140 Chapter 139 Pursuit from the Government and Marine
The Five Elders ordered CP0 to capture Zephyr, dead or alive. If they couldn't capture him alive, then he must die.
After all, seeing is believing, and they must eliminate Zephyr.
At this point, they no longer trusted the Marines. They knew exactly who the Marines would send—Kizaru and Akainu were both in Mariejois. The only option left for the Marines was Aokiji.
They had seen Aokiji's true nature in the footage several times. They knew he was someone who would drop the ball at a critical moment.
If they hadn't considered the possibility of danger in Mariejois, they would have sent Kizaru and Akainu as well. But they were afraid of falling into a trap set by Luke. The disappearing explosive dyna stones still made them nervous.
Compared to the Marines, The Five Elder trust CP0 more.
...
Zephyr's declaration ignited excitement and inspiration among all the pirate guerrilla members. They immediately expressed their willingness to follow Zephyr and join the NEO Marines.
Smoker also expressed his intention to join.
He had sought refuge with Zephyr in the first place, unable to return to Marineford. Now that Zephyr was planning to establish a Neo Marine force, Smoker was deeply attracted to the idea. If Zephyr truly intended to create a Marine force that embodied true justice, he naturally wanted to be a part of it.
And he was already too disappointed with the World Government. The Marines had lost their sense of self under the World Government's control, and the World Government's actions regarding Zephyr further disappointed him. He had a nagging feeling that the World Government might recruit Weevil as one of the Shichibukai for some hidden reason.
Because of this, he couldn't abandon Zephyr. At the same time, he had some concerns. What if Zephyr strayed from the right path? By staying by his side, he could remind and stop him if necessary.
He didn't want to see this hero become someone else.
The students' joining filled Zephyr with joy. This was the foundation of the NEO Marines, and he would nurture it to grow.
In the near future, he hoped that the NEO Marines could replace the World Government-controlled Marines and bring true justice to the seas, freeing people from the threat of pirates as soon as possible.
With his body restored and his right arm regained, Zephyr was filled with hope.
Luke looked at the determined expressions on Zephyr and his disciples and smirked. It seemed that more interesting things were about to unfold.
Zephyr chose not to risk his life but instead decided to rebuild the Marines. This would surely give the Five Elders a headache, even more so than the destruction of the New World.
Moreover, the current world had a delicate balance between the World Government-controlled Marines, the Four Emperors, the Shichibukai, and the Revolutionary Army.
Adding a Neo Marine force in such a situation would undoubtedly cause a significant change in the world's power dynamics.
Some people probably wouldn't just stand by and watch... Thinking of this, Luke looked at the audience in front of the screen.
"Well, this live Q&A session is now over. We'll continue next time..."
"Wait a moment," Zephyr suddenly spoke up. "Mr. Luke, I have a question I would like to ask, Is it possible?"
The crowd looked at Zephyr curiously, wondering what he wanted to ask.
"Go ahead, I have some time," Luke replied.
"I want to ask, based on Mr. Luke's insight, can the pirates in this world be completely eradicated? And how can they be eradicated?" Zephyr fixed his gaze on Luke, his heart filled with anticipation for Luke's answer.
In his view, Luke had knowledge of the past and foresight of the future. If there was a day when pirates could be eliminated, Luke should be able to see that scene.
Since that was the case, why not ask Luke how to achieve it? If such a day truly arrived, he wanted to know what he should do to make it come sooner.
This question had plagued him for a lifetime.
He had been dealing with pirates his whole life, yet what disappointed him was that he had already reached his old age and didn't have many years left to live, but he still hadn't witnessed the day when pirates disappeared.
Not only had he not seen that scene, but in front of him, the world had become even more dangerous, and the number of pirates had not decreased at all.
After Roger's era, the Four Emperors era emerged, and it seemed like these pirates would never disappear. When one batch died, another would appear, endlessly.
Pirates came and went, leaving behind nothing but pain. When would it all end?
Zephyr's question grabbed everyone's attention. People all over the world, from commoners to royal nobles, Marines, and even pirates, were eagerly awaiting Luke's answer.
Was there truly a day when pirates would be eradicated?
Could the world truly achieve peace?
Luke laughed upon hearing the question. How would he know? They should ask the original author of the story and see how he wanted to draw the ending.
"That's two questions," Luke began, "and besides, I don't want to answer."
Luke's response left them somewhat disappointed, but it was expected. Luke had always been like this, not even giving face to the Five Elders.
