Settsetse! The Pirate Nemesis

64. A Flexible Moral Bottom Line (Third Update)

Upon seeing Tina's navy uniform, Tiger, who had initially wanted to say something, fell silent once again.

Predictably, Tiger is now already thinking about how to escape. Sett seemed quite casual about this, even glancing at Tina beside him and pointing to the mark on Tiger's chest, asking, "What's that?"

"..." Upon hearing Sett's question, Tina's gaze held a hint of complexity. She didn't make any move to arrest Tiger—perhaps Tina knew that Sett didn't care whether he was a Celestial Dragon's slave or not.

Tina handed the food box to Sett, but after opening the lid, she thought for a moment and then took out a rice ball and tossed it to Tiger.

Somewhat hesitant, Tiger held the rice ball, unsure whether to take a bite. Sett, however, glanced at Tina with interest; "Oh, so you know how to share now~"

Tina gave Sett the middle finger and said through gritted teeth, "I'm always kind, except when it comes to a bastard like you... and even if I don't give it to you, I'll give it to him."

"Of course~" Sett nodded matter-of-factly, stuffing food into his mouth as he mumbled, "Only when he's full will there be tension when he runs away~ When he's all limp, I can't even muster a punch."

Upon hearing Sett's words, Tiger raised an eyebrow. He silently remarked to himself that this guy was surprisingly arrogant, and then began to wolf down his food—arrogant, but surprisingly not unlikeable.

At least they're much better than those hypocritical humans.

While Tiger ate, Tina sat next to Sett and began explaining things about the Celestial Dragons.

“The Celestial Dragons are a collective term for the World Nobles residing in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise,” Tina said. “They are descendants of the twenty heroes who founded the World Government eight hundred years ago, and are therefore also known as ‘Descendants of the Creator.’”

"I see." Seti nodded. He understood; he'd seen plenty of Manchu bannermen, old folks everywhere.

Although it was unclear whether Sett had understood, Tina continued, "The Celestial Dragons hold a transcendent status and are strongly protected by the World Government and even the Navy. If any Celestial Dragon is harmed, a Marine Admiral will be needed to come to their aid."

"And slaves of the Celestial Dragons will be marked with the hoofprint of the Celestial Dragon—which is the scar on this fish-man's chest."

As she spoke, Tina gazed at Tiger's chest and abdomen with a complex expression. The enormous hoofprint represented the noblest being in the world. Yet, even so, Tina felt no reverence whatsoever… or perhaps, any ambitious Marine would feel no affection for this mark. Moreover, Tina herself was a disciple of Zephyr… a merciless admiral renowned throughout the seas for his conscience.

"What kind of idiotic aesthetic is this?" Sett pointed at the dragon hoof print on Tiger's chest: "Is he brain-dead? Even a kindergarten kid has better aesthetics than this."

"..." Tina looked blank—it was only because there was no one around. If it were anywhere else, Sett would probably be surrounded by a group of Marines.

As descendants of the Creator, in a world where individual abilities are ridiculously high, the Celestial Dragons are like upgraded versions of princes in a period drama. Without the constraints of morality and law, let alone insults, even daring to look up would result in a brutal beating from bodyguards.

Although she agreed with Sett's idea, Tina, as a Marine, still had some reservations.

Upon hearing Sett's words, Tiger couldn't help but glance at him a couple more times. He had initially thought the Dragon's Hoofprint would cause prejudice against Sett and the others, but now it seemed he had been overthinking things?

While Tiger was still thinking, Sett stretched. Having eaten and drunk his fill, he stretched his limbs and came over to Tiger, sitting cross-legged as Tiger continued his thoughts.

"Come on, tell me about your origins!"

"……Um?"

Tiger was a little stunned; he didn't understand what Sett meant. Tina, standing nearby, helplessly covered her forehead and explained, "Just tell me about what happened to you… This guy knows nothing about the outside world; he's an idiot."

“…Alright.” Although he didn’t understand what was going on, Tiger was already impressed by the fact that Sett and Tina didn’t discriminate against him because of his status as a fish-man and a slave. Moreover, they didn’t seem to be making things difficult for him or trying to arrest him.

So Tiger began to recount his experiences and encounters during this period.

“It all started because of Queen Otohime,” Tiger said. “Queen Otohime has been working hard all these years to ensure that the residents of Fishman Island can go ashore and not be discriminated against… I guess you could say I was inspired by the Queen, so I decided to embark on a journey to see human society for myself.”

"I used to agree with Princess Otohime's ideas, but after stepping into the world on land..."

Tiger jabbed the brand on his chest with his thumb, his eyes filled with grief and indignation: "Those despicable bastards took advantage of my honesty!"

“Indeed!” Sett nodded seriously. “Human morality is simply disgusting. Even as a Vastayan, I can’t stand it!”

