Chapter 100: Destination: Lodestar Island

Early the next morning, a rapid knocking at the door pulled Yoriichi Tsugikuni from his sleep.

Opening his eyes, Yoriichi threw on a robe and opened the door. Standing there, visibly anxious, was a Marine sergeant.

As soon as Yoriichi appeared, the sergeant gave a salute and reported urgently,

"C-Captain!"

"S-Something major has happened!"

"The prisoners... they've escaped!!!"

Yoriichi simply gave a small nod to indicate he understood, showing no change in expression—his face remained calm and indifferent.

The sergeant thought perhaps Yoriichi was still groggy and hadn't fully processed what he said, so he quickly added, "Captain, the escaped prisoners... they're the ones we captured yesterday—the ones who attacked our warship!"

Yoriichi glanced at him and gave a quiet "Mm" in response, then turned back inside to get dressed.

Just as the sergeant was about to stress the seriousness of the matter again, Yoriichi suddenly asked, "Have you reported this to Rear Admiral Kuzan?"

"What did he say?"

The question caught the sergeant off guard. Embarrassed, he replied, "N-Not yet, sir... I was afraid..."

"Go report it to Rear Admiral Kuzan. He'll handle it. All you need to do is follow his orders."

As Yoriichi spoke, he finished getting dressed and strapped on his sword, then left his quarters and headed for the deck.

Seeing Yoriichi leave, the sergeant had no choice but to steel himself and knock on Kuzan's cabin door.

When he met Kuzan, he reported the prison break in full.

The sergeant had already braced himself for a scolding, but to his surprise, Kuzan didn't say much. He simply waved him off and closed the door again.

Shortly after, the door opened once more. Kuzan stepped outside. After standing at the threshold for a moment, he made his way toward the deck.

When he reached the deck, he immediately saw Yoriichi at the bow, practicing his sword techniques.

After hesitating briefly, Kuzan walked over.

He stopped beside Yoriichi, lowered his head slightly, scratched the back of his neck, and said in a low voice,

"As I thought, I can't pretend like nothing happened."

"I don't want to send those people to Impel Down. That's not... the kind of justice I believe in."

"I understand why you killed them, but I don't think what you did was just."

"It's not something a Marine should do."

Yoriichi continued swinging his sword, ignoring Kuzan's comments. Instead, he asked, "And what about Sharon Lily? How do you plan to deal with her?"

Kuzan gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "She didn't do anything. She wasn't aware of King Sharon's plot."

"Of course, I would never let her pose a threat to your safety."

Hearing that, Yoriichi merely smiled faintly, his thoughts unreadable.

Not let her be a threat to me?

What you mean is, you're afraid I'll cut her down, right?

"Do whatever you want," he muttered, brushing it off before returning to his training.

Kuzan watched him in silence for a moment, sighed softly, and turned to go back below deck.

Since last night, for reasons he couldn't quite explain, Kuzan found it hard to face Yoriichi directly. In his mind, he was certain his sense of justice was the correct one. But whenever he looked into Yoriichi's eyes, he always felt—somehow—that Yoriichi was the one who was right.

There was something strange in Yoriichi's gaze, a quiet, unwavering force that made people believe him without question.

Maybe it's because his conviction is simply too strong...

Leaving the deck, Kuzan went to check on Sharon Lily, who was still unconscious. He didn't mention a word about what had happened the night before. None of the other Marines on the ship knew, and the night guards who had been on duty kept silent too—acting as if nothing had happened at all.

By noon, Sharon Lily finally awoke. No one knew what Kuzan and she talked about in the cabin, but shortly afterward, she only stayed on board for about ten minutes before being quietly escorted off the ship by Kuzan and disappeared into the streets near the harbor.

Meanwhile, Yoriichi had finished his morning training and was leading a group of Marines to the local branch of the Sharon Kingdom. There, they gathered the remains of their fallen comrades and buried them on site.

What happened here, Yoriichi did not report to his superior at Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Instead, he made a brief call to Zephyr, summarizing the incident. However, he didn't mention the conflict between himself and Kuzan, nor the fact that King Sharon had led the assault on the Marine branch.

He only said that there had been an internal rebellion in the Sharon Kingdom, with certain factions colluding with pirates to attack the Marine base. He added that pirates were still hiding somewhere on the island.

In doing so, Yoriichi had selectively concealed the full truth.

Zephyr's response was clear: once the ship was repaired, follow the original mission and head to Lodestar Island. There was no need to get involved in the local affairs any further.

That afternoon, when Yoriichi returned to the warship, he relayed Zephyr's instructions to Kuzan. Kuzan nodded and ordered the crew to assist the shipwrights in accelerating repairs.

A few days later, the repairs were complete, and Kuzan's warship set sail from the port of Dongwu Island.

The day the warship left the harbor, a graceful silhouette could be seen in a distant corner of the docks, quietly watching the ship disappear over the horizon.

Yoriichi had no further interest in the affairs of Dongwu Island. All he knew was that Rear Admiral Loka of Marine G-10 Base, stationed in the Nier Kingdom, had been assigned to take over.

Kuzan's ship made steady progress toward Lodestar Island.

Along the way, aside from encountering a few scattered pirates, there were no further incidents. However, the crew aboard the ship clearly noticed that the interactions between Yoriichi and Kuzan had grown colder.

In contrast, the two of them began sparring more often onboard—intense training sessions that shook the deck. And every single match ended the same way: Rear Admiral Kuzan being knocked overboard.

Despite the fierce clashes, the rhythm of their relationship slowly returned to how it had been before.

After nearly two months at sea, their destination finally came into view—Lodestar Island.

Year 1499 of the Sea Circle Calendar, Mid-February.

The green warship docked at Lodestar Island. A long wooden ladder was lowered from the deck.

Shortly after, Kuzan led the Marines down and made their way toward the nearby town.

According to orders from Marine Headquarters, a total of twelve warships were supposed to be dispatched to Lodestar Island. Yet, at the moment, Kuzan's ship was the only one at the port.

It seemed they had arrived first.

Lodestar Island was not large, with only a single small town housing fewer than ten thousand people. Located deep within the New World, this place lay far beyond the Marine's sphere of influence.

As Kuzan and the Marines entered town, the residents at the roadside stalls looked at them with confused expressions.

"Marines?! What are Marines doing here?"

"Are they here to catch pirates?"

"Catch pirates? Don't be ridiculous. What kind of pirate would bother coming to this place? There's nothing here!"

The whispers of the townspeople reached the ears of Kuzan, Yoriichi, and the others.

Hearing this, Yoriichi extended his Observation Haki, sweeping across the town while scanning the street ahead. Just then, his gaze landed on a fruit stall up ahead.

There, standing beside a cart of apples, was a boy wearing a straw hat, holding a paper bag of apples in his arms, staring straight at Yoriichi.

Their eyes met.

Realizing something wasn't right, the boy quickly ducked into a nearby alley and vanished from sight.

Watching him disappear, Yoriichi was momentarily stunned. Then, a bright smile spread across his face.

"What a coincidence," he muttered.

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