Chapter 321: Robin: How the Tables Have Turned
Making a name for themselves? Aokiji was at a loss for words. He gave the "brave warrior" a thumbs-up. Or rather, were all the pirates here brave warriors? How absurd. Had the Curtain Call's frequent clashes with the Marines and the World Government made these pirates think they were on the same side? Had they forgotten that the majority of people who died at Shane's hands were pirates...? It seemed that Shane was now trying to bring order to the New World, and was planning to wipe out all the arrogant, ambitious pirates in one fell swoop.
"What a devious plan," Aokiji clicked his tongue. But he liked it.
"Thanks for the info, everyone," he said with a polite nod. He glanced at the impassable blockade ahead and then gently pushed off with his foot.
CRACK!
The inconspicuous ice path under his tires suddenly expanded, rising from the sea like a great dragon and carving a path through the crowded fleet.
"Sorry, coming through." Under the stunned gazes of the pirates, Aokiji slowly rode his bicycle down the ice path, even giving a friendly wave to the ships on either side.
"W-wait! What's with that guy?!"
"A devious ability user! Stop him! Don't let him cut in line!"
"Idiot! Are you really going to try and stop him? Don't you recognize who that is?"
"Now that you mention it, he does look familiar. Hmm, where have I seen him before…"
Amidst the chaos, Aokiji had already ridden into the distance, officially entering the Curtain Call's territory, leaving only the crisp ringing of his bicycle bell echoing across the sea. Ting-a-ling~
This so-called "pirate festival" seemed to be taking place on an island called "Mistral Island," at the southern entrance to the Galaxy Sea. The port was even more congested than the outer waters. As far as the eye could see, it was filled with pirate ships. There had to be tens of thousands of pirates on the island. He had no interest in joining that crowd.
Aokiji looked away from Mistral Island and continued down the ice path, deeper into the Galaxy Sea. A different scene gradually unfolded before him. The sea was a clear, azure blue, dotted with islands. Merchant ships sailed back and forth, and on the shores of some of the islands, children could be seen playing. Everywhere, there was a sense of prosperity and peace.
"So the rumors are true…" Aokiji murmured to himself. Compared to the chaotic New World he remembered, this place was like another world.
"Hey! You, the uncle on the bicycle! Over here!" a cheerful, lively female voice suddenly called from the shore.
Aokiji turned to see a young woman in a uniform waving at him. She had a neat ponytail and was young and beautiful, wearing a hot-pink work uniform and holding a pink umbrella. She even had pink hair and pink, slice-of-lemon-shaped earrings.
"Yes, you!" As Aokiji rode closer, the pink-haired girl giggled. "I'm the reception officer from the Garrison Corps. You must be the new great scholar, Mr. Imoku, right? Headquarters said you'd be arriving in the next few days. Eh, why did you come by bicycle?" she asked, curiously looking at his ride. "It can ride on the sea! How amazing! Is this some new technology?"
"Great scholar?" Aokiji was taken aback.
"Oh, don't pretend!" the girl giggled, holding up a photo. "Did you want to hide your identity and do a little 'undercover investigation' first? But your look is too obvious! Curly hair, sunglasses, a sloppy appearance, and you always look like you've just woken up. It's a perfect match for the photo! Come on, let me just give you the tour! It'll be much more efficient!"
Aokiji instinctively took the photo and was surprised to find that the person in it did look a bit like him. But he had a more scholarly air and a more carefree style of dress. He was clearly the type to spend all his time buried in books and research, completely different from him.
A nice coincidence. Aokiji's eyes narrowed. Riding around on his bicycle was a bit too conspicuous. He might as well apologize to this Mr. Imoku in his heart and borrow his identity for a while to get a better look at the inner workings of the Curtain Call.
"Ara… so you've found me out," Aokiji said, pushing up his sunglasses. "You have a point. Then I'll be in your care, Miss."