Zephyr sighed, feeling a bit let down. After all, Luke's appearance had already helped him a lot, showing him an unfortunate future and giving him a sense of direction. It would be too much to ask for more.
Zephyr was about to express his gratitude and bid farewell to Luke when he heard Luke speak again. "But I can give you a question, though there's no reward for it."
Zephyr abruptly turned his gaze towards Luke, and people from around the world also refocused their attention on him, eagerly waiting for Luke's question.
"Before becoming pirates, pirates were ordinary people. Why do people choose to become pirates?"
Before they could answer, Luke disappeared from the warship.
At the same time, the barriers around the Marines began to disappear, and screens around the world turned black before vanishing into cracks.
Although Luke and the screens disappeared together, the question he left behind sparked intense discussions among the crowd.
Why do people become pirates?
This question had no single answer.
Different people had different answers in their hearts.
When Luffy heard this question, he thought about becoming the Pirate King. It was his dream.
Zoro thought about challenging strong opponents and becoming the world's greatest swordsman.
Robin's thoughts were focused on understanding history.
...
There is no single answer to this question because different people have different perspectives.
When Zephyr heard Luke's question, he initially only thought from his own perspective. Having been harmed by pirates multiple times before, he saw pirates as a group of villains who set sail to satisfy their desires through wanton killing and plundering.
But then he thought of the Straw Hat Pirates, the pirate crew he had seen fighting in the footage. This group of pirates was different from the ones he had encountered before. They were pursuing their dreams and not interested in killing and looting.
All Pirate are not the same. In fact, by the end of the footage, he even acknowledged the Straw Hat Pirates and sacrificed himself to ensure their safe escape.
If he hadn't seen that footage, Zephyr couldn't have imagined that he would do such a thing, sacrificing himself to let a group of pirates live.
You see, he hated pirates so much that he wanted to kill every single one of them.
Zephyr fell into contemplation and returned to the question at hand.
How do people become pirates?
Some people set sail for freedom and dreams, just like Luffy and his crew.
Some people set sail for easy gains without work, like those pirates who engage in plundering.
Some people set sail for ambition, like Crocodile and Blackbeard.
So, besides these people, why do others become pirates?
Perhaps by investigating and understanding the answer to this question, it might be possible to solve the problem of piracy at its root... Zephyr thought.
Seeing that the barrier had already disappeared, Zephyr immediately ordered the ship to leave the area. Their location had long been exposed and coupled with the events that occurred during the live broadcast, they were likely to attract pursuit from the Marine and the World Government.
It was no longer safe to stay there.
So the Neo Marine, not the pirate guerrillas, quickly set sail and left.
As Zephyr had anticipated, after they had been gone for some time, marine ships and government vessels appeared in that area.
Not giving up after missing their target, they continued to pursue the Neo Marine's whereabouts.
Both sides chased each other for about ten days and finally met on an island in the first half of the Grand Line.
At that time, Zephyr's Neo Marine was taking a rest there, but they were caught up by the Vice Admirals Garp and Aokiji, who had been chasing them all along.
As for CP0, they were operating separately and were also heading in this direction.
After meeting with Garp and Aokiji, Zephyr was first persuaded to return. They would ensure the safety of the members of the pirate guerrillas, and they could continue to serve in the Marine.
As for Zephyr, they would find a way to keep him safe, but in the future, Zephyr might not be able to lead the Marine on voyages anymore; he would have to retire at the headquarters.
This was already the best solution, as it would save everyone's lives and avoid a life-or-death struggle.
If Zephyr continued on his current path, it was likely that more people from both the Marine and the Neo Marine would die in their conflicts.
And given the situation of the Neo Marine, it was feared that they would end up just like in the footage, dying at the hands of their own Marine.
Although they were dissatisfied with the World Government's actions, there was no other way.
Zephyr's chosen path was destined to conflict with the World Government, and they would eventually clash. In the future, it might even escalate into a war.
To avoid further casualties, this was the only solution.
However, Zephyr refused.
The two sides engaged in battle, and Zephyr, who had regained his formidable strength, demonstrated his power before his former students and comrades.
But the Neo Marine only had Zephyr as their strongest combatant. The others were simply not enough to handle such a situation.
The Marine had not only dispatched Garp and Aokiji but also 9 more Vice Admirals, overwhelmingly surpassing Zephyr's side in terms of combat power.
As the situation developed in a disadvantageous direction for the Neo Marine, it seemed to mirror the final scene of the answer-to-the-question live broadcast.
However, at that moment, someone unexpected arrived with reinforcements.
