Chapter 142: Goodbye Kizaru
The sea lion continued galloping across the ocean's surface, heading steadily toward the G-5 base through the choppy Grand Line waters.
The navy personnel remained largely silent during the journey. Many of them were still too traumatized by the brutal battle they had just witnessed and experienced, and had already fallen into exhausted sleep on the creature's broad back.
Zephyr had engaged in that tense verbal exchange with Brett earlier, then made a brief phone call to Marine Headquarters to report the situation, before lapsing into brooding silence.
On the sea lion's back, only Brett and Tesoro maintained any conversation, their voices carrying over the sound of rushing wind and splashing waves.
It was mostly Tesoro who dominated the discussion, enthusiastically telling Brett about his grand plans for the upcoming film's climactic sequences.
He hoped to utilize the entire fleet from Fish-man Island for the production, insisting that the final decisive battle absolutely had to be spectacular and memorable.
Tesoro excitedly described his vision for the scene in the ocean depths—an epic confrontation between the defensive fleet protecting Fish-man Island and the invading armada sent by ruthless pirates seeking to conquer the underwater kingdom.
In the midst of this chaotic and explosive naval battle, the hero and heroine would penetrate deep behind enemy lines and defeat the heinous pirate commander aboard the enemy's flagship. Finally, surrounded by the constant explosions of fireworks and cannon fire, the hero and heroine would dance together to a romantic melody.
"It's going to be absolutely perfect!" Tesoro declared, completely absorbed in his narcissistic vision. "Passionate, dramatic, and extremely romantic all at the same time!"
"How romantic indeed," Brett rolled his eyes skeptically. "I won't even ask why you think a pirate ship can fire cannons while submerged underwater. But what's your reasoning for having people dance in the middle of active artillery bombardment?"
Tesoro looked at Brett with genuine disappointment and artistic frustration. "It's really sad to hear you say such pedestrian things, Brett. Although art draws inspiration from real life, it must of course transcend ordinary reality. This is what we call artistic interpretation and creative processing."
Brett didn't bother responding to such pretentious nonsense.
That's exactly what all terrible movie directors said when defending their ridiculous creative choices.
Just wait until the box office numbers slapped him in the face later.
Speaking of which, Brett wondered, did movies in this world even have traditional box office metrics?
While the two continued their casual conversation, Zephyr's sharp eyes moved from studying Brett's back to examining the sea lion itself with growing tactical interest.
It was no secret throughout the maritime world that Fish-man Island possessed a formidable sea beast army. Both mermaids and fish-men were naturally gifted at taming and commanding oceanic creatures for various purposes.
But this particular sea beast was distinctly different from typical tamed animals.
It had been extensively modified with military-grade weaponry and equipment.
There were sophisticated rocket launcher systems mounted on both sides of the creature's massive body, their metallic surfaces gleaming in the sunlight.
There were also advanced harpoon launching mechanisms positioned strategically near the sides of the beast's head, clearly designed for both offensive and defensive combat scenarios.
The sea beasts that naturally roamed these waters had been systematically transformed into highly efficient war machines through advanced engineering.
'How powerful has Fish-man Island's overall military capability become by now?' Zephyr wondered with growing concern.
He didn't dare make any definitive predictions, but what he could observe suggested their technological capabilities were probably far superior to standard navy equipment and weaponry.
But the weaponry wasn't even the most important consideration—the real concern was this particular individual!
Zephyr's analytical gaze returned to Brett's relaxed posture.
Although Brett had only exchanged a single devastating blow with Weibull during their brief encounter, even that momentary clash had been sufficient to demonstrate just how incredibly powerful this fish-man had become.
Even when faced with a genuine monster like Weibull, Brett hadn't fallen behind at all, and had actually seemed to gain a slight advantage in their collision.
Zephyr didn't want to admit the uncomfortable truth, but he was forced to acknowledge that even if Brett's current strength wasn't quite equal to his three most accomplished former disciples, the gap was probably not particularly significant anymore.
Even the World Government would be compelled to treat Fish-man Island seriously when it was commanded by someone of this caliber.
'Can the Navy still deliver the justice this man deserves for his past actions?' Zephyr wondered with growing doubt.
There was even another troubling thought beginning to form in his mind during these quiet moments.
'Was the man named Fisher Tiger really a sinner deserving of death?'
Of course, Zephyr quickly forced such dangerous thoughts from his consciousness with practiced mental discipline.
Anyone who stood as an enemy of the righteous navy was by definition evil and deserving of punishment.
The G-5 base wasn't too far from the sea region where the Kingdom of Prodence was located. Although the sea beast's swimming speed couldn't match that of merfolk and mermaids in their natural element, it was still impressively fast through ocean waters.
It took only half a day's steady travel before the massive naval installation appeared on the horizon, its imposing fortifications visible to Brett's enhanced eyesight.
"Finally reached our destination," Brett said as he stretched his arms and worked out the stiffness from the long journey. "Mr. Zephyr, it's time to say our goodbyes—"
"Hmm?"
