Wandering Swordsman Issho (In a Bad Mood, Bonus Chapter!)

On the Moby Dick.

After bidding farewell to Gawain for the time being, Whitebeard returned to his chair and sat down heavily.

His hands stroked the armrests of the chair; his face remained unchanged, but his eyes revealed profound melancholy.

Call...

Whitebeard exhaled and looked at his sons, who in turn all looked at Whitebeard.

Marco shook his slightly drunken head and said to Whitebeard.

"Pops, you and Gawain have been gone for a long time. Did you two go to a sauna together?"

Why are there robots named Franky and Spandam helping us repair the ship, and even offering to install a... Siphon Heating Hot Spring Spa System for free?

Marco frowned at this point.

"Is that kind of system really a legitimate system? Could it be some kind of bomb or Den Den Mushi?"

"Gurarara, don't think of Gawain so narrowly, Marco!"

The Whitebeard smiled and then spoke to his sons.

"As for Franky and Spandam, they are Gawain's crew. You should treat them the same way Gawain treated you!"

After all, they really are here to help deliver benefits!

"Okay, I understand. I'll tell everyone not to go and watch them."

But honestly, our crew is really interested in their looks...

As Marco responded, he turned back with a sigh, watching Spandam Mark I rapidly repairing the ship, piece after piece of Adam Wood, even in the darkness of the night...

As he watched, Marco rubbed his temples in exasperation.

"After all, those two guys' designs are really rare, and they repaired the ship so fast."

Two people alone could repair things many times faster than our shipwright team of over thirty!

Franky can even rap...

So the crew looked at them as if they were the extremely rare Mink Tribe ...

As he spoke, Marco pointed into the distance. Just a few hundred meters away on the bow of the Moby Dick, seven or eight hundred pirates were surrounding Franky and his companion, staring at them like they were visiting a zoo...

Upon seeing this, Whitebeard burst into hearty laughter.

"Gurarara, Gawain is really interesting. He's such a Haki guy, yet he manages to create such a relaxed atmosphere on the ship."

Look how happy those two are, gurgle gurgle!

"When it comes to happiness, even we're almost outdone by those two!"

At this point, the Whitebeard casually picked up the wine jug, intending to take another swig.

Before he could even take a sip, a huge wing blazing with blue flames forcefully blocked his wine jar.

While using his wings to cover Whitebeard's wine jug, Marco spoke coldly to Whitebeard, who also had a somber expression.

"Pops, you can't keep drinking. Your body is already suffering from drinking all night like this!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Marco snatched the flask from Whitebeard and then continued speaking to him while holding it.

"No matter how fiercely you glare at me, it won't do any good, Pops, because I'm the ship's doctor!"

Absolutely no more drinking!

Besides, I paid for this jar of wine myself!

"What a joke, brat! This jar of wine was clearly something I smuggled from Gawain's ship!"

I've hidden all the wine you bought!

Whitebeard responded with great frustration, while Marco quickly glanced at the wine jar in his hand.

"Huh? It really is from Gawain's ship."

"Then consider this a return payment to me, Pops. I'll take it back and drink it."

"You...!!!"

The Whitebeard was filled with righteous indignation, but he was helpless as an old man and a patient.

When he faced the doctor and his son, he always seemed particularly helpless.

Marco put down the wine jar and then went to Whitebeard's side, speaking to Whitebeard with the expectations of his brothers.

"Pops, let's not drink anymore. Let's chat."

We were all incredibly curious when we were on Gawain's ship.

"You and Gawain were gone for so long, what did you talk about?"

"Gurararara, you guys were really waiting for me here!"

Seeing the curious looks in his sons' eyes, the Whitebeard took a deep breath and then smiled as he spoke.

"Gawain and I made a promise!"

"An agreement?" Marco tilted his head.

Whitebeard patted his thigh.

"That guy Gawain made a promise with me that he would show me a prosperous world, gurgle gurgle!"

"I... am truly looking forward to it!"

Meanwhile, on a naval warship, Garp was carrying a flask and wearing his dog-head hat.

He stood at the bow of the ship with a stern face, looking towards the direction of Sabaody Island.

Beside him, Aokiji asked Garp a question while deep in thought.

"Mr. Garp, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about that flag!"

As Garp responded, he pointed towards the Fishman Five Islands on Sabaody in the distance.

Looking at those flags, Aokiji said thoughtfully.

