Chapter 95 - 95: Evil That Covers the World

Words : 1465 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

What Kuzan wanted to confirm wasn't complicated. He simply needed to know the real relationship between Sharon Lily and Sharon Lawrence, and to verify whether they were truly pirates. After spending the past few days with Sharon Lily, it would be a lie to say the young Kuzan felt nothing for the beautiful girl. But his reason reminded him constantly that her identity was full of red flags. Even when he personally heard Sharon Lily refer to Sharon Lawrence as her father, a part of him still held onto a shred of unrealistic hope. In fact, Kuzan even hoped that the attack on the Marine ship had been some kind of misunderstanding—something that could still be explained away. That hope only grew when Sharon Lawrence's subordinates called him "King Sharon" and "Your Majesty" after he was struck down by Yoriichi Tsugikuni. "You alright, Kuzan?" "I saw you get knocked away by that guy. For a moment, I thought I'd have to take over command for the rest of this mission." Yoriichi glanced at Lawrence's subordinates on the deck, then slowly sheathed his blade. Those who had boarded the deck with Sharon Lawrence had been completely stunned by Yoriichi's terrifying power. After seeing him sever Lawrence's arm with one strike and knock him flying with another, not a single one of them dared to move. With the situation now fully under control, Yoriichi looked at Kuzan—who had returned to the deck as if nothing had happened—and joked, clearly unconcerned about their so-called "opponents." "Kuzan, as a leader, your performance just now was a little embarrassing." "As your subordinate, I was really worried about you." Yoriichi even said this in a tone that sounded like a lecture. If it weren't for the obvious difference in rank between their epaulettes—Yoriichi's being that of a Marine officer, and Kuzan's a general—you'd think Yoriichi was the one in charge. "..." "Hearing that from you doesn't exactly make me feel great, Yoriichi," Kuzan muttered. He strolled back across the deck, casually removed his cap, brushed off some dust, then placed it back on his head with a sigh. As he did, his gaze shifted past Yoriichi toward Sharon Lily, who stood silently at the bow. Beneath the lenses of his sunglasses, his eyes held a complex mix of emotion. "Lily... Can you tell me what's really going on here?" Sharon Lily didn't answer right away. Instead, she turned her head to look at the sea. At that moment, Sharon Lawrence had already been rescued from the water by his men and was swimming toward a nearby submarine ahead of the ship. Once pulled aboard, Lawrence coughed up a few mouthfuls of seawater and slowly regained consciousness. He tried to stand, only to be overwhelmed by the sharp pain in his abdomen. He collapsed weakly onto the deck of the submarine, gasping for air. From the look of it, Sharon Lawrence had been severely injured, but fortunately, his life didn't appear to be in danger. Seeing this, Sharon Lily let out a quiet sigh of relief. She turned back to Kuzan and offered a bitter smile. "They're... not pirates. They're the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Sharon." "My father, Sharon Lawrence, is the current king of that kingdom." "And I, Sharon Lily, am his second daughter." The moment she spoke, her words hit like a thunderclap. Kuzan's expression turned serious as he glanced toward Yoriichi. Just earlier, Yoriichi had—without hesitation—severed the king's arm. Kuzan suddenly felt like they might have just made a huge mistake. But before he could say anything, Yoriichi had already walked to the railing and was looking down at the now-recovered Sharon Lawrence on the submarine. He asked aloud: "Miss Lily, I could hear the hatred in your father's voice when he spoke of the Marines." "Why is that?" Hearing this, Kuzan snapped back to attention and looked over toward the bow, waiting for her response. "..." "The Marines..." Sharon Lily fell silent for a moment. But her silence didn't last long. The Royal Guards who had boarded with Lawrence suddenly erupted in fury, shouting at Yoriichi and Kuzan: "The Marines! Lapdogs of the Celestial Dragons. Isn't it natural for us to hate you?" "It's because of you—because of your support for the Celestial Dragons—that our Kingdom of Sharon became what it is today." "King Sharon's goal is noble. Only by destroying the Marine influence in the New World can we keep the claws of the Celestial Dragons away from our land. Only then can our people live normal lives!" Their passionate cries rang out across the deck. In just a few words, they left Kuzan and Yoriichi speechless. Though they hadn't explained everything in detail, Yoriichi had already pieced together the general picture of what had happened in the Kingdom of Sharon. Just hearing the words "Celestial Dragons" and "lapdogs" was enough for Yoriichi to understand where this hatred came from. "The Celestial Dragons, huh..." Yoriichi gazed toward the injured Sharon Lawrence, now slowly rising from the submarine deck, and sighed inwardly. Back on the deck, Sharon Lily finally began to explain the story to Kuzan. The Kingdom of Sharon was built atop the Yaga Archipelago, located at the front edge of the New World. Its economy relied entirely on maritime trade. As one of the gateway ports to the latter half of the Grand Line, the kingdom's harbors regularly hosted merchants, travelers, and even pirates from all corners of the world. With such heavy traffic and a constant flow of outsiders, the kingdom had to maintain strong military forces to suppress any unexpected disruptions. Over a hundred years ago, the previous King Sharon joined the World Government. In exchange for becoming a member nation, the kingdom gained the protection of the Marines. But of course, "protection" from the World Government never came for free. The kingdom was required to pay the Heavenly Tribute to the Celestial Dragons. At first, the tribute was manageable. The kingdom's trade was booming, its economy flourishing, and the required payments were modest. But over the centuries, the Celestial Dragons' greed only grew. The amount of Heavenly Tribute demanded today was a far cry from what it once was. The burden fell squarely on the shoulders of the kingdom's citizens. Meanwhile, as more and more "free" pirates surged into the New World over the years, the entire region became increasingly unstable. For a maritime trading nation like Sharon, that instability was a nightmare. Eventually, they could no longer keep up with the tribute payments. And since the Marines are an extension of the World Government's power, they inevitably became involved in the government's efforts to collect. As hatred toward the Celestial Dragons festered, it naturally spilled over to the Marines as well. The Kingdom of Sharon, yearning to break free from the shackles of the Celestial Dragons, had long been plotting resistance. Sharon Lawrence, even as a young man, often went out to sea, honing himself into a formidable warrior. This time, when the Marines sent a large number of warships into the New World, Sharon Lawrence sensed the winds of war brewing. Seizing the moment, he launched a preemptive strike, "cleansing" the Marines from the kingdom's territory. As for how Sharon Lily ended up adrift at sea—it happened during the kingdom's purge of Marine forces. Some Marines fought back, and amid the chaos, one of them managed to take her hostage and escape by ship. Unfortunately, they ran into a storm, and the vessel went down. Only Sharon Lily survived, clinging to a piece of driftwood—until Kuzan rescued her. So, in the end, her encounter with Kuzan had truly been a coincidence. And the part where she told Kuzan she was the granddaughter of King Sharon? A lie. On the deck, the Marines stood in silence, listening as Sharon Lily recounted the history of the Kingdom of Sharon. The whole deck had fallen into an eerie stillness. Young Kuzan stood there, his expression shifting subtly. No one knew what he was thinking. And Yoriichi Tsugikuni remained silent too, his gaze drifting toward the distant Yaga Archipelago, his thoughts hidden behind his calm expression. ************************ Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 200 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch! For advance chapters, please do visit and consider joining me on P(a)treon, it really helps me out and I'd love to have you along for the journey! p(a)treon.com/Lnee *remove () to open it

Chapter 95 - 95: Evil That Covers the World

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