The Gate of Justice lay in ruins.
The devastated sight caused everyone’s pupils to contract in disbelief.
This was the entrance to the Gate of Justice at the Red Line!
As the vital transportation hub connecting the first half of the Grand Line to the New World, it was one of the World Government’s most important strategic strongholds.
None of them had ever imagined that this place would one day be reduced to such a state.
Earlier, they had assumed Chaton’s mocking remarks were simply born from his dissatisfaction over someone else being appointed Admiral.
In their eyes, a Celestial Dragon getting beaten was one thing.
But they had never expected the scene of the incident to be this utterly devastated.
Even if someone had pinned a Celestial Dragon to the ground and rubbed his face into the dirt, it shouldn’t have ended up like this.
If yesterday’s newspaper hadn’t reported what had happened, they would have thought one of the Four Emperors had attacked this place.
For a moment, silence fell over the entire warship.
Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.
Then they looked at Chaton’s alternating blue-and-red expression.
Sure enough...
The harsher the words someone spoke beforehand, the harder the slap to the face afterward.
"Big Sister Gion, it’s been a long time."
"What brings you back to the Red Line all of a sudden?"
"You’re not here to cause trouble for Admiral Lucas, are you?"
"Tina would be very worried if that’s the case."
"Tina?"
Following the voice, Gion looked toward the dock and smiled.
"Tina."
"I heard you and Smoker defeated one of the Seven Warlords, Sir Crocodile."
"So you’ve finally awakened Haki."
"You should be due for at least two promotions."
As an Admiral Candidate, Gion naturally had a decent understanding of the Seven Warlords’ strength.
Against a Logia user, anyone without Haki would have an extremely difficult fight.
Tina’s smile immediately froze.
Smoker, who stood beside her with a cigar in his mouth, didn’t fare any better.
Everyone knew you shouldn’t slap a smiling face.
Yet with a single sentence, Gion had unintentionally reopened an old wound.
She hadn’t meant any harm...
But both Tina and Smoker still found themselves at a loss.
"Tina?"
"Did I say something wrong?"
Gion asked, slightly puzzled as she leaped onto the dock.
Chaton quickly followed.
With an awkward laugh, he said,
"Smoker, it’s been a long time."
"I was actually the examiner during your Marine recruit evaluation."
"It’s gratifying to see how far you’ve come."
"Honestly..."
"I understand how you feel."
"You worked so hard, even defeated one of the Seven Warlords..."
"Only to have your accomplishments overshadowed by some newcomer who parachuted in."
"I know how frustrating that feels."
"But True gold fears no fire. "
"With a record of defeating a Warlord, I’m sure you’ll soon make your name known across the seas."
Smoker and Tina’s expressions turned even darker.
Normally...
Receiving praise from an Admiral Candidate would have delighted them.
But now...
Every mention of Crocodile felt like another knife stabbing into their hearts.
Especially with Chaton sincerely looking at them in admiration...
They simply had no idea how to explain the truth.
"Heh."
"You Marines are really hilarious."
"You don’t even know that your so-called reputation was picked up off the ground."
"And yet you keep running your mouths."
"If I had the choice..."
"I’d gladly hand that disgraceful defeat over to that brat."
"That kid is terrifying beyond belief."
Crocodile’s mocking laughter suddenly rang out.
Chaton immediately turned toward the voice.
Seeing Crocodile sitting in the corner under the watch of Ain and the others, his expression darkened.
"So..."
"The defeated Warlord still hasn’t been thrown into Impel Down to suffer like a proper criminal."
"No wonder you’re talking such nonsense."
"You lost."
"And that brat is nothing but a fraud who stole someone else’s glory."
"Of course you’d rather claim you lost to him."
"At least it’d make your defeat look less embarrassing."
"Embarrassing?"
Crocodile sneered.
"It seems you still have no idea how deep that new Admiral’s waters really are."
"If I had to choose..."
"I’d rather fight ten of you..."
"Than face that brat once."
"That kid is freakishly monstrous."
"Ten of me aren’t worth one of him?"
Chaton’s expression immediately darkened.
Just as he was about to retort, Gion raised a hand to stop him.
"Chaton."
"Don’t forget why we’re here."
"There’s no point arguing with a pirate."
"You’ll only make a fool of yourself."
She then turned back toward Tina.
"Tina."
"We haven’t seen each other for nearly a year."
"What were you trying to say earlier?"
"Is there something difficult to talk about?"
Tina smiled bitterly.
"Big Sister Gion..."
"Crocodile is telling the truth."
"He wasn’t defeated by us."
"He lost to the Straw Hat Pirates."
"The World Government simply covered up the truth..."
"And gave us the credit instead."
"Compared to Admiral Lucas..."
"We’re the real frauds."
"If I could choose..."
"I’d gladly give up that achievement."
"During this time..."
"I did awaken Armament Haki."
"But that’s entirely thanks to Admiral Lucas."
"He only spent a few minutes helping me awaken it."
"Something I never even dared dream of."
"And..."
"Admiral Lucas isn’t the useless person the outside world makes him out to be."
"He’s incredibly strong."
"Neither Smoker nor I have ever seen him fight seriously."
"So..."
"If possible..."
"I hope you’ll think very carefully before deciding whether to challenge Admiral Lucas."
"So..."
"It wasn’t you who defeated the Warlord?"
Chaton froze.
Had all those compliments just landed squarely on the horse’s backside?
Seeing Smoker silently smoking beside her, clearly agreeing with Tina, Chaton hurriedly continued,
"Tina."
"We won’t argue about who defeated the Warlord."
"But when it comes to awakening Haki..."
"I consider myself something of an authority."
"Even Instructor Zephyr wouldn’t dare claim someone could awaken Haki within a few minutes."
"And yet you’re saying..."
"That guy managed to awaken yours in just minutes?"
"I’m afraid I find that very difficult to believe."
Gion also fell silent.
Having gone through it herself, she understood exactly how difficult it was to awaken Haki.
Tina had once served under her for many years.
It was precisely because Tina had failed to awaken Haki after such a long time—and could no longer keep up with increasingly dangerous missions—that she had eventually transferred away.
Yet now...
The Haki that had refused to awaken after years of effort...
Was supposedly awakened in mere minutes?
Even Gion couldn’t accept such an enormous gap.
"Big Sister Gion..."
"I know it sounds unbelievable."
"But..."
"If one person isn’t enough..."
"What about five?"
"Besides me..."
"Smoker and the others all awakened Haki at the same time."
Tina smiled bitterly as she stepped aside.
Smoker, Ain, and the others immediately walked forward as well.
The moment the faint black sheen of Armament Haki coated their arms...
Gion and Chaton’s hearts skipped a beat.
Both stared at them as though they had just seen a ghost.
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