Konoha Yellow Monkey: The salary is in place, and Wukage is useless!

The following day, under Kizaru's arrangement, Zephyr removed his signature mechanical arm and changed into an ordinary trench coat to cover up the disability of his arm, making him look like an ordinary retired old man.

One of Zephyr's disciples, Ain, accompanied Zephyr from this military base on a voyage in the East China Sea.

The other disciples were arranged by Zefa to stay here temporarily to experience military life in the Land of Light.

Like Aokiji, Kizaru didn't interfere much with Zephyr's journey, at most providing him with a map and some guidance.

And so, Zefa embarked on his official observation tour of the East China Sea aboard a merchant ship.

Compared to the member states under the rule of the World Government, or the lawless islands ruled by pirates, everything in the East Blue is full of advanced technology and humanistic spirit for the people of this world.

Whether it's the complete abolition of the aristocracy or the degree of freedom enjoyed by commoners under the rule of the Land of Light, it far surpasses that of the areas outside the East Blue.

When Zephyr arrived in Loguetown, where Pirate King Roger was executed, and saw an old woman in the town who dared to raise her head and argue with the town's officials, and protest against the "three guarantees" policy at the entrance of the shops, Zephyr knew that he had not misjudged Kizaru and the Land of Light.

Standing on the street, Zefa watched with great interest the argument between the shopkeeper and the official who came down to deliver the notice, leaving his disciple Ain, who was standing behind him, somewhat puzzled by her teacher's behavior.

However, out of trust and respect for her teacher, Ai Yin did not ask any questions and simply stood quietly behind her.

After watching the lively and bustling scene for a while, Zefa prepared to leave. He turned around and noticed the puzzled look on his disciple's face.

“Ain, are you wondering why I’m standing here for such a scene out of boredom?” Zephyr asked kindly.

"Professor Zephyr, I..." Ain wanted to deny it, but in the end she told the truth, "Professor Zephyr, yes! I think the officials here are already very good, but that merchant..."

“She’s too domineering and unreasonable?” Zephyr chimed in.

Ayn nodded.

Zefa smiled, then turned to look at Ain and said, "Even ordinary merchants in a town dare to express their dissatisfaction to officials, even if it is personal and expressed in a rude way. But the fact that such a scene can occur shows that the officials here are not high and mighty rulers, but are truly serving the townspeople."

As he spoke, he took a step and walked past Eileen, heading towards the other end of the street. Eileen, pondering her teacher's words, followed closely behind.

"Ayn, do you think the townspeople of the East Sea would have dared to express their dissatisfaction if they were faced with officials sent by the king and nobles?"

Ayn could answer this question without even thinking: "No, they will try to stay as far away as possible."

Upon hearing this answer, Zephyr stopped in his tracks. He looked up and saw the sun rising over the eaves at the end of the street. Zephyr's eyes, behind his sunglasses, stared directly at the sun, as if he could see a bright future.

"enough!"

Zefa muttered something to himself, then took another step, looking refreshed and energetic.

Zeff's experiences in Loguetown allowed him to see the differences between the Land of Light and the World Government. For the rest of his journey, he embarked on a critical journey with a relaxed tourist's mindset rather than observing the local customs.

Zefa completely treated himself as an ordinary, grumpy old man. Every time he landed on an island or went to a town, he would find fault with the local officials' governance, and then swagger into the most conspicuous government office in the town center to find lodging.

These complaints include: local prices are too high, which is deliberately ripping off outsiders; local prices are too low, which is deliberately unfair competition to prevent outsiders from doing business; the owner's house is very clean and strictly managed, which he will complain about; the local sanitation is slightly poor and the management is lax, which he will also complain about.

On one island, he complained about the poor sanitation the day before, and two days later, when he saw the town starting sanitation improvements, he wanted to complain about the strictness of the improvements, which affected his trip in the town.

Some of these complaints are accepted humbly by the local authorities, some are simply brushed off, and some are met with hot-tempered local grassroots staff who directly start arguing with Zefa.

The only thing that didn't happen was that Zefa was arrested on the grounds of causing trouble, or that the old man was physically assaulted.

Throughout the journey, Zefa was having a great time, abandoning his usual serious demeanor and displaying a playful old man's mannerisms, which surprised his disciple, Ain. Ain even whispered a reminder to Zefa about some of his behavior.

When his disciple reminded him, Zephyr always replied with a smile, "Ain, do you like the atmosphere here?"

Ain would always nod, and sometimes when she came across a town she particularly liked, she would say, "I hope to settle down in a town like this for a long time in the future."

Upon hearing this, Zefa would chuckle and promise his disciples, "That day won't be too far off."

After traveling along the way, Zephyr brought Ain to the final destination he had agreed upon with Kizaru: Garp's hometown, Windmill Village.