"That's Saint Gawain's banner. The Dark Bird have surrounded the Five Elders. It's clear that Saint Gawain has ambitions."

"But since even the Five Elders themselves don't care about this, why are you so concerned?"

"Hehe!"

Upon hearing this, Garp grinned dismissively.

"Of course the Five Elders wouldn't care. After all, if I were the Five Elders, any outstanding child who suddenly appears in the family would be allowed to do whatever he wants, as long as he is outstanding enough!"

"After all, they're our own children!"

"But what?" Aokiji chuckled. "When you talk about things like that, you always have to add a 'but,' right?"

Mr. Garp, but what about it?

"Hmph, but it's all just a game. Right now, these flags are only planted on those few small islands of the Fish-Man, and nobody cares about such a thing."

But what if, in the future, this flag is planted in every corner of the world?

"At that time, this flag will bring countless killings and wars to the sea!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Garp tilted his head back and let out a heavy sigh.

Nearby, listening to Garp's words, even Kizaru, who was resting on the wicker chair, perked up.

As for Aokiji, he frowned and asked softly.

"How could that be, Grandpa Garp? You don't actually think Saint Gawain can fight against the World Government and all the countries in the world, do you?"

Haha, how could that be? You yourself said that Saint Gawain is Celestial Dragon. No matter how outstanding he is, he's still an outstanding Celestial Dragon.

"So what if Celestial Dragon? So what if they're your own children? Once they choose different paths, they're destined to kill each other at the crossroads!"

As for Gawain, humph, of course I can see that. He has never followed the Celestial Dragon's rules at heart!

If it's just about subduing a few powerful individuals or occupying a few islands, the Five Elders won't care about him.

But what if one day that guy actually wants to change the core ideology of the Celestial Dragon, that is, to shake the core ruling principle that the Celestial Dragon are Descendants of God and everyone else is inferior and slaves of the Celestial Dragon!

At this point, Garp glanced at Aokiji and asked meaningfully.

"Having walked around Gawain's ship, haven't you noticed yet that the hierarchy on Gawain's ship is not the kind of hierarchy that Celestial Dragon should follow?"

The people on his ship treated him with absolute respect!

Distinguishing between respect and hierarchy is quite easy!

And a Celestial Dragon who doesn't even follow the rules of the Celestial Dragon, would his goal be to become a Celestial Dragon like the Five Elders?

"Can't you see that?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Garp gave Aokiji a knowing smile.

Across from him, looking at Garp's smile, which carried countless thoughts, Aokiji responded with a smile.

"So what if you can see it, and so what if you can't?"

"You're getting lazier and lazier, fine."

Since you don't want to talk about it, then forget it, haha!

Garp laughed and shook his head, then walked away boredly, intending to find a place to sleep as soon as possible.

Seeing that Garp was really going to sleep, Aokiji could only clapp his hands with a wry smile.

"Alright, alright, haha, I really can't hide it from Mr. Garp. Although you've been pretending to be stupid all these years, even Grandma Tsuru has always said something."

She said that no matter how much the Sengoku Ship Wise General, and no matter how much she herself was just an advisor, she should not be fooled.

Of the three of you, you are the one who is wise in a seemingly foolish way!

As for my plans, what plans could I possibly have?

If things go wrong in the future, how much worse can it be than now?

And if that's a good thing...

Shouldn't we keep quiet to avoid ruining things in the end?

At this point, Aokiji glanced leisurely at Kizaru, who had been resting there for a long time.

"Admiral Borsalino, what do you think?"

"Oh, how scary! I don't want to get involved in something so terrible."

"I'll just watch, haha, that's enough for me..."

After saying that, Borsalino stretched out his arms and lay down in a more comfortable position.

Garp went to the vicinity of Borsalino, climbed onto another wicker chair, and fell asleep in a second.

As for Aokiji, looking at the two old guys who, like him, were pretending to be ignorant, he smiled and shook his head.

Then he sat down in another wicker chair and put the blindfold over his eyes as well.

And so, their warships anchored at the naval pier in Sabaody.

The three of them didn't even disembark from the warship; they simply rested deeply.

Just when everyone was almost resting, on the Dark Bird Ship...

Gawain watched everyone return to their rooms, while he and Yi Xiao sat on the sofa in the side room.

Now, there are only four people in the room: Gawain, Gawain, Hancock, and Gion, who have been occupying the side bedroom the whole time.

While Hancock was fetching his pajamas, Gawain smiled and said to her.

