Chapter 454 - 293

Chapter 294: Refusal!Luffy sat cross-legged on a piece of cooled lava, tossing something up and down in his hand.It was a strangely shaped fruit with a deep purple-black skin covered in spiral patterns. In the hazy morning light, it seemed as if dark red liquid was flowing slowly within the grooves, exuding a cold yet life-tempting aura.It was the trophy he had obtained from Sleepy Old Town: the Zoan Type · Mythical Zoan Type · Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire.His brow was slightly furrowed in a rare display of concern, no longer his usual carefree self.The conversation just now, the old man's suppressed weeping, the heavy memories, and the complex weight of that final pat on his shoulder all weighed heavily on his heart.Luffy's Observation Haki was already at the world's top level.His Observation Haki silently told him a fact:That once-renowned black arm Admiral, both in body and spirit, was nearing his limits. Without a miracle, he likely... wouldn't live more than five years.Luffy didn't like this feeling.He didn't like seeing someone who was once so strong, carrying such stories and convictions, slowly cooling down like a burnt-out campfire.He looked at the Vampire Fruit in his hand.This fruit not only grants abilities like flight, transformation, and blood manipulation, but its most core legendary trait is... absorbing others' life force to extend one's own youth and vitality, potentially even gaining superhuman recovery and a long lifespan.He stood up with a whoosh, his rubber legs suddenly elongating. Under everyone's surprised gaze, he caught up to Zephyr's group with a few leaps, landing on the ice in front of them and blocking their path."Hey! Old Man Zephyr!"Luffy held up the Vampire Fruit in his hand and said straightforwardly,"This is for you!"Zephyr, who was about to board the ship, stopped in his tracks. Ain and Binz immediately stood guard in front of him alertly.Smoker also frowned, wondering what the Straw Hat kid was up to now.Zephyr looked at the fruit in Luffy's hand. With his experience, he naturally identified instantly that it was no ordinary object. Those strange patterns and aura... "Mythical Zoan Type?!" Zephyr said in a muffled voice."Yeah! The Vampire Fruit!"Luffy nodded vigorously, his eyes serious,"Eat it, and you'll get stronger, your injuries will heal faster, and maybe you'll live longer! You'll become even more powerful than before!"As soon as these words were spoken, a startling light instantly erupted in Ain and Binz's eyes!They knew Teacher Zephyr's physical condition better than anyone—the asthma, the old wounds, his age, and that grief that gnawed at his soul day and night were all consuming what little life force he had left.If there really was a miracle that could extend their teacher's life or even restore his strength... however, Zephyr just calmly looked at the fruit, then looked at Luffy's eyes, clear as day, and slowly shook his head."I refuse.""Eh?!"Luffy was stunned, and Ain and Binz also looked at Zephyr in disbelief."Why?!"Zephyr looked at the boy persistently offering the fruit, his heart full of mixed emotions.How much determination did it take to refuse a Mythical Zoan fruit that could potentially save his decline and even extend his life?Especially when the longing and heartache in his disciples' eyes were almost overflowing.But he was still Zephyr."Straw Hat kid,"His voice was deep and steady,"I appreciate your kindness. But some things are more important than life and strength.""But... your body..."Luffy was unusually anxious,"I felt it, you...""Enough!!"Zephyr interrupted him, his tone unquestionable and even carrying a hint of severity,"I will finish my own path myself.""Whether to burn out my last bit of strength and fall on the path of pursuing justice, or to linger on through the gift of a pirate, I choose the former."He gave Luffy no more chance to speak and ordered Ain and Binz:"Board the ship!"He gave Luffy one last deep look—there was determination, gratitude, and an indescribable hint of entrustment to a junior in that gaze—then he turned resolutely, stepped onto the warship's gangway, and never looked back.Luffy stood in place, still holding the purple-black fruit, watching the warship slowly sail away, his face filled with confusion and incomprehension."Arara... He really is a stubborn old man, isn't he?"A voice with a hint of laziness and coolness sounded beside Luffy.Kuzan had appeared nearby again at some point, leaning against an ice rock and holding his signature ice wine glass containing clear liquor.Luffy turned to look at him:"Uncle Kuzan! Do you know why? That fruit is clearly great!"Kuzan took a sip of wine, his gaze also following the departing warship with a