Emotionless Laborer

"For the civilians brutalized by pirates!"

"For the subordinates who trust me!"

"For the Marines on the front lines!"

"For justice in the world!"

"For World Peace!"

"For my ideals..."

"Fuck that!"

"I'm exhausted!"

"Ah!!"

Wright let out a faint wail. The last trace of Holy Light around him slowly faded, and he toppled to the ground, losing consciousness.

This was a top-secret sealed chamber within Marine Headquarters Marineford.

As far as the eye could see, every unnecessary item in the chamber—tables, chairs, sofas, filing cabinets, and more—had been cleared out. The entire room had been converted into a factory—a factory for producing Lightforged Crystals.

A month ago, after attending the emergency meeting, the four higher-ups had immediately sprung into action. With an efficiency that horrified Wright, they settled every issue—these big shots usually seemed easygoing, and occasionally downright goofy, but when it came to getting things done, every one of them was impatient as hell.

A volunteer team of one hundred people was swiftly assembled. Every member had a clean background and was an elite Marine loyal to justice.

With Sengoku, Garp, and Wright working together, the hundred Marines were subjected to simulations of all kinds of common wartime injuries—even limb-severing wounds were no problem with Wright present. Wright's presence ensured that no accidents would result in casualties.

Without a doubt, the tests were a complete success! Even injuries involving severed limbs could be initially reattached by actively triggering a Lightforged Crystal, so long as the severed limb remained intact, then await Wright's deeper healing.

At the suggestion of the seasoned Admiral Sengoku, they even tested a function of the Lightforged Crystals that had previously been overlooked—purification.

What had made Wright famous in his early years? Drinking contests with the Red Hair Pirates? Of course not—it was Purification Spell! A Holy Light skill that removed poisoning, illness, and all sorts of messy negative effects. Purification Spell was undoubtedly a healing-type Holy Light Power.

Under tests involving all manner of negative conditions—poisons, viruses, toxic gas, strong liquor, frostbite, burns, and more—the Lightforged Crystals displayed the expected effects. They could essentially remove all of the above conditions. Even if those conditions left someone's life force faint, putting them on the verge of death, they could still actively trigger a Lightforged Crystal. Even if the damage was too severe to be completely removed, it would at least no longer be life-threatening.

"Wonderful!" Sengoku said delightedly. "Wright, this function of the Lightforged Crystals may be even more useful than directly healing wounds—when it comes to poisoning, viruses, and the like, finding the right antidote wastes a tremendous amount of time, and sometimes there simply isn't one!"

"For this test, I even obtained all kinds of exclusive deadly poisons from the user of the Venom-Venom Fruit. I never expected every single one could be removed!"

While Wright was still wondering whether Magellan suspected Sengoku of plotting against someone, Sengoku had already arranged for the first batch of twenty thousand White Crystals to be delivered to Wright—every single one was a life!

"..."

Seeing the twenty thousand White Crystals piled up in the sealed chamber, Wright nearly broke down inside. I knew the moment I developed this thing that I wouldn't be able to avoid a situation like this—but I didn't expect it to come so soon!

Old Man Sengoku really was a bastard!

"Old Man Sengoku! Old Man Garp!" After spending an entire month infusing all twenty thousand Lightforged Crystals, Wright opened the chamber door and found an admiral and a vice admiral standing guard outside with their eyes closed in rest.

Hearing the door open, the two old men opened their eyes. Seeing Wright's exhausted little face, a trace of guilt flickered across their expressions.

"Wright, boy!" Garp rushed over and looked him over from head to toe. Once he confirmed that Wright was merely exhausted and still in decent spirits, he spun around and pointed at Sengoku. "You bastard, Sengoku! A few days ago, I sensed that Wright's aura had weakened, but you wouldn't let me go in!"

"Garp, you idiot!" Sengoku shot Garp a glare. "Only Wright can make Lightforged Crystals. Wright specifically told us beforehand not to enter unless it was an emergency, in case something went wrong. If you had gone in and caused some unknown consequence, wouldn't you have harmed Wright instead?!"

"His aura was weakening, and that isn't an emergency?!"

"Uh... Old Man Garp, I'm fine. Don't get worked up." Wright rubbed his forehead. "Old Man Sengoku handled it correctly... huh?"

"Hm? Old Man Sengoku? Ahahahaha!" Garp keenly picked up on something he shouldn't have. "Sengoku! You old bastard, you've finally dropped down to my level! Hahahaha!"

"..."

What do I do if I accidentally said what I was thinking? Would I be punished for talking back to a superior? Would he make things difficult for me?

"Hmph!" Sengoku shot Garp a contemptuous glance. "What, do you take me for such a petty man? Wright is still so young. Calling me... well, it's no big deal."

"Given Wright's tremendous contribution this time, I permit him to address me that way!"

As expected of Buddha Sengoku. Hmm... he really was broad-minded!

Looking at the golden glow filling the room, Sengoku could not help but sigh. "Wright, if the Marines knew everything you had done for them, your name would probably truly resound throughout the world! It's just..."

"Haha, my wish is World Peace. This... is only the beginning. I understand." Wright declared dramatically.

"World Peace..."

Neither Garp nor Sengoku laughed. This kid... perhaps...

Fleet Admiral Office.

It was still Wright and the four higher-ups. Marine Fleet Admiral Kong was announcing an appointment. "Headquarters Colonel Wright, because of your tremendous contributions and the powerful strength you possess, far exceeding your current rank, you are hereby promoted to Headquarters Commodore."

Kong looked at Wright approvingly and slowly said, "Wright, the great merit you have earned this time would have been more than enough to directly promote you to rear admiral. However, in order to protect you, we have no choice but to suppress the pace of your promotion and temporarily keep your role in this matter confidential. Do you understand?"

"I understand!" Wright pointed one finger upward and revealed a knowing smile, surprising the four higher-ups somewhat. It seemed this boy knew quite a few things. But when they considered Wright's background, the four of them understood.

"It's good that you understand." Sengoku gave Wright a deep look. "Although the Lightforged Crystals are immensely useful, we intend to proceed gradually—"

"We will not exploit your abilities. Your foremost duty is to grow stronger, to become even stronger. Not only because producing these Lightforged Crystals will become easier and easier for you as you grow stronger, but also... so that you have the power to protect yourself!"

Wright nodded to show that he understood. Vice Admiral Tsuru, standing nearby, also spoke. "Based on the current data, this first batch of twenty thousand Lightforged Crystals can last for roughly one year on the most dangerous front lines—if used only as precious life-saving supplies. Even so, I recommend that we first distribute them to elite units on a trial basis, observe the data, and then expand step by step."

Garp agreed. "Lightforged Crystals may be miraculous, but we cannot allow soldiers to become dependent on them—soldiers who no longer value their lives can cause serious problems!"

Sengoku nodded solemnly. "Tsuru is right. We need sufficient time to observe changes in the soldiers' mentality and gather new wartime data after the Lightforged Crystals are introduced before we can gradually promote them. Wright, you only need to produce twenty thousand Lightforged Crystals for Headquarters each year."

"Also, Wright, I hope you can produce some Lightforged Pointing Crystals for secret use. They will not be made public—though naturally, you may make such crystals yourself and give them to people you trust."

Wright nodded and took out a wooden box he had prepared long ago. "I've already prepared for that."

Opening the wooden box revealed ten neatly arranged Lightforged Pointing Crystals.

At this rate, would Lightforged Crystals become hard currency? Haha!