Smiles Never Disappear

Dragon wrote furiously, his pen flying across the page. Once he finished, Mo Xingchen raised a second finger.

"Second, divide the World Government's power and identify forces that can be absorbed and united. A great man once said that we should make more friends and fewer enemies.

"Take the Marines, for example. They are the strongest official force in this world, but they cannot be lumped together with the World Government. The Marines are the Marines, and the World Government is the World Government. The Marines are merely constrained by the World Government in terms of military funding, research, and so on. You should understand that. There are many righteous people within the Marines who have truly spent their entire lives safeguarding peace and justice on the seas. They can be won over as well!

"Or take Fish-Man Island. You and I have been to the Sabaody Archipelago, so you know that the most profitable business there is human trafficking, with fish-men being the most valuable. The World Government explicitly forbids the slave trade, yet it chooses to turn a blind eye because of the enormous profits. Do you think Fish-Man Island doesn't hate them? Do other races not hate them? So, it isn't just oppressed people you can unite—you can unite every intelligent race that has been oppressed."

Mo Xingchen took a swig from his bottle and waited until Dragon had finished taking notes before continuing.

"Third, establish bases. This can be divided into two parts: overt and covert. The overt one is what I mentioned earlier—find an overlooked and oppressed country, overthrow it, and boldly build the beautiful world in your heart there. Discover problems through governance, solve them, and finally summarize your experience to find the optimal solution. At the same time, you can show your companions and potential allies what you have achieved. That is far more convincing than empty words.

"Then choose a hidden location for a covert base. Only core members should know its exact location. There, you can cultivate fresh blood, and it will also serve as a refuge for you and your companions. That way, even if the public base is exposed or even destroyed, as long as you and your companions remain, you can reignite the spark.

"Fourth, develop technology and industry. Technology will always be the primary productive force. It can arm yourselves while also allowing people to live better lives.

"That should be enough for the early stages. If I say too much, you won't be able to use it anyway. Think more and summarize more on your own. If you really can't make up your mind, come ask me then!"

Dragon stopped writing in a daze. He truly wanted to kneel before Mo Xingchen. He had only had an idea, yet Mo Xingchen had slapped a complete standard answer right in his face. Professional—damn professional. Powerful, yet reassuring.

"Brother, let me toast you. I'll drain mine; you drink as you please!"

Dragon was overflowing with passion now. He practically wanted to kill a few Celestial Dragons to liven things up. Raising his bottle, he began chugging it down.

The two of them drank until the sky grew dark. Who knew when they would drink like this again? After this parting, no one knew what year it would be before they met again.

Dragon swayed to his feet, retrieved the luggage he had packed long ago from the room, and let out a drunken belch.

"Brother, I'm leaving! Please take better care of the old man for me."

Mo Xingchen glanced at Robin, who was curled up asleep on the sofa, then pushed himself up from his knees and took off his coat to drape it over her.

"I'll see you off."

He watched Dragon board the ship leaving the harbor. It was calm, yet melancholy. Mo Xingchen slipped both hands into his pockets and slowly walked back the way he had come. After walking for a long time and nearing Dragon's house, he sensed someone. He paused slightly, then turned into an alley and saw Garp standing with his back against the courtyard wall, a cigar in hand.

"He left?"

"Yeah. I didn't try to stop him. I gave him plenty of advice instead."

"I could've guessed. What reason do we have to stop a man from heading out to sea?"

Garp took a deep drag on his cigar. Though the smoke was not meant to be inhaled, he drew it straight into his lungs, making his voice sound somewhat hoarse.

"Did your trip go smoothly?"

"The child was saved, but his mother had already run out of strength for his sake. She passed away after naming him. I left him in the care of a bandit in the Goa Kingdom. By the way, who's the little one you brought back today?"

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"Ohara's youngest scholar. But now she's my little sister."

"I never thought a brat like you would take the initiative to bring trouble upon yourself. It's late. Go back and sleep."

Mo Xingchen looked at Robin, who was sleeping soundly. After thinking that carrying her back and forth would be a pain, he decided not to return to his own courtyard. He casually washed his face and collapsed onto a bed in the guest room.

Mo Xingchen did not wake until noon. When he stepped out of his room and saw the house cleaned and tidy, he thought he was hallucinating. Silently, he closed the door, then opened it again, only to find little Robin standing outside, tilting her head at him.

"Ahem... you did this?"

"Mm. When I woke up and saw you were still sleeping, I had nothing to do, so I cleaned the room."

"Hungry? Come on, big brother will take you to eat something good."

Mo Xingchen rubbed Robin's close-cropped hair and headed for the front door first. Robin ran to the sofa, hugged the neatly folded Justice Coat to her chest, and only then followed him out.

On the way to the cafeteria, he explained Marine Headquarters to Robin, along with the Marine structure and its main leadership. After lunch, each of them held a coconut as they strolled over to the training grounds.

Mo Xingchen pointed at one section of the training field.

"There. That's where your big brother beat Kuzan into the hospital."

"Big brother, tell me about it."

"It was a bright, sunny afternoon. Back then, your big brother was lying under a tree with a coconut in his arms, just like now..."

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

Little Robin's silvery laughter rang across the training ground. Why didn't she imitate Sauron's laugh? Mo Xingchen felt that girls should be elegant. Besides, who would dare make his little sister force a smile? Did they think his sword was not sharp enough?

Seeing Robin laugh so happily, Mo Xingchen let her go down and train with the soldiers. Robin's smile instantly vanished. Pouting, she went off to train, while the unscrupulous young man Mo Xingchen laughed his head off.

Sure enough, smiles in the universe were constant. They would neither disappear nor diminish—they would only transfer.

Once Robin finished her training for the day and they had dinner at the cafeteria, Mo Xingchen took her back to his own courtyard.

He told Robin to go into the study and pick out books that interested her, while he sat on the sofa and began meditating. Before long, he heard someone knocking on the door.

Mo Xingchen got up and opened it, then froze.

"Why are you here?"

Borsalino stood there, holding a bottle of red wine in his left hand and a box of cigars in his right. He raised both hands and gave them a little shake.

"I had nothing to do, so I came to chat with you for a while."