"Sorry, can you say that one more time? No, I'm not doubting you. It just sounded so unreal that I thought I heard it wrong."
In the North Blue, in Spider Miles.
Inside the hideout of the Donquixote Pirates, who were quietly growing their power, Donquixote Doflamingo—the captain of the crew—showed a rare look of surprise.
Buena Festa, the crew's adviser, listened behind him with the same stunned face.
"Yeah, sure. I've been doubting my own eyes again and again too," a gruff voice replied.
On the other end of the transponder snail was Shiki the Golden Lion.
A great pirate they had managed to form an alliance with through Buena Festa's connections.
"The Navy is attacking Kuro."
But the voice coming from the snail was filled with confusion, something unfitting for a great pirate.
Even Buena Festa, listening nearby, had his mouth hanging open in shock.
"I'm checking with the farthest telescope I've got here, and I can barely see it, but Kuro and Kizaru are fighting. Yeah… of course, I'm watching from high up. I doubt they'll notice me, and even if they do, Kizaru's pretty beat up, so he won't be catching me anytime soon…"
"Beh-he-he-he-he! You got betrayed, you got betrayed, 'Black Cat'! What now, Doffy? What now, Doffy!?" Trebol cackled, mucus dripping from his nose.
Ignoring Trebol's laughter, Doflamingo slowly shifted from his shocked expression to a deep frown.
"Festa, got any idea what's going on?"
"No. I was actually about to ask you that, Mister."
Scratching his fluffy afro, Buena Festa set down his drink and glared at the map.
It wasn't a map of the North Blue.
It was a map of the West Blue, where trouble was supposed to break out soon.
"From the info we gathered, the government planned to use the Mopuchi Country royals—those freed from slavery because of Kuro's request—to recognize Kuro's territory as part of the Kanan Kingdom under the World Government. They were going to lock things in place and slowly drag 'Black Cat' into their side."
Festa tapped the table. "If he refused, they'd label him an enemy of the government and drag the people into it. If he accepted, he'd be chained. That was the plan… And yeah, it made sense. No pirate has ever had their crimes forgiven and then become king of a country, but it wasn't a bad idea. I even thought it was clever."
Doflamingo stuffed some food into his mouth, chewed a few times, swallowed, and stared at the map that marked Kuro's known territory—including Mopuchi—with red circles.
"And yet they suddenly chose to take him out? Right after he helped defend the Holy Land? Normally that makes no sense. If there is a reason… Mister, I'm guessing it's your family."
"It's not impossible. I do have something in mind… something… but if that were it, they would've moved much earlier… yeah…"
Donquixote Doflamingo—head of the Donquixote Pirates, and without a doubt a man born into a noble bloodline—narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses.
"What about the ones we put under watch?" Doflamingo asked.
"They're scattered just like we thought. If things keep going this way, the plan will go smoothly… so what now?" Pica, the huge man with the strangely high voice, asked the question.
Doflamingo and Festa exchanged looks.
Then Doflamingo gripped the receiver of the transponder snail again.
"Golden Lion, no changes to the plan. You should hide for now before this mess drags you in."
"…Kid, you think this will get rough?" Shiki asked, intrigue coloring his tone.
"If you mean rougher than expected, then yes."
"Ji-ha-ha-ha-ha! Sounds great! Perfect way to start the show!!"
Hearing Shiki's laugh, Doflamingo finally let out a small laugh too.
"Well, it looks like Kuro wanted to form some kind of stable relationship with the government, but he failed. And the ones they sent after him were a Marine Headquarters Admiral-level force. They must really see him as a problem now…"
"The government messed up by splitting their forces. There's more than enough room for him to break through. Fufufu…"
"Hey… he'll break past this again, right?" Shiki asked.
"You could—"
"You could…"
–
"Alright, we're almost at the enemy ship! Get ready to board!!"
Zephyr had been forced to understand just how different this pirate named Kuro was from all other pirates.
The moment the charge began, two enemy sub-fleets moved quickly and opened fire, blocking their path. Because of this, the three Navy battleships following Zephyr ended up far behind.
True, all three ships carried extra government personnel, but the ones commanding them were Zephyr's own elite—men he had trained himself.
Yet even so, they had been slowed and pushed off course. From this alone, Zephyr could see how skilled the enemy sub-fleet commanders were, and how strong and disciplined their troops must be.
…Kika and Troy, huh. I see. Yes… their personalities were total opposites, but both were excellent students. After seeing their work in the district, I planned to recommend them to Headquarters if there were no issues… and now… now look at this…
As a Marine, it was natural for Zephyr to check the enemy pirate ships while passing by the ships he had assigned to follow.
And it was also natural to attack, to sink at least one ship and make victory certain.
He launched a ranged strike with his Haki-covered fist.
An enemy elite canceled it with a Haki-coated directional shockwave—an attack equal in strength to a Haki blade.
It was something only a few Marines could do, yet these three did it together. It shocked Zephyr, and at the same time filled him with pride, sadness… and a quiet, bitter emptiness.
They should have become powerful forces within the Navy.
No—could he have trained them into soldiers that strong?
Why had the future, where they might have fought side by side as allies, drifted so far away?
"Keep their elite in check! Prepare to fire—"
Just as he started to order cannon fire to keep the Guard suppressed, a loud blast shook the deck.
The three cannons at the bow—meant to fire while chasing fleeing pirates—had been sliced off.
The same had happened to the cannons on both sides.
"…So you came from that direction," Zephyr murmured, looking at the intruders.
"Our supplies will get tight if we keep having pointless fights like this. We can't let you damage our ships more than needed,"
Before he knew it, a boy stood there.
Before he knew it, familiar faces surrounded him.
Those who were serious but lacked ambition, those who had been troublemakers, those who were eager but hard to teach because of their instincts, and those he had judged unfit for combat…
All of them stood on this Navy ship as warriors.
—As enemies.
"Surrender, 'Steel Blade.' We don't plan to hand you to the government. We want to protect you within the Navy if we can," Zephyr offered, his voice strained.
"If that were truly possible, we would not have fallen into this situation in the first place."
A harsh answer from a pirate who should still be young enough to show childishness.
Zephyr opened his mouth to speak again, but—
"In any case, surrendering is impossible for us."
"When our leader is away, there is no way the hands and feet will give up on their own."
Each one of them was reaching a level equal to a Headquarters officer—some even nearing Vice Admiral class.
"Guard, draw your blades," Daz commanded.
"All units, battle ready!!" Zephyr roared back.
"Let's go."
"Charge!!!"
--
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