Sorry, Watching One Piece Means I Can Do Whatever I Want

"Are you planning to invite him aboard?"

Watching Lin Yan's behavior over the past two days, Zephyr asked him.

"You figured it out?"

Lin Yan asked back.

"Didn't you just use this very move on me?"

Zephyr took a sip of tea from his seat.

Indeed.

When he had invited Zephyr aboard,

Lin Yan had kept showing up around him.

Now that Zephyr mentioned it,

it really did seem to be the same thing.

"After observing him these past few days, Issho truly is different."

"Whether it's his bearing or his abilities, he hides them well."

"It's obvious he seems more interested in the Marines. Are you confident?"

Zephyr had also been observing Issho these past few days, analyzing the matter rationally.

Yet, to his regret,

even he

could not see through that blind man.

"How would we know without trying?"

In the end, they had to give it a try, Lin Yan said.

Finally,

when the time was ripe,

Lin Yan approached Issho. "Want to talk?"

"Certainly!"

After spending several days together, Issho had naturally noticed Lin Yan's intentions.

In truth, Issho was also deeply puzzled.

He did not know

how Lin Yan had learned anything about him.

After all,

before this,

Issho believed he had never revealed the slightest flaw.

He had even maintained the appearance of a blind man around others all along.

He was as ordinary as could be, no different from anyone else.

Yet what happened?

Lin Yan's actions said it all.

Every disguise he had put up

had been seen through completely by Lin Yan.

"I heard you intend to join the Marines?"

Lin Yan had also learned that Issho had set out to sea to join the Marines.

Judging by the timing,

this was about when Issho should have entered the Marines' sight.

"You want to invite me into the Seventeenth Division, don't you?"

Issho asked in return.

In fact,

he had long prepared himself for Lin Yan to seek him out alone.

"That's right."

Lin Yan did not hide it.

"Before that, may I ask a question?"

Issho had something he wanted Lin Yan to explain.

"Go ahead."

Lin Yan said.

"How did you learn of my past and decide to invite me aboard?"

"I'm quite curious."

Issho had always believed that someone as famous as Lin Yan would never invite an ordinary person aboard for no reason.

More importantly,

he was blind.

At the very least,

the person being invited had to possess some particularly outstanding ability.

Either exceptional navigational skills,

or exceptional shipbuilding skills.

Issho considered himself to have some strength,

but at least,

he had never displayed it.

It did not quite add up.

"That's a good question!"

"Would you accept it if I said I just took a liking to you?"

Lin Yan naturally understood how Issho felt right now.

But he could hardly say something like, Sorry, I've watched One Piece, so I can do whatever I want, could he?

"Took a liking to me?"

The smile on Issho's face froze.

He had been pondering that very question

for the past two days.

Yet he had not found the slightest clue.

But when it came to Lin Yan,

it was merely because he had taken a liking to him?

Why???

It was like when Izo had heard about "five social insurances and one housing fund" and been utterly dumbfounded.

What kind of logic was that?

"It really is that simple?"

Issho asked in disbelief.

"It really is that simple."

Lin Yan smiled and gave him an affirmative answer.

Inside the room,

both sides fell into a long silence.

Issho fell silent.

Lin Yan, meanwhile, poured himself a cup of tea.

He took occasional sips from it.

After a long while,

Lin Yan broke the deadlock. "Issho, your dream is to join the Marines and protect the peace of a region. But what position do you think you need to reach in order to achieve the answer you seek?"

Hearing this, Issho thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't know. What do you think?"

"Admiral!"

Lin Yan slowly raised his head. "If you want a voice within the Marines, only an admiral can do it!"

A Marine admiral.

The highest position in the Marines apart from Fleet Admiral, and the Marines' foremost fighting force.

Among the vast Marine force numbering in the millions, they were three monstrously powerful individuals selected from the masses.

They were figures admired and worshipped by countless people.

They were also peak figures capable of rivaling the Four Emperors of the New World.

"Five years. Do you think that in five years, Issho, you can become a one-in-ten-thousand admiral?"

Lin Yan held up five fingers and asked.

"This..."

Issho hesitated. If it was merely a matter of joining the Marines and accomplishing something,

he was confident he could do it.

But becoming a Marine admiral

was far more difficult.

There were only three admiral positions.

Right now,

Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji were all in their prime and at the peak of their strength.

Forget becoming an admiral in five years.

It would be impossible even in ten.

At the same time,

Issho's purpose in joining the Marines was clear.

Having witnessed the misery of the Pirate World, his desire to abolish the Seven Warlords of the Sea system had only grown stronger.

But abolishing the Seven Warlords of the Sea system

was easier said than done.

"I believe you can see just how difficult the path of the Marines truly is!"

"To become a Marine admiral, it will take at least five years, perhaps even ten."

"How many decades does a person have in life? Do you think you can afford to spend them now?"

Lin Yan spoke seriously.

Watching Issho gradually hesitate, he knew his goal had been achieved.

Since he had chosen to poach him,

he might as well do it thoroughly.

He directly blocked off that path, making it sound impossibly difficult.

In truth,

gold would always shine.

As long as Issho joined the Marines,

forget five years.

In less than a year, perhaps half a year, perhaps even three months, he could rise to the pinnacle of the world.

How was he gold?

Issho was a diamond, the kind that could blind people with just a little sunlight.

What made Lin Yan want to laugh

was that Issho did not know how the future would unfold!

He did not know that after joining the Marines, he would become a Marine admiral within just a few months.

Who could have imagined

that after the Marineford War, Fleet Admiral Sengoku would step down, and Akainu and Aokiji would clash on Punk Hazard, leaving two Marine admiral positions vacant?

Under the normal process,

they really would have to wait for the previous Marine admirals to step down

before the next admiral candidates could seize the opportunity.

"Issho, I believe you can also see that I want to invite you aboard."

"Join our Seventeenth Division. I will fulfill all your dreams, including abolishing the Seven Warlords of the Sea system. I guarantee it in my capacity as captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' Seventeenth Division!"

Lin Yan directly brought out his status as captain of the Seventeenth Division as a guarantee.

The Seventeenth Division had only just been established.

What credibility did it have?

Yet he truly said it without the slightest hesitation.

"Do you know how these eyes of mine went blind?"

Issho's voice suddenly deepened, his face filled with the weariness of age.

Lin Yan scratched his head.

What kind of question was that...?

Those people in films and dramas who blinded themselves

were more or less the same as him, weren't they?

Lin Yan pondered for a moment before making a casual guess. "You grew sick of seeing this filthy world and chose to blind yourself?"

Just as expected.

Issho paused slightly.

He looked at Lin Yan in surprise and said with feeling, "You were right! That's also why I reject pirates!"

Of course.

Lin Yan's expression turned extremely solemn as he said, "I sympathize with you, but pirates can't all be judged the same way. We should judge each case on its own merits. What kind of pirate do you think I am?"