Ain, the Aide, Goes for Coating

As Zephyr finished speaking, Ain stepped forward.

She came before Roya, gave him a military salute, and said crisply, "Admiral White Dove, please allow me to study by your side. I'm counting on you!"

As she spoke, Ain gave Roya a deep bow.

At that moment, Zephyr added, "White Dove, Ain has excellent talent. 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 realm of a novice Great Swordsman. She'll have no problem dealing with minor opponents!"

Roya finally understood.

Zephyr had come to recommend his student.

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 left the Marines to establish a new Marine force. 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 this clear first: I cannot tolerate people who are full of themselves. As long as you obediently follow orders, I'll teach you everything I know."

Half of those words were meant for Zephyr, while the other half were directed at Ain.

Ain had clearly prepared herself long ago. Without the slightest hesitation, she nodded in agreement.

"Then make preparations 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 and muttered, "White Dove, if you became Fleet Admiral, would these seas become a little more peaceful?"

With that thought, Zephyr shook his head and turned to leave.

After Roya and Ain finished their preparations,

they boarded an admiral-class warship and sailed toward Fish-Man Island.

They needed to go to the Sabaody Archipelago for coating before they could head to Fish-Man Island.

But coating was an extremely troublesome process.

They only had three days in total, so Roya had to make use of every second.

"Myriad Phantom Turns!"

On the warship, Roya directly created one hundred phantoms. Under his control, the phantoms divided their work in an orderly fashion and steered the warship toward the Sabaody Archipelago.

This was clearly Ain's first time following Roya.

When she saw the 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. When I need you to do something, I'll tell you. As for what I teach you, how much you can learn will depend on your own talent."

"Yes!"

Ain answered.

Across the sea, an admiral-class warship rode the wind and waves.

Before long, Roya and Ain arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago.

After all, Marineford was quite 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 when he had time someday, he would definitely come back and have a proper look around.

"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.

They instinctively fled from White Dove's line of sight.

They had long heard of White Dove's great reputation!

Especially the recent news that he had slain Whitebeard Jr., which had "somehow" spread under Marine control!

It let even more people understand just how powerful the Marines were now!

It could be considered a recovery from the negative impact Akainu's failure had caused the Marines.

As he walked through the Sabaody Archipelago, Roya's mouth twitched.

"Ain, do I look that scary? They ran away the moment they saw me!"

After all, anyone who could make a living on the Sabaody Archipelago had some strength.

They shouldn't have been scared off just by seeing him, right?

Ain looked at Roya's sharply chiseled face, and for some reason, her pretty face flushed slightly.

"You're not scary." You're actually very handsome too.

"Ah, maybe they're jealous of my looks." After saying that, Roya added, "Ain, go take a look around if you want. I'm going to find a coating craftsman."

"This kind of matter should still..."

Before Ain could finish speaking, Roya vanished from before her eyes.

She could only swallow the rest of her words.

Moving in rapid flashes, Roya asked around until he arrived at a bar called "Shakky's Rip-off Bar."

Shakky, who was smoking in the bar, frowned slightly. Seeing Roya walk in from outside, she was startled inwardly. White Dove! Why is he here?!

Although 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 inside the bar.

It was the sound of a glass falling to the floor and shattering into fragments.

The already tense atmosphere became even heavier.

Shakky reacted quickly. With an awkward smile, she said, "Ah, I'm old, so I'm useless now. 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 want to ask whether Rayleigh is here. The Pirate King's first mate, Dark King Rayleigh!"

Shakky's heart jolted.

Those who came with good intentions did not come; those who came were not well-intentioned.

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 a time like this, 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 gotten something wrong?"

Just as Shakky finished speaking, hearty laughter sounded from outside the bar.

"Do we have guests? Welcome, welcome..."