On the main battleship of Zephyr's fleet—
"Teacher! Thank you so much!"
Vice Admiral Doll, accompanied by Rear Admirals Gruss and Peacock, boarded Zephyr's warship with visible relief. Her voice trembled with gratitude.
For days, she had secretly requested reinforcements from Vice Admiral Garp and Vice Admiral Tsuru's protégé, Taotu (Peach Rabbit), but the orders from the Five Elders had blocked every attempt. Surrounded by countless pirate forces and pressured by the lurking might of the Arlong Legion, she'd nearly lost all hope.
Fortunately, Staff Officer Tsuru had urgently dispatched Instructor Zephyr—who had been en route to G1 Headquarters—to reinforce G14 Fortress. Without him, they would've been forced to fight to the death for justice's glory.
"You're all my students. How could this old man bear to see you die for nothing?" Zephyr's deep voice softened as he smiled kindly at them. Doll, skilled in both close combat and Haki, was one of his brightest pupils—second only to Peach Rabbit.
He was proud of her. And with Peacock being Tsuru's granddaughter, the rescue mission had been worth every risk.
Peacock and Gruss, young and restless, were the kind of Marines who had their own ideals about justice. Zephyr had once hoped to bring them into his own squad, but Headquarters had secretly formed the covert SWORD unit—Marines authorized to hunt pirates freely.
That philosophy was… eerily close to Zephyr's idea of a "New Navy."
Under Sengoku and Tsuru's watchful eyes, he had no choice but to let two of his most promising seedlings go.
"Faster! Row faster—come on!"
Binz and Gruss shouted orders from the rear, fending off pursuing pirates as sailors strained at the oars. The chasing crews had lost most of their bite, but there was still one terrifying threat looming—the Arlong Legion.
"Hmph! Once I get stronger, I'll take down a few of those Arlong officers myself."
Commodore Shuzo scowled, irritated by the tension that clung to the deck like fog. They were Marines of justice, yet everyone flinched at the mere mention of Arlong's name.
"Don't be stupid," Ain muttered with a sigh. "The Arlong Legion isn't something we can handle now. They're even stronger than the Four Emperors' crews. Some say they could take on two of them at once."
Her words left a chill in the air. The Legion's power had reached a level reminiscent of the Rocks Pirates—the once-unchallenged rulers of the New World.
"Those idiots in the World Government… they created that monster, Souta Kiryuu," Shuzo growled. "If I ever meet those scientists, I'll—"
His voice cut off. His eyes went wide, staring at the sky.
Ain, Binz, and Gruss turned to follow his gaze—and froze. Black dots speckled the distant clouds, rapidly growing larger.
"Oh no… the Arlong Air Fleet! They're here!" Binz shouted. Panic rippled through the entire fleet.
Even the pirates chasing them began to howl in excitement at the sight of the incoming fleet. With this new apex predator arriving, the Marines had nowhere to run.
Zephyr's expression hardened. They'd been caught.
The air fleet's speed and altitude gave them complete dominance. Escape was impossible.
"Each of you, take command of a ship and scatter," Zephyr ordered. "I'll hold them off."
"When you leave, discard your uniforms and the cloak of justice. Hide your ranks. Survive."
"You are the future of the Navy."
He made his decision in seconds. His dream of building a New Navy and completing his revenge would have to wait. The next generation couldn't die here.
Even if he had to.
"Teacher…"
Many of the younger officers choked up. Zephyr, a man without any Devil Fruit powers, still had the strength to escape through the sea… but he refused to run.
"This is an order!" Zephyr roared. "Stop crying and move! Now!"
Under his furious command, even those who wished to stay and fight were forced to obey. Of forty warships, twenty or thirty scattered, each trying to flee in a different direction.
Zephyr remained behind with a handful of ships, unleashing his Haki like a storm—challenging the entire Arlong Legion and every pirate fleet on the sea.
If his death could draw their attention away, it was worth it.
After all, killing one Marine Instructor and former Admiral was a far greater prize than crushing a few lower officers.
Aboard the main airship, Ark Veritas—
"Well, that's unexpected," Souta Kiryuu murmured. "They didn't even try to fight back. Scattered already. That's going to be a pain."
He hadn't expected Zephyr to make such a ruthless decision.
"Hancock. Kuma. Moria. Law. Lafitte."
"You'll each take a detachment of Seraphim and hunt down the gifted officers among them. Zephyr's mine."
Souta smiled faintly as he issued the order. If the Marines could divide their forces, so could he.
The lieutenants obeyed immediately, boarding their airships and fanning out to hunt. Hancock and Kuma, masters of Observation Haki, quickly locked onto ships carrying strong presences.
From below, Zephyr watched the fleet split apart and ground his teeth in fury.
Why must they be slaughtered to the last?
Those were just young, untested Marines—barely adults.
Souta Kiryuu, the so-called liberator of slaves and enemy of the Celestial Dragons, wasn't sparing anyone today. Even the righteous were prey.
Above the clouds, Souta's body shifted—massive, draconic, cold-eyed. He hovered over Zephyr's ship, studying the old warrior with something like respect.
He admired him, honestly. But ideals didn't matter anymore. They stood on opposite sides of the world.
If he could, Souta wouldn't kill Zephyr. He'd capture him—perhaps one day, when his new order was established, the old Marine would see the truth and lend his strength again.
The same went for Fujitora. Men like them—driven by true justice—wanted the world to change.
As the Arlong Legion descended on Zephyr's fleet and G14 Fortress, war ignited on another front—at G18.
The Navy's main fleet had finally arrived, but Barrett and Enel, those reckless monsters, refused to retreat.
Still, Shiryuu of the Rain dealt a crushing blow to Lucky Roux, and even Shanks himself had been wounded by Kaido and Barrett.
Every Red-Haired officer was injured to some degree. Shanks knew the battle was lost. There would be no alliance with the Marines today.
All he could do was save his crew.
Determined, Shanks dashed forward, drawing Kaido and Barrett toward the Navy's line. If anyone could handle those brutes, it was Aokiji Kuzan and Garp the Fist.
He'd turned the chaos to his favor—letting one disaster swallow another.