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