As Zephyr's words fell, Ain stepped forward.
She came before Roya, gave him a military salute, and said crisply, "Admiral White Dove, please allow me to learn by your side. I beg you!"
As she spoke, Ain gave Roya a deep bow.
At that moment, Zephyr added, "White Dove, Ain is very talented. Not only is her Devil Fruit ability powerful, but she also has her own understanding of Swordsmanship. She has already reached the peak level of a Swordsman. I believe it won't be long before she reaches the threshold of a Great Swordsman. She'll have no problem dealing with minor opponents!"
Roya finally understood.
Zephyr had come to recommend his student to him.
However, because of him, the Marines had not invited Whitebeard Jr. to become one of the Shichibukai. After all, in the eyes of Sengoku and the others, Whitebeard Jr. was already "dead."
As a result, Zephyr had not directly left the Marines to establish the Neo Marines. Instead, he had simply retired and returned to civilian life!
"Since Teacher Zephyr has said so, I have no reason to refuse. But let me make one thing clear first: I cannot tolerate people who are full of themselves. As long as you obey orders, I will teach you everything I know."
Half of those words were for Zephyr, while the other half were for Ain.
Ain had clearly prepared herself mentally long ago. Without the slightest hesitation, she nodded in agreement.
"Then make preparations to depart immediately. We're leaving at once!"
After saying that, Roya turned to Zephyr and said, "Teacher Zephyr, I have a mission to carry out, so I'll be leaving first!"
"Go on, go on."
Watching Roya disappear from his sight, Zephyr sighed inwardly. "White Dove, if you could become Fleet Admiral, would this sea become a little more peaceful?"
With that thought, Zephyr shook his head and turned to leave.
After Roya and Ain had finished preparing,
they boarded an admiral-class warship and sailed toward Fish-Man Island.
They needed to go to the Sabaody Archipelago to have the ship coated before they could travel to Fish-Man Island.
But coating was an extremely troublesome matter.
They only had three days in total. Roya had to make every second count.
Myriad Phantom Turns!
On the warship, Roya directly created one hundred phantoms. Under his control, the phantoms divided up their duties and expertly operated the warship as it sailed toward the Sabaody Archipelago.
It was clearly Ain's first time following Roya.
When she saw those hundred phantoms, she was completely stunned.
"Admiral White Dove..."
"In informal settings, just call me Roya. I'm actually quite easy to get along with in private."
Seeing Roya's gentle smile, Ain nodded vigorously.
"R-Roya, then what do I need to do now?"
"You don't need to do anything. Just stay by my side. I'll tell you when I need you to do something. As for what I teach you, how much you can learn will depend on your own talent."
"Yes!"
Ain answered.
Upon the sea, an admiral-class warship rode the wind and cleaved through the waves.
Before long, Roya and Ain arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago.
After all, Marineford was relatively close to the Sabaody Archipelago.
This was Roya's first time visiting the Sabaody Archipelago. He had heard that there were many interesting things there.
Roya decided that once he had time someday, he would definitely come back and enjoy himself properly.
"Look over there!"
"Wow, that woman is gorgeous."
"She's unbelievably beautiful."
"Idiot, I didn't tell you to look at that woman. Look at the man beside her."
"What's so interesting about a man?"
"Wait, that's Admiral White Dove!"
"It's Admiral White Dove of the Marines!"
"Why is Admiral White Dove here?!"
The Pirates hiding their identities on the Sabaody Archipelago nearly wet themselves when they saw White Dove.
One after another, they instinctively fled from White Dove's sight.
They had long heard of White Dove's fearsome reputation!
Especially the recent news that he had slain Whitebeard Jr., which had conveniently "leaked out" under the Marines' control!
It let even more people know just how powerful the Marines were now!
It also helped undo the negative impact Akainu's defeat had caused the Marines.
As he walked through the Sabaody Archipelago, Roya's mouth twitched.
"Ain, do I look that scary? Do they really have to run the moment they see me?"
After all, anyone who could make a living in the Sabaody Archipelago had some strength.
Surely they couldn't have been scared off just by seeing him.
Ain looked at Roya's sharply chiseled face, and for some reason, her pretty face flushed slightly.
"You're not scary at all." At the same time, she secretly thought, He's actually very handsome.
"Ah, maybe they're jealous of my looks." After saying that, Roya added, "Ain, go have a look around if you want. I'll go find a coating craftsman."
"This kind of thing should still..."
Before Ain could finish, Roya's figure vanished from before her.
Leaving Ain to swallow the rest of her words.
His figure flickered rapidly. After making inquiries along the way, Roya arrived at a bar called Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
Shakky, who had been smoking inside the bar, frowned slightly. When she saw Roya enter from outside, her heart jolted. White Dove! Why was he here?!
Though Shakky was greatly shocked, she did not reveal anything. She merely said, "Is Rayleigh here?"
As Roya's words fell, a piercing sound rang out within the bar.
It was the sound of a glass falling to the floor and shattering into fragments.
The already tense atmosphere grew even heavier at that moment.
Shakky reacted quickly and gave an awkward smile. "Ah, I'm getting old. I'm no good anymore. Don't be fooled by how young I look. I'm actually already sixty. By the way, what did you just say?"
Roya smiled faintly and repeated, "I wanted to ask if Rayleigh is here. Dark King Rayleigh, the former first mate of the Pirate King!"
Shakky's heart shook.
Those who came with good intentions did not come; those who came did not mean well.
To Shakky, Roya's smile resembled a sinister venomous snake that had lain in wait for a long time, waiting for its prey to appear.
But Shakky was no fool. At this moment, she would never admit that Dark King Rayleigh lived here!
"Dark King Rayleigh, the Pirate King's first mate? I have indeed heard that name, but I've never seen him in person. I don't even know where he is now! Admiral, have you made some kind of mistake?"
Just as Shakky finished speaking, a hearty laugh sounded from outside the bar.
"Do we have guests? Welcome, welcome..."