Chapter 134: The Boatman's Visit
"For example, this old man."
Axel pointed directly at Garp.
Garp stared back at him, dumbfounded.
"You brat! Since when did you start framing your own grandfather?"
He had expected Axel to bring up some actual evidence. He had not expected the kid to open his mouth and immediately throw nonsense at him.
Seeing that Axel's finger was aimed at Garp, Sengoku calmly straightened his clothes and sat back down.
"Although Garp is unreliable, reckless, and has a long history of ignoring procedure, he cannot be considered a criminal."
Sengoku paused.
Strictly speaking, Garp had violated plenty of rules over the years.
But in the end, those actions had all been done for the sake of justice. At least, that was how Sengoku had always judged them.
Axel smiled and shook his head.
"Of course I'm not saying he's a criminal."
That only made Garp and Sengoku even more confused.
Axel did not immediately explain.
Garp, being a man who had never been famous for patience, raised his fist. Since words were taking too long, he clearly planned to persuade Axel with love.
Or violence.
There was usually no difference with Garp.
Before the fist could descend, Axel spoke.
"Old man, you often wander around the East Blue, right? And because of your reputation, there are fewer pirates there than in the other seas. That also made the Marines' name much more respected."
Garp's fist stopped in midair.
He thought about it.
"More or less."
"Then if someone uses the Marines' reputation to commit crimes, and the people don't dare resist because they fear that reputation, shouldn't you bear some responsibility too?"
Garp's face twisted.
"You brat, what kind of logic is that? Other Marines do something wrong, and somehow it becomes my fault?"
Sengoku, however, slowly nodded.
"From a certain perspective, this is indeed partly Garp's fault. If he were not always thinking about leaving his post and running back to the East Blue, there would not be so many gaps for rotten officers to exploit. Nor would so many people in the Marines have abandoned justice."
Garp's eyes widened.
"Sengoku, you old—"
"But," Sengoku interrupted, his gaze returning to Axel, "who exactly are you talking about?"
Since Axel had brought this up, there had to be someone specific.
Who was bold enough to use the Marines' name to commit such despicable acts?
Sengoku hated that kind of person most.
In his eyes, corrupt Marines were even more disgusting than pirates. Pirates at least did not pretend to wear justice while trampling on the innocent.
The air in the office turned serious.
Even Garp, unusually, did not interrupt.
Axel said, "During my travels, I heard about a Marine officer in the East Blue—Captain Nezumi. Apparently, he has been colluding with quite a few crooked merchants."
This year should have been around the time Arlong occupied Cocoyasi Village.
Axel did not know the exact timing.
He did not know whether it had already happened, was happening right now, or had yet to occur.
That was why he mentioned Nezumi.
If Garp investigated, there might be a chance to save that village.
Axel had always admired Bellemere when he watched the story. A woman like that deserved better than being buried by the greed of monsters wearing human faces.
Over the past year of traveling with Issho, Axel had slowly developed his own understanding of justice.
He still could not define it clearly.
It was not Benevolent Justice.
It was not Absolute Justice.
It certainly was not the kind of hypocritical justice some people used to decorate their sins.
But there was one thing Axel was certain of.
Justice within his reach.
If he could help, he would.
The world was far more rotten than he had imagined. If not for the righteous Marines desperately maintaining the surface, its decayed interior would probably have been exposed long ago.
Cocoyasi Village had Nami and Nojiko, children Bellemere had brought back from a battlefield.
Water 7 had Franky—Cutty Flam—who had been abandoned by his pirate parents.
Ohara had Robin, a survivor of a Buster Call.
Flevance had Law, whose hometown was poisoned by Amber Lead while the truth was concealed by the government, then later wiped out under the false name of containing an infectious disease.
There were too many examples.
Each one revealed the same thing.
Evil.
Of course, Axel also had a tiny bit of personal revenge mixed in.
If Arlong's one-hundred-million-Berry agreement disappeared, Nami would no longer need to gather treasure for him. Perhaps she would not meet Luffy the same way.
Luffy had tricked him once before.
