"Was this choice really worth it?" Longinus sighed softly.
"Don't pity me, Captain Longinus. This was the path I chose. Though perhaps I no longer had the right to say this... this was the Justice I upheld!" Barrels said with a smile.
"Then, Captain Barrels, leave by the small path now. When we meet again, the one standing before me will only be the pirate Barrels!"
"Captain Longinus, you should arrest me first." Barrels shook his head. "With my strength, escaping from your hands would be far too unrealistic. Once I'm imprisoned at a branch base, escaping will be much more natural."
Longinus pondered for a moment, then took out a pair of handcuffs and handed them over. "Then I can only trouble Captain Barrels for now."
"Heh! I never thought that the next time I touched these, I'd be putting them on myself." Barrels sighed.
Perhaps the atmosphere was too heavy. On the way back while escorting Barrels, the group remained silent.
Longinus, meanwhile, walked as he thought.
"Was this why Drake, despite his tainted background, could still obtain that Ancient Species Devil Fruit?"
"Unlike Hawkins and the others, who had no choice but to submit after being captured by Kaido, Drake had sought Kaido out from the beginning. Coupled with the fact that he happened to be an Ancient Species ability user, could he have deliberately chosen the same path as his father?"
"If so, then Kizaru deliberately letting the four captains go during the Sabaody Archipelago incident did make sense."
"Of course, it was also possible that Drake had suffered exclusion because of his stain and had ultimately left the Marines in anger."
"Still, whether Drake was naturally treacherous or enduring humiliation for a greater cause no longer mattered. There was plenty of time. He could be