After walking for five minutes, Ross and his group suddenly stopped.
"Hey, Professor Zephyr, and Commander too."
Suddenly, a tall Marine figure appeared in front of them.
"Kuzan."
Zephyr narrowed his eyes, uttered the other person's name, and subconsciously took a step forward, blocking Ross's path.
Kuzan, hands in his pockets, took in Zephyr's actions, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes.
The hero teacher he respected was completely different from before.
When he was being taught, it was right after Zephyr's wife and son had been murdered. At that time, Zephyr was still seen as a hero with unwavering will in Kuzan's eyes.
As time passed, his beloved teacher Zephyr disappeared, replaced by CP0 Zephyr in a white suit.
Now, for Kuzan, all that's left is Garp, the mentor who took him under his wing after he graduated from training camp.
Kuzan never glanced at Ross, but after giving Zephyr a deep look, he turned and walked away gracefully.
"Saint Ross..."
Zane quietly approached Ross and whispered to him in a low voice.
Disrespecting the Celestial Dragons was, in her mindset instilled from childhood, a capital offense.
"Vice Admiral Kuzan."
Just as Kuzan was about to disappear from sight, Ross suddenly spoke up.
Seeing Kuzan pause slightly, Ross spoke calmly:
"I order you to return to the warship and take charge of the preparations for the destruction of the Tree of Knowledge."
"Commander, I have orders from headquarters to deal with the Marine traitor Jaguar D. Saul."
Kuzan didn't turn his head and continued walking forward.
But after taking just one step, he was forced to stop.
"Professor Zephyr, are you trying to stop me from carrying out headquarters' orders?"
He slightly raised his head, looking at Zephyr standing in front of him, his whole body radiating a chill.
[Kuzan]
Overall Rating: S-
Ten years ago, he couldn't even withstand a single punch from Zephyr.
But 10 years later, his ice was perhaps even sharper than Zephyr's punches.
"The Marine's duty is to follow orders, I remember teaching you that."
Zephyr frowned slightly; he had neither good nor bad feelings towards Kuzan.
Kuzan was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding students he taught.
But Kuzan's overly lazy personality was something he really disliked, just as he disliked Borsalino.
"Professor Zephyr, haven't I been following orders?"
As soon as Kuzan finished speaking, he suddenly frowned and took a small step to the left.
Almost at the same time, Zane appeared to his right, holding a Den Den Mushi.
"Kuzan, obey Zephyr and Saint Ross's orders. These are the orders given to you by headquarters."
Hearing the empty voice, Kuzan sighed:
"Roger!"
After saying that, he still didn't turn around, but instead walked to the left along a path paved with ice.
Even though he still ignored Ross, he still did as Ross ordered.
"Saint Ross, please allow me to make a move..."
Zane returned to Ross's side and respectfully handed him the Den Den Mushi that had been hung up.
"You are no match for him. As long as he doesn't defect to the Marines, he poses no threat to me."
Ross finished speaking calmly and continued walking towards Robin.
Kuzan's appearance was just a minor incident.
His identity as a Celestial Dragon meant he was destined to be at odds with Marines like Garp and Kuzan.
In the eyes of those intolerant Marines, the Celestial Dragons were also people who needed to be dealt with.
However, with the main conflict being pirates, the Celestial Dragons and the World Government are not in a hurry to deal with it.
Because of Kuzan and Garp's fighting prowess, the World Government would tacitly allow their existence.
As long as one doesn't betray the World Government, one's inner thoughts are irrelevant.
However, Ross knew in his heart that Kuzan would betray the Marines sooner or later.
If he weren't currently lacking in strength, he would have wanted to capture the other party on the spot.
That's a real skill.
Zephyr and Gion watched Ross's retreating figure, their expressions differing, but they still silently followed behind him.
Through the Kuzan incident, Zephyr also gained a general understanding of Ross's toughness and attitude towards justice. However, since he had chosen the path of eliminating pirates through the World Government, he did not intend to change course.
Unless Ross is truly incapable, he intends to wait and see.
Gion is simpler.
Previously, she only knew that the Celestial Dragons were not to be offended, and that if you didn't meet their demands, dying would be a difficult thing.
But those are just hearsay; the example of Kuzan is right in front of us.
It was normal for Ross to subdue a newly graduated Marine elite, but Ross easily made Kuzan submit, which gave her a sense of having her eyes opened.
Kuzan's current position in the Marines is high enough to rank him among the top five, yet such a person can only submit to Ross's orders.
Gion couldn't help but feel a little glad she had made that choice.
At least, they won't suffer any more undeserved misfortunes.
Of course, what mainly changed her attitude was that Ross not only had a noble status, but his own strength was also boundless.
Every time they sparred, Ross was much stronger than her, and could even take Stella on a trip together.
Considering his appearance, strength, talent, status, and abilities, Ross was definitely among the top men she had ever met. To reach Ross's average level, other men would need to be at least 20 years older than him.
Whenever she thought about these things, Gion felt like she was Cinderella, that she was lucky to have married Ross...
The group moved quickly and soon arrived at Saul's hiding place.
What was described as a hiding place was actually a small bay at the foot of a cliff.
Saul's enormous, several-dozen-meter-tall figure was hidden among them, so it didn't stand out as much.
"Who are you...?"
Ross's arrival immediately alerted Saul.
"Admiral Zephyr!!"
When Saul saw Zephyr's face, despair crept onto his face.
The thought of being stranded in Ohara was devastating enough.
Unexpectedly, he ran into an admiral.
"Admiral? Saul, is he the Marine's top combatant?"
On Saul's giant hand, there was a cute little girl with black hair, curiously observing Ross and the others.
"Jaguar D. Saul, Nico Robin, that's right."
Ross stood at the front of the line, calmly observing the large and small pair.
[Jaguar D. Saul]
Overall Rating: A-
[Nico Robin]
Overall Rating: E+
Sure enough, even characters in the story receive shockingly low ratings if they don't grow and develop.
Ross sighed inwardly and immediately lost interest in Robin.
He doesn't engage in philandering, and he prefers Robin 20 years in the future, having absolutely no interest in the current Robin.
"That's right, who are you? Are you here to arrest us?"
Saul stood up, his massive figure, tens of meters tall, exuding an unparalleled sense of oppression simply by standing there.
Ever since he learned that he had arrived in Ohara and had inadvertently discovered Robin's identity, he knew what was going to happen.
He just didn't expect this day to come so soon.