Chapter 83: The Field Mission Ends
Weevil's mangled remains lay scattered in the deep crater, his bisento shattered.
The air was thick with the smell of scorched earth and blood. With that one punch, the monster known as "Whitebeard Jr." was finished.
Bakkin stood frozen, her small body trembling violently. Her broken sunglasses lay at her feet, revealing ancient, bloodshot eyes that had lost their focus.
"Weevil... is dead?" she muttered. Her face twisted into a grotesque mask of rage. "Whitebeard's treasure... my plan... It's all ruined!!"
"AAAAAAAH!!!"
She let out a hysterical shriek and ripped a black smoke bomb from her leopard-print coat.
"BANG!!"
Thick, acrid smoke instantly swallowed the battlefield, choking the air.
"Stay sharp!" Zoro roared, as he, Ain, and Binz went back-to-back in a defensive triangle.
"The old hag isn't just running," Ain said, her eyes scanning the smoke.
"She's trying to attack!" Binz whispered, his vines spreading out across the ground to feel for movement.
In the smoke, Bakkin, now completely insane, raised a strange, ornate pistol. A bizarre, purple light gathered at its muzzle.
"If Weevil is dead... YOU CAN ALL DIE WITH HIM!!"
"DIE, YOU MARINE BRATS!!!"
She aimed straight at the unconscious Luffy and pulled the trigger!
"BANG!"
The purple bullet tore through the smoke, a ghostly streak aimed right at Luffy's heart!
"LUFFY!!" Ace screamed, his eyes wide with terror, but he was too weak from his Haki outburst to move.
"YOU BASTARD!! STOP!!" Zephyr roared from the distance, already charging, but he was too far!
It was too late.
Just as the bullet was about to hit Luffy's heart—
FWOOSH!
The air froze. The purple bullet stopped, suspended in mid-air... and vanished.
"Wh-What...?" Bakkin's pupils shrank, her finger still on the trigger.
"BANG!!"
The next second, the bullet reappeared directly in front of her own forehead and blasted through her skull.
Her body went rigid and toppled backward, her eyes wide, dead before she even understood what had happened. The woman who had schemed for decades... had been executed by her own bullet.
"ROOM!"
A blue sphere flashed. Law was suddenly there, kneeling by Luffy. He ran a diagnostic scan with his power. "Operation: Triage." A blue light covered Luffy's chest, stabilizing his broken bones and sealing his internal bleeding.
On the other side, a black shadow warped in.
"You did well, Ace."
Roy said, catching Ace as he collapsed.
Ace looked up, his body spent, "Big... Bro Roy... I... I protected him..." He gave a relieved smile and finally passed out.
Zephyr, who had just arrived, finally relaxed when he saw Roy was there. He rushed over to Ace and Luffy, checking their injuries, his face grim.
"These two brats... they're nothing but trouble," he grumbled, his voice thick with a concern he couldn't hide.
He stood and looked at Roy. "You brat," Zephyr snorted. "You were watching the whole time, weren't you?"
Roy just grinned. "You know me too well, Instructor."
The battle was over. Zoro, Ain, and Binz walked over, exhausted but energized, expecting a lecture for breaking formation.
Instead, Zephyr looked at them, a rare, proud smile on his face.
"You three... you did well!"
They stared, stunned.
"Remember this!" Zephyr said, his voice booming. "No order is more important than the life of a comrade! Rules are just rules. People... people are what's real!"
Those words hit them hard. Zoro grinned, gripping his swords. Ain's gaze became resolute. Even Binz managed a shy smile.
Roy nodded. "This... is what the Marines are supposed to be."
Law, finished with his check-up, stood. "Ace is just suffering from Haki exhaustion and muscle strain. He'll be fine. Luffy's ribs are stabilized. He just needs a few days of rest."
"If anything had really happened to them..." Zephyr's voice was low, "I don't know what I would have told Garp..." He took a deep breath. "Let's go home."
"Mhm." Roy nodded. He raised his hand.
FWOOSH!
With a ripple of space, the entire group was instantly warped from the smoking, cratered jungle back to the beach.
The other recruits, who had been waiting anxiously, swarmed them.
"Instructor Zephyr!!"
"Ace! Luffy! They're okay!!"
"Vice Admiral Roy is here too! We're safe!"
Zephyr raised his hand for silence, his voice booming. "The field mission is over!"
"All hands, back to the ship! We're returning to Marineford!!"
"SIR!!!"
On the deck of the returning warship...
The sun was setting, painting the sea red. Ace and Luffy were recovering in the infirmary, with Zoro, Ain, and Binz stubbornly standing guard outside the door.
Roy stood at the stern, watching the island disappear. Zephyr walked up beside him.
"You knew this mission was dangerous, didn't you?" he asked, his voice low.
Roy shook his head. "Just a bad feeling. The storms of the New World... they're starting to blow into the Four Blues."
Zephyr was silent for a long moment, then snorted. "I don't care who it is. Anyone... who hurts my students..."
His fists clenched. "Will pay the price!"
Roy smiled. "Now that's the 'Black Arm' Zephyr I know."
The two men shared a look as the ship sailed on. This was the bond between a teacher and his student.
This... was the real Navy.
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