Konoha Yellow Monkey: The salary is in place, and Wukage is useless!

Chapter 500: A Shocking Statement!

"You," Zephyr looked at the suddenly appearing Kizaru with complicated eyes. At his age and strength, he naturally wouldn't be greatly surprised or extremely angry because of Kizaru's sudden appearance.

Zephyr scrutinized Kizaru, then looked at the calm Aokiji. In his heart, he had already believed, or rather accepted, the fact that the World Government had betrayed him and his dead Marine disciples.

This made him feel more sorrowful than angry.

He couldn't accept the World Government's betrayal, but what he found even more unacceptable was the silence from the Marine Headquarters.

Even outsiders like Kizaru knew this information, so how could Sengoku and his group at Marine Headquarters, along with their first disciples Akainu and Kizaru, not have heard a thing?

To this day, he has not received any notification from the Navy Headquarters. He has taught so many disciples, is there not a single one willing to tell his teacher this?

Does no one care about those naval recruits who died on that ship, those vibrant lives?

This is the root of Zephyr's true sadness and anger. He had no hope for the World Government to begin with, but the Navy, the only organization he considered home and had dedicated his life to, betrayed him. It was like a sharp blade piercing his already shattered heart.

After suffering the greatest betrayal, Zephyr fell silent. His utterly shattered heart became the fuel for his dying body, and he looked up at Kizaru again, his sunglasses unable to conceal the glint in his eyes. "I appreciate the information you brought, but I don't have the energy to participate in Aokiji's proposal. For me, there is only one goal now: revenge against the pirates!"

At this moment, the Zephyr of the past is completely dead. Now, only a vengeful warrior burning with rage remains, a warrior who has completely abandoned everything and has only revenge left.

This was the last thing Aokiji wanted to see, and it was the main reason he asked Kizaru to come with him. He was really bad at persuading others, especially men like Zephyr.

Under Aokiji's subtle gaze, Kizaru calmly walked to the side, pulled over a somewhat old wooden chair with a backrest, placed it next to Aokiji's seat, sat down, leaned back, crossed his legs, and casually took out three cigars, tossing one to Aokiji, one to Zephyr, and keeping one for himself.

After the three of them had lit their cigars and were puffing away, Kizaru finally spoke, "You want to take revenge on the pirates?"

Zephyr puffed on his cigar, looked at Kizaru, and said nothing, but his expression spoke volumes.

Kizaru continued, "That's true. For you, the betrayal of the World Government and the betrayal of the Navy have broken your heart, but they are still the places you've dedicated your life to. You can't fight them directly, nor can you afford to provoke them because they are too powerful. So you can only choose to attack the weakest and most chaotic pirates to satisfy your unvented pain and impotent rage."

When Kizaru was halfway through his sentence, Aokiji's right hand, which was holding a cigar, instinctively stopped in mid-air. He did not stop Kizaru from speaking, but his gaze toward Zephyr showed a hint of worry. He was very concerned that Zephyr could not withstand Kizaru's sharp tongue and provocation.

As Aokiji had feared, Zephyr's face flashed with anger, but he ultimately restrained himself and waited until Kizaru finished speaking before calmly saying, "My fists have never been used to strike the weak. The actions of the World Government and the Navy have disappointed me, but I will not lay a hand on those former soldiers because of them. They are innocent."

Kizaru laughed upon hearing this, "Do you believe what you're saying?"

Zephyr frowned slightly. "I'm not one of those unscrupulous pirates!"

"Is that so? Then if one day the Navy tries to stop you, can you still refrain from taking action against the Navy soldiers? What if you find that you are ultimately powerless to eliminate the increasingly active pirates in the New World? And then, a weapon, a button, is placed in front of you, and all you have to do is press it, and the entire New World will be completely destroyed. Whether it's the Navy, the Navy, or innocent civilians, they will all be doomed. Would you press it?" Kizaru asked Zephyr with a hint of ambiguity.

Zephyr's first reaction was to refuse, but as he opened his mouth, images flashed through his mind of the students who had died in front of him on the training ship, his kind and gentle wife, his son who was only a few years old and had not yet seen the world properly, who dreamed of becoming a naval officer and fighting evil with him. The faces of his family and disciples kept flashing in Zephyr's eyes, and at that moment he hesitated. He knew that he was wavering.

If such an opportunity were truly presented to me, I might not press the button the first time. But if that weapon, that button, were always by my side, then perhaps one day, when anger completely consumes me and reason completely spirals out of control, I will press it.

“If it were only once, I would refuse, but if that weapon always exists, perhaps one day, when I am so old that I can hardly deal with pirates, when my anger towards pirates has accumulated to the point of being uncontrollable, I will find that weapon and press it down,” Zephyr confessed honestly.

In response to Zephyr's answer, Aokiji put the cigar back to his lips, looking at his teacher with a complicated expression, while Kizaru maintained his smile and shrugged.

