At this moment, inside the small house next to Reno's, there was a young man with an afro, organizing the things he had brought with him.
He would be staying here for some time, so he had brought quite a lot of belongings. If he didn't tidy them up, the place would look messy.
This afro-haired young man was none other than Kuzan, one of the future Three Admirals. Right now, he was wearing a pair of sunglasses, giving him the look of a street punk, far from the calm and steady demeanor he would have in the future.
At this time, the other two future Admirals had also returned to Marineford together with Kuzan. However, Sengoku chose to assign Kuzan to keep an eye on Reno instead of the other two, and there were reasons for that.
Sakazuki was too radical and not suitable for this kind of surveillance work. As for Borsalino, he was simply too lazy, and Sengoku couldn't trust him with this task. After thinking it over, Kuzan was the most suitable choice.
After finishing tidying up inside the house, Kuzan walked out onto the balcony, preparing to observe the target of his mission.
When Kuzan lazily stepped onto the balcony and saw what Reno and Gion were doing, he was completely stunned.
That kid should be the target of this mission, right? But wasn't he supposed to be under investigation and confined here because of suspicious circumstances?
But right now, how does he look like someone under house arrest? Not only is he living leisurely, he even has a beautiful female Marine attending to him. He looks like he came to Marineford to enjoy himself.
And the one serving him is Gion, the treasured favorite of Vice Admiral Tsuru. Is there something going on here that I don't know about?
Could it be that this kid has some special identity? Maybe Sengoku didn't send me here to monitor him, but to secretly protect him instead?
The reason Kuzan was so confused and overthinking like this was because Gion wasn't just Tsuru's favorite.
Because of Tsuru, most of the Marine high command also treated her with great affection, like a junior they cherished. Simply put, she had deep roots and a spotless background.
If Sengoku had sent someone else for this task, Kuzan wouldn't have thought so much. But Gion's status within the Marines was too special. She was practically loved by everyone.
For someone like her, if Reno were truly suspicious, there was no way Sengoku would assign Gion to such a task.
Moreover, Gion didn't look forced at all. On the contrary, she seemed completely willing, even putting in great effort.
If Reno were just a suspicious individual being detained for investigation without any special background, Kuzan absolutely would not believe it.
Reno didn't know what Kuzan was thinking, but if he did, he would probably laugh out loud and even praise them, saying that whether the Marines were strong or not was uncertain, but their imagination was definitely the strongest in the world.
Kuzan had just arrived and hadn't even spoken to Reno yet, but he had already formed a ridiculous misunderstanding.
Although Reno didn't know Kuzan's thoughts, the moment Kuzan appeared on the balcony, Reno had already noticed him watching.
He cursed inwardly, Is this guy trying to imitate Garp, watching people openly like that?
But he doesn't have Garp's strength to fear nothing. Right now he's just a rookie. If it weren't for his Logia ability, he'd only be about as strong as an ordinary Vice Admiral. What is he acting for?
In reality, Kuzan had no such intention. He simply felt that since this was Marineford, their own territory, there was no need to hide.
But regardless of Kuzan's actual thoughts, it didn't stop Reno from misunderstanding him. So before they even exchanged a single word, both sides had already formed misunderstandings about each other.
Reno felt it was necessary to let him know what it meant that there was always someone stronger.
Thinking this, Reno directly called out to Kuzan on the balcony, "Hey, you with the afro up there, I saw you once from afar in the West Blue. What's your name?"
"Did you go to the West Blue and finish killing civilians before coming back?"
The reason Reno asked this wasn't just to mess with Kuzan. He also wanted to plant disgust toward the Marines in Gion's heart.
Right now, her mind was still pure. She hadn't been brainwashed by the Marines' so-called justice yet. If she stayed around them too long, regardless of whether something was right or wrong, she would eventually accept it as right.
Because the knowledge of the new generation comes from the previous generation. If the previous generation believes something wrong is right, then most people will also believe it is right.
Even if someone in the new generation thinks it is wrong, if they want to fit in, they will have to accept it as right.
Kuzan was a typical example of this.
He knew that what happened at Ohara was wrong, but he chose to compromise and carry out the mission, instead of resisting like Vice Admiral Saul.
Because most people believed it was right, if he didn't follow along, he would be isolated. Over time, this would blur the line between right and wrong.
Reno didn't want Gion to become someone who couldn't distinguish right from wrong. That was why he wanted to plant the seed of disgust toward the Marines in her heart in advance. That way, she wouldn't be easily brainwashed, because her first instinct would be rejection, not compromise.
As expected, when Gion heard Reno's question, her hands, which were massaging his shoulders, suddenly froze.
But after a moment, she regained her composure and continued massaging him as if she hadn't heard anything.
Although Reno's words completely overturned her understanding and made her feel as if the sky was collapsing, she didn't immediately question him.
Because her sister had once told her that she shouldn't believe just one side of the story. She wanted to hear Kuzan's explanation first. If it turned out to be true, then she would question Reno later.
When Kuzan heard Reno bring up that matter, he froze on the balcony. His expression grew darker and darker.
That incident was like a thorn lodged deep in his heart, something he could never forget.
Time passed slowly. After who knew how long, Kuzan finally regained his composure.
With an ugly expression, he asked, "Who exactly are you?"
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