Having been there for over a day, Kizaru arranged for someone to pick him up and take him to the lobby of his hotel as soon as he arrived on Zephyr Island.

"Admiral Zephyr, I never expected you to have this side to you. You and your disciple are quite famous in the East Blue now." Upon seeing Zephyr, Kizaru, who was drinking whiskey with ice, raised his glass and said with a smile.

"What? Is the Land of Light going to issue me another bounty?" Zephyr strode in front of Kizaru with a bright smile, not forgetting to instruct Ain behind him, "Ain, order something to eat and go rest over there!"

“Yes, Professor Zephyr!” Standing at the hotel entrance, Ain looked at Zephyr’s vibrant and spirited back and a happy smile appeared on her face.

As a disciple, Ain sensed a sense of melancholy from her teacher Zephyr from the very first moment she met him. She later learned that the melancholy and deep sorrow emanating from Zephyr stemmed from the loss of his wife and children, who had died in a pirate attack.

Later, Teacher Zephyr led his class of naval recruits on a training ship to sea for trials. They encountered a pirate attack, resulting in the deaths of all the recruits except for himself and Binz. Teacher Zephyr was also seriously injured.

From then on, in addition to the deep sadness and despondency, Teacher Zefa also had an unvented rage, a rage that burned ever more intensely.

Back then, Zephyr's only obsession was hunting pirates. Only when fighting pirates did Zephyr seem to be alive. Otherwise, he was nothing more than a walking corpse dominated by his obsession and hatred.

That kind of teacher Zephyr filled Ein with worry. She was willing to give everything for her teacher, even to give up her identity as a naval officer, but she also secretly felt worried and concerned about her teacher's abnormal behavior.

So along the way, as she watched Teacher Zefa shed all his past identities and burdens, acting like a child and causing trouble like an unreasonable and domineering old man, she would always smile.

Because of this journey, Ain witnessed Professor Zephyr come back to life.

"Teacher Zefa, you have already done so much for us disciples, so please live well!"

Ai Yin was secretly happy for her teacher. She stepped out with her long, fair legs and a genuine smile on her face and walked towards the dining table by the window in the lobby, ready to treat herself to a good meal.

Outside the bar in front of the liquor cabinet in the lobby, Kizaru and Zephyr lit cigars almost simultaneously. Both of them took a deep drag of the smoke, feeling the spiciness of the burning tobacco and the mellow aroma flowing in their mouths.

A few seconds later, the two slowly exhaled smoke, then tacitly raised their glasses, took a sip, and looked at each other.

Kizaru swirled the ice puck in his glass and said with a smile, "You've been collectively recognized by the island's officials as the most troublesome tourist. On the islands you've complained about, some people have even considered resigning just to beat you up in private!"

"Hahaha!" Zefa laughed loudly upon hearing this. He put down his wine glass and said with a somewhat heroic tone, "There's no need for him to resign. As long as he comes to me during his rest time as a non-official, I'd be happy to exchange skills with him."

Upon hearing the reply, Kizaru curled his lip. "Forget it. It's already quite an achievement that I've managed to find so many qualified government officials and assign them to all the islands with towns in the East Blue. Do you think it's easy to train a qualified official? It's much harder than training a soldier who dares to kill."

Zefa's smile faded slightly, and he said with considerable agreement, "Fighting and killing only require courage, but governing a town of several thousand people requires more than just courage; it requires real talent."

Kizaru felt this even more deeply. He said with a touch of regret, "A regime's ability to govern at the grassroots level is the core of its being, and the key to judging whether a regime is qualified or not. This is also why the Land of Light is currently stuck in the East Blue. We lack a large number of qualified grassroots governance personnel. A single grassroots political official is related to the livelihood of thousands or tens of thousands of people on an island. If we send out an incompetent, corrupt, or tyrannical official, it will endanger the lives of tens of thousands of people. This is why the Land of Light and I are willing to stay in the East Blue, stationing troops and developing our forces."

"On this vast ocean, you are the first force to truly consider governance from the common people, from the very bottom. In my life, I have met too many self-proclaimed heroes, but their vision is always too far-reaching and too lofty. They have no place for the most ordinary people at the bottom of society, so without exception, they all failed. Kizaru, the more I witness the beauty of the East Blue, the more I hope that every step we take from now on will be steady enough, because you may be the only hope for this ocean." Zephyr looked at Kizaru very seriously, and his words came from the bottom of his heart.

Kizaru smiled and pointed out the mistake in Zephyr's words, "You're wrong."

Zefa was somewhat puzzled and confused.

"Not you, but us!" Kizaru said, raising his wine glass.

Zefa suddenly realized, and couldn't help but laugh, raising his glass as well.

The two men clinked their glasses, and Kizaru said with a smile, "For our cause!"

"For our cause!" Zephyr downed his drink in one gulp and slammed the glass down. (End of Chapter)