Outside the cave, Kuro strolled over leisurely, a cigar dangling from his lips. He listened to the sounds of battle emanating from inside and exhaled a puff of smoke.

“Lucir Kuro”.

A figure emerged from the side of the cave and said solemnly, "Please do not obstruct us."

The man was tall and slender, wearing a hood that revealed only his handsome face.

"You're that... what was it again... never mind."

Kuro said with interest, "You should have noticed me a long time ago. Although your presence is only here, your abilities should have allowed you to see me. Why didn't you do anything?"

When he sent the pirates on the island to hell for a free lifetime trip, he felt someone watching him several times. The only person on this island who could make him feel like he was being watched was this user who ate the 'Reflection Fruit'.

If this guy can create a 'reflection' from that location on Pegasus Island all the way here, then doing this would be very simple.

Hugh Tica didn't answer Kuro's question. "I saw your performance at Marineford. Hernando is very confident that he can handle you, but I don't think so, so..."

What?

Are you going to do it to me ahead of time?

You don't have that item either.

Kuro raised an eyebrow, placed his left hand on the hilt of the Shusui sword at his waist, his thumb pressing against the guard, ready to kill the Devil Fruit user with one strike.

He usually deals with people with special abilities quickly to avoid being caught off guard and suffering unexpected setbacks.

"Please don't stop Hernando, please!"

Hugh Tica suddenly knelt down and performed a standard dogeza (a traditional Chinese kowtow) towards Kuro, touching his head to the ground.

"We know we have committed heinous crimes and disgraced the Navy, but as long as Hernando achieves his goal, we will pay the price!"

Kuro relaxed his thumb slightly, looking at Shutika kneeling on the ground, his expression turning strange: "Hmm?"

Hugh Tica raised his head and said sincerely, "Hernando actually respects Teacher Zeff very much. He is willing to give up everything for Zeff, even though back then, because of Teacher Zeff's wrong decision, his family was killed by pirates."

...

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

Zefa's left hand was adorned with Armament Haki, and he threw a punch at Hernando, which was blocked by Hernando's hand.

"Back then, I respected you so much, trusted you so much, and believed that the justice you upheld was true justice. The navy's duty was to catch pirates, and the trials should be left to the judiciary—how correct that was!"

Hernando swatted away Zefa's hand, then unleashed a powerful punch that sent Zefa flying.

"I captured that pirate with my own hands because I believed in your justice, but my family became the victims of that justice! By what right?! By your 'no killing' principle?!"

"I've hated you since that day!"

...

"Hernando doesn't hate Professor Zeffa, even though his family sacrificed themselves because of it. But we are the Navy, and we were prepared for the consequences."

Kuro agreed with what Hugh Tica said.

Being a naval officer is a high-risk profession. Although most people in this world are idiots, there are still ruthless people out there. Some people are capable of killing the enemy's family members just to vent their anger.

Being a navy officer means your life is in your hands...

...

"What did you gain from your 'no-kill' principle? No, you gained nothing! Your arm, your students, all disappeared because of your principle, your justice!"

"That pirate is still alive!"

"Hernando!!" Zefa roared, "Why bring this up!"

...

"Seven years ago, Professor Zephyr was ambushed, resulting in the sinking of the entire ship. Only Ain and Binz survived. Professor Zephyr lost an arm in the process, and his condition has been poor ever since."

Hugh Tica's face darkened as she spoke of this.

"We respect Professor Zephyr very much, but it is precisely because we respect him so much that we begin to wonder: if Professor Zephyr were to start killing people, would he become stronger and no longer be threatened?"

"So, Hernando decided to do something..."

A resolute look began to appear in Hughtika's eyes, "Let Professor Zephyr kill someone!"

"As long as Teacher Zephyr starts killing pirates, the pirates on the high seas will surely tremble in fear of Teacher Zephyr's reputation, and Teacher Zephyr will surely rise again!"

Kuro closed his eyes slightly, looked at her for a long time, and then said, "Then you guys really are... idiots."

How to change the beliefs of a strong person?

This is not an easy thing to do. Even though Zephyr is wavering at this moment, his beliefs are not so easy to change.

Kuro hadn't met Zephyr before, so he didn't know much about him, but now that he had and fought him, he understood that the old man's beliefs, no matter how old he was, were still very firm.

In Kuro's view, the mess the World Government made a year later was not enough to make Zephyr lose faith in the Navy.

What is the relationship between the world government and their navy?

However, if a Marine who was once hailed as a successor becomes a notorious pirate and is forced to be killed because he himself violated the rules, then this is very likely.

"Get back on track?"

Kuro exhaled a puff of smoke. "It's probably become a bizarre mess, so stupid it's laughable."

The old man cared most about justice and his students.

His students were killed by pirates, and then some of them became pirates themselves.

If his sense of justice is betrayed again, Zephyr might go to an extreme.

For example, if someone wants to destroy the New World and take all the pirates with them, they would accept any price for it, even if it means taking all the innocent civilians of the New World with them.

At least in his memory, that's what Zephyr did, though he didn't succeed because he was dragged into the movie by the man who wanted to be the 'Pirate King'.

But reality is not so mysterious. Judging from Kuro's experience, if the Thief King were to encounter Zephyr, he would probably be utterly defeated.

"Don't call us stupid!"

Hugh Tica stood up, gritting her teeth, and said, "We risked our future and our honor to help Professor Zephyr return to being the hopeful person he once was!"

"We have disgraced our honor, we have burned, killed, and looted; we have long been beyond redemption, and this evil should have led to our demise!"

The smell of blood on Shutika was very strong; Kuro could smell the 'evil' stench emanating from her even without using his Observation Haki.

In Kuro's eyes, this is a damned person.

Kuro was silent for a moment, then said, "So, you've been seeking death all along, haven't you?"

"Yes, our mission was accomplished the moment we met Professor Zephyr."

Hugh Tica smiled. "I don't have Hernando's strong will and I don't dare to face Professor Zephyr, but as a Marine, you can grant my wish, right? The sins of pirates should be punished by the Marines."