After a long pause...
Carol was on the verge of collapse, questioning his very existence: /
"Are you sure it was 15 years?"
Sakazuki nodded:
"Believe in yourself, excluding the sleeping fragments in the recording."
"It was sorted out in a few years."
Carol's mouth twitched...
A few years... he really had the nerve to say that.
Sakazuki chuckled:
"Don't look so glum, just make a rough record for now."
"Get a grasp of how the government operates,"
"Just get the overall structure down, you can fill in the details later."
Carol nodded helplessly:
"It'll have to be that way."
"Oh, heavens..."
------
New World, Unknown Sea Area.
On the deck of the Sun Pirates' ship.
Jinbe sat in the center of the deck, surrounded by his crewmates, poring over a document:
"The Navy wants to invite me to be a Shichibukai as well."
"What do you all think?"
A fish-man fighter polishing his weapon chuckled:
"Your bounty is already 250 million Berries."
"They must believe your strength is more than that."
"They're probably afraid you'll become a greater threat to the government in the future."
A long-mouthed fish-man next to him added:
"They finally recognize your might."
"Don't mind those government folks."
"Let our infamy continue to spread far and wide!!! Brother Jinbe!!!"
Jinbe put down the document and looked towards Fish-Man Island:
"No..."
"I intend to accept this offer."
He closed his eyes slowly.
At least it could be some compensation for Queen Otohime...
------
Several days later.
Fish-Man Island, Ryugu Palace.
King Neptune and Jinbe sat facing each other in the grand hall.
Two rows of fish-man soldiers stood along the sides of the hall.
Neptune spoke:
"You've finally returned, Jinbe."
"I've heard about you becoming a Shichibukai."
Jinbe looked at Neptune and said:
"If I become a Shichibukai,"
"The government will grant amnesty to Aladdin and the others (the fish-man slaves freed by Fisher Tiger)."
"And those fish-men who no longer wish to be pirates."
"Will no longer be pursued."
"They'll be able to return to Fish-Man Island to live."
"And most importantly, if I attain this status,"
"Perhaps I can slightly improve the relationship between the Fish-Man race and the World Government."
"It's a small compensation for the trouble I caused the Queen before."
Neptune sighed:
"Thank you very much."
"Her health is a bit fragile at the moment, so she can't come out."
"I thank you on her behalf for your decision."
Jinbe was lost in thought for a moment:
"Peaceful coexistence between our two races was also Big Brother Tiger's wish."
"After all, it's because we dragged them into trouble."
"That Fish-Man Island was banned from participating in the World Conference."
"I will do my utmost to protect Fish-Man Island."
Neptune shook his head:
"There's no need to dwell on that."
"Participating... was merely attending."
"The relationship between the Fish-Man race and humans hasn't changed one bit over these many years."
"The future still lies with the next generation..."
------
East Blue, Night.
A colossal dragon-headed ship sailed across the sea.
Everyone on board was cloaked, their faces half-hidden by shadows.
Emporio Ivankov, one of the Revolutionary Army's commanders, with his massive face, looked at the inferno raging in the distance:
"They're actually going to burn down the residents and the town together."
"This is truly insane."
"But speaking of which... has our intelligence network grown this extensive already?"
"Even the people of the Goa Kingdom probably know very little about this kind of secret information."
Dragon chuckled lightly, not responding, but instead said:
"Perfectly eliminating anything unnecessary from this country."
"Yet they are called 'exemplary' by the World Nobles."
"This country is precisely a microcosm of the future world."
"A world that casually discards and eliminates those deemed unnecessary will not know happiness."
"We will change this world one day."
"However... even in a country like this, children are still born."
Dragon's mind flashed back to the child he had met earlier who felt ashamed of being a noble...
Goa Kingdom... it truly deserved a great fire to turn it to ashes...
As the ship slowly docked, a storm dragon surged from Dragon's body and plunged into the sea of flames.
The savage winds pierced through the vast inferno.
The pile of garbage that had blocked countless people's escape was cleared, creating a path devoid of any obstruction.
The wind extinguished the flames on both sides of this path.
Inside the Garbage Dump.
Countless people, burdened with their belongings, stared at the escape route that seemed like a miracle.
"This is..."
"It's a road!!!!"
"We're saved!!"
"Look! There's a ship at the end of the passage!!"
"This is a path to the coast!"
"Before the fire reaches us, escape quickly!!!"
Countless people, with the joy of surviving a catastrophe and tears streaming down their faces, rushed towards the end of the passage.
At the very end, watching the approaching crowd.
Dragon's voice echoed through the sky:
"Those willing to fight for freedom!"
"Board this ship!!!"