Smoker thought for a moment before speaking. "Why don't you join the Marines? You're still young, and your background is clean. It'd be a waste to let that go to nothing. If you enlist, I promise you'll have a good life—a life with purpose."
Gojo, keeping his eyes closed, said calmly, "I'm sorry, Captain, but that's impossible for me." His tone was steady, almost detached. "There are very few officers like you in the Marines—people who truly carry justice in their hearts. To be honest, my experiences have left me… disillusioned with the Marines as an institution."
He paused briefly, his expression unreadable. "If you investigate, you might find traces of the reason. But I doubt you'll ever uncover the truth behind it. Some things happened in my past—things that made me lose all faith in the Marines."
Then, after a quiet moment, Gojo added, "Still, I respect men like you, Captain Smoker. You stand for what's right, and I'm grateful—for saving me, and for letting me leave this place freely."
Smoker, after hearing the words of Gojo, could definitely tell that Gojo was not telling any random lies just to shake off the suggestion that he should become a Marine. Rather, he could feel from Gojo's voice that what he was saying came straight from his heart—that he truly did not like the Marines that much.
Smoker sighed after hearing Gojo's opinion about the Marines and said, "Although I do not know what exactly has happened with you in the past that made you dislike the Marines, I assure you that as long as I am here in the East Blue, I will make sure nothing of that sort happens again."
Gojo shook his head and said, "That is impossible. I can guarantee you this: even if someone of the highest rank in the Marines possessed the same sense of justice as you, the outcome would still not differ much."
After hearing these words from Gojo, Smoker grew genuinely curious. What exactly had happened to make him say such a thing—that even someone of the highest stature within the Marines could do nothing in that position, whatever it was that Gojo had witnessed?
But asking Gojo was pointless, as he was not going to tell anything about that incident. So Smoker decided not to question him any further.
Changing the topic, Smoker said, "Okay, you wait here. As soon as everyone from the Minnow pirate ship has been transferred to our ship and we're done destroying their vessel, we'll talk again. Also, is there any particular place you'd like to go—somewhere you have in mind?"
Gojo, after thinking for a few moments, said, as though picturing it in his mind, "An ideal place for me would be somewhere I can hunt—a place with a large forest where I can hunt animals to earn money. And I also want to learn swordsmanship, so if there's a town that has a sword dojo or something similar, that would be best. If such a location exists, I would like to go there."
Smoker nodded and said, "Alright, I'll ask around among my officers and see if they know of such a place. For now, take some rest here."
Gojo nodded and remained seated in his place, his posture calm and unmoving. Around him, the Marine soldiers were busy transferring the captured members of the Minnow Pirates onto their own ship. Orders and footsteps echoed across the deck, the clatter of chains mixing with the cries of defeated men. These pirates would soon be imprisoned—some for years, some for life, and a few might never see another sunrise, depending on the weight of their crimes.
Gojo, however, paid little attention to them. Their fates no longer concerned him. His thoughts drifted elsewhere—toward his own path. After receiving the bounty for defeating the Minnow Pirates' captain, a new idea had taken root in his mind.
It's best for me to have a goal to look forward to, he thought silently. And the best path for me in this world… is pirate hunting.
The notion seemed to fit him perfectly. A pirate hunter—through and through. It would be the ideal way to earn money, to survive, and to sharpen his strength through real combat. Each new bounty, each new opponent, would push him further.
With every challenge I face, I'll only grow stronger. His eyes remained closed, yet a faint smirk tugged at his lips. But until I'm strong enough to roam freely across the East Blue—and one day, even survive the Grand Line—I must train relentlessly to reach that level.
After nearly an hour, everything of value that could be taken from the Minnow Pirates' ship had been seized by the Marines—their weapons, supplies, and every bit of treasure they had hoarded. Once the work was done, Gojo silently stepped aboard the Marine vessel.
When the last of the pirates had been transferred and the enemy ship stood empty, the Marine vessel slowly drifted away to a safe distance. Then came the order. Cannons thundered one after another, their blasts echoing across the open sea. The Minnow Pirates' ship shuddered under the bombardment, flames bursting from its hull. In moments, the entire vessel was engulfed in fire, its black smoke rising into the sky before it began to sink beneath the waves.
Gojo opened his eyes to watch. His expression remained calm as he observed the burning ship descend into the depths. So this is the fate of pirates, he thought quietly. The weak ones who get caught… end like this.
But the moment his eyes stayed open too long, the flood of information—the light, the color, the space, the motion—became unbearable once again. A faint strain appeared on his face, and he closed his eyes slowly, shutting the world out once more.
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