One Piece: Holy Light Swordmaster

More than a decade later, aside from veterans like Garp and Tsuru, nearly all the vice admirals at the headquarters came from Zephyr's elite squad. The three admirals were all students personally taught by Zephyr, except for Wright, who was not part of their cohort.

Among the four of them, Sakazuki and Borsalino were classmates, so they could still talk; Kuzan, however, joined later and had a personality that clashed with Sakazuki's. Even though they both served at the headquarters for many years, they had little interaction.

Wright, on the other hand, joined much later than Kuzan, by over a decade. But because of Kuzan's personality and his relationships with Garp and Smoker, Kuzan and Wright were the first to interact. However, at the time, Wright's status was not high enough for Kuzan to acknowledge him, and Wright didn't proactively try to establish a "brotherly" relationship.

Now, having quickly risen to the rank of commodore, Wright had proven his influence, strength, and potential, and had earned the right to stand on equal footing with his "monstrous" seniors—reaching their level was just a matter of time.

However, what surprised Wright the most was that Borsalino, who had the most strained relationship with Zephyr, was the first to bring up this topic. It seemed that, just as Borsalino had said, being a light-based Devil Fruit user, he was quite interested in Wright's Holy Light powers.

The living area at the navy headquarters was a place for the soldiers to relax and unwind. There were large mess halls, as well as various snack stalls operated by cooks who were either navy personnel with culinary skills or family members from the inner city.

One thing all the stalls had in common was that they ignored military ranks. Whether you were a third-class soldier or a fleet admiral, when you visited a snack stall, you had to follow the rules of the vendor.

At the most popular ramen stall at the headquarters, Wright watched, frowning, as Borsalino, a vice admiral, tried everything he could to convince the owner to add a soft-boiled egg to his ramen. The stall owner, however, completely ignored the notorious admiral and stubbornly insisted that the authentic miso ramen could only have one soft-boiled egg, as adding more would alter the flavor of the ramen.

Rubbing his temples, Wright thought that he still didn't understand Borsalino well enough. "Brother, you're really something... Does Zephyr-sensei know about this?"

"Here, I'll get you two eggs, but can you just eat the ramen properly?" Wright sighed in his mind.

"Mm~ the owner is really strict, huh~ scary~" Borsalino, after being rejected, gave up trying and sat down with his bowl of ramen, muttering to himself. He flashed a smile at Wright.

"Try it, my junior~ this stall is the best ramen in the headquarters~"

Wright gave a stiff nod and forced a smile.

"Haha... The owner is so committed to his ramen's flavor, he must really believe in his craft... I must say, I'm quite impressed, junior!"

Slurp~ Slurp~

Wright and Borsalino continued to eat the steaming ramen, both praising it non-stop. As a navy ramen stall, the serving size had to meet the hearty appetites of the navy personnel—the bowl could fit two of Wright's heads!

After finishing half a bowl, Borsalino sighed contentedly. "Mm~ This takes me back~ Recently, I've been running around, dealing with things in Mariejois, and haven't had the time to enjoy a nice hot ramen meal."

"Mariejois? Is it about the fishman... who freed the Celestial Dragon's slaves?" Wright had been busy with menial tasks recently, but he had heard of such explosive news.

Borsalino slurped some noodles, drank the broth, and slowly chewed on the half-soft-boiled egg he had secretly stashed away. After savoring it, he leisurely continued, "Yes, that fishman... he's scary. He actually climbed all the way up to the Red Line. Truly impressive."

"Brother, if it were you, you'd probably just blink and be there?" Wright laughed. "But that's not the main point... He actually freed slaves from all races and set Mariejois on fire... Just thinking about it is thrilling. The Celestial Dragons are probably about to burst a vein from the anger."

"Hoho~ It's not just about them getting angry," Borsalino chuckled in his slow manner. "He's the first person in history to stir up such a ruckus in Mariejois and also the first to challenge the World Government directly."

"As a Glint-Glint Fruit user, I'm the best when it comes to mobility, so I was sent to handle the aftermath and pursue him," Borsalino stretched lazily. "Such an inconvenient person... My planned vacation was ruined."

"Brother, are you responsible for chasing that guy?" Wright narrowed his eyes slowly, then asked, "Brother... What do you think of that bold guy?"

"Mm~ What he did, I don't want to get involved with," Borsalino squinted his eyes as well, speaking in his usual relaxed tone. "But as for me, I'm still somewhat of a professional... After slapping the boss's face, I have to run. As a salaryman, I can't afford to lose face. If I don't handle this mission well, they'll dock my bonus."

"That's quite a special way of putting it, Brother. You really are... carefree!" Wright said with an expression that said he had expected this. Just as he had said, Borsalino, who had worked calmly in his admiral role for over a decade, had never truly shown his formidable power. He only took action when he feared losing his bonus. Probably because the Celestial Dragons didn't offer him any extra pay?

"Carefree?" Borsalino leisurely finished the last bite of his ramen and wiped his mouth, chuckling. "Hoho~ You're the first to say that, junior."

"Originally, I thought someone like you, a young man who wants to eliminate pirates without mercy, would be like Sakazuki and say we must eliminate evil at all costs, then criticize me for being lazy with my work."

Upon hearing this, Wright twirled some noodles, fell silent for a moment, and then slowly said, "In the navy, everyone has their own justice... The pirates I eliminate are those who deserve to die."

"Capturing pirates alive means collecting the full bounty, but if they die, we only get 70% of the bounty. As a pirate hunter in the East Blue, when I overpower pirates, hardly any of them survive under my command—there's a clear distinction between true evil and those who are forced into it."

"The crimes committed can't be erased, but whether someone was forced into it is something I judge. If it's true evil, or if they haven't redeemed themselves for their wrongs, then under my hands, they will undoubtedly die. On the other hand, if they were forced into it and have enough value, I will give them a chance to atone."

"For the sake of world peace."

"Oh~ Junior," Borsalino widened his eyes in genuine surprise. "You really... surprised me."

"Such a judgment... seems... that fishman..."

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