In the days that followed, Issho's heart remained unsettled.
He felt as if the justice in his heart had shattered.
In the past, his idea had been simple: find an opportunity to join the Marines and carry out the justice he believed in.
But after hearing White Ghost's words, he no longer felt the Marines were a place suited for him.
"Where there is light, there is darkness. Yin and yang coexist. Day and night take turns. Where there is black, there is white…"
Issho looked up at the sky and murmured to himself.
"I think you're about to drive him insane," Kuro said with a smile as he poured White Ghost a drink.
White Ghost lay lazily in his chair, basking in the sun.
"I'm only helping him understand himself. He shouldn't think one man can change everything alone."
Lafitte looked down at Issho, who was standing on the deck in a daze.
"Captain, will he join us?"
White Ghost shook his head.
"Hard to say. His heart is like those three stubborn old fossils in the Marines. Once they decide on something, they don't turn back."
"I think if you keep feeding him a little more of this, he'll be ours sooner or later," Kuro said, his smile deepening as he looked below.
When White Ghost first introduced Issho to them, they had truly been shocked.
A Gravity Fruit user.
A Great Swordsman.
Mastery of both Armament and Observation Haki.
This was proper admiral-level combat power.
If someone like that boarded the ship, their overall strength would rise another step.
White Ghost shook his head.
"You can't rush good soup. Take it slowly. He'll be sailing with us for a while anyway."
On the deck, although Issho could not see, his Observation Haki clearly sensed everything around him.
Bepo was carrying a barbell and doing squats. Sweat soaked his white fur, his face flushed red, but he clenched his teeth and did not make a sound.
Pedro was training alongside him.
Whenever Bepo could no longer hold on, Pedro shouted from the side,
"Keep going, Bepo! You can do it!
"You'll become the strongest bear in the Mink Tribe!
"Think of all the female bears lining up for you!"
Every time Bepo heard that, a burst of strength surged out of him and carried him through the next round.
His motivation might not have been pure, but he truly was training.
Issho continued sensing the others.
He discovered that everyone aboard White Ghost's ship was desperately improving themselves.
Not one of them was slacking off.
Of course, Gordon was the exception. That old man only cared about music and nothing else.
Issho then sensed a very weak little animal near Zango.
It was training alongside him.
Though tiny, its refusal to lose was no weaker than that bear's.
There was also a tanuki wearing Sea-Prism Stone and a custom-made weighted outfit, training hard.
Although the tanuki was drenched in sweat, it did not complain about exhaustion or pain. It only kept muttering,
"I'll definitely become a real man."
The others, whose auras were not weak, were also training.
Even White Ghost's women were either practicing swordsmanship or developing their Devil Fruit abilities.
The female Mink who cooked such delicious food was also practicing with a sword.
"So this is what he meant. Everyone has ambition. Some large, some small…"
Issho sensed all of this and murmured to himself.
"Behind every bright and glorious appearance, there is countless darkness. The point is not how you do things. As long as your heart is clear, that is enough."
Those were White Ghost's words.
At first, Issho had felt they were somewhat forced.
But when he thought about some of the things he knew, he found he could not refute them.
With a thud, an exhausted Chopper collapsed in front of Issho, tongue out as he panted heavily.
Issho stepped forward and helped him up.
"Are you all right, little tanuki? You should take care of your body."
Issho had wanted to add that he should avoid leaving hidden injuries behind, but then he thought of White Ghost's medicines and that healing flame of his, so he fell silent.
Chopper was about to thank him after being helped up.
But when he heard "tanuki," his deer face instantly filled with anger.
He somehow found the strength to yank off his hat and point at his antlers.
"I'm a reindeer! A reindeer who ate the Human-Human Fruit! Not a tanuki!"
"Heh. My apologies. This one was rude and mistook you."
Issho immediately apologized.
Seeing how sincere the guest's attitude was, Chopper did not pursue it. He took out a small capsule and put it into his mouth.
"What is that?"
Through Observation Haki, Issho sensed that the small capsule Chopper had just eaten was not simple.
After swallowing it, Chopper recovered some strength and sat beside Issho.
"This is a recovery medicine we developed.
"Its effect isn't as exaggerated as the longevity medicine, but this new recovery medicine is cheap to make and can be produced in large quantities."
Issho nodded and looked at Chopper.
"You are a doctor, yes? Then why train as desperately as the others?"
Chopper grinned.
"Back in my hometown, people treated me like a monster. Only two people truly cared about me.
"But after I came here, no one treated me like a monster. Everyone accepted me as their companion.
"And since we're companions, I can't drag them down.
"That's what the captain said.
"He can't stay by our side and protect us every second. If an enemy holds him back, then we have to fight for ourselves.
"It's better to be ready for a danger that never comes than to be helpless when it does."
Chopper spoke happily.
Issho could feel that Chopper's smile came from the heart.
"Then what is your ambition? Or perhaps, your dream?" Issho asked.
"My dream?"
Chopper tapped his chin and thought for a while.
"Before I went to sea, my dream was to go out into the world and have people accept me, not treat me as a monster."
"And now?"
Issho looked at the happy Chopper.
Chopper looked at everyone training on the deck.
"After going to sea, I saw a lot of things.
"I saw places that were prosperous and beautiful.
"I also saw places that were very poor, where people lived very hard lives.
"The captain said this is what the world truly looks like.
"If some people are happy, then some people are suffering.
"The captain told me he isn't a god and can't change the whole world. But he can change the hardships of some people.
"You do as much as your ability allows."
"As much as your ability allows…"
Issho quietly repeated those words.
He felt they deserved to be remembered.
"Mm!"
Chopper nodded.
"The captain said we should protect as many people as our strength allows. For the captain's sake, we can't drag him down."
Issho nodded, stood, and bowed to Chopper.
Chopper jumped in fright and hurriedly dodged.
This man had admiral-level strength.
Although Chopper did not fully understand how strong that was, he knew the man was much stronger than him.
"Thank you, Doctor Chopper. This one's confusion has been lifted.
"Do as much as one's ability allows. Blindly running away will never solve anything."
"Idiot! Even if you praise me like that, I won't be happy!"
Chopper was so pleased that he broke into his signature dance.
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