"You see, for you, anger will not disappear, no matter how many pirates you kill. On the contrary, the more pirates you kill, the more numb you will become, and the comfort brought by revenge will only become more and more empty, because the dead will never come back, no matter how many marines you kill."

Kizaru's words were direct and somewhat cold, but only such words could provoke Zephyr's completely shattered heart.

Faced with Kizaru's sharp words, Zephyr felt a bit irritated and uncomfortable. He had a feeling of pent-up anger with nowhere to go, so he could only take a deep drag on his cigar, ignoring the principle that cigars shouldn't be inhaled, and let the bitter and spicy taste of disgust enter his lungs. In a way that continuously harmed his body, he could only vent the tiny bit of anger in his heart.

“You have a specific enemy, but simply killing him won’t vent your anger. You can only choose to take revenge on pirates, a group that represents evil and that you’ve spent your life fighting. Hunting a pirate might make you feel a little better, and allow you to forgive yourself for a few minutes. But such behavior is nothing more than that of a cowardly avenger, hiding his head in a field he has created for himself, and not daring to face the real problem.”

Kizaru put down his cigar, looked at Zephyr, and calmly asked, "Zeff, who do you think is your real enemy?"

Zefa did not answer, but silently smoked his cigar.

Kizaru continued, this time with a more serious tone, "In my opinion, all the tragedies you have experienced, the enemies you have to face, have never been those one or two pirates, but this world full of chaos and exploitation, full of tears. Your real enemy is not those few pirates, but the World Government that created this hellish world. It is they who created this world full of tragedy, and it is they who have continuously created pirates through bottomless exploitation and oppression."

As long as the World Government maintains its rule, the pirates will never be eradicated! Because it is they who continuously create more and more pirates!

And as the embodiment of the World Government's military power, aren't you also accomplices in the birth of those pirates?

As an accomplice of the World Government, the Navy collaborates with the World Government to create more pirates, and then those Navy personnel and innocent civilians are killed by the pirates you created.

In other words, you were once an accomplice in the murder of your wife and children, and in the killing of your disciples!

When Kizaru uttered his last sentence, even Aokiji, who was usually lazy and never showed his emotions, changed his expression. His mouth was slightly open, and he didn't know how to comment on Kizaru's words.

As the person directly involved, Zephyr instinctively refused to accept Kizaru's views and ideas, finding it all utterly absurd.

He himself, who had dedicated his life to the cause of justice, joined the Navy for justice, fought and struggled all the way to the position of Admiral, had become the accomplice who caused the tragic deaths of his wife and children, as described by Kizaru!

Zephyr could not accept such a conclusion. It completely denied his entire life, making the whole life he had worked so hard for seem like a joke.

"You bastard! What nonsense are you spouting?" Zephyr could no longer restrain himself and stood up, wanting to attack Kizaru. Aokiji, who was sitting in front of him, also stood up, trying to dissuade his teacher.

Only Kizaru remained calmly seated. He raised his hand to stop Aokiji's actions, then turned to Zephyr, who was about to attack him, and asked, "Isn't that right? As a Marine Admiral, are all your missions righteous acts of fighting evil? As a Marine, haven't you helped the member states suppress their domestic rebellions? Even if those civilians who started the rebellion were just starving people struggling to survive because of the exploitation by the Celestial Dragons and the King! As a Marine Admiral, are you completely unaware of the Celestial Dragons' triennial hunt?"

Every question Kizaru asked was an attack on Zephyr's self-proclaimed sense of justice, but when the last question came out, not only Zephyr, but even Aokiji's expression changed.

The Celestial Dragons' triennial hunt is a crime that no Marine with even a basic conscience or morality can face after learning the truth.

As the enforcers of sealing off the islands and their inhabitants during each hunt, the Navy is an undisputed accomplice, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them co-perpetrators.

So when Kizaru asked the last question, even the furious Zephyr couldn't find a reason to refute him.

He could certainly say that he did not participate in such activities and that he also disapproved of such behavior, but the fact is that as a naval admiral, he was aware of such actions, and that some of his naval officers and men participated in similar blockade operations.

"So, you see. Who is constantly creating pirates? It's the World Government, the Navy as accomplices, and the kings and nobles of the allied nations. It is the Navy they created that killed your wife and children, and your students. Your constant hunting of pirates is like trying to salvage garbage from a pond that is constantly being dumped with waste, instead of trying to solve the problem at its source."

General Zephyr, to be honest, I admire your past actions in upholding justice, but I also regret that your justice only extends to such a small and insignificant area.

If you truly want revenge for those who sacrificed their lives in the past—whether it's your wife and children, your disciples, those unsuspecting junior naval officers, or those innocent civilians—then I hope you can confront your hatred and understand who exactly created these tragedies.

After Kizaru finished speaking, Zephyr's outburst of anger gradually subsided. He sat down again, glanced at Kizaru, then, with a cigar in his mouth, fell into a long silence. (End of Chapter)