Click click...
Just as the two of them were eating to replenish their energy, the Mole's warship had arrived at the Gate of Justice. After verifying that the instructions were correct, it opened the two huge gates, and the warship was about to sail in with the ocean current.
"Oh no, Luffy- kun, we can't dawdle here any longer! Come with me, we have to swim through that opening, otherwise it'll be hard to get back in..."
After saying that, Rayleigh grabbed Luffy, who was still engrossed in eating his Luffy, and jumped off the sea lion's head, even throwing away the pack behind him, and followed him with a freestyle swim.
cluck cluck...
"Ah..."
cluck cluck...
Before Luffy, who was being held in his hand, could even react, he was pulled into the sea with him. Before he could even swallow the meat in his mouth, a large amount of seawater was forced into his mouth, and he was dragged along by him, feeling weak and powerless.
Click click...
The two enormous doors in the distance creaked and slowly closed under the control of the crew in the control room after the Mole and his crew had passed through. At the same moment, Rayleigh, who was still some distance away, saw this, his glasses flashed, and he turned to Luffy and spoke.
"Looks like we need to speed things up, Luffy- kun, or we won't be able to catch up..."
Having said that, he ignored Luffy, who was being held in his hand and was weak and sickly, Luffy out a weak "oh." He gradually increased his speed, and soon he created a white wave on the sea and rushed up at Extreme Speed like a bird.
Wow...
"Um..."
Just as Rayleigh accelerated and rushed over, a soldier in the control room suddenly exclaimed in surprise, then sat up straight, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, and stared wide-eyed at the scene on the live broadcast screen.
"What's wrong..."
His behavior surprised his companion, who leaned over to look and asked him a question.
"Hmm, look, isn't there something in this picture speeding towards the Gate of Justice?"
He nodded, pointed to the white wave on the screen, and asked.
"Hmm... this is probably some unknown Sea Kings trying to speed up and rush over. These things happen once or twice every time the Gate of Justice open. It's nothing serious, just ignore it and keep doing your job..."
The soldier who looked over glanced at him briefly, like a senior employee instructing a new employee, then said this and turned away, no longer paying attention to the matter.
"Uh... okay!!"
When the new soldier saw that Rayleigh and his men were no longer on the screen, he assumed it was just a normal incident, as his senior had said, and relaxed, no longer focusing his attention on it.
Just moments before, as the two were discussing, Rayleigh's eyes narrowed, and his Observation Haki precisely detected the silhouette of a small Visual Den Den Mushi above the Gate of Justice. Just as it was about to enter the gate, Luffy pulled Luffy into the sea, allowing them to pass through the Gate of Justice and enter the triangular current inside.
As the Gate of Justice slammed shut, massive underwater whirlpools, each large enough to swallow a warship, formed behind them, blocking their escape route.
"Phew... thank goodness we arrived in time. Luffy, are you alright...?"
Rayleigh breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the vortex behind him, then pulled Luffy in front of him and asked.
"Um... Can we get off the sea quickly, Uncle Rayleigh? I'm out of strength!!"
Luffy, still looking sickly, forced his eyes open, glanced at Rayleigh, and then spoke.
"Yes, just hang in there a little longer, I'll swim there soon..."
Wow...
After saying that, Rayleigh led Luffy on Extreme Speed Luffy to catch up with Snake Princess and the others.
On the other side, after visiting Ace in prison, Luo Chen and his group quickly arrived at the Gate of Justice in Marineford, following the ocean currents. After matching the relevant codes, they opened the gate and sailed towards Marineford.
Wow...
Before long, Luo Chen stood at the bow of the warship and could see the headquarters building at a glance. As the warship accelerated, Marineford grew larger and larger in his eyes. Finally, it sailed into Crescent Bay harbor and headed towards the ships where the warship was moored.
clatter...
"I never imagined that I would return here in this capacity. This is truly a case of 'the unpredictability of everything'!"
After the warship docked, the marines on board hurriedly unloaded the cargo. At this moment, Luo Chen also jumped forward and landed on the dock. Stepping onto this land again filled him with emotion. He shook his head and said.
clatter...
"No amount of sighing will change anything, Mr. Luo Chen. Let's hurry inside. I'm sure Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the others are getting impatient..."
Just as he was standing there reminiscing, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Then Romas Vice Admiral Romash walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said something before stepping inside to report on his mission results.
"Heh, you make it sound so easy, Vice Admiral Romas. If it weren't for you guys back then, I doubt I'd end up as a notorious pirate, hated and hunted by everyone. You, who weren't there, can't possibly understand how I feel..."
Luo Chen sighed and said.
"Hehehe, I wasn't involved in what happened back then, so I don't know much about it. But from what I see now, Mr. Luo Chen, you seem to really enjoy being wanted by the Navy and despised by the world!"
From this perspective, I don't think you'll suffer much of a loss...
Romas, having seen too many people and experienced too much, was so perceptive that he could immediately discern Luo Chen's state of mind. From what he observed, Luo Chen himself didn't care about being wanted by the Navy; on the contrary, he seemed to enjoy it and even hoped that his infamy would spread further. Therefore, when Luo Chen spoke up and complained about the Navy, Romes had no choice but to stand up and defend him.
"Hehehe, you're right. After hearing what Vice Admiral Romas said, I understand my true thoughts now. Perhaps even without that incident, I would still have become a pirate, because the unruly nature of a pirate is ingrained in my bones, and it won't change because of other things."
After listening to Romas's words, Luo Chen calmed down and thought about it. He realized that it seemed that what Romários said was true. He was probably the kind of person who was unwilling to submit and had an unruly mentality in his bones. If it weren't for Catherine, he wouldn't have joined the Navy to serve them and be driven by them.
"Hehehe, see? Mr. Luo Chen, even you yourself have admitted it. So there's no need to say anymore that we, the Navy, forced you to be pirates, and that you never had any intention of becoming one. Alright, I've chatted with you for so long, I should take my leave now. I need to rush to report the mission results to my superiors, so I won't keep you company any longer. If you have any questions, just let my adjutant know. He can handle some simple things... Goodbye!!"
Swoosh...
After explaining the general situation, Romas pushed off the ground and used the Six Powers ' Shave Extreme Speed to disappear from sight, rushing towards the headquarters building.