deep look in his eyes."Teacher Zephyr... it's not that he's adamantly against eating Devil Fruits.""In fact, there are plenty of ability users in the Marines! What he refused wasn't the Devil Fruititself.""What he refused was accepting a gift from you. This has nothing to do with whether the fruit is good or bad; it's a matter of stance and dignity.""Imagine if he ate your fruit, regained his strength, or even became stronger, and then one day, due to the irreconcilable conflict between the Marines and pirates, he had to make a move against you or your companions!!""At that time, every punch he threw, every bit of power he used from the Vampire Fruit, would remind him of today, of this gift.""For him, that would be an agony and betrayal worse than death."Kuzan gently swirled his wine glass, the ice crystals clinking with a faint sound:"He would rather burn out in his current state than fight while burdened by this debt of gratitude and conflict of stance.""That's Zephyr—stubbornly respectable, and tragic!!"Luffy looked down at the Vampire Fruit in his hand, then at the direction where Zephyr had disappeared, and suddenly grinned."Oh, so that's how it is!""He just doesn't want to owe me a favor, thinking it would be awkward if we fought later, right?""Geez, why think so much! Just go all out when fighting!"Kuzan was a bit speechless at Luffy's unique perspective, but then he also chuckled.However, the next second, Luffy casually stuffed that coveted Mythical Zoan fruit into his pocket and looked at Kuzan with sparkling eyes."Then Kuzan! You're not a Marine anymore! And you don't have so many troublesome principles, right? Do you want to be my companion?""Look how convenient your freezing ability is! You can chill drinks in the summer and help in fights! How about it?""Pfft—cough cough!"Kuzan was truly choked, coughing violently a few times and almost dropping his ice wine glass.He looked at Luffy in shock, his eyes wide as if looking at some prehistoric monster."You... what did you say?""Be my companion!"Luffy repeated as if it were obvious,"Anyway, you're just wandering around with nothing to do, right?""My ship is really fun! There's the world's number one chef, a powerful swordsman, a big sister who knows archaeology, Uta who sings beautifully, and a cyborg, a skeleton musician, a whale shark Fishman... Oh, and Torao! Even though he's always stone-faced. With you, it'll be even more lively!"Kuzan took a full ten seconds to digest this ridiculous invitation.A former Marine Admiral, invited to join a pirate crew, and a Four Emperors crew at that?This was likely one of the most absurd proposals since the beginning of the Great Pirate Era.He rubbed his brow, feeling like even a hangover wasn't this much of a headache."Straw Hat kid... your 'invitation' is truly unconventional."He sighed, his tone returning to that lazy helplessness,"However, allow me to solemnly refuse.""Eh? Why?!"Luffy's face immediately fell. "You have nowhere else to go! My ship is huge!""It's not a matter of the ship's size."Kuzan stood up straight, draining the wine in his ice glass, and the glass dissolved into cold air in his hand.He looked at Luffy, his gaze no longer purely lazy but carrying a sober detachment,"It's that our paths are different; we cannot plan together."He pointed at Luffy, then at himself:"You are a pirate, your goal is the Pirate King, you want to overturn the existing order and walk a path of freedom. And I...""Although I left the Marines, everything I've experienced, the shadows and light of 'justice' I've seen, the confusion in my heart for which I haven't found an answer... all these determine that I cannot simply board a ship and become a member of some pirate crew.""I have my own path to walk, even if I can't even see the direction of this path clearly myself right now."He patted Luffy's shoulder:"Your ship carries the dreams of your Straw Hat. My journey... is another matter.""We might meet again at some crossroad in the future, perhaps as enemies, perhaps just as passersby, but we won't be companions on the same ship. Understood?"Luffy looked at him, blinked, and then puffed out his cheeks a bit gloomily:"What... one after another, everyone is so troublesome... all about principles and paths...""Fine! If you won't come, you won't come! But Kuzan, if you ever get lost and can't find your way, you're welcome on my ship anytime! I'll throw a banquet to welcome you!"Kuzan chuckled, shook his head, and said no more.He waved casually at Luffy, his body beginning to turn into translucent ice crystals again, slowly dissipating, leaving only a ground full of frost and a whisper drifting in the wind:"Future Pirate King... good luck. I hope the next time we meet, it won't be on the battlefield."