From the moment Zephyr set foot on the merchant ship, Ethan knew he could not stay hidden.
Swordsmanship could be concealed, Haki could be concealed, but a body refined to this level could not.
So he simply greeted Zephyr openly.
"Adam, a writer? Please wait a moment."
Ethan watched as Zephyr pulled out a small notebook. Inside were several classic lines from his novels, along with a photo clipped from a newspaper.
Zephyr held the photo up and compared it to Ethan's face.
Once he confirmed that the man in front of him was the one in the picture, his eyes lit up.
"So you are Adam, the author of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Water Margin. It is an honor to meet you."
Zephyr suddenly became excited.
In the Four Seas, Ethan might not have felt it clearly, but on the Grand Line, the name Adam rang like thunder.
In the Great Pirate Era, Adam could be called the pinnacle of entertainment.
Countless pirates, Marines, and ordinary people from all walks of life revered Adam's works.
In this age, people's spiritual lives were extremely impoverished. In terms of cultural output, this world was not much better than the Middle Ages of Ethan's previous life.
Ethan's stories had opened a door to a completely new world.
The moment JoJo's Bizarre Adventure began serialization, people discovered that you could talk like that, act like that, that such mysterious and bizarre tales could exist.
It made all the little tales circulating on the sea look like crude children's stories by comparison.
As for Zephyr himself, his favorite line was:
"Humanity's hymn is a hymn to courage, and humanity's greatness is the greatness of courage."
(人間讃歌は「勇気」の讃歌ッ!!人間のすばらしさは勇気のすばらしさ!!)
It was not just Zephyr. Sengoku and many of the Marine top brass liked that line as well. It resonated too deeply.
So Adam, Ethan's first persona, had gathered a terrifying number of high level fans across the sea, and the average combat power of those fans was extremely high.
That photo had been taken when JoJo's Bizarre Adventure reached its one year anniversary. The World Economy News had practically begged Ethan for it, saying it was to reward the readers.
Ethan had felt that, if he wanted to keep his identities as Ethan and Adam separate, being famous was actually a pretty good cover.
After all, his disguise was done using one of Blue Star's four great dark arts, makeup, and the cosmetics he used were waterproof. As long as he did not run into the Wash Wash Fruit, he was safe.
Realizing that Zephyr was actually his reader, Ethan could not help reflecting a little: maybe his plan had worked a bit too well.
After that, Zephyr invited him aboard the warship.
He said there were some questions about the novels he wanted to ask the author himself.
Ethan had no choice but to accept.
He brought his "little sister" Haibara Ai with him and stepped onto the Marine warship.
The first thing that happened when he boarded was an impromptu autograph session.
These young Marines were far too excitable.
Cheering and shouting, they rushed to their lockers and pulled out Ethan's books. Some even had complete collected editions.
Marine pay really was pretty good.
Next, they invited Ethan to the mess hall to try Navy food, then gave him a tour of all the non classified areas of the warship.
It was the full visitor experience.
At last, they arrived at the ship's reception room.
Ethan and Robin sat together on the sofa, warming their hands on cups of hot tea and nibbling on fruit.
It was absurdly comfortable.
Robin had never imagined that one day she would set foot on a Marine warship as a guest and receive such warm hospitality.
"I am sorry the reception is so simple," Zephyr said. "Life on a warship is harsh, there is not much good stuff to offer you. Next time you come to Marineford, I will be sure to entertain you properly."
Ethan thought, I absolutely cannot go to Marineford right now.
Even Golden Lion had been arrested there. If I go now, I am basically walking into my own execution.
He hurried to change the subject before Zephyr could show any more of his hospitality.
"You mentioned there were some questions about the novels you wanted to discuss, Zephyr. What would you like to ask?"
As it turned out, Zephyr was a hardcore old fan.
He followed both JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Water Margin.
JoJo was an adventure story in a fictional world.
Even though it featured some supernatural powers, on this sea that was not all that special.
What truly mattered were the stories and the spirit that inspired people.
Water Margin, however, was a very different kind of problem.
Water Margin was a fictionalized historical novel.
Even with some alterations, its framework contained a great number of descriptions about the economy, the lives of common people, and public order.
When he adapted it, Ethan had changed some place names, structures of rule, and official titles based on the Northern Song, but many of the events and ideas remained.
Zephyr had accumulated a mountain of questions over this.
In his mind, the fact that the Great Pirate Era could not be suppressed no matter how hard they tried must have a cause.
Through Adam's novel, he could see paths he had never seen before, and that was worth a serious discussion with the author.
The Northern Song's economic development had been impressive.
Many things taken for granted in the novel were actually a revelation to people in this world.
Faced with them, even the Marines' worldview was shaken.
When it came to economics and the problems of everyday life, all the knowledge of the One Piece world put together could not hold a candle to what Ethan possessed alone.
This was the perfect opportunity to pass Zephyr a spark, to plant a seed of revolution in the heart of the Admiral Who Does Not Kill.
Ethan started from the Northern Song's economy.
He described how urban commerce and industry had flourished, how relations of commodity and currency had developed rapidly.
As commerce grew ever more important in the national economy, it began to erode the old closed economic structure, changing the material foundation of rule and forcing the state to adjust its commercial policies.
He talked and talked until the sky outside the porthole went dark.
Only then had he barely finished the outline.
Zephyr could not stop sighing in admiration.
"As expected of a great writer," he said.
So many settings, such a complete framework, it all felt like there really had once been a country like that in the Four Seas.
A good memory could not compare to having things in writing.
Zephyr carefully wrote all of Ethan's words into his notebook.
He did not truly understand everything, but he could take it back and ask Vice Admiral Tsuru at headquarters.
With her wisdom, she would be able to fully digest this knowledge.
He had originally wanted to ask many more questions, but the day had grown late.
He would leave it for another time.
Since Adam was going to Drum Island, Zephyr decided he would simply give them a lift on his warship.
It was on the way, after all.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]