"Originally, I had guessed when you would come to see me, but I really didn't expect you to step in when I clashed with Whitebeard."

"Saint Gawain, I was just acting on a whim and couldn't control my urge to fight the pirates."

He smiled and said, while accepting the hot tea that Gion handed him with both hands.

Across from him, watching Yi Xiao slowly sip her hot tea, Gawain sighed softly.

"Your appearance was really timely for me, after all, you've seen..."

At this point, Gawain suddenly paused, then gently patted his forehead.

"I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous."

He naturally apologized to Yixiao, and then continued speaking in front of Yixiao's slightly changed expression.

"After all, you should have realized that without you, it would have been quite difficult for us to deal with Whitebeard's Sea Quake."

While we do have some top-tier experts, I ultimately had too little time to plan everything, and most of that time was spent training myself.

Therefore, our combat strength is still somewhat insufficient.

That's why I have such high expectations for your approach.

Before the betting match, after witnessing your brief exchange with Rayleigh, I couldn't help but ponder it for a long time.

If you were to come before me, what words should I use to persuade you to join my ranks and become my strength?

I thought a lot back then. I pondered countless beautiful words and thought of many passionate ways to give a speech. Sometimes, just thinking about it made me feel incredibly passionate at night, and I couldn't wait to have a long chat with you.

I couldn't help but imagine myself as the wise ruler in the story, and you as one of the wise ministers. Then we could act out a perfect drama of ruler, minister, and advisor, haha."

Hearing Gawain's laughter, Yi Xiao frowned slightly, and then said softly.

"Saint Gawain, although I don't know you very well, I have already gained some understanding of the meaning of a wise ruler, even just from the current situation with the Dark Bird Ship!"

"Haha, stop joking. If even you become one of those boastful people on my ship, I really won't be able to handle it."

Also, to be honest, I really had a lot of passionate things I wanted to say to you.

But ironically, I had a two-hour chat with Newgate today...

At this point, Gawain surprisingly gave a wry smile.

"It was really frustrating. In those two hours, I practically told Newgate all the things I had prepared for you."

If you repeat what you feel in your heart too many times, you'll start to doubt yourself.

So, with a smile, I won't talk to you about my dreams and goals that are still a long way off.

Let's get straight to the point. What are you worried about and what are you looking forward to? I'll respond to your concerns and expectations directly.

After all, I've already exhausted all my passion on Newgate this afternoon, sigh..."

"Ha?"

The person opposite him finally couldn't hold back any longer. He pursed his lips, trying to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out.

After suppressing it for a long time, he managed to open his mouth with a difficult smile.

"Sir, it is already a rare thing that someone like you is willing to play such an amusing joke with us!"

As for me, when I made the decision to shield you from Whitebeard, I had already made part of the decision. Now, I'm thinking mostly about you, not about the decision itself.

Of course, I have absolutely no concerns about your personality right now.

Mr. Rayleigh and Ms. Gion told me about the prophecy you saw. Although I don't believe in prophecies, I do believe in Rayleigh and Gion.

A top-tier navy officer and a legendary pirate—the person who can bring these two together and create a family-like atmosphere on the ship...

At this point, Yi Xiao nodded to Gawain.

"That's the kind of person you are, and I have absolutely no doubt about your character."

So, regarding the present situation, I only have one question I'd like to ask you!

So, what are your plans regarding the existence of pirates?

"This one..."

Gawain smiled and waved his hand.

"Alright, it seems that even if I don't want to, I'll have to tell you some of the things I said to Newgate anyway."

Regarding pirates, my goal with the Dark Bird Ship over the next three to five years is to completely clean up and control the Grand Line, and then isolate the New World and Reverse Mountain, cutting off the future of pirates at its root."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing Gawain's words, Yi Xiao's nostrils twitched violently.

"Saint Gawain, how could you say such a thing to that great pirate!"

Aren't you worried that he might threaten your safety?

"May I be so bold as to ask, after you mentioned this to him, how did Newgate respond?"

"Newgate ..."

Gawain gave a nostalgic smile.

"After hearing my decision, he made a pact with me to fight to the death on the future Red Line, haha!"

But I won't let him have his way!

After all, until I completely eradicate the concept and trend of piracy, the more pirates like him who are happy to protect the country and its people, the better!

Tomorrow we'll be featured in the editor's picks, hehe.

I can't wait!

Keep going, you half-dead!