Brett suddenly frowned and looked up at the sky with sharp attention, his instincts detecting something approaching at high speed.
Brilliant light flashed across the heavens, and in the next second that radiance descended directly onto the sea lion's head with pinpoint precision.
The light then condensed and reformed into the distinctive appearance of a particular man. He wore a yellow pinstriped suit that seemed to gleam in the sunlight, and a pair of dark sunglasses rested casually on his forehead.
Tesoro's entire demeanor immediately became serious and alert as he recognized the new arrival.
Another absolute monster had just appeared on the scene.
"Ah, Teacher Zephyr, I've never seen you in such a thoroughly miserable state before," the man said as soon as he materialized, unable to resist offering his greeting to the wounded admiral.
It should probably be considered a greeting, at least technically.
"But it's wonderful to see that you're still alive and relatively intact. I rushed here from Marine Headquarters at maximum speed without any delays," the man continued, patting his chest with what appeared to be lingering fear and concern.
"Borsalino..." Zephyr's voice was extremely cold as he spoke his former student's name.
Perhaps it was because Zephyr suspected that the reason this particular individual had rushed to the scene as quickly as possible wasn't genuine concern for his welfare, but simply an eagerness to arrive early enough to witness and mock his humiliation firsthand.
Brett speculated silently about the complex dynamics between teacher and student.
"Anyway, let's head to the G-5 base immediately to get those injuries properly treated," Kizaru suggested with apparent practicality.
Then he turned his attention to Brett with obvious interest.
Brett looked up at him with equal scrutiny.
"Ah, Brett! Thank you very much for your assistance this time," Kizaru's smile was genuinely enthusiastic and warm, completely different from Zephyr's cold and hostile attitude toward their rescuer.
"Haha, now that's exactly the right attitude," Tesoro commented with a somewhat sinister undertone. "This is precisely the attitude you should display toward someone who saved your lives."
"Hahaha," Kizaru immediately understood the implications of the comment, so he smiled diplomatically and said, "Don't worry about it. Teacher Zephyr is just a little too rigid in his thinking sometimes."
The rigidly principled Teacher Zephyr snorted coldly, not even bothering to waste words arguing with this particular former disciple.
"But Brett, we haven't seen each other for quite a long time, have we?" Kizaru continued with apparent friendliness. "I believe the last time we met was when you were working with the Science Division. It's been more than two years now, hasn't it?"
He seemed to have completely forgotten that he had been the one who ordered a Rear Admiral to keep Brett under surveillance during that period.
"I don't miss those times at all," Brett replied with casual indifference.
"Is that so?" Kizaru didn't seem bothered by the cold response. "I was very impressed by you back then. In fact, at that time, I already had a strong feeling that you would definitely achieve great things in the future."
"Now it seems my prediction was absolutely correct."
Brett felt the corner of his mouth twitch slightly. "Now that we've delivered your people safely, we'll be leaving."
There was absolutely no point in continuing this meaningless conversation with someone like Kizaru.
And honestly, prolonging this encounter felt somewhat dangerous given their complicated history.
"Eh? Why don't you stay for a meal at least? We should properly express our gratitude for what you've done," Kizaru said, looking genuinely disappointed by Brett's desire to leave so quickly.
"Borsalino, you've had quite enough of this charade!" Zephyr finally couldn't tolerate any more of the performance.
He had never been able to stand this particular former student. The man's perpetually casual demeanor made it seem like he didn't genuinely care about anything important.
"Yes, yes, I understand completely, Teacher Zephyr," Kizaru could only raise his hands in mock surrender.
After safely delivering Zephyr and the surviving marines to the G-5 base, Brett and Tesoro departed on their sea beast mount without further ceremony.
Standing on the coastal fortifications of the base, Kizaru watched the departing silhouette of the sea creature with thoughtful interest.
"It's really quite remarkable," he mused to himself. "There's nothing particularly special about his aura or presence, but he can suddenly explode with that level of devastating power. Does he really possess some technique that can completely conceal his true strength?"
"The Five Elders are going to have serious headaches over this development."
His speculation was indeed accurate. At that very moment, in MaryGeoise's Castle, an emergency meeting was taking place.
"That guy Brett actually possesses that kind of overwhelming strength?!" one of the Five Elders exclaimed in complete bewilderment.
They were totally unable to comprehend this sudden development.
Just last year, he had only been capable of matching Doflamingo in combat. How could he have become so incredibly powerful in such a short timeframe?
"The crucial question now is: what attitude should we adopt when dealing with him and Fish-man Island in the future?" Saint Mars asked with grave seriousness.
"..." The Five Elders fell into thoughtful silence as they considered the implications.
After a long pause, Saint Mars finally spoke again.
"At least this individual is currently aligned with our interests. We must demonstrate significantly more sincerity and respect in our future dealings!"
The other Five Elders nodded in agreement with this assessment.