"No problem! Hehe, this kind of reception work is the easiest! For me, it's like a little vacation! Come on, Mr. Imoku!" she said, holding her parasol and bouncing ahead. "As for your bike, you can just leave it anywhere in the port. You don't even need to lock it. Don't worry, it won't get stolen!"
It won't get stolen? Though this was the core of the Curtain Call's territory, and it was bound to be more developed than the newly joined territories, was the security really that good? Aokiji was a little surprised. Seeing the girl's confident expression, he decided to trust her. He parked his bicycle and, with his hands in his pockets, followed her.
Soon, they passed a huge open-air training ground. The sound of shouting came from within. Hundreds of new recruits from various races were training, all wearing the same uniform with an insignia of crossed swords on the back. As far as the eye could see, there were only young, passionate faces. Aokiji instinctively stopped.
"Huh? We're just passing by. This wasn't on the tour itinerary. But if you're interested, I can tell you about it," the girl said. "These are the third-term cadets of the Training Corps. They have five hours of physical training and five hours of cultural classes every day. Later, their curriculum will be adjusted based on their individual strengths. And after they graduate, they'll be assigned to different corps and positions according to their own wishes."
"I see. They have a lot of spirit…" Aokiji stared at the young people, drenched in sweat. In a daze, he saw himself back in the Marine elite training camp. There was no mistake. These people were fighting for their ideals, for their beliefs. That was why they could maintain such a high-spirited, passionate appearance in such a harsh environment.
Before they knew the darkness behind it, when they were still full of a naive憧憬 for justice, the elite new recruits of the Marine Headquarters had also had such an atmosphere, such a vibrant energy. But unfortunately, it didn't last. Most of them, after a few years of graduation, after a few promotions, would begin to waver in their sense of justice, after mission after mission, after contact after contact with the World Government and the Celestial Dragons. Even the head instructor of the elite camp, his own teacher, Mr. Z, was now…
In comparison, these new recruits of the Curtain Call wouldn't have to go through that. They could follow their beliefs to the end. It was quite enviable.
Hoo~ Aokiji let out a long sigh.
"Mr. Imoku? What are you staring at?" The girl waved a hand in front of his face. "The Training Corps' daily training is interesting, but the Infrastructure Corps, which I'm about to show you, is the main event! Speaking of which, aren't you here mainly to inspect the construction achievements of our territory for your latest academic paper?"
"Ah… yes," Aokiji snapped out of it and nodded. "That's right. Thank you, miss. Let's continue."
"Hehe, just follow me! Leave it to me!" she beamed, leading him through several bustling commercial streets to a busy construction site. The workers here, wearing uniforms with an insignia of a wheat stalk and a gear, were hard at work building a new residential area.
"Here, the Infrastructure Corps' uniform, you see? The Sixth to the Tenth Divisions of the Infrastructure Corps are stationed here in the Galaxy Sea. They're currently in charge of the renovation and expansion of the seven main islands. Every island has undergone a dramatic transformation compared to a year ago."
The girl spread her arms and said proudly, "For example, we've re-planned the layout, with schools, kindergartens, hospitals… and industrial and commercial districts. And we have all the necessary departments, like fire protection, environmental maintenance, justice, and religious management!"
"Oh, and you see that manhole cover over there? The drainage system for these seven islands was personally designed by Lord Shane! It was built in five days, and even in the heavy rains that are common in the New World, there's no flooding."
As he listened, Aokiji's gaze was drawn to an elephant. It was massive but moved with surprising agility through the construction site, carrying heavy building materials on its back. From time to time, it would even use its trunk to help mix cement. A job that would take a normal person hours, it could do in a few seconds.
"That's… an ability user, right?" Aokiji was a little surprised. There was no elephant in the world with such high intelligence.
"Bingo!" the girl explained with a smile. "That's Lord Agatha, user of the Elephant-Elephant Fruit, and the deputy commander of the Infrastructure Corps. She's also one of Lord Shane's trusted officers. She comes to help out in person almost every day."
