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Shirahoshi probably knew nothing about Aquaman's abilities, and he worried that asking rashly would put a psychological burden on her.

That's why Zhou Ze didn't notice anything unusual about Mecaro.

Bai Xing was also surprised, but seemingly because her innate Observation Haki was becoming more and more proficient, she actually took the initiative to speak about what Zhou Ze was thinking.

"Um... Lord Zhou Ze, what I just sang wasn't a song."

"Not a song?"

Zhou Ze was a little confused. What was this girl saying?

Isn't it the Mermaid's Song?

It's probably, maybe, perhaps something similar to 'The Siren's Song'?

"No, it's not a song, it's a painting called 'Blessing'!"

Shirahoshi nodded heavily.

"A painting? A congratulatory message?" Zhou Ze was stunned for a moment.

Damn it, am I hallucinating?

Also, the term "blessing" seems to refer to language, right?

"That's right, what I saw was a painting. I was just repeating what was in the painting!"

Shirahoshi looked bewildered. "Right, Mecaro, I'm right, isn't that a painting?"

Shark Mecaro nodded repeatedly, indicating that what appeared in his mind was indeed a painting.

A picture that appears in the mind at a specific frequency.

Zhou Ze was also stunned, and after a moment he spoke.

"Okay, so what's included in the 'blessing' drawing?"

Bai Xing didn't respond immediately, seemingly needing to consider the meaning of those 'blessings', before speaking after a while.

"It's a congratulatory message to the two of them for reaching an agreement, and a wish for their success!"

Zhou Ze's pupils contracted slightly, and he silently swallowed.

"What kind of two people? What agreement did they make? Were they human? Fish-men? Or...?"

"What was agreed upon wasn't recorded..."

Bai Xing seemed troubled; the downward curve of her eyebrows widened further.

"Hmm... they are human!"

Zhou Ze was slightly disappointed upon hearing this. He had thought that one of them would be the mermaid princess from 800 years ago, or Im, or Joy Boy.

Based on current information, Shirahoshi can only conclude that there were two humans?

"A very big man... he was... that big!"

Just then, Bai Xing straightened up in the seawater, raised her arms above her head, and tried to gesture to Zhou Ze.

Zhou Ze raised an eyebrow and glanced at it, only then realizing what Bai Xing was trying to say.

"You mean, that man is a giant?"

"Ah, is he a giant?" Shirahoshi was surprised, having never seen a human larger than herself.

“It’s definitely a giant! Who made the pact with him?” Zhou Ze’s expression turned serious.

Bai Xing glanced at Zhou Ze's head, then hesitantly placed a hand on top of him, sweeping it back and forth less than a meter above Zhou Ze's head.

"About this tall, ordinary human!"

Zhou Ze was so exasperated by Bai Xing's gestures that he almost vomited blood. He stood up from Mecaro's body.

Standing proudly at 191 centimeters tall, he gestured with his hand to his chin.

"That high?"

Unexpectedly, Bai Xing's hand moved upwards as Zhou Ze stood up, remaining about a meter above Zhou Ze's head.

"So tall!"

"cough!"

Zhou Ze felt as if he had been struck a heavy blow to the chest, and for a moment he found it difficult to breathe.

Damn it, he's almost a meter taller than me, and you call him an ordinary human?

Uh... okay, being less than 3 meters tall seems pretty ordinary in this world!

"Is that guy a man too?"

Bai Xing shook her head. "I don't know, that person is very blurry!"

Chapter 437 The Grand Finale

"I see. Then let's just leave him be."

Zhou Ze stretched, indicating that he would stop worrying about the issue and give himself a break. He had been under a lot of stress lately, and it was time to rest.

Just then, a naval soldier hurriedly rowed a small boat to Zhou Ze's side: "Lord Zhou Ze, no... something terrible has happened!"

The shark Mecaro became unusually agitated by the soldier's sudden visit. It bared its fierce eyes and sharp white teeth, opened its blood-red maw, and lunged at the soldier's small boat, scaring the soldier so much that he wet himself on the spot.

“Mecaro, calm down, he’s not a bad person.”

After Zhou Ze comforted him, the shark Mecaro stopped its hostility towards the naval soldiers. It stopped when it was less than a meter away from the soldiers' small boat, and the naval soldiers, who had been terrified, finally managed to calm down.

"what's up?"

Zhou Ze asked a naval soldier, who then handed him a document issued by the naval headquarters: "This is a mission document issued by headquarters. Please take a look, sir."

"A fleet of ten warships and five lieutenant generals suddenly disappeared at sea?"

When Zhou Ze received the documents from the soldier, he could hardly believe his eyes. It turned out that not long ago, a large naval fleet, commanded by five vice admirals and consisting of ten warships and more than ten thousand soldiers, suddenly disappeared mysteriously while sailing in a certain sea area. The people and ships vanished without a trace.

"The headquarters hopes that Lord Zhou Ze can personally lead a team to investigate the truth behind the fleet's disappearance."

The soldier told Zhou Ze that the naval headquarters had ordered him to investigate the truth behind the fleet's disappearance. Zhou Ze knew very well that this was a trap set by an enemy hidden within, and he was now in a difficult situation.

"This is truly a tricky matter, but why do I feel so pleased? No, it's not that I feel pleased, but rather... the system?"

Just then, Zhou Ze felt a surge of joy. He was puzzled, but then suddenly realized that this joy didn't come from his own heart, but from a system notification:

[Congratulations, host, on completing the One Piece world adventure! You may now gracefully retire and return to your own world.]

