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Marineford, Marine Headquarters…
Fleet Admiral Kong was scolding Zephyr when he received a call from the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
After hanging up, Kong let out a heavy sigh.
'Just as I thought,' he muttered to himself. 'The Celestial Dragons getting beaten into such a state without explanation... this is going to be a nightmare until CP-0's investigation yields results!'
Fleet Admiral Kong donned his Justice cloak and prepared to head to the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
"Fleet Admiral, may I accompany you?" Zephyr volunteered eagerly.
"Absolutely not!" Kong raised his hand to stop him, snapping irritably, "Get back to the training camp and go bully the recruits! If I let you stay here any longer, you'll tear down Marine Headquarters!"
Taking that bastard Zephyr to the Holy Land? Who knows what he'd do to shed his Admiral title, something completely out of line, I bet.
Before departing, Fleet Admiral Kong told Sengoku, "Let's put your proposal regarding Giorno and Jolyne Cujoh on hold for now."
"...That's all we can do," Sengoku sighed, helpless. Who could have predicted this mess?
Fleet Admiral Kong hastily boarded a Battleship and set course for Mary Geoise.
Meanwhile, a dog-headed Battleship slowly docked at the naval port. Vice Admiral Garp had returned.
His Justice coat billowed straight behind him as Garp strode purposefully toward Sengoku and Zephyr, who were discussing the situation while walking. Having heard about the events at Sabaody Archipelago, he moved with his characteristic thunderous pace.
"Ha ha ha!" Garp slapped Zephyr on the shoulder with a hearty laugh. "I heard you gave the Celestial Dragons a good beating?"
"Who told you that?!" Sengoku snapped, his face reddening with anger.
Zephyr brushed Garp's hand away, grumbling, "Close enough."
"Huh?" Sengoku glared at Zephyr in frustration, his mind racing through the Admiral's after-action report. A sudden realization dawned on him, and he gritted his teeth. "Giorno's shockwave... You deliberately didn't block it completely, letting the residual force hit the Celestial Dragons, didn't you?"
Zephyr patted Sengoku's shoulder. "Such a rare opportunity, the first I've seen in decades. Naturally, I couldn't let it slip by."
Sengoku wanted to punch both of these idiots.
"Wahaha ha ha ha ha! That was brilliant!" Garp roared with laughter, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes. "Those Celestial Dragon pigs deserve a good thrashing!"
"Garp!!" Sengoku bellowed, cutting off their politically incorrect remarks. "Don't forget, you two are…"
"I'm not an Admiral anyway," Garp said, looking utterly innocent.
"You might as well strip me of my Admiral title!" Zephyr declared even more bluntly. "I'd rather be a recruit in a branch office."
"You two..." Sengoku's headache intensified. "Zephyr, you know that's impossible."
"Fine, let's drop it then," Garp said, clapping Sengoku on the shoulder and giving Zephyr a thumbs-up.
A vein throbbed on Sengoku's forehead. 'At least give him the thumbs-up when I'm not looking!'
Just as he was about to scold them, Garp suddenly turned serious. "Rayleigh is on Sabaody?"
"Exactly," Zephyr said. "The old geezer hasn't lost any of his edge!"
Sengoku rubbed his temples and sighed. "Back when Roger was executed, we tracked down the remnants of the Pirate King's crew. It was the two of you who defeated 'Dark King' together... I thought he had died in some corner of the sea. I never imagined he could survive such severe injuries."
"Not only did he survive, but he's been living quite comfortably right under the Marine Headquarters' noses," Zephyr snorted coldly.
Garp said, "When it comes to capturing a legendary pirate like that, if we miss our first chance, we're unlikely to get a second..."
Sengoku sighed deeply in agreement. "Without a meticulously planned operation, a rash attempt to capture Rayleigh at Sabaody Archipelago would only result in pointless casualties and destruction."
"And we might not even catch him," Garp chuckled.
