Inside a classroom.
Dinglinglingling...!
The bell rang for the end of class. Vice Admiral Tsuru on the podium, after packing up her textbooks and materials, didn't turn around and leave right away. Instead, she said to the cadets below the podium:
"Today is Friday. You have Saturday and Sunday off.
However, I hope you all can spend these two days reviewing your books carefully.
Because, there will be a comprehensive exam for both military theory and navigation skills next Monday."
"Class dismissed!"
After saying that, Vice Admiral Tsuru then carried her materials and walked out of the classroom door.
"Yo! Brother Sephiroth, do you want to go out and have some fun?"
At the classroom door, Kaji walked over with Maynard. With a beaming smile on his face, he put his arm around Sephiroth's shoulder, making it impossible for the latter to break free.
Since the day they fought each other on the playground, Kaji gave up pursuing Kuruwa and switched to chasing the female nurses in the infirmary.
However, the relationship between Sephiroth and Kaji unexpectedly didn't deteriorate. They got along quite well.
"Where to? To the bar in the town again?
If so, I'll pass..." Sephiroth shook his head and said.
Behind the Marine Headquarters Marineford, there was a town, a place for the families of the marines to live.
On this island, there were 30,000 regular marine soldiers alone. Counting their families, the total population reached about 150,000.
Therefore, basic living facilities such as restaurants, bars, and bookstores emerged as needed.
Sephiroth had been dragged out by Kaji and the others to stroll around the town twice after school.
But...
To be honest, in Sephiroth's eyes, that town was no different from an ordinary rural area in his previous life, and the scenery wasn't that great either.
In the town, the entertainment options were scarce, and the noisy bar was the only place that could be considered an entertainment venue. He was dragged there twice in a row...
He wasn't an alcoholic. So, he didn't hate drinking, but he didn't particularly like it either.
The military academy rules state that from Monday to Friday during normal classes, the lights must be turned off at 10 p.m. on time every night, and the school ends at 6 p.m.
After deducting the necessary time for tidying up and having meals, he only has a little over two hours left.
Therefore, he doesn't want to waste his precious free time in the bar.
Instead of that, he might as well study medical skills or practice swordsmanship.
"No no no! It's a holiday now. How could we still go to that town...
Of course, we're going to the Sabaody Archipelago!
It's far more interesting there than here."
"Sabaody..."
Sephiroth murmured softly and then looked at Smoker beside him.
"I want to go and have a look. Are you coming?"
"Yeah! Anyway, I've got nothing to do. I'll go with you!"
As he spoke, Smoker took out two cigars from the armband on his left arm, lit them, and put them in his mouth.
Seeing this, Sephiroth, who was hit by a nicotine craving, casually picked up one, waved it in his hand, indicating that he wanted a light from the former.
"Hey!"
Hey, you! If you want to smoke, buy your own cigars!
You've been mooching off my cigars every day. What's the deal with that? Seriously..."
Although Smoker was complaining, he still tossed his lighter over.
"Well! There's nothing I can do. I actually planned to quit smoking, but you smoke right in front of me every day. I just can't quit...
How about you quit with me?"
Sephiroth shrugged helplessly, lit the cigar in his hand, took a light puff, and exhaled the white smoke from his mouth.
"Quit by yourself. Don't involve me." Smoker said with a scowl.
"Are you all also going to the Sabaody Archipelago?
Great! I'm just about to go shopping... By the way, Tina, are you going?"
Gion, holding a textbook in her arms, came over after hearing their conversation and then turned to look at Tina standing beside her.
The girl with long pink hair, a slender figure, and a cute face tilted her head and thought for a while before nodding and saying:
"Tina wants to buy a newly launched perfume. There should be some available in the Sabaody Archipelago.
Tina is going too!"
So, after the six of them finished their discussion, they went back to their dormitories, changed into their casual clothes, and then boarded a commercial high - speed sailboat bound for the Sabaody Archipelago. After sailing for more than an hour, they finally reached their destination...
...
The Sabaody Archipelago.
It is located in front of the Red Line Archipelago in the middle of the Grand Line. The archipelago is dotted with many towering trees, and numerous huge roots break through the ground.
The Sabaody Archipelago is divided into Islands No. 1 to No. 79. Every ten islands form a region, and each region has its own special industries.
The most distinctive feature of the Sabaody Archipelago is that the roots of the Yarukiman Mangrove secrete a special natural resin through respiration. The resin expands due to the air and forms bubbles that slowly float into the sky.