Aokiji nodded, his gaze sweeping over the bustling crowd. He noticed that many of the workers were talking to each other with genuine smiles. Though they were all drenched in sweat and covered in dirt, they didn't seem to mind the hard work.
"These workers seem very motivated," he said thoughtfully.
"Of course!" The girl's pride swelled. "All the members of the Infrastructure Corps joined voluntarily! We don't have any slaves here, no arrogant nobles. Everyone works together to create a better home, and everyone benefits!"
"The workers who join the Infrastructure Corps also have a comprehensive welfare system, including medical care, housing, and even their children's education is taken care of. So naturally, everyone is willing to do their part to build their home!"
The more Aokiji listened, the more silent he became. The girl, seeing his silence, thought he wasn't interested and was a little disappointed. But her duty to entertain the guest was more important. She quickly pointed to a tall, white tower in the distance. "Oh, right! You see that over there? That's also one of the main attractions of the tour! The new library! It was specially requested by Lord Shane!"
"I heard it will house books from all over the world, including precious medical, historical, and scientific texts! It will be completely open to the public, and everyone can borrow books for free!"
Aokiji was taken aback, his gaze fixed on the towering building. "Open for free?"
"Of course!" the girl said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Lord Shane said at our corps' meeting that knowledge should never be monopolized! Only by making it accessible to more people can we promote the progress of the era in all aspects!"
"So, the first batch of key projects for the Infrastructure Corps includes the construction of the first twelve libraries and six universities. And the one you're looking at now is the largest of all the libraries. It's called the 'Ohara Library,' and Ohara University is also under construction."
Aokiji's pupils shrank. "The Ohara… Library?" he repeated, his voice a little hoarse.
"That's right!" The girl, not noticing his strange reaction, continued enthusiastically, "Haven't you heard of it? Actually, when the name was first announced, everyone was confused. Later, we found out that it was to commemorate the people of Ohara, which was destroyed by a Buster Call from Marine Headquarters twenty years ago. It was specially named by Lord Shane."
"Sigh, the people of a whole country, men, women, and children, just gone like that. I don't know who the commanding officer was at the time, but how could they do it? What a monster! Hmph, if I ever saw him, I'd give him a good beating!"
Aokiji's lips tightened. He looked past the indignant girl at the newly completed tower, and the images from twenty years ago flashed in his mind—the towering flames, the shelled evacuation ship, and the crying black-haired girl in the ruins.
The World Government thought that by doing that, they could rest easy, that they could extinguish all the embers of resistance. They thought that by making an example of them, they could scare the world away from the past! And now, the existence of this towering library, and its name, was the most contemptuous, most direct response to the World Government! Hah, and what can the World Government do? Launch another Buster Call, on the heart of the Curtain Call's territory? Five Vice Admirals, ten large warships… even if they multiplied that by ten, what difference would it make?
"That's… amazing," Aokiji finally said, his voice filled with a complex emotion.
"Right, right!" the girl was overjoyed at the praise. "I knew you'd be more interested in this! Hehe… oh, right, it's almost lunchtime. How about I go to the restaurant and get lunch ready for you, and you can take a look inside the Ohara Library? We can meet at the entrance in half an hour."
"I was just thinking the same thing," Aokiji nodded. "Then I'll trouble you. Anything simple will do."
He watched her leave, then turned and slowly walked into the white tower. The moment he stepped inside, he was greeted by the rich smell of books. In the spacious, bright hall, many people were quietly reading, including the elderly and children. Aokiji wandered between the bookshelves, his fingertips lightly tracing the spines of the books. The collection was far richer than he had imagined, with books on everything from medicine and agriculture to history and science. It was clear that the Curtain Call had gone to great lengths to collect them from all over the world.
Aokiji didn't linger on the first floor. He slowly ascended the spiral staircase, his footsteps echoing in the quiet library. As he reached the top, he heard a familiar, yet unfamiliar, mature female voice. "I seem to smell the scent of confusion. After so much time, have you still not found your place, you traitor… Mr. Kuzan?"
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