"Rayleigh has teamed up with Giorno now..." Sengoku shook his head. "What power did Giorno use this time? The Impact Fruit? He must have stolen it from Haiyna's Four Knights... No one knows how many different Devil Fruit abilities that guy has hidden up his sleeve. With his help, finding Rayleigh on the Sabaody Archipelago will be like climbing the heavens!"
Garp, uninterested in Devil Fruits, slung an arm around Zephyr's shoulder and asked, "What about that brat Giorno's Haki...?"
Garp, Zephyr, Sengoku.
Three legendary Marines strolled through Marine Headquarters, discussing legendary matters. Along the way, the Marines immediately halted, snapped to attention, and saluted, their eyes filled with reverence as they watched the trio's receding figures.
...
Sabaody Archipelago, Zone 13…
Shakky's Rip-off Bar
"You should know that 'Black Arm' Zephyr hasn't killed a single pirate or criminal in all these years..."
The silver-haired elder, clad in sandals, pushed open the door of the modest treehouse bar and addressed the two who entered with him. "Given this, what attitude do you think he might hold toward the Celestial Dragons?"
Robin placed Vane in her backpack and casually slung it over her shoulder. "The Marines... could they also be hostile toward the Celestial Dragons?"
"Everyone's human," Rayleigh replied. "Zephyr and his comrades just happen to be Marines."
"Whether they're villains or heroes, everyone hates useless trash after all. Understood." Liam nodded. "So... when Zephyr blocked my Impact Fruit attack, he intentionally held back a little?"
"You dare underestimate me? Very well, I'll remember this!"
A hand covered in flame-like patterns reached out from behind to strike, but Liam slapped it away with a sharp smack.
Robin glanced behind the bar of the small tavern. A woman with short black hair suddenly straightened up, a cigarette dangling from her lips and a bruised and swollen Robust Man dangling from her hand.
"Rare indeed, you've brought me customers," Shakky remarked casually, tossing the fool who tried to run a tab in her establishment out the door.
Rayleigh waved dismissively and settled onto a stool at the bar.
Shakky deftly opened a bottle of wine, poured a splash into a glass, and slid it across the bar to Rayleigh.
She exhaled a puff of smoke, leaned against the back edge of the bar, and grinned at Liam and Robin. "Jolyne Cujoh, Giorno Giovanna... What'll you have?"
Rayleigh drained his glass in one gulp. Robin and Liam took seats beside him. Liam glanced up at the wall lined with liquor bottles and asked cheerfully, "Do you have flower milk tea?"
"Heh..." Shakky chuckled, offering no further comment as she turned to prepare drinks.
Robin noticed a newspaper lying on the bar, looking fresh and recent, perhaps even today's edition.
The front-page headline photo immediately captured her attention, and she couldn't resist picking it up.
"Oh?" Rayleigh, who was sipping his drink, glanced over and exclaimed in surprise, "What a beautiful young girl!"
Shakky, who was pouring milk into her hot drink and had a cigarette dangling from her lips, glanced back and remarked with a smile, "Laut. Haiyna has been stripped of his Shichibukai title. Almost simultaneously, a new female Shichibukai has emerged..."
Liam joined Robin in examining the newspaper.
"Well, who can blame them? She's too stunning. I'm already a fan."
Shakky quickly brewed a cup of milk tea, even plucking two petals from a vase to garnish the drink before pushing it across the bar to Liam.
B.I.B. stood behind Robin and Liam, his narrow eyes peering over their shoulders at the front-page photo of the newspaper.
"A New Oka Shichibukai! Emperor "Snake Princess" Boa Hancock from the Women's Kingdom!"
The vibrant color photo, nearly half the newspaper's size, showed Hancock turning her breathtakingly beautiful face sideways, winking seductively while pressing a slender, ivory-like finger to her soft, rosy lips as she blew a kiss... It was almost as if one could see the red heart she blew into the air, floating off the page...
"Who is she blowing a kiss to? Even as a woman, I can't help but envy whoever it's for..." Shakky chuckled, a cigarette between her fingers, her gaze slowly shifting from Robin behind the newspaper to the black battle armor behind her and Liam. "You two, would you like something to drink?"
(End Of This Chapter)