One month ago.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
The newly appointed Fleet Admiral Sengoku gazed at the cold, grim expression of his old friend and let out a soft sigh.
"Zephyr, have you truly made up your mind?"
He felt his voice turn dry in his throat.
"Even my own students—I couldn't protect them. What right do I have to keep teaching the next generation?"
"Black Arm" Zephyr had replaced his gold-rimmed glasses with a pair of dark sunglasses. Sengoku couldn't read his eyes—only hear the bitterness in his voice.
Sengoku fell silent.
At this point, what words of comfort could he offer?
Edward Weevil's induction into the Shichibukai was already finalized. Nothing could be done. Not even as Fleet Admiral did Sengoku have the power to change that outcome.
To the World Government, the Navy was ultimately nothing more than a façade.
"Very well then."
Sengoku nodded. "Consider this a change of pace. I'm authorizing you to form an independent Marine Guerrilla Unit. Operate autonomously. Hunt down pirates throughout the New World."
"Excellent!"
Zephyr's face visibly lit up with hatred. "Pirates… this world never needed them in the first place!"
Sengoku looked at his friend's twisted expression and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Zephyr truly wasn't the same man anymore.
Once, "Black Arm" Zephyr was known as the Admiral Who Refused to Kill. Even when facing the most despicable pirates, he still believed in sparing them—giving them a chance to atone for their crimes.
But now… now, all Sengoku could feel in his words was a chilling thirst for blood.
"By the way," Zephyr added calmly, "I'll be selecting the personnel myself. I don't want anyone slowing me down."
"That won't be an issue."
Sengoku gritted his teeth. "I'll grant you five Vice Admirals, ten warships, and twenty thousand soldiers."
Five Vice Admirals, ten warships… that was enough to launch a full-scale Buster Call.
Consider it compensation for his old friend.
Because this time, both the World Government and the Navy had truly failed him.
Zephyr looked deeply at Sengoku and nodded calmly.
"Thanks, Sengoku."
Sengoku smiled.
"Why are you thanking me? We're brothers, aren't we?"
Damn brothers, through and through.
With one last glance at Sengoku, Zephyr turned and walked away.
For some reason, as he watched his old friend's back slowly disappear into the distance, Sengoku suddenly called out.
"Zephyr!"
Zephyr turned around.
Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral, grinned cheekily.
"Don't rush off just yet. How about we grab a drink after work, for old time's sake? Let's bring that guy Garp too."
"Maybe next time."
Zephyr replied quietly, "When we meet again."
"Is that so?"
Sengoku looked slightly disappointed.
But he didn't dwell on it too long.
There was still plenty of time left.
Their era was nearing its end, but Zephyr had trained many excellent young Marines—more than enough to carry the Navy forward.
When that time came, they could finally retire, and reunite like they did in their youth—carefree and full of laughter.
Zephyr's formal resignation report didn't take long to reach the Five Elders.
"He stepped down from his position as Chief Instructor?"
The long-bearded Mars spoke with an indifferent tone. "It seems this recent incident hit Zephyr quite hard."
"Give him some compensation," said the bald-headed Warcury casually. "Zephyr has massive respect within the Navy ranks. We don't want this to cause any backlash."
Though the Navy was merely the visible arm of the World Government, and far from its true core…
...on the surface, the World Government still needed the Navy to maintain its control over the world.
To preserve order, the Navy's involvement remained essential.
This organization was still crucial to the World Government.
There could be no room for error.
The Five Elders decided they had to make it up to Zephyr.
After all, it had never crossed their minds that a man who had dedicated his entire life to the Navy would one day harbor rebellious thoughts against it.
So, the government gave the green light to Zephyr's request to form a Marine Guerrilla Unit. Every demand he made was approved without hesitation.
A top-grade Marine battleship? Granted!
An abundance of weapons and equipment? Granted!
New weapons developed by the Science Division? Granted!
Seastone-based arms? Granted!
Five Vice Admirals from Marine Headquarters? Granted!
The transfer of the G-5 Base Commander who had been brought before a military tribunal? Granted!
With the full cooperation of the World Government and the Marines, the unit known as the Marine Guerrilla Force was swiftly assembled from nothing and officially registered as an independent division.
The main force gathered at G-1 Base.
After a week of intensive training, the Marine Guerrilla Force set sail on their first anti-pirate operation.
And then—
They never returned.
The fleet of over twenty thousand soldiers vanished shortly after departing from G-1.
Both Marine Headquarters and the World Government grew deeply concerned. They feared the force had fallen victim to a pirate ambush—perhaps a retaliatory strike from the Cross Guild or the Beasts Pirates.
But not long after, Zephyr published a declaration in the newspapers announcing the formation of the NEO Marines.
In it, he openly condemned the World Government and the Navy for their decay and corruption, accusing them of constantly compromising with pirates.
He also expressed, quite clearly, his hatred for the Celestial Dragons.
Anyone with even a basic sense of literary comprehension could see the declaration was missing large portions—most likely the parts where Zephyr exposed the darkest truths about the government, the Navy, and the Celestial Dragons.
The newspapers simply didn't dare to print them.
Even so, the parts that were published were explosive enough.
Zephyr officially declared the formation of the NEO Marines, with himself as Commander.
He proclaimed that the NEO Marines were the true enforcers of justice and vowed they would wipe out every evil on the seas.
Without a doubt, it was the kind of news that sent shockwaves across the entire world.
Ian could already picture it.
In the distant headquarters of the World Economy News, Morgans was probably flapping his wings in rage, pounding his desk, crying out in despair.
His newspaper—the one that prided itself on breaking the world's most shocking headlines—had been scooped.
Even without the reach of Morgans' network, the news had spread like wildfire.
Across the seas, from the Grand Line to the farthest islands of the Four Blues, everyone saw the same unbelievable headline.
The man who had once led the Marines forward since the Rocks Era...
The man who had mentored the current admirals, a living legend...
The hero known as "Black Arm" Zephyr...
Had betrayed the Marines.
To the world, it felt like watching a mountain collapse.
This was the man who had personally trained most of the current high-ranking officers.
To say the world was stunned was an understatement.
It was as if Ian—an infamous rising force in the Beasts Pirates—had suddenly announced his resignation and joined the Shichibukai.
Everyone's first reaction was the same.
Fake news.
**********
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