"I'll be there soon!"
Hearing Yoriichi say such words, Mihawk turned his head slightly to look at him as he slowly lowered the receiver and hung up the call. He could not help but remind him, "If you lay a hand on the Celestial Dragons' slaves, then even as an Admiral, you won't be able to bear the consequences."
"When the time comes, you might be expelled from the Marines."
"Can your goal still be achieved if you leave the Marines?"
Mihawk had not known Yoriichi for merely a day or two. In some respects, his understanding of Yoriichi even surpassed Yoriichi's own.
Yoriichi was different from him. Strictly speaking, Yoriichi was not a pure swordsman. His goal was not to achieve something extraordinary in the way of the sword.
What Yoriichi wanted was to truly uphold so-called "justice."
Although Mihawk had always scoffed at Yoriichi's goal—or rather, his ideal—and believed it was impossible for him to get what he wanted, he could not help reminding him when he saw Yoriichi's decision deviating from that goal.
In Mihawk's view, upholding true "justice" was already an extremely difficult thing. Without the platform of the Marines, that difficulty would rise exponentially.
Deep down, Mihawk hoped Yoriichi would succeed, even if the chance of success was exceedingly slim.
"My goal..."
"That's right. If I leave the Marines, can I really achieve my goal?"
"This was what I had always been worried about."
Yoriichi tucked the Den Den Mushi into his uniform, raised his head, and looked out at the sea. By then, the afterglow of the setting sun had long vanished, and the vast ocean appeared dark and profound.
"But if I don't do it, who will?"
"Build up strength and wait for the wind to come?"
"Then I might as well become