106 Justice and Family Bonds

The next day, due to Akainu’s assault incident, Sengoku imposed a punishment. His rank as a Rear Admiral was directly demoted to Major, and he was to undergo a month of solitary reflection, with no visitors allowed during that time.

This punishment stirred discontent among many, especially among Xuan Ye’s subordinates. Yet, despite their grievances, they could only grumble silently because their commander was no longer present. Moreover, from that moment on, they were no longer part of the Tori Brigade; all were reassigned under Aokiji’s command. Many felt disheartened by this change, but life went on, and so they endured in silence, accepting this reality.

During this period, the most perplexing was Ze Fa’s attitude—calm and composed, as if nothing had happened. He neither sought out Sengoku nor confronted Akainu. Each day, Ze Fa quietly attended classes at the academy, showing no signs of agitation or rash behavior.

Half a month passed this way. Time, as always, served as the best balm for wounds; the incident gradually slipped from most people’s minds.

In the Navy Admiral’s office, Karp wore a disgruntled expression.

“Sengoku, I think it’s all settled. Ze Fa has been quiet these days. How about I head back tomorrow?” Sitting impatiently on a stool, Karp’s thoughts drifted to his two grandsons and that adorable little granddaughter, prompting a rare smile to creep across his face.

“Is that really so?” Sengoku removed his frog-shaped glasses and rubbed his forehead.

“Absolutely! For these past two weeks, Ze Fa has done nothing but attend the academy and return home. No rash actions at all!” Karp produced a pack of doughnuts from nowhere and began crunching loudly, the sharp sounds filling the room.

“That’s unlike Ze Fa. Though usually mild, when it counts, he’s more fearsome than anyone.” Still uneasy, Sengoku sighed and glanced at Tsuru beside him.

“What do you think, Tsuru?”

“I don’t know.” Tsuru shook his head. He had visibly lost weight recently, his once sharp and wise demeanor now faded.

“Sigh... both of you,” Sengoku groaned. He could clearly sense that Ze Fa and Tsuru were not themselves.

Crunch crunch... Karp popped another doughnut into his mouth, eyes squinting in delight. “Well then, I’ll leave for East Blue tomorrow.”

“Better wait a little longer,” Sengoku insisted, still worried.

“Wait? It’s been half a month already... I don’t care. You promised me a six-month vacation!” Karp jumped up, glaring and biting hard into his doughnut as if it were Sengoku himself, desperate to crush it.

“Get lost… get lost…” Sengoku waved him off impatiently. Seeing Karp always ignited a sudden flare of irritation in him.

“That’s better! I’m leaving tomorrow. Remember, don’t bother me unless it’s serious—I want to spend time with my grandsons.” Karp laughed heartily as he turned to leave but paused at the door, seemingly recalling something. He turned back, glaring fiercely at Sengoku and said,

“Get lost...” Sengoku slammed the table, cursing loudly.

“Tch... back to my grandsons I go!”

“You damn bunch of Monkeys... all of you are damn fools...” Sengoku vented his frustration. These days had left him utterly drained.

“Nothing’s wrong with me; I’m leaving too.” Tsuru finally withdrew from the room.

“Sigh...” Sengoku sighed again and threw himself back into the mountain of paperwork that awaited him.

The next morning, a massive battleship slowly vanished over the horizon. At the same time, a golden figure disappeared from the shoreline.

At the Navy Villa, Ze Fa’s home.

“Has Karp left?” Ze Fa sat on the sofa, his face dark as blood, nowhere near the harmless calm Karp had described.

“Chatter chatter... that old man’s gone. I saw it with my own eyes,” the golden figure gestured wildly, his monkey-like face full of ferocity.

“Wait a little longer... tonight... Akainu will pay,” Ze Fa lifted his head, his resolute features now radiating murderous intent.

“Chatter chatter... I’m coming too...” The monkey clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot.

Days passed slowly yet swiftly, and dusk fell, bathing the entire strait in a golden glow.

On the streets, a man and a monkey walked steadily in the same direction.

Approaching the headquarters, amidst a cluster of buildings, stood a luxurious villa surrounded by silence. Bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, the place exuded an eerie stillness.

This was the residence of a Rear Admiral—more precisely, Akainu’s abode.

Standing calmly outside the door, Ze Fa’s expression was unreadable. With a single kick, the door shattered. The man and the monkey entered as if the place were deserted.

“Teacher, I knew you wouldn’t keep your composure. For that damned bird, would you betray your own principles?” Without panic, Akainu calmly observed the intruders in his courtyard.

“Cut the nonsense. You had no right to lay a hand on the monkey, to harm my child. You must pay for that.” Ze Fa tore off his coat, glaring at Akainu as if willing him to die.

“Hmph. As a Navy Admiral, you have no principles? Then what’s the difference between you and a pirate? Teacher Ze Fa, where is your justice?” Akainu’s cold eyes reflected utter disappointment.

“Because you once taught me, I believed you represented justice. But Teacher Ze Fa, you have disappointed me; for the sake of a dead bird, you betrayed your own sense of justice. That’s utterly disappointing.”

“What I do is no concern of yours. If you have any last words, speak now!” Ze Fa remained unmoved. Perhaps he himself did not realize that, unknowingly, he had been subtly transformed by Xuan Ye Qian Mo.

Perhaps it was family ties, perhaps the comfort of affection, clashing with his inner sense of justice.

Clearly, Xuan Ye’s death and the injuries to the monkey and others had ignited Ze Fa’s fury. For a time, familial love overwhelmed his sense of justice. In other words, the Ze Fa of now was no longer the Ze Fa of before. At this moment, he was merely an elder seeking justice for his child.

This was why Ze Fa had refrained from taking action earlier—waiting for either Karp or Sengoku to leave Marineford, ensuring a chance.

Or perhaps he lacked the courage to face Sengoku and Karp, as this act utterly violated his own justice. Every day of those two weeks, Ze Fa wrestled with his conscience, but each time he saw his wife’s tears and his son’s listlessness, his heart ached profoundly.

Most importantly, every time he looked at Xuan Ye’s belongings, memories of his face flooded back, and his ears echoed with Xuan Ye’s voice:

“Master, I want to learn the Shaving Moon Step and the Finger Gun…”

“Master, I’m not afraid of hard work, as long as I can become stronger…”

“Master, thank you for always caring for me…”

“Ah... Master, why didn’t you ever say I had a wife and a younger brother…”

“Master, I feel so warm, this feeling of being loved…”

“Master, if one day I leave the Navy, what will you do…”

“Master, once a teacher, always a father. I, Xuan Ye, swear to never betray my conscience, never bring shame to you…”

These memories were vivid and clear. Every night, Ze Fa gazed alone at the starry sky, as if Xuan Ye were watching him from above.

Each recollection brought sorrow and unending rage. It was at that moment Akainu struck again, wounding another of Ze Fa’s children.

If he could still endure that, then what use was family love? How would his wife see him? His son? His subordinates? The world?

Thus, this time, Ze Fa chose to forsake his sense of justice—he would make Akainu pay with his life.

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Thanks to (25928)(enson198509) for the 500 starting coins reward, and to (Thousand-Year Fox Li Taibai) for 200 starting coins.