"They won't be after the war. It would be best if these pirates were wiped out in this battle. The only pity is that they didn't manage to wear down the Marines' strength a bit more," Modi said with some regret.
"Modi, he doesn't really care about those pirates. He's just itching for a fight," Wiper calmly exposed Enel's true thoughts from the side.
Enel chuckled. "You know me best. I really want to fight Admiral Zephyr."
"You're no match for an Admiral right now. Don't go looking for a beating," Modi said flatly.
Enel retorted, a little unconvinced, "I'm just trying to gain experience. With enough experience, I'll be able to take down an Admiral sooner or later."
"Look, there's a group of Fish-Men swimming this way," Wiper said suddenly.
"Those must be the Fish-Men from the Black Shark Pirates. We can't let them see us standing by and doing nothing." Modi turned to Bege. "Bege, it's time to make our move."
"Alright, let's go then." Bege took off his sunglasses, stood up, and walked to the bow. Enel vaulted down, landing behind him.
The Sky God suddenly expanded, returning to its original size, and surged through the waves, charging toward the battlefield at an incredible speed.
The Fire Tank Pirates were the Emperor-level crew assigned to deal with the forces on Promin Island for this operation. Originally, Bege had wanted to go to the Marine base guarded by Akainu to get his revenge.
However, the Big Mom Pirates had moved first. Big Mom had deliberately taken the mission against Akainu; she knew about the grudge between him and Bege and intentionally denied Bege the chance for vengeance, purely to spite him.
For the sake of the bigger picture, Bege had no choice but to come here and deal with Zephyr.
Naturally, the first to spot the Sky God were Morton and his men, who were closest.
"It's the Sky God! The Fire Tank Pirates have finally arrived!" Morton's face lit up with joy.
"Captain, are we still retreating?" a Fish-Man asked.
"Retreat, my ass! Get back there! With the Fire Tank Pirates making a move, they'll definitely be able to handle Zephyr. We'll follow behind and see if we can pick up some scraps. My entire fleet is gone! If we don't get something out of this, how are we supposed to keep our footing in the New World?" Morton cursed.
"Dive! Back to the battlefield! We can't let the Sky God see us running away!" Morton plunged back into the sea, and his group of Fish-Men followed close behind.
The Sky God charged into the battlefield, where over a dozen pirate ships were on fire and sinking, with hundreds of pirates crying for help in the water.
"Whoa, this Zephyr is still as strong as ever, even in his old age. He took out more than ten pirate ships all by himself. I reckon if we hadn't shown up, the last few would've been sunk too," Wiper commented.
"He's an Admiral from the same era as Garp, after all. It's not surprising he's this strong," Modi said calmly.
Bege, a cigar in his mouth, stared at Zephyr on the distant warship. Although Zephyr was old now and his strength had greatly declined, he was still on the level of an Admiral.
As the Sky God entered the fray with its imposing presence, Zephyr naturally noticed it at once and ceased his attacks.
"Instructor, it's the Fire Tank Pirates! We're outnumbered right now; we can't fight them head-on," Onigumo said gravely, walking over with a pale face.
"Understood. Rescue the Marines who fell overboard and prepare to retreat. I'll hold off the Fire Tank Pirates," Zephyr said in a low voice.
He grabbed a piece of a broken wooden plank, threw it out, and then leaped onto it. As soon as the plank hit the water, it shot forward across the surface at an astonishing speed.
"Hurry, organize the rescue! We need to retreat quickly!" Onigumo yelled urgently. He was well aware of the Fire Tank Pirates' power. Their victory at Fear Island had made them legendary; their strength was definitely at the Admiral level. Furthermore, their crew was filled with powerful fighters. If the entire Fire Tank crew was present, Zephyr definitely wouldn't be able to hold them off for long. They had no time to waste.
As Zephyr rode the plank across the sea, the water's surface suddenly churned, and a massive waterspout erupted from the sea, crashing down on him.
Zephyr raised his fist and blew the waterspout apart.
One by one, Fish-Men leaped out of the water and charged at him. Morton surfaced, and the surrounding seawater coalesced into a pack of black sharks that lunged forward to bite.
"Get out of my way!" Zephyr's brow furrowed. He threw a punch, and the powerful pressure sent the attacking Fish-Men flying. The lunging black sharks all exploded at nearly the same time.
His Armament Haki had long since reached an advanced level, just a step below the very top. His ability to attack from a distance was formidable.
Even Morton was blasted back into the sea by the force of the punch without being touched.
He had wanted to show off his strength in front of Bege, but he had overplayed his hand and underestimated Zephyr's power.
"Stop the ship," Bege said softly. His voice reached the ears of the men operating the power system, and the Sky God quickly slowed to a halt.
Zephyr's plank came to a stop just thirty meters from the Sky God. With a push of his foot, he brought it to a sudden stop.
Bege leaped down from his ship, hardening the space beneath his feet and walking down step by step.
Zephyr frowned and said gravely, "Demon Dragon, you can go no further. Please leave."
"Do you think you can stop us all by yourself?" Bege asked coolly.
The corner of Zephyr's mouth twitched into a smile. "Brat, do you think you can look down on everyone just because you've become an Emperor-level crew? When I was sailing the four seas, I took down Emperors too."
"Took down? Heh, aren't you the Marine who doesn't kill?" Bege chuckled. Throughout his life, Zephyr had fought countless pirates but had never killed a single one, earning him that nickname.
Zephyr's face instantly darkened.
He had never killed a pirate in his life, yet his entire family had been slaughtered by them, leaving him all alone in his old age. To Zephyr, this title was not a compliment but a deep, cutting mockery.
"Angry? Good. Your greatest weakness is that you're too merciful. Mercy isn't wrong, but it depends on the person. In this sea, many pirates are ungrateful wretches, villains, demons. If you don't kill them, they won't remember your kindness," Bege said with a light laugh.
"That's why I've already shed that title," Zephyr said, his face impassive. A strong killing intent shot from his cold eyes.
"I could see the killing intent in your attacks just now. However, I don't want to discuss this with you. The reason I'm speaking to you so calmly right now is that I want to invite you to join the Fire Tank Pirates," Bege said.
"What?" Zephyr's eyebrow shot up.
"Godfather, what's gotten into you? That's a former Marine Admiral! Inviting a Marine Admiral to join a pirate crew... Did I hear that right?" Enel was dumbfounded. It wasn't just him; everyone was stunned. Even Zephyr himself was completely baffled.
"What did you just say?" Zephyr asked again in disbelief.
Bege smiled and repeated with a sincere tone, "I want to invite you to join my pirate crew."
Zephyr burst out laughing. "That's a really funny joke."
"I'm not joking. I am seriously inviting you," Bege said, looking at Zephyr calmly, without a hint of jest on his face.