"No need to be nervous. We're just passing through."
After 'staring' at the blind Issho for a few seconds, Sasuke suddenly spoke. Hearing this, Issho nodded lightly.
"In that case, I am relieved."
Saying this, he prepared to continue patrolling with the surrounding marines. After the Marine personnel stationed at Sabaody Archipelago who were inclined towards the Celestial Dragons withdrew, these elite forces from Headquarters were rapidly deployed to surrounding countries and islands.
Issho, as a candidate capable of becoming an Admiral, was naturally assigned a relatively important post. Sabaody Archipelago was their new station.
To be honest, when they first arrived, the order here was indeed chaotic, as Sasuke and the others had guessed. In fact, the very day after they left Sabaody, fighting broke out on Groves 2 through 10, which were previously under the invisible rule of the Celestial Dragons.
It started with the slaves' rebellion, fighting between slaves and slave traders. Then the conflict expanded, with many gangs and pirates joining in, to the point where some old pirates hiding on Grove 13 couldn't sit still either.
But he was only one person. Without resorting to large-scale killing, he couldn't ensure the stability of dozens of islands.
Fortunately, these days came to a temporary end after Issho and the elite Marine Headquarters forces arrived. And for those criminals trying to take advantage of the chaos, compared to Rayleigh who only acted as a deterrent on the surface, Fujitora leading a large group of Marine forces was more intimidating. After all, these people really would kill.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku had issued an order: special times call for special measures. For crucial transit points like Sabaody Archipelago, appropriate strict measures could be taken.
For example, if pirates resisted arrest or the circumstances were severe, they could be executed without trial. Fortunately, it wasn't the hawkish Vice Admirals from Akainu's faction who came here. Otherwise, they might have expanded their targets, directly including all forces on Sabaody in their crackdown.
By the way, Akainu, the star-crossed Marine Admiral, was incredibly tenacious, not dying even after nearly half his body was shattered.
However, he had now been sent to Egghead Island for scientific treatment. As for how long this treatment would take… no one could say. And even after recovery, his strength would be hard to fully restore. On the other hand, precisely because of Issho's impartial character, Sengoku could trust him with handling this crucial point. And this newly promoted Vice Admiral Fujitora indeed didn't disappoint the Fleet Admiral.
In less than ten days, order on Sabaody Archipelago had been restored… not only back to normal but even better than before. At least, the previous 'lawless zones' no longer existed. Pirates could set foot on Sabaody Archipelago, but they'd better not cause trouble here. Otherwise, no matter which island they were on, a meteor would be waiting for them.
'A strong individual…'
Chinjao, watching Issho walk further away, had a serious, earnest expression, no longer the amiable, smiling look from before.
"Yeah, indeed."
Sasuke also nodded. He said this with clearly more confidence than Chinjao. After all, in his eyes, the moment he had the thought of fighting the other, [Calamity] began to gather.
This meant that even if he went all out now, there would be a life-threatening risk if he fought this blind Vice Admiral. The outcome was unpredictable, but it was certain that the other party's true strength was absolutely not as simple as what he displayed in the Summit War.
"The newly promoted Marine Vice Admiral… can't be underestimated."
Only Sai and Boo, who hadn't yet gone to find the coating craftsman, were completely confused, unable to sense Issho's true strength at all.
In their eyes, this Marine Vice Admiral spoke in a strange tone, and after interacting with him, even the old man and Sasuke started speaking strangely.
Such cryptic people.
Coating required a considerable amount of time. A skilled coating craftsman needed at least three to five days to complete coating for a two-masted sailing ship. Depending on the shop's business, this time could even be extended. Don't think everyone had the old drunk Rayleigh's coating skills. And the Happo Navy's ship this voyage was a three-masted large sailing ship, comparable in size to a large warship, so the coating time would be even longer.
Fortunately, Chinjao, or rather, the Kano Country, had other connections. They had a group of familiar professional coating craftsmen on Sabaody who could help shorten the time as much as possible.
