One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

Inside the office of Branch 177, Kuzan was bent over his desk, reviewing a series of documents arising from the events in the Kingdom of Prince.

His hair was a mess, like dried grass on the beach.

His face was full of fatigue, and he kept yawning.

Kuzan hasn't done this kind of tedious clerical work himself for many years.

He has been busy for almost a week now, and he has been working on days like today.

There's nothing we can do about it; he's currently the highest-ranking officer in the entire North Sea Navy.

The coup in the Kingdom of Prince has ended.

But the mess it left behind was far too complicated.

It involves not only dozens of pirate crews of varying sizes, but also some neutral maritime trading forces, as well as the reassurance of tens of thousands of affected people.

Furthermore, the fact that Prince Ilya had previously sent pirates to massacre villages in neighboring countries has also been exposed.

This caused a sensation and outrage among neighboring countries.

Accusations and condemnations against the Prince family poured into the World Government like snowflakes.

As for the Kingdom of Prince, without a king to govern, the entire country is now leaderless, and the people are in a state of panic amidst this great disaster.

To quickly diminish the negative impact of the incident, it is essential to restore order to the member state as soon as possible.

Therefore, in recent days, the World Government has been urging Branch 177 to have Princegros, the rightful heir to the throne, ascend to the throne as soon as possible in order to stabilize public sentiment.

But this is precisely what gives Kuzan the biggest headache.

Prince Prince, who had just woken up from a coma after being seriously injured a few days ago, had no desire to be the king of the Kingdom of Prince!

The rightful heir of the republic has quit!

Not only did he refuse, Gross even begged to join the Navy.

Thinking about this, Kuzan's head started throbbing again.

He stopped what he was doing, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed deeply.

He still remembered how badly he was scolded when he reported Gross's request to Marshal Sengoku a couple of days ago.

Sengoku's original words were: "Don't joke around, Kuzan! Gros is the heir to the throne designated by Prince VII. If he doesn't become king, then the only one left qualified to be king is Prince Ilya! Do you want that criminal who killed tens of thousands of people to return to the top of power and drag that country back into hell?"

Then came reprimands such as, "Don't come back to headquarters if you don't complete the mission," and "A general like you can't even do this little thing right, you're really useless."

The thought of Prince Ilya filled Kuzan with an indescribable sense of oppression and anger.

That seemingly gentle and refined young nobleman, in pursuit of a so-called answer, plunged a nation into a bloody hell, causing the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians.

That day, he almost couldn't resist killing Ilya.

"He's a complete piece of trash. If it were Sakazuki here..."

On the other hand, Kuzan had to admit that Prince Ilya was indeed a cunning and genius with a mind that was almost monstrous.

If he had followed the right path and joined the Navy, he would at least have become a senior staff officer at headquarters.

He single-handedly dragged several powerful forces, far stronger than himself, into the fray.

A supernova pirate with a bounty of over 100 million, a well-established Shichibukai, a Marine upholding justice, and even a Revolutionary Army soldier who specially sent precious Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits in exchange for food.

Yes, Kuzan already knows the origin and name of the fruit that Rorschach ate.

"The Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit that Rorschach ate is the Horse-Horse Fruit in its Kirin form, which is said to be able to control wind and thunder. It's a powerful fruit with an extremely high potential, in no way inferior to Kaido's Azure Dragon form. With his enormous potential and his unwavering belief in justice, once he grows up, our Navy will have another powerful force."

Whenever he recalls that day, when Rorschach, battered and bruised, uttered those words almost like a roar, Kuzan's heart, which had been frozen for many years, feels a surge of passion once more.

Once upon a time, wasn't I just like Rorschach now?

When did I abandon my initial passionate belief and choose this lazy sense of justice?

Did it start with the Buster Call in Ohara?

No, perhaps even earlier.

As that pesky Doflamingo said.

There is far too much darkness and filth in this world.

Of those who are deeply involved, how many can truly carry on their initial pursuit?

Unbeknownst to him, Kuzan rested his forehead on his hand and fell into deep thought.

dong dong dong.

A knock on the office door startled Kuzan from his deep thoughts.

He took a breath, rubbed his face vigorously, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Come in."

