In front of Dressrosa's port.
The Azure dragon descended, bringing Caelan and his group to the ground. Everyone landed, while the dragon continued circling in the sky.
At that moment, Magellan, Hannyabal, and others also arrived at the port with the Devil Fruits.
"Commander Caelan acted swiftly, fought a top-tier battle, and still managed to arrive with us," Magellan praised, then reported, "All 256 Devil Fruits have been safely delivered."
"Good. Thank you for your hard work."
Caelan gave the crates of Devil Fruits a quick glance and responded casually.
"It's nothing, really."
Magellan felt a bit embarrassed.
Compared to what Caelan had done, he didn't dare call it hard work.
He had traveled here under the protection of Bullet, Redfield, and the others, simply standing guard over the Devil Fruits the whole way.
Meanwhile, Caelan had fought a massive battle, killed three of the monstrous Five Elders, and used the opportunity to declare war on the world.
Compared to that, Magellan had done nothing since leaving Impel Down. Claiming hard work felt shameful.
Caelan nodded slightly and didn't dwell on it.
Behind him, Sengoku, Garp, Tsuru, Borsalino, and Aokiji all stared wide-eyed at the crates of Devil Fruits.
"256 Devil Fruits?"
"In baskets?"
"These Devil Fruits must've been his main goal in going to Impel Down."
They muttered in disbelief.
They had never seen such a sight before, Devil Fruits piled in baskets like ordinary produce. The visual impact was staggering.
Even in the Navy's treasury at Mariejois, forty-five Devil Fruits was already the maximum.
Gathering 256 was practically unimaginable.
With their experience, it wasn't hard to deduce that these had been taken from the prisoners of Impel Down.
Caelan had the terrifying ability to extract Devil Fruits from those who had already consumed them.
With these 256 Devil Fruits, the mid and upper ranks of the Neo Navy would grow exponentially.
And with Caelan's ability, the Neo Navy would never face a shortage of Devil Fruits again.
Over time, the Neo Navy could collect nearly all known Devil Fruits and gain the power to suppress every island across the sea.
True global order and the justice they longed for would finally be possible.
For a moment, Sengoku, Tsuru, and the others saw great hope, and any lingering resistance to joining the Neo Navy vanished completely.
Just then, they saw Gion, Zephyr, and other high-ranking officers of the Neo Navy approaching to greet them, along with the gorgeously dressed Robin and Nami.
Caelan walked ahead, smiling as he greeted them.
Magellan and his group walked side-by-side with Sengoku and the others, following behind Caelan.
"Haha, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, you're here too!" Magellan greeted him somewhat awkwardly.
He had joined the Neo Navy a bit too quickly, and now it was awkward facing his former superior.
"Magellan, do your best in the Neo Navy from now on."
Sengoku was just as awkward.
He, the former fleet admiral, had defected too, only to meet his own subordinate who had jumped ship before him.
It was a complicated feeling.
But the more embarrassing moment was yet to come.
Caelan shook hands with Zephyr, Binz, and others who came to greet him, then hugged Gion, Nami, and the other girls one by one.
Zephyr didn't interrupt Caelan's personal matters, as he had more important business.
"Haha! Sengoku, Garp, you old fossils are finally here!"
"And Tsuru, long time no see!"
Zephyr strode toward them laughing heartily.
Tall and energetic, he radiated presence with every step.
Behind him followed a group of vibrant, full-of-life students led by Binz and Ain.
He had come prepared to show off and tease his old friend.
"This old guy…"
Sengoku immediately turned his head away, refusing to look at Zephyr's smug expression.
He knew Zephyr wouldn't miss this chance to mock him.
Still, he was surprised to see Zephyr's arm had fully recovered and that he now looked like a man in his prime.
"Haha, you're looking great!" Garp gave his old friend a big bear hug without hesitation.
At this moment, he felt especially close to Zephyr.
Zephyr had not taken part in Ace's execution, so Garp could relax around him.
Although the others had done nothing wrong, it would take time for Garp to truly accept them again.
"You still hold it against Sengoku, but it wasn't his fault I left the Navy," Tsuru added as she gently hugged Zephyr. "After you left, Sengoku killed Weevil and avenged you."
"I know." Zephyr gave Sengoku a glance and laughed loudly. "I just wanted to see him embarrassed!"
Of course he knew Whitebeard Jr. had been killed by Sengoku. His grudge had faded long ago.
But since they were old friends, he had to mess with him a little.
"This old man really doesn't know his place anymore."
Sengoku clenched his fists, feeling a little indignant.
So what if Zephyr joined a few days earlier? It wasn't a big deal!
If he had joined when Zephyr did, he would definitely be more respected now.
Zephyr, reading his expression, laughed even harder.
Borsalino and Aokiji then stepped forward to shake Zephyr's hand.
"You two finally chose the right path. Commander Caelan is far more dependable than a certain Fleet Admiral," Zephyr said while patting their shoulders. "Work hard in the Neo Navy and don't embarrass me."
Neither of them dared say anything back. They simply nodded.
"We'll follow Commander Caelan's lead and do our best in the Neo Navy."
Then they quickly changed the topic.
"Zephyr-sensei, your hand and your body…"
"Yes. Thanks to Commander Caelan's help, I've regained my peak condition," Zephyr replied, proudly flexing his recovered right arm.
"Look at Commander Caelan! Unlike some people who forgot all about me just because I got old!"
Even now, Zephyr didn't forget to jab at Sengoku with his sarcasm.
Sengoku's face turned blue with rage.
Aokiji and Borsalino couldn't handle the back-and-forth, so they changed the subject again.
Zephyr, no longer targeting them, moved toward the final event of the day.
He patted Sengoku on the shoulder with emotion.
"If it weren't for you, Sengoku, I would've stayed in the Navy. Then I would've ended up on Commander Caelan's bad side."
What he meant, of course, was that the Navy was viewed as an accomplice of the Pirate King and the World Government. Caelan wasn't wrong in saying that.
Sengoku's face turned purple with rage, fists clenching tightly.
Zephyr pointed at the crowd of Neo Navy rear admirals and vice admirals behind him with pride.
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be where I am now. Just look at my students. They're all upholding real justice!"
The meaning was obvious: the Navy under Sengoku's leadership couldn't compare to the Neo Navy Zephyr had built.
Sengoku's face flushed red as he growled, "Zephyr, don't get so cocky!"
"I quit as Chief Inspector!"
"I want to be a Neo Navy admiral. I'll definitely surpass you, old man!"
At this point, saving face was irrelevant. What mattered was beating Zephyr's arrogance.
"Haha! You could never beat me!" Zephyr boomed. "I work sixteen hours a day without pay. What can you do to top that?"
Sengoku went crazy. "Then I'll work eighteen hours a day, and I don't want any pay either!"
Tsuru, Aokiji, and Borsalino all sighed while holding back laughter.
Meanwhile, Zephyr's students looked just as helpless.
In that moment, Tsuru, Aokiji, and Borsalino found themselves connecting with the students on the other side.
The awkwardness of joining the Neo Navy vanished without a trace.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)