One Piece: From Picking Up Red Hair's Broken Arm

Chapter 322 Robin: The Situation of Offense and Defense is Different

To make a name for oneself?
Aokiji was momentarily at a loss for words, so he gave the hero a thumbs up.

Or rather.

Are all the pirates who come here heroes?
That's ridiculous.

Is it because the Fallen Ones have been fighting the Marine Headquarters and even the World Government too frequently in the past year that these pirates have gradually come to regard the Fallen Ones as their own?

Have they forgotten that the people who died most often at the hands of that guy Shano were pirates...?

It now appears that Shano wants to further rectify the order of the New World and is preparing to wipe out those arrogant and ambitious pirates in one fell swoop?
"What a despicable tactic."

Qing Pheasant clicked his tongue.

But he likes it.

"Thank you for letting me know, everyone."

He nodded politely, glanced at the crowded area ahead, and suddenly lifted his foot and gently pushed off.

Click!

Beneath the tires, the previously inconspicuous ice road suddenly expanded and spread, rising from the sea like a giant dragon, carving out a passage through the crowded fleet of ships.

"Excuse me, can you lend me your hand for a moment?"

Amidst the stunned gazes of numerous pirates, Aokiji leisurely rode his bicycle across the ice path.

He even waved to both sides in a friendly manner.

"Wait, wait! What's wrong with that guy?!"

"That despicable ability user! Stop him! We can't let him cut in line!"

"Idiot! You actually dare to stop me? Don't you recognize who that guy is?"

"Now that you mention it, you do look familiar. Hmm, where have I seen you before..."

Amidst the chaotic shouts, Aokiji had already ridden his bicycle further and further away, officially entering the territory of the Fallen Ones.

Only a series of crisp bicycle bell sounds remained, echoing across the sea.

Jingle bell bell~
…………

This so-called pirate extravaganza appears to be held on an island called "Mist Star Island," located at the southern gateway to the Milky Way.

The port is more congested than the surrounding sea area.

At a glance, the island was filled with pirate ships; the number of pirates on the island must be in the tens of thousands.

There's no need to join in this fun.

Aokiji turned his gaze away from Misty Star Island and continued along the ice path. After venturing deeper into the Milky Way Ocean for a while, a different scene gradually unfolded in his view.

The sea is crystal clear, dotted with islands, and merchant ships come and go. On the shores of some islands, you can even see children playing and frolicking together.

Everywhere you look, you see the prosperity and stability of this sea area.

"It seems the rumors were true..."

Aokiji sighed softly. Compared to the chaotic state of the New World in his memory, this place was like another world altogether.

Hey! You over there on your bicycle! Look this way!

A clear and lively female voice suddenly came from the shore.

Aokiji turned his head and saw a young girl in a uniform waving at him.

The girl had her hair tied in a neat ponytail, looking youthful and beautiful. She wore a hot lemon-colored short jumpsuit, carried a lemon-colored umbrella, and had lemon-colored hair. Even her ears were adorned with lemon-slice-shaped earrings.

"Yes, it's you!"

As Aokiji approached on his bicycle, the lemon girl giggled:

"I'm Michita, the garrison officer in charge of receiving you. You must be the new scholar, Mr. Imokku? Headquarters said you'd arrive in the next few days. Oh, why did you come by bicycle?"

She looked at Aokiji's mount with curiosity, "It can actually ride on the sea, how amazing! Is this some new technology?"

"Great scholar?"

Aokiji was stunned.

"Oh, stop pretending!"

The lemon girl grinned and waved the photo in her hand. "Do you intend to conceal your identity and secretly go on an incognito visit?"

"But this look is too obvious! Curly hair, sunglasses, sloppy appearance, and always looking like you haven't slept yet—it matches the file photo perfectly! Come on, let me show you around directly; that'll be much more efficient!"

Aokiji instinctively took the photo and was surprised to find that the person in it really did look somewhat like himself.

However, he has a more refined temperament and dresses more casually, clearly the kind of scholar who spends all day immersed in books and research, quite different from him.

What a coincidence.

Aokiji narrowed his eyes. He was indeed attracting too much attention by riding his bicycle around here.

Instead, we should apologize to the guy in the photo and borrow his identity to gain a deeper understanding of the inner workings of those who have fallen from grace.

"Oh dear... I've been recognized."

Aokiji adjusted his sunglasses and said politely, "That's true. Then I'll trouble you, Miss Michita."