But even so, completing the coating would take four days.
"I'll wander around. We'll meet at this dock in four days."
Sasuke waved and started walking towards the island. Seeing this, Sai immediately remembered what he had forgotten earlier.
"Wait! Brother Sasuke! Don't go! Fight me again!"
Unfortunately, hearing Sai's voice, Sasuke walked even faster. With a whoosh, his figure disappeared from the spot as if teleporting.
"Huh? Where'd he go?"
Sai was still looking around, while Chinjao stroked his beard and sighed.
"What fast speed."
It had to be said, Ninjas excelled in this aspect. Even without using any Devil Fruit abilities, their Body Flicker Technique wasn't something ordinary people could follow.
…
Grove 13, Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.
Ding-a-ling-
Wiping a glass, Shakky didn't even look up to know who had come.
"Back already? I thought you'd wander the first half of the Grand Line a bit longer, kid."
Both she and Rayleigh had been asked by Naruto to look after Sasuke and Karin, these two greenhorns, as much as possible.
Although there were no worries about combat strength, these two really were going out to sea… or rather, adventuring alone for the first time.
Compared to Karin, who conventionally bought a second-hand ship, Sasuke, who took off flying on a cloud right away, was obviously more worrisome.
And precisely because this kid left without saying goodbye, Shakky's attitude towards him wasn't as good as towards Karin. There was some resentment after all. Naruto had just asked them, and they lost track of the person right after… it was indeed not a good look.
However, Sasuke seemed completely oblivious, directly ignoring Shakky's resentful gaze and looking around.
"Looking for old Ray? He went out to lay low again. Since that Marine guy came, public order here has improved quite a bit. Thanks to them, I don't need old Ray to worry much here either."
Hearing this, Sasuke finally looked back at Shakky. He originally wanted to cram at the last minute and seek some advice from Rayleigh. After all, according to Naruto, Rayleigh was a strong person from the same era as that old man Garp and could provide some guidance for his journey to hone himself. But it seemed there wasn't much chance now.
Sasuke nodded at Shakky and was about to turn and leave. But before leaving, he seemed to remember something and turned to ask Shakky.
"Auntie Shakky-"
This was what Naruto taught him to call her, saying it could close the distance. Sure enough, upon hearing this address, the dissatisfaction on Shakky's face lessened considerably, and a smile returned.
She and old Ray had no children, so they were quite receptive to affectionate addresses from younger people.
"Cough… Auntie Shakky, those people on the cliff outside…"
Saying this, Sasuke pushed open the door, pointing towards the boundless rock wall in the distance… the Red Line.
At that moment, many figures like ants were densely crawling on it. Looking closely, they were people with either robust or slender builds. Some wore professional climbing gear, some just sailor shirts and shorts, and even some in the tattered clothes of slaves.
"Those? Oh… you mean those climbers?"
Shakky was momentarily stunned, then smiled and explained.
After Shanks completely liberated Mariejois, the news spread worldwide along with the escaping slaves. Many people persecuted by the Celestial Dragons applauded, while some nobles began to worry about their futures.
Of course, among them, the most proactive ones actually came straight to Sabaody Archipelago and started imitating Fisher Tiger and Naruto, climbing the Red Line barehanded.
Previously, this behavior was not allowed. Not only the World Government, but the Marine also viewed this as plotting against the Celestial Dragons.
-Of course, now the Marine wouldn't interfere anymore.
Among these people, some went purely for the climb itself, as the Red Line's ten-thousand-meter height wasn't something you could find just anywhere.
But more had other purposes. Some aimed for the possibly unclaimed treasures left in Mariejois… others wanted to trample underfoot the 'Celestial Dragon's authority' that had once pressed down on them, suffocating them. Just like how those Celestial Dragons had trampled their dignity underfoot.
Perhaps only after they truly did this could they completely break free from the cages in their hearts.