OnePiece-Strongest ice Dragon Chapter 29 29: A Dream? Does Being the World’s Strongest Cou

The next day, the reorganized recruits embarked on the next leg of their journey.

Loya was, for all intents and purposes, a shoo-in for the Elite Camp. But that didn't an he had stolen a spot from soone else. As Kuzan had said, the "hope" of joining the Elite Camp was based on the strength displayed during the assessnt, not just a fixed number of slots. The other recruits still had to work for it.

Loya lay on the beach, bored. He had a piece of dogtail grass hanging from his mouth and his hands clasped behind his head for a nap.

After finishing the logistics for the recruits, Momonga hesitated for a mont before walking over to Loya.

Hearing the shhh-shhh of footsteps approaching, Loya opened one eye. "Vice Admiral Momonga, I had soone drop the photo in your file folder. Don't disturb my nap if there's nothing important."

Don't joke. Yesterday, Momonga had inexplicably hit him—twice—so Loya wasn't about to give him a friendly greeting.

The Vice Admiral had been conflicted, but that remark made his blood boil. He glared. "We had a deal! I helped you beg for leniency from Zephyr-sensei, and you were supposed to give the photos. And look at this! You only gave one! Don't think I forgot—you had three when you were threatening !"

"Tch! Why are you rembering such details?"

Loya grumbled, but seeing Momonga about to blow his top, he surrendered. "Fine, fine. I'll give you the rest when we get back. Seriously, for an old man, you're incredibly petty."

Momonga: "...What a shaless way to say that!"

Momonga sat down next to Loya. Loya eyed him sideways, waiting for him to speak. When a man has sothing heavy on his mind, his aura changes. The dragon-like sensitivity of Loya's body allowed him to perceive the shift in Momonga's energy quite clearly.

For a long ti, the beach was so quiet that only the sound of waves crashing remained. As for the occasional screams drifting from the forest behind them—well, it was best to ignore those.

Unable to handle the silence, Momonga finally spoke. "Hey, Loya. Do you have a dream?"

That sounded like sothing out of a lodramatic novel. Loya shook his head, pushing the weird thought aside. "A dream? Why ask that?"

"Well~ just chatting. Tell ." Momonga didn't look at him directly, urging him on.

Loya found it strange; Momonga didn't usually play the part of a philosophical ntor. But people were unpredictable, and he had no idea what was going on. However, Momonga's question stirred mories he thought he'd buried—the diocre life he'd lived before crossing over.

A flicker of sorrow crossed Loya's eyes. He spoke with a hint of intoxication.

"Everyone has dreams, and usually more than one. But as life goes on, so dreams get closer, and others drift further and further away."

Images flickered through Loya's mind: a thunderstorm on an afternoon when he'd skipped class to play outside, the inevitable "double-whip" punishnt from his parents when he finally dragged himself ho.

I want to go ho! That had been his dream when he first washed up on the deserted island. But that simple, childlike dream was the most unattainable of all.

"I used to dream about just being well-fed, well-clothed, and having fun," Loya continued. "Not having to run around for a living, not worrying about where the next al would co from. I used to imagine being rich... I thought if I could eat steak every day, live in a big house, and have servants, my life would be complete."

Loya asked self-deprecatingly, "Doesn't that sound pathetic?"

Momonga nodded solemnly. "Yes, it does!"

Loya: "..."

Forget it. The conversation is already open, I'll just ignore his comnt.

"I didn't have much of a life plan," Loya rambled. "I wanted to be soone's boyfriend, I wanted to get into a top university, I wanted to make a na for myself in architecture. But what did that an? The universe loves to play jokes. What could I do?"

He thought about this transition. Who expects to be eating instant noodles one minute and waking up in another world the next?

Loya smiled. "But now, my dreams have changed. I have a new target."

Momonga looked up. "And that is?"

"I am going to beco the strongest in the world!"

Loya punched the sky, spreading his fingers as if to grasp the blue horizon. "Since I've been granted this power, diocrity is a thing of the past. From now on, I will fight for this goal—no, this dream! This is my dream!"

"To beco... the world's strongest?"

Momonga murmured, repeating the words. Seeing the confidence on the boy's face, he couldn't help but shake his head. "That's a grand ambition. I thought you'd say sothing about upholding Marine Justice."

"Do you really think the Marine is justice, Vice Admiral Momonga?"

Loya's voice was cold. Momonga started, frowning. "Loya! What is that supposed to an? Don't forget you're a Marine!"

"I know. Of course I know." Loya spoke as if he hadn't noticed Momonga's darkened face. "But Vice Admiral, what is justice? You're familiar with the saying 'Justice always prevails,' right?"

"Do you know what it really ans? The justice of this world is the justice of the victor. It's a simple order of operations: first cos victory, then cos justice."

"Are you saying the Marine isn't just, only victorious?" Momonga's brow furrowed tightly.

"Who knows? It's like Schrödinger's cat—until the box is opened, the cat is forever on the edge of life and death. So for now, let's just call ourselves the 'Just Marines.' Oh, by the way, you probably don't know who Schrödinger is, but just know he was a cat-torturer, and if you see him, just finish him off."

Loya stood up, brushed the dust off his pants, and went to prepare lunch. Momonga stayed where he was, staring out at the sea, lost in thought. Under the sleeve of his suit, a black Den Den Mushi "clicked" into sleep mode.

In the warship's command room, Zephyr stood up, his gaze through the window fixed on the sea.

"So, you think the sa way I do... Loya."

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound startled Zephyr. He sat back down. "Co in!"

It was Kuzan, there to say goodbye.

"If I head southeast from here, I'll reach the East Blue, right?" Kuzan sat opposite Zephyr, legs crossed. "Anything you want to bring back, Teacher?"

"Aren't you going to wait for Loya to finish his assessnt? I've set quite the trap for him."

"No need. I've taught him everything I can; I trust he can handle it. Next, he needs to walk his own path. That's not my area of expertise." Kuzan closed his eyes and looked at Zephyr. "Please take care of yourself in the days to co."

"Don't worry. I'll train him into a Marine Admiral who won't lose to you."

"Ara ara, that would be perfect. Being an Admiral really leaves you with no ti to sleep—it's exhausting."

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