After Dragon disappeared into the wind, York turned to the massive fish-man standing near the shipyard.
"Master Tom, you should leave quickly, too."
Tom looked up.
"Water 7 is about to become a brutal battlefield," York said calmly. "It's very likely the entire island will be leveled. You should hurry and notify the residents to take shelter or evacuate."
Tom looked at York, then at the ring of Marines surrounding the yard. His heart was heavy with conflict. It felt wrong to resent either side. York had simply come to Water 7 to commission a ship and had treated the locals well. The Marines were simply here to arrest a wanted criminal. Neither side was inherently 'wrong' in their immediate actions.
But once the battle erupted, Water 7 would be caught in the crossfire. Who could he blame? Could he blame them just for being too strong?
After a long moment of agonizing thought, Tom ultimately said nothing. He let out a heavy sigh, gathered his tools, and hurried off to warn the city.
Watching the shipwright's receding figure, York spoke without turning around.
"Tell your fleet to evacuate the civilians as fast as possible, Garp. If you delay, it will be too late."
Garp frowned deeply. But seeing York emphasize the matter repeatedly, the Marine Hero chose to take the warning seriously. He waved his hand. Several veteran Marines broke away from the encirclement and sprinted toward the docks to relay the orders to the approaching fleet.
Before long, transport ships and civilian vessels began pouring out of Water 7's harbors.
There weren't many stubborn locals who refused to leave. With a massive Marine armada pressing down on the horizon, it was obvious an apocalyptic battle was imminent. Cannonballs don't have eyes, and ordinary shipwrights couldn't withstand Haki shockwaves.
The frantic evacuation continued from dawn until dusk.
It wasn't until the sun began to set over the empty city that the supreme commanders of the encirclement finally stepped ashore.
Leading a retinue of elite officers, Admiral Sengoku and Great Staff Officer Tsuru walked into the shipyard.
"Atlas D. York?"
As soon as Sengoku arrived, his sharp, tactical gaze scrutinized the young pirate from head to toe.
"It really is you, brat!"
York looked at the imposing Admiral and grinned.
"Long time no see, Admiral Sengoku. I truly want to thank you for turning a blind eye back then. If it weren't for your mercy, I wouldn't have lived to see today."
Hearing this, Sengoku couldn't help but let out a soft, regretful sigh.
"Why did you do it, York? What happened back then is over. Wouldn't it have been better to live quietly as a civilian in an Allied Nation?"
"No!" York refused adamantly, his smile vanishing as his eyes turned ice-cold. "The blood debt for my parents is irreconcilable!!"
Sixteen years ago, before the destruction of his birthplace—the Ceramic Kingdom—York had indeed thought about living a quiet life. As a transmigrator without a system or a cheat, his original plan was actually to join the Marines. He wanted to manage a small branch in the Four Seas, live peacefully until old age, and maybe act as a mentor to the next generation.
He had it all planned out.
But then, the Marines surrounded his peaceful island. The World Government's flag was planted on the shores, and CP agents disembarked to announce that the island had been selected for a Celestial Dragon "hunting competition." No one was allowed to leave.
The ordinary citizens didn't realize the horror of what was about to happen.
York did. But he was powerless.
It wasn't until the horrifying moment when his parents were shot dead by a Celestial Dragon to protect him that York erupted in extreme anger. In that eruption of absolute grief and fury, the intense will of his soul acted upon reality, and the small sweet melon he had always carried with him was completely distorted into the Happy-Happy Fruit.
Driven by vengeance, York used his newfound power to slaughter the Celestial Dragon who killed his family. Amidst the ensuing chaos, he used his abilities to hide aboard Admiral Sengoku's warship. Sengoku had discovered him, but taking pity on the orphaned survivor of the World Government's cruelty, the Admiral had silently let him escape.
Putting away his memories, York stared fixedly at the man who had spared him.
"Admiral Sengoku, you saved my life. I don't want to go too far today. You still have time to take your fleet and leave."
Sengoku shook his head gently, the golden seagulls on his cap catching the fading light.
"I am a Marine. Arresting pirates is my absolute duty," Sengoku said firmly. "Moreover, it was my momentary weakness that let you escape back then. It is my responsibility to bring you to justice now!!"
Hearing this, York regretfully closed his eyes.
"It still ends up like this..." York murmured. "Although I anticipated this day from the moment I chose revolution, I didn't expect it to come so quickly."
While York was still lamenting, Sengoku and Garp held their ground. But suddenly, Vice Admiral Tsuru flashed behind York using the Soru (Shave) technique.
A pair of soft, wrinkled hands reached out and grabbed York's coat.
With a forceful, snapping motion—like shaking water from wet clothes—Tsuru activated the power of the Wash-Wash Fruit.
FWOOSH!
In an instant, York's physical body lost all dimension. He turned into a flat, fluttering strip of cloth.
Tsuru expertly wrung and scrubbed the cloth-like York. Under her washing, York's originally regretful expression melted away, replaced by a clear, blissfully foolish gaze.
Moving with practiced speed, Tsuru pinned the flattened York onto a clothesline that her subordinates had quickly erected.
"I will wash away the evil in your heart!" Tsuru declared, dusting off her hands. She looked at the cloth-like York swaying in the breeze and smiled. "Sengoku told me you were originally a good child. The power of my Devil Fruit can help cleanse the hostility and darkness from your soul."
"Is that so?"
Suddenly, the voice echoed not from the cloth, but from the air itself.
The cloth-like York's eyes instantly regained their sharp clarity. At the exact same moment, a terrifying, suffocating wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from the clothesline.
BZZZZT!!
Thick, black and red Haki lightning violently struck the ground. The sheer pressure instantly knocked out hundreds of Marines. Only Sengoku, Garp, Tsuru, and a handful of elite officers managed to remain standing, though the sheer weight of the Haki forced several of them to their knees.
Under the crushing burst of his own willpower, the flattened York forcibly broke the Devil Fruit's effect, returning to his normal three-dimensional form. He snapped the clothesline and landed lightly on his feet.
York patted the wrinkles out of his coat and looked calmly at the Great Staff Officer.
"Your Wash-Wash Fruit doesn't seem to have much of a lasting effect on me, Tsuru."
"Impossible!!" Tsuru gasped, her eyes widening in shock. "My ability washes away evil intentions! How could it not affect you?!"
York suddenly grinned, a brilliant, blinding white light beginning to radiate from his skin.
"Your fruit can indeed wash away the evil and filth in a person's heart," York stated. "But tell me, Vice Admiral... what is your fruit supposed to wash away, if my heart is inherently aligned with the Holy Light?!"
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