"It's no big deal, hehe. Actually, this kind of reception work is the easiest. For me, it's like taking a rare vacation. Come with me, Mr. Imokku!"

Michita, holding a parasol, skipped and hopped ahead, leading the way. "As for your car, 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 lost no matter where you put it?
Although this is considered the core area of ​​the fallen, its development level is bound to be better than that of the territories that joined later.

But has public security really improved to this extent?
Aokiji was somewhat surprised. Looking at the girl's confident demeanor, he thought for a moment and then decided to trust her.

He parked his bicycle casually, put his hands in his pockets, and followed closely behind.

Before long, we passed a huge open-air playground, from which deafening shouts echoed continuously.

Hundreds of new recruits from various races are training here, wearing uniforms with crossed swords embroidered on the back.

Everywhere you look, you see young and enthusiastic faces.

Aokiji instinctively stopped in his tracks.

"Oh? We're just passing by here; this isn't part of our original tour itinerary. But if you're interested, I can give you a brief introduction."

"These are the trainees of the third training corps. When they first came in, they had five hours of physical training and five hours of academic classes every day. Later, the proportion of each course will be adjusted according to their individual strengths. After graduation, their individual wishes will be respected, and they will be assigned to different legions and different positions."

"Really? You're full of energy..."

Aokiji stared blankly at the young people sweating profusely.

In a daze, I seemed to see myself back in the naval elite training camp.

Can't go wrong.

These people are fighting for their ideals and striving for their beliefs, which is why they can maintain such a high-spirited and passionate demeanor even in difficult circumstances.

Before they knew anything about the darkness behind it all, and while still full of innocent dreams of justice, the elite recruits of the Navy Headquarters also shared this atmosphere and this vibrant spirit.

Unfortunately, it's difficult to maintain that level of success indefinitely.

Most of them, after graduating, within a few years and without achieving high positions, begin to waver in their commitment to justice through repeated missions and interactions with the World Government and the Celestial Dragons. Even the head instructor of the elite unit, their own teacher, Mr. Zephyr, is now…

In contrast.

These new recruits of the fallen don't need to go through these mental journeys; they can carry their beliefs through to the end.

That's truly enviable.

Call ~
Aokiji let out a soft breath.

"Mr. Imokku? What are you daydreaming about?"

Michita reached out and waved her hand in front of him, puzzled. "While the daily training of the Training Corps is interesting, the main attraction is the Construction Corps, which I'm going to show you next! Speaking of which, isn't your main purpose in coming here to inspect the construction achievements of our territory and prepare to write them into your recent academic paper?"

"Ah... yes."

Aokiji snapped out of his reverie and nodded in agreement. "That's right. Thank you for your hard work, Miss Michita. Let's continue."

"Hehe, just follow along, I've got you covered!"

Michita smiled broadly and led him through several bustling commercial streets to a busy construction site.

The workers here, wearing uniforms emblazoned with wheat ears and gears, are busily building a new residential area.

"Look, here are the uniforms of the Infrastructure Corps. You see them now? Speaking of which, those left here in the Galactic Sea are the sixth to tenth divisions of the Infrastructure Corps."

"Currently, we are mainly responsible for the renovation and expansion projects of the seven main islands in the Milky Way Sea. Each island has undergone tremendous changes compared to a year ago."

The lemon girl opened her arms wide and proudly introduced:
"For example, the area has been replanned and rationally relocated, including schools, kindergartens, hospitals, industrial zones, and commercial areas. As for fire protection, environmental protection, judicial, religious management, and so on, all these departments are also readily available!"

"By the way, did you see those manhole covers over there? The drainage system for these seven islands was designed by Lord Shano himself! It was built in just five days, so even if we encounter the torrential rains common in the New World, there won't be any flooding problems."

As Aokiji listened, his gaze was drawn to an elephant.

The elephant was enormous, yet incredibly agile as it moved through the construction site, carrying heavy building materials on its back and assisting the workers with transportation.

Every now and then, it will use its nose to help mix the cement materials.

What would take an ordinary person several hours to complete, it can finish in a few seconds, making it extremely efficient.

"That's... an ability user, right?" Aokiji was slightly surprised. Where in the world could there be an elephant with such high intelligence?

"bingo!"

Michita explained with a smile, "That's Lady Agatha, the user of the Elephant-Elephant Fruit, the vice-commander of the Infrastructure Corps, and one of Lady Shano's capable officers. She comes to help almost every day."