Since the bubbles are only suitable for the climate around the Yarukiman Mangrove, once they leave the climate area of the Sabaody Archipelago, the resin components will not be able to fully function and will burst.
The residents of the Sabaody Archipelago have fully shown their creativity and imagination. With the help of these special bubbles, they have developed a unique bubble culture and industrial chain, including bubble bicycles, bubble lanterns, bubble seats, and ship coating.
The first and second halves of the Grand Line are separated by the Red Line Archipelago, which encircles the entire planet and is ten thousand meters high.
Therefore, there are only two ways to get from the Paradise in the first half of the Grand Line to the New World in the second half.
The first method is to submit an application to the Holy Land Mary Geoise. This approach is not only time - consuming and labor - intensive but also requires you to abandon your original ship and pay a considerable amount of money to use the high - altitude elevator to reach the New World. Furthermore, this method is only available to the rich and nobles. Commoners, criminals, and pirates have no opportunity to use it...
The second method is to coat the ship with resin and then dive down to Fish - Man Island, which lies ten thousand meters below the sea, and then enter the New World. Besides the high cost of coating, this method also poses a great risk of encountering Sea Kings. One careless action could lead to the destruction of the ship, and everyone on board would perish in the sea.
Due to the World Government's intentional or unintentional indulgence, there are many underground forces on the Sabaody Archipelago in addition to the Navy and pirates. These forces are intertwined with one another. Slave trading, arms dealing, drug trafficking... You can find all sorts of illegal activities on this island, which can be said to embody all the dark sides of the world.
The Navy is helpless regarding the World Government's indulgent and permissive behavior. The Navy stationed on the Sabaody Archipelago can only follow orders and stay confined in Areas 51 to 69 to prevent pirates from causing any major disturbances.
If the World Government truly intended to crack down on pirates and evil, the most straightforward way would be to deploy a large - scale Navy force to safeguard the Sabaody Archipelago, preventing pirates from coating their ships, diving to Fish - Man Island, and entering the New World...
Therefore, Sephiroth has absolutely no good feelings towards the World Government, an organization rotten to the core. All he feels is disgust!
By the way, the current commander of the Navy base on Sabaody is Vice - Admiral Borsalino, also known as Kizaru, the Navy's king of slacking off and one of the future Admirals...
Perhaps Kizaru saw the situation on the Sabaody Archipelago and what the World Government had done, which is why he adheres to his so - called "Ambiguous Justice"?
On Island 79 of Sabaody, the hotel street.
After the six of them disembarked from the ship and landed on the island, led by Kaji, they arrived at a VIP private room on the fourth floor of a high - class restaurant. The room was in European architectural style, with white as the dominant color and elegantly decorated.
After entering the room, Kaji waved his hand and said with a broad smile:
"The food in this restaurant is really good. When I was still at the Sabaody Navy Base, I often came here to have a good meal... Today, it's my treat. Order whatever you like!"
Sephiroth found a seat by the window. Sensing that the air inside the room was a bit stuffy, he reached out and opened the window. He saw the bustling streets illuminated by the colorful lights, filled with people coming and going.
Although Kaji said he was treating, no one deliberately ordered extremely expensive dishes to take advantage of him. They just ordered the dishes they liked but that were not too expensive.
On the contrary, Kaji waved his hand and ordered three bottles of red wine, each worth five hundred thousand berries, which cost more than all the dishes the others had ordered put together...
"This is red wine from the West Blue. It has a delicate and refreshing taste..."
As Kaji was introducing the wine, he picked up the bottle of red wine and poured one - third of a glass into each of the six goblets. Then he gestured for everyone to take a sip.
Gion picked up the goblet filled with red wine and gently swirled it in her hand. She sniffed the aroma of the wine with the tip of her nose and then subconsciously murmured,
"Unexpectedly, you have quite a good taste!"
"Of course. But it's too late for you to discover my merits now..."
"After all, I've fallen in love with Liliana. The sight of her in a white nurse's uniform is deeply branded in my heart..." Kake said affectionately.
"..."
Hearing this, the corner of Gion's eye twitched slightly. She didn't want to pick up this topic.
All kinds of dishes were served on the table one after another. In front of Sephiroth was also placed the deep - sea lobster and seafood soup he had ordered.
Just as he picked up the soup spoon and was about to taste the fragrant, creamy - white soup in the plate in front of him, the lively noise outside the window suddenly went dead silent. He subconsciously turned his head and looked out of the window.
Kake's ears twitched. As if thinking of something, a look of disgust immediately flashed across his face...