"Damn, why are the Navy here?"
"Damn, why are there pirates here?"
The two thoughts simultaneously crossed the minds of both sides. The pirates were, of course, members of the Hundred Beasts who had ventured deep here, while the Navy was sent by the World Government to capture Bullet.
Their identities were members of the second batch of recruits led by Zephyr.
The training camp, personally led by Zephyr, lasted for one year because Zephyr couldn't handle all the basic training for the Navy.
Those who came here had completed basic training and were about to join the forces, or were members with outstanding performance coming here for advanced training, similar to a pre-exam intensive class. They had already undergone several selections before entering here.
Basic physical training could be done by anyone, so there was no need to waste his energy. Those tasks were left to his vice partners and other instructors.
Sakazuki and Borsalino were graduates of the first batch. At this time, Zephyr had already begun teaching the second batch of recruits, and capturing Bullet was their graduation internship.
Gray had described Bullet's strength, so the Navy believed that Zephyr's recruit camp was sufficient to complete this mission.
Although Zephyr had stepped down from the position of Admiral, retaining only his rank, his strength remained. Moreover, he wasn't solely responsible for training new recruits; assessments like this graduation mission were occasions for him to carry out tasks.
In the training camp, aside from ordinary excellent Navy members, elite officers from around the world and newly recruited monsters underwent intensive training.
Whether it was the Three Great Admirals from Aokiji's period or the later elite Vice Admirals, almost all were early trainees of Zephyr's training camp.
Overall, the strength of the training camp wasn't weak.
However, they underestimated Bullet's strength. Facing the encirclement led by Zephyr, Bullet successfully escaped, turning their task from capturing Bullet into a rescue mission for the locals.
This wasn't a member country, so the Navy wasn't obligated to rescue, but commanders out in the field had the authority to order their subordinates to do such things, thus commencing a rescue operation.
The Navy arrived earlier and had already penetrated the heart of the country. The Hundred Beasts came late, leading them to encounter each other from both sides.
The pirates didn't expect the presence of the Navy here, so they immediately called their companions for help, and the Navy, surprised by the pirates' involvement in the rescue, hurried over upon hearing the call.
They pointed guns at each other, neither daring to act rashly; any gunfire would result in mutual destruction.
This small-scale standoff ended with a child's cries emerging from the rubble, prompting a Navy medic to tend to the wounded.
Seeing no intent of obstruction from the pirates, they began to gradually retreat, increasing the distance until both sides hid behind cover.
"What's with these pirates? They're rescuing people?"
"Perhaps they've grown a conscience. Go inform instructor Zephyr and prepare to capture them."
"Is that okay... they're rescuing people too..."
"You're only seeing them rescue people; you have no idea how many they've killed elsewhere. We can overlook this moment, but we can't ignore these pirates."
Whether it be the past Zephyr, who adhered strictly to the no-kill ideology, or the current Zephyr, he wouldn't ignore pirates. Under his teaching, it was natural for his trainees to feel the same. They might be good people, but being wanted pirates was reason enough for the Navy to capture them.
The Navy recruits turned to inform Zephyr of the situation here, while the pirates made similar moves.
"Brother King, it's bad news. There are Navy troops on this island, and quite a number of them."
"Understood. You withdraw to the vicinity of the ships first."
King on the other end of the Radio Snail wasn't startled since he had already disposed of several Navy personnel around him, staying close to Arceus. Compared to ordinary members, he had ventured deeper and naturally encountered these Navy forces.
"Lord Sacred Beast, have you discovered anything new?"
"No, it seems it's not on this island. We should leave now."
"You go first; I'll catch up after I deal with them."
"Don't joke around; you're no match for that guy."
Regular Navy personnel in the training camp weren't any match for King. There was no future Admiral among them, but Zephyr was present here. At this point, King was no match for Zephyr. Attempting to block Zephyr would mean no return.
"Let's go; he won't catch up."
With that, Arceus turned around and left. He wasn't afraid of an Admiral, but there was no point in fighting. The object he sought wasn't here, and a battle would be meaningless.
Nothing would come from it but wasted time—even a beast wouldn't engage in pointless battles, let alone him.
King had absolute faith in Arceus's words. Since he said Zephyr wouldn't catch up, it was certain he wouldn't. So, he immediately followed Arceus and left.
Watching the pirates blatantly ignore them and leave, alongside a few Navy personnel lying unknown on the ground, Zephyr instinctively wanted to give chase, but as he took the first step, a sense of danger surged in his mind.
He took a step back, and at that instant, flames shot up into the sky, engulfing Zephyr and the surrounding Navy in a massive fire tornado.
The flames soared to the sky; even King from the Lunarians Race felt a sense of heat as he gazed back, only to witness the blazing inferno.
"What's the matter? It's just a fire vortex; Shaina can do that, you've seen it."
The fire vortex, although not exceedingly powerful, was highly persistent and excelled in entrapment. King had witnessed Shaina's fire vortex, but its size was only enough to torch Queen.
However, the fire tornado unleashed by Arceus was of a catastrophic magnitude, entrapping Zephyr within a giant fiery cyclone, causing the surrounding land to crack.
While it clearly was fire, there was an unusual power within it, not only raising the temperature but also imbued with a peculiar toughness. His fists pounding against it felt like they vanished into thin air, all the force absorbed.
When his trainees arrived nearby, they only saw the colossal fire vortex and Zephyr, who had just been dug out from the earth.
The flames seemed to have their own foundation; he had to dig deep to find a place without fire, carving out a tunnel with his bare hands.
The cost he paid was facial hair. His hair, eyelashes, eyebrows, and beard all fell victim to the high temperature, leaving him completely bald.
"Teacher Zephyr, should we now..."
"Continue rescuing people, save the wounded."
King and the others were long gone. Choosing whether to waste time in pursuit or to continue rescuing the local residents, Zephyr chose the latter.