Lieutenant Richard of the 177th Squadron pushed open the door, gave a straight salute, and then shouted, "Reporting to Admiral Aokiji, Lieutenant Rorschach's warship has returned!"

"So he's finally back? That kid..." Kuzan shook his head slightly.

"Should I inform Lieutenant Rorschach to come see you?" Richard asked.

"No need, I'll go check it out myself. You stay here and keep an eye on things for me; if a Den Den Mushi calls, answer it."

Kuzan waved his hand, stood up amidst Richard's astonished gaze, and left the office.

"As expected of Rorschach, he is highly regarded by the General. But... that man is capable of such things, he certainly deserves the General's attention, right? It is my good fortune to be a fellow native of Beihai and born in the same era as such a man."

Richard was deeply moved as he recalled the scenes they witnessed when they stormed Prince City that day.

Especially after seeing the terrible injuries suffered by Rorschach and his companions, no one in Branch 177 felt jealous of Rorschach's talent anymore.

Instead, there is recognition, respect, and awe.

...

...

A seaside port.

A warship with a broken mast and numerous holes slowly approached.

Immediately, a group of soldiers and waiting officers ran forward to take over the duties.

"Reporting to Lieutenant Bill, it's Second Lieutenant Rorschach who's back."

A soldier rushed over, and fine beads of sweat could be seen seeping from his forehead.

He didn't look well.

"Understood. Go and call some more soldiers. This will be a lot of work, and we'll need manpower."

Bill nodded, as if he had expected and was prepared for this.

Even so.

But when Bill once again boarded the deck of that dilapidated warship and saw the scene on the deck, he couldn't help but gasp, his face turning pale, just like the branch recruit before.

What was piled up on the deck of the warship was not Pele's food, nor captured weapons and ammunition, nor refugees brought back for resettlement.

It was human heads.

A mountain of heads.

The warship's vast deck was almost entirely filled with heads, their faces contorted with terror, despair, and covered in blood.

The deck was covered with a thick layer of congealed blood, like splattered black and red paint.

The strong smell of blood even attracted carrion vultures, which circled in the sky.

Amidst this hellish scene, Bill saw a silver-haired boy in a blue and white military uniform sitting indifferently on a small hill piled with hundreds of heads.

Suddenly, a sigh came from behind.

"Oh dear, Rorschach, if this continues, you'll become another Sakazuki."

Chapter 67 Rorschach

The sudden sound startled Lieutenant Bill.

When he saw the person behind him, he immediately stood up straight and gave a respectful military salute.

"General Aokiji!"

"Okay. You go ahead with your work, I'll go talk to Luo Xia."

Kuzan smiled at him, then looked at Rorschach, who was sitting there in a daze, and raised the bottle of wine in his hand.

"Rorschach, want to grab a drink? I brought some good wine."

Bill sighed as he watched the tall, silver-haired boy leave behind Aokiji.

"Lieutenant Rorschach is really pushing himself too hard. Despite being so badly injured, he barely rested before heading out to sea to help hunt down pirates. I don't know what's on his mind, but I hope he can get over it soon. You can't kill all the pirates. It's not worth ruining your health."

"Men! Bring me the bounty posters. Pick out the heads of the pirates with bounties, and chain up the heads of the rest. We'll dump them all on Paya Island later!"

Paya Island, a deserted island near Thousand Rock Island, is used specifically to dispose of pirate corpses and is known as the graveyard of North Blue pirates. It is the headquarters of the 177th Marine Branch and one of the reasons why no pirate dares to provoke it in the Kingdom of Prince.

...

...

On the rocky beach, the salty sea breeze blows, creating layers of ripples in the seawater.

As dusk approached, the setting sun painted the sky a golden hue.

Kuzan tossed a bottle of liquor to Rorschach, who silently caught it.

The two sat facing each other on the seaside rocks under the setting sun.

Kuzan smiled and reached his right hand into his split chest, taking out another bottle of wine.

White steam was still rising from the bottle.

"It's chilled, have a taste. This is a must-drink wine for any real man. I brought it from Marineford."

Kuzan uncorked the bottle, held it out, and bumped it against Rorschach's.

Luo Xia glanced at the bottle. "So, it really is sherry?"

Kuzan paused in his act of tilting his head back to gulp down the sherry, looking at him with some surprise. "You know about sherry too?"