So this inexplicable "loss" of a future navigator could count as compensation.
A fair exchange.
Probably.
Axel did not intend to approach Nami himself.
He had not even solved his own problems yet.
Before coming to this world, he might have held some expectation toward the so-called goddesses of anime. But now?
Looking in the mirror was enough.
After a year of training, his appearance had gained a trace of masculinity, yet he still could not honestly say he lost to any of those "goddesses."
That fact made him a little sad.
Sengoku muttered first, "Captain Nezumi… is there such a person?"
Then his expression sharpened. He immediately looked at Garp, who had been preparing to return to the East Blue.
"Garp, I'm assigning you a mission. Investigate this Captain Nezumi. If the report is true, arrest him immediately."
Garp did not answer Sengoku right away.
Instead, he stared at Axel.
"You brat. You just gave me extra work when I was only planning to go home."
He cracked his knuckles.
"If this turns out to be false, I'll let you taste the Iron Fist of Love again."
After saying that, Garp waved casually at Sengoku and strode out of the office.
Only Sengoku and Axel remained.
At first, Sengoku had thought Axel was quite likable. He had even formed a decent impression of him.
Now, he realized this child might be even more troublesome than Garp.
He sighed.
"I've arranged for someone to pick you up at the dock this afternoon. Go there when the time comes. Before that, prepare anything you need."
Then he called in a Marine and gave an instruction.
"Take him downstairs and help him prepare. Try to satisfy any reasonable request he makes."
Axel rolled his eyes inwardly.
Sengoku's attitude was clearly different from when they first met.
The Fleet Admiral wanted him gone.
Axel had no intention of staying longer either, so he followed the Marine out of the office.
Walking through Marine Headquarters, Axel opened his eyes wide and took in the dazzling world around him.
Compared to the blurry world he created in his mind using his ability, seeing with his own eyes was far more comfortable.
His Observation Haki had reached a bottleneck.
Simply practicing with his eyes closed no longer brought much improvement, so Axel did not force himself to keep that habit.
Still, the emptiness in his hand felt uncomfortable.
His wooden sword had been destroyed in battle.
Axel turned to the Marine walking beside him.
"Do you have any wood here?"
The Marine paused.
"Wood?"
"Yes."
"We do."
"Can I have a piece?"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku had said to satisfy Axel's requests as much as possible.
Although the Marine was curious why Axel suddenly wanted wood, he nodded.
"Of course. Please come with me to the cargo hold."
Under the Marine's guidance, Axel followed him to the storage area.
"What kind of wood do you need?" the Marine asked.
"A long stick will do."
Axel only wanted to recreate his original sword.
As long as the length and thickness were right, that was enough. Even the strongest vector manipulation could not create matter from nothing. He did not have any special requirements beyond usable material.
The Marine soon brought over a wooden pole about two meters long.
Axel took it.
Then, under the Marine's stunned gaze, the pole twisted, compressed, and reshaped in his hands like clay being molded by invisible fingers.
A short while later, a brand-new wooden sword appeared in Axel's grip.
The Marine rubbed his eyes.
No matter how many times he looked, the wooden pole was gone.
Only a wooden blade remained.
His voice became a little cautious.
"Is there anything else you need?"
"No."
After parting from the Marine, Axel first went to the recruit training camp to visit Zephyr, Ain, and Binz.
The place was empty.
Axel did not investigate further.
Zephyr had never been someone who liked sitting still. If he was not here, he had probably taken the recruits somewhere else.
With that thought, Axel headed toward the small hut where he had lived a year ago.
Along the way, he noticed something strange.
The people on the street kept looking at him.
Their gazes were odd.
Hungry, curious, excited.
Like mice staring at cheese.
Axel did not like it.
He quickened his pace and left those gazes behind, striding all the way back to the hut he had not seen in a year.
When he reached the door, he turned the handle.
It was unlocked.
Axel paused.
Then he pushed the door open.
Inside the room sat an old man.
Axel stared at him for a moment before finally remembering who he was.
Theodore.
The boatman.
But why was he here?
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]