“No, you’ve just encountered the bad apples among humans,” Tina explained, also with a bit of a headache. “Just like there are villains on Fishman Island, this world is always complicated.”

“Indeed!” Sett continued nodding; “As a human, I’m also a little worried that the merfolk might suddenly harm me!”

Tina and Tiger stared at each other for a moment, then simultaneously looked at Sett.

"Can you please stop fanning the flames?" Tina sighed in despair, rubbing her forehead.

"So what do we do?" Sett said, picking up the bottle with one hand and prying off the cap with his thumb as he took a sip. "I may be human, but I'm not entirely. I'm a hybrid, so it's okay for me to say these things, right?"

“No,” Tiger said with a somewhat strange expression, “I think what you mean is that your moral standards are a bit too flexible…”

"That's because I'm afraid she can't handle it when I get hard."

Upon hearing this, Tina couldn't help but grind her teeth: "You should be glad I can't beat you."

65. Try to find a way to go for a walk.

Although it was said in a very general way, Sett could still tell from Tiger's words that there was a conflict between humans and the Fish-Man Island.

“You need to find a way to cover up the scar on your chest.” Tina said, crossing her arms. “If someone marked with the hoofprint of the Heavenly Dragon escapes, they will be subjected to even more severe torture when they are captured again, or even be sent to Impel Down.”

“I know…” Tiger glanced at the scar on his chest, then nodded and said, “Because the Celestial Dragons would consider it an insult if a slave escaped… I plan to return to Fish-Man Island.”

As he said this, Tiger's eyes held a complex and unreadable emotion. While difficult to decipher, one thing was certain: Tiger's unwavering conviction.

"Fishman Island is located 10,000 meters underwater... Even the navy cannot easily reach it."

Upon hearing this, Tina, who was standing to the side, nodded in understanding.

Just as Tiger said, despite having coating technology, Fishman Island's geographical location is simply too good. Not to mention the diverse sea monsters, the fact that the fishmen can exert three times the strength underwater is enough to give the Navy a hard time.

There's no need for a direct confrontation; simply sending someone to destroy the coating would instantly turn the entire navy into mincemeat due to the water pressure at 10,000 meters underwater.

"Be careful on the road." As she spoke, a complex emotion flickered in Tina's eyes: "I'm sorry about the Celestial Dragons."

Tiger wasn't angry at all. Instead, he waved his red arm and said, "No need to apologize. Just like you said, there are bad apples among fishmen... At least meeting you all makes me believe that humans and fishmen might be able to understand each other in the future. Thank you for the rice balls. If I have the chance to come to Fishman Island in the future, I will definitely treat you well!"

With that, Tiger stood up, waved to Sett and the others, and then plunged back into the sea.

Watching the dark figure disappear into the distance underwater, Sett stroked his chin: "Treat us well? Why does it feel like he's threatening us?"

"That's because you're out of your mind!" Tina said helplessly. "Only you think that entertaining someone means beating them up."

"Wow~ You really know me well~"

Completely ignoring Tina's sarcasm, Sett grinned and lay on the crooked coconut tree, enjoying the sea breeze.

After delivering the food and chatting for a while, Tina headed towards the women's naval dormitory.

Just as he turned a corner, he suddenly spotted a pair of eyes in the darkness.

He lowered his head, his gaze carrying a hint of complexity.

Upon spotting the figure, Tina was somewhat surprised: "Smoker? What are you doing here? When did you get here?"

"...I arrived before that merman did."

Smoker's gaze held a hint of something unreadable. Since they were classmates at the Naval Academy, Smoker didn't hide his thoughts: "I just received information that a Celestial Dragon came to the East Blue for a visit, and several slaves took the opportunity to escape... including a red sea bream fish-man."

“Oh, him.” Tina nodded, but didn’t reveal Tiger’s name—knowing a slave’s name and escaping are two completely different things. The former would be wanted immediately and would face discrimination even upon returning home. The latter, however, could still have a chance to live as an ordinary person, as long as he kept quiet and concealed his brand.

"So? What's your opinion?" Tina asked Smoker teasingly.

Smoker scoffed at this; "Just pretend you didn't see it... But speaking of which, is Sett really incapable of becoming a Marine?"

Driven by his own ambitions, Smoker had long harbored resentment towards the Celestial Dragons. While his thoughts on the Fish-Men were somewhat complex, he didn't want to say anything more. He simply turned his gaze to Tina, wanting to ascertain Sett's attitude.

There was no way around it; Sett had left too deep an impression on the Marines—powerful and unruly. Putting everything else aside, Smoker genuinely didn't want to be enemies with Sett… While arrogant, once you got to know him, you'd realize that Sett's arrogance stemmed from his indifference to lying and putting on a false front. Although arguments sometimes arose, for Smoker, it was far better than engaging in the bureaucratic pretense of dealing with the World Government officials!