Aokiji nodded, his gaze sweeping over the busy crowd.

He noticed that many workers had genuine smiles as they talked to each other. Although they were all sweating profusely and covered in dirt, they didn't seem to find the work hard.

"These workers look very motivated."

He said thoughtfully.

"Of course!"

Michita became even more proud, puffing out her rather unremarkable chest:
"All members of the Infrastructure Corps joined voluntarily! We don't have slaves or arrogant nobles here. We work together to create a better home, and everyone benefits from it!"

"The workers who join the infrastructure construction corps also have comprehensive welfare benefits, such as medical care, housing, and even their children's education. So everyone is naturally willing to contribute to building their homes!"

Aokiji grew increasingly silent as he listened, remaining speechless for a long time.

Seeing his silence, Michita assumed he wasn't very interested and felt a little disappointed.

But entertaining guests was important, so she composed herself and quickly pointed to a tall white tower in the distance.

"Oh, right! Did you see that over there? It's one of the highlights of this visit—the newly built library. It was specially requested by Lord Shano!"

"I heard it will contain books from all over the world, including rare medical, historical, and scientific documents, and it will be completely open to the public, with everyone able to borrow them for free!"

Aokiji paused slightly, his gaze falling on the towering building in the distance.

"Free admission?"

"of course!"

Michita replied matter-of-factly, "Lord Shano said at our legion's assembly that knowledge should never be monopolized. Only by allowing more people to access it can we comprehensively promote the progress of the times!"

"Therefore, the first batch of key projects of the infrastructure construction corps included the construction of the first twelve libraries and six universities."

"As for the one you see now, it's the largest of all the libraries, called the 'Ohara Library,' and Ohara University is currently under construction."

Aokiji's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Ohara...the library?"

He repeated it almost subconsciously, his voice a little hoarse.

"Yes!"

Michita, oblivious to his odd behavior, continued explaining with great enthusiasm:
"Never heard of it, have you? Actually, when this name was first announced, everyone was confused. Later we found out that it was named by Lord Shano in memory of the people of Ohara who were destroyed by the Marine Headquarters with the Buster Call twenty years ago."

"Sigh, the people of an entire nation, regardless of age or gender, just vanished like that. I wonder who the naval commander was back then, to be so heartless. He's a real scoundrel! Humph, if I saw him, I'd give him a good beating to vent my anger!"

Aokiji pursed his lower lip.

His gaze passed over the indignant lemon girl and landed on the tower that had clearly just been completed, and the scene from twenty years ago resurfaced in his mind.

—A towering flame, a refugee ship bombarded by artillery fire, and a black-haired girl crying amidst the ruins.

The world government thought that by doing so, it could rest easy and extinguish all sparks of resistance.

They thought that by doing that, they could make an example of someone and deter others from touching upon the past!
And now.

The existence of this towering library, and its name, is the most contemptuous and direct response to the world government!

Ha, what can a world government do?

Shall we issue another Buster Call to the core territory of the Fallen Ones?
Five lieutenant generals, ten large warships...

Even if this configuration were increased tenfold, what difference would it make from giving it away for free?
"That's really... amazing."

After a long silence, Aokiji spoke in a low voice, his tone complex.

"Right, right!"

Michita was overjoyed to receive the compliment. "I knew you'd be more interested in this, hehe... Oh, right, it's almost lunchtime. How about I go to the restaurant to prepare lunch for you while you take a look around Ohara? We can meet at the entrance in half an hour."

"Right on my mind."

Aokiji nodded. "Then I'll trouble you. The food doesn't matter, just keep it simple."

He watched Michita leave, then turned and slowly walked into the white tower.

The moment you step into the library, you are greeted by a rich aroma of books. In the spacious and bright hall, many people are quietly browsing through books, including the elderly and children.

Aokiji strolled among the bookshelves, his fingertips gently tracing the spines of the rows of books.

The collection of books here was far more extensive than he had imagined, covering everything from medicine and agriculture to history and science.

Clearly, the author of this article went to great lengths to collect information from around the world.

Aokiji didn't linger on the first floor, but slowly climbed the spiral staircase, his footsteps making a clear sound in the quiet library.

As soon as he stepped onto the stairs, he heard a mature woman's voice, somewhat familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar, softly ring out:
"I seem to smell a sense of confusion. So much time has passed, and you still haven't found your place, traitor... Mr. Kuzan?"

(End of this chapter)