Chapter 72: The Crane's Troubles
"What do you think?"
Axel did not answer right away.
He frowned slightly, weighing the question.
On the surface, it sounded harmless. Simple, even. But questions from clever people were often the most dangerous when they sounded the least dangerous. Especially when they were simple.
Seeing his hesitation, Tsuru added in her calm, unhurried voice, "Do not be so tense. Think of it as an old woman asking a child a question."
Only then did Axel relax a little.
He understood what she meant. She was not probing him as a Marine, not testing his stance toward the Government or the Navy. She was simply asking what he thought.
At least, that was what she wanted him to believe.
Still, that was enough.
He had no reason to hide his thoughts here. Not this time.
After a brief silence, he said slowly, "I do not think Teacher Zephyr was wrong."
Tsuru did not interrupt. She simply watched him.
Axel continued, "He has always believed in justice. Truly believed in it. Not as a slogan. Not as something convenient to say in public. To him, justice is real. It is something sacred."
His voice grew steadier as he spoke.
"If a system appears that gives pirates legitimacy, then to him, that is not just a political decision. It is a denial of everything he has spent his life protecting. On top of that..." Axel paused for a moment. "No one has the right to deny his hatred."
Tsuru's eyes shifted slightly.
Axel understood exactly why Zephyr had reacted the way he did.
His family had been murdered by pirates. He hated them. No one could blame him for that. Yet even with that hatred burning in his chest, he had still clung to his principles. He had still insisted on justice. He had still refused to kill without reason.
And then the Seven Warlords system appeared.
A system that took the very people he despised and wrapped them in official legitimacy.
For a man like Zephyr, that was not compromise.
That was betrayal.
Tsuru listened quietly, then said, "I am not asking you to deny him. In truth, I understand him very well."
She took a pen from the desk and laid it flat on the wood.
Then she reached into her pocket and placed four coins at the four corners around it.
"This pen is the Grand Line," she said. "These four coins are the four seas. East, West, North, and South."
Using her fingers, she slowly pushed the coins inward.
"At a glance, the seas seem separate. But if the pirates from all four directions continue pouring toward the same place, then the pressure will eventually gather in the center."
She pushed harder.
The pen quivered.
"If that pressure continues to build..."
The coins finally struck the pen's sides hard enough to launch it into the air.
It flipped once and hit the floor with a sharp clack.
Tsuru looked down at it.
"That," she said softly, "is the Navy's current problem."
Axel said nothing.
Tsuru leaned back in her chair and continued, her voice low and even.
"The pirates are no longer scattered rabble. Some are beginning to unite. Some have already begun to grow beyond what ordinary Marines can suppress. If this continues, then the sea will fall further and further out of our control."
Her gaze sharpened.
"And once that happens, the peace maintained by the Navy will crack. Not all at once. But piece by piece."
Axel listened in silence.
He knew Tsuru was right about part of it.
The Navy was strong, stronger than any individual pirate crew. But the Navy could not be everywhere at once. And if the pirates of the four seas continued to flood into the Grand Line, the burden on the Marines would only grow heavier.
Tsuru spoke again.
"That is why the Seven Warlords system must be implemented."
She picked up the pen from the floor and placed it back on the desk, then tapped the coins.
"If the Navy alone cannot relieve the pressure, then new forces must be inserted into the structure. Forces powerful enough to hold parts of the sea in place."
Her fingers rested lightly on the coins.
"The Seven Warlords will be seven nails."
"Nails?" Axel repeated.
Tsuru nodded.
"They will lock certain positions in place. The pirates will resent them, distrust them, and watch them. That alone changes the balance. The Warlords gain protection and status, but in exchange, they become targets. The sea grows more chaotic, yes, but the chaos becomes divided."
She paused, then added, "And when pirates fight pirates, the Navy gains room to breathe."
Axel leaned against the desk's edge and thought it over.
From a purely strategic perspective, Tsuru's logic was sound.
The system would create temporary balance. It would ease pressure. It would buy time.
But even so, he could not help thinking of Crocodile, Doflamingo, Moria. Of what the system would allow men like that to become once the World Government handed them legitimacy.
Still, Tsuru had not asked him whether the system was clean.
Only whether it was necessary.
After a moment, Axel asked, "But why are you telling me all this?"
That was the real question.
Why explain the structure of the seas, the Navy's pressure, the logic behind the Seven Warlords, to a boy like him?
Tsuru gave a faint smile.
"Because you are here."
"That is not much of an answer."
"It is enough."
Then her expression softened, though only slightly.
"If you insist on a better answer... it is because of Garp. And Zephyr."
Axel's eyes narrowed a little.
Tsuru folded her hands and spoke slowly.
"Garp acts simple. Loud. Reckless. Impossible to predict. He lets others think that is all there is to him. But he is not a fool, and he is not as unburdened as he looks."
Her gaze drifted past Axel for a moment, as though looking at someone far away.
"He keeps many things to himself."
Then she looked back at him.
"I am telling you this because I hope that when you grow older, you will be able to shoulder some things for him."
Axel did not speak.
He had never thought of Garp in those terms. The old man was absurd, violent, shameless, and almost impossible to take seriously for long. Yet hearing Tsuru say it like this, he suddenly understood that behind all that chaos, there were things Garp simply chose not to show.
"As for Zephyr..." Tsuru said, then stopped.
For the first time since this conversation began, a trace of genuine weariness appeared on her face.
It deepened the lines at the corners of her eyes.
Axel caught it immediately.
She was worried.
Not about politics. Not about paperwork. About Zephyr.
Tsuru let out a quiet sigh.
"I have heard that you and Zephyr got along rather well. That there was even some banter between you."
Axel raised a brow. "You heard?"
Tsuru answered without embarrassment, "I investigated."
That was such a Tsuru answer that Axel almost laughed.
She continued, "I do not expect you to change his mind. That would be impossible. A man like Zephyr will never accept a system born from self interest and compromise. Not in his heart."
Her fingers tapped once against the desk.
"But I had hoped..." She stopped again.
This time, she did not finish the thought.
Axel waited, but Tsuru merely shook her head.
"Forget it," she said. "Call it the grumbling of an old woman."
Her tone had returned to normal, but the worry remained.
She did not need to say the rest. Axel already understood.
She had hoped that if anyone could keep Zephyr from drifting too far, it might be someone Zephyr genuinely cared for.
Someone he had taught.
Someone he had accepted.
Someone like him.
Tsuru waved a hand toward the door.
"That is enough for today. Go rest."
.....
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