“Impossible, give up.” Tina gave a thumbs up and said definitively, “The Navy is not suitable for Sett… In fact, I have a feeling that he will do something that will shock the world sooner or later.”

Meanwhile, just as Tina had imagined, Sett lay on a coconut tree, enjoying the sea breeze. He didn't seem to care much about Fishman Island or anything like that. The place Sett truly belonged to was what Tina called "Impatiens"...

According to them, this place seems to be the world's largest prison, holding the most dangerous inmates?

I need to find a chance to go and take a look around!

66·One Year

Time flies when you're training. Days rise and nights fall, and by the time Sett mastered Shave, Moonwalk, and Armament Haki, more than a year had passed.

On board in the year 1508 of the Haiyuan calendar.

Zephyr has also turned forty-six. In the past year, the future pillars of the Navy have also come of age. Most of them have mastered the basic Six Powers, while a small number have even mastered Armament Haki and Observation Haki.

In the past, Zephyr would have allowed them to graduate and pursue their own interests. Whatever it was, even leaving the Navy wouldn't have mattered, as long as they upheld their conscience and the teachings he had imparted.

But now, in the office, Zefa harbors a lingering regret.

"You really don't plan to join the Navy?"

"I don't plan to." Sett shrugged nonchalantly. "This is the fifth time you've brought it up this month. Do all old people like to nag?"

"..."

Upon hearing Sett's words, Zeff's face showed a hint of helplessness—if Sett's talent weren't so astonishing, Zeff wouldn't be mentioning it repeatedly like this... He didn't want to either, but Sett's abilities were just too tempting.

Leaving aside the fact that he independently developed a new Armament Haki technique based on pure black Armament Haki, one that sacrificed defense and possessed attack power almost three times that of ordinary Armament Haki, the more important point is that in just one year, while practicing Shave and Moonwalk, the two most difficult techniques among the Six Styles, Sett has achieved mastery of both Armament Haki, progressing from initial understanding to intricate application, and now to external application…

While Armament Haki is a skill that every pirate with a bit of fame in the New World must master, there are still vast differences between different techniques. Armament Haki hardening is arguably the most basic, enhancing attack and defense and allowing the user to attack the physical body of a Logia-type Devil Fruit user.

Entanglement, on the other hand, allows Armament Haki to adhere to bullets, crossbows, and swords, increasing their strength and effectively enhancing their attack capabilities.

The external release of Armament Haki transforms it from a mere enchantment effect into a pure means of attack and defense. External release involves gathering Armament Haki in one's hands or on a weapon and then releasing it, thus directly transforming it into a tangible attack or defense. It can not only unleash a powerful impact to blast enemies away, but also form a protective barrier to resist invisible attacks.

Armament Haki hardening is the most basic ability of Armament Haki; based on this, only about 30% can master Armament Haki envelopment. As for externalizing Armament Haki, that's already a standard skill for the strong. Even within the Navy, only a few elite vice admirals possess it…

It can be said that mastering Armament Haki hardening is equivalent to having a ticket to becoming a powerful figure at sea.

However, there is one thing: Sett's ticket is only half... and this is exactly what puzzled Zeff.

"Your combat instincts are the best I've ever seen... and the closest to those of a beast."

As he spoke, a hint of hesitation crept into Zephyr's voice. Seeing this, Sett chuckled and said, "Suddenly praising someone? What's wrong, getting old and losing your composure?"

"..." Hearing Sett's words, Zephyr shook his head helplessly. Then he turned around and sat down in his office chair, asking, "Armament Haki materializes a person's will, while Observation Haki further strengthens the spirit and will... Although your behavior may seem arrogant and brutal, you are by no means a person who has lost all sense of reason."

"so what?"

"So why don't you learn Observation Haki?" Zephyr's voice held a hint of curiosity. "High-level Observation Haki is even more precious than Conqueror's Haki. It's not just about sensing attacks, movements, the enemy's next move, ambushes outside your field of vision... Higher-level Observation Haki can even hear the voices of all things and foresee the short future."

"Although such cases are extremely rare... with your talent, coupled with that innate beastly instinct, achieving it is not absolutely impossible..."

"So why don't you learn Observation Haki?"

By the end, Zephyr's voice was filled with doubt and complexity—as a teacher, even if only half a teacher, Zephyr didn't want to let Sett's extraordinary talent go to waste. However, on the other hand, Sett's personality would inevitably clash with the World Government sooner or later, and as a Marine, Zephyr shouldn't be aiding the enemy…

"You should know that I will teach you as long as you ask."

"Because it's not necessary." In response to the question, Sett stretched his neck a couple of times.

"Hiding and dodging is pointless; I want to smash their head in with one punch!"