"I beat the game? Can I go home now?"

Zhou Ze found it hard to believe, but the system's instructions were never wrong, which meant that he could leave here soon and return to his own world.

[The portal to time and space has opened at coordinates KS395. It will close in 82 hours and 34 minutes. The next opening time after closing will be ten years from now. Please make your decision as soon as possible.]

The system's voice sounded again, informing Zhou Ze that the portal connecting his real world and the One Piece world had opened, which was the reason for the mysterious disappearance of the ten warships. The portal had over eighty hours remaining before closing. If Zhou Ze wanted to leave and return to his original world, he had to hurry; otherwise, he would have to wait another ten years.

"I always longed to make a name for myself in this world and become a hero, but in the end, what did I get? Enemies outside, enemies inside, hatred, scheming, and countless conspiracies and traps."

Looking back on his experiences since his transmigration, Zhou Ze, originally just an ordinary guy, relied on the cheat system to overcome obstacles in this other world where gods and immortals roamed everywhere. He has tasted the joy of victory and the thrill of becoming a hero, but at the same time, he has also truly realized what the wickedness of human nature is.

The reason why One Piece is so popular among fans is because the work is full of romantic and passionate legends, without complicated conspiracies and tricks, only courage, friendship and passion.

Zhou Ze was transported here to embark on his adventure precisely because he yearned for this romantic spirit of freedom. He used to loathe the real world he lived in, believing it to be filled with ugliness and oppression. He longed for the romantic and free dream world of One Piece. But in the end, he still couldn't escape the wickedness of human nature and the scheming of others.

"The martial arts world has never been about whirlwind romance and vengeance, but rather about scheming and treacherous smiles. I understand the meaning of this sentence now. Perhaps this is what growing up is all about? The world of One Piece is ultimately just a fairytale dream. People grow up, and dreams eventually end. It's time."

Zhou Ze glanced at the surrounding blue sky and clear water, then at Bai Xing and Mecaro. He knew that he would eventually have to say goodbye to everything here, because he never belonged here.

So Zhou Ze bid farewell to Shirahoshi and Mecaro, preparing to carry out his last mission as a naval officer in this world: to investigate the truth behind the disappearance of ten warships in the fleet.

"Those guys up there ordered me to investigate the truth behind the fleet's disappearance. They clearly want to kill me. That's perfect. I'll just do as they wish and fake my death."

Zhou Ze had devised a detailed plan: under the guise of investigating the missing fleet, he would travel through a time portal back to his original world, and publicly declare that he had died in the line of duty. This would be the best way to save face for his internal enemies who were plotting to kill him.

Having made up his mind, Zhou Ze prepared to set off. Before leaving, he made a special trip to the naval recruit training ground to see Garp one last time, as it might be the last time he would see him, and he felt it was only right to come and say goodbye.

"I see. I'm so sorry to have troubled you."

After listening to Zhou Ze recount the whole story, Garp was filled with mixed emotions: "The ocean is too vast; it is something that we can never fully explore."

"Teacher Garp, thank you for your guidance all this time."

Zhou Ze knelt on the ground and kowtowed deeply to Garp. Garp was his guide in this world, like a mentor. As the saying goes, "A teacher for a day is a father for life." Zhou Ze didn't know how to express his feelings to this father-like person, so he could only use the highest form of respect, kowtowing.

"Accompany me to inspect the new recruits one last time. This is the last time, and it will fulfill your destiny as a naval officer."

Garp stood up and gestured for Zhou Ze to accompany him to inspect the new recruits. Zhou Ze followed Garp to the training ground, and looking at the spirited new recruits, Zhou Ze seemed to see his former self.

"Are you the legendary Lord Zhou Ze of the Navy?"

A tall man, nearly three meters tall, suddenly ran up to Zhou Ze. He was wearing a brand-new naval uniform and seemed to be a new recruit who had just enlisted.

"My name is Zack. I'm a new recruit. I joined the Navy because I admire you, sir."

The tall man introduced himself, saying he was a fan of Zhou Ze and had joined the Navy because of his admiration for Zhou Ze. Looking at Zack's nearly three-meter height, Zhou Ze recalled the promise Bai Xing had mentioned between the two of them: "So the person Bai Xing was talking about is him?"

“Okay, Zack, you have great potential. I believe you will become an excellent naval officer in the future, someone who surpasses me. How about we make a deal? You can keep my coat here and take good care of it for me. When you become a future admiral and someone who surpasses me, I will come back to get it.”

Zhou Ze smiled slightly, took off his navy cloak with the word "Justice" written on it, and handed it to Zack. This made Zack feel flattered and unsure of what to do.

After fulfilling his promise to Zack, Zhou Ze led his troops to investigate the truth behind the fleet's disappearance. In the target area, he found the time-space gate mentioned by the system. He passed through the time-space gate and returned to his original world.

"Lord Zhou Ze has also disappeared?"

"That's right, it's all in the newspapers. Lord Zhou Ze mysteriously disappeared while investigating the missing fleet."

Soon, news of Zhou Ze's disappearance spread throughout the world of One Piece, becoming a topic of conversation among people.

"That guy is finally dead."

"We've finally gotten rid of a major worry!"

The Five Elders were overjoyed at Zhou Ze's disappearance. For them, getting rid of a major threat was undoubtedly the best news. However, they did not know that at this moment, in the Navy recruit camp, a recruit named Zack was tightly holding the "Justice" cloak left behind by Zhou Ze. The romantic legend of the Navy had only just begun.

(End of the article)