"Bege, are you really just going to hand over that many Marines to him? He's a former Marine Admiral with an extremely high reputation. How could he possibly betray the Marines?" Modi was completely baffled by Bege's actions.
Bege calmly lit a cigar and said casually, "Nothing in this world is certain. You shouldn't put so much weight on the title of Marine Admiral. Even they are nothing but pawns in the eyes of the World Government, and to the Celestial Dragons, they're just house servants. As long as the benefits are great enough, they can be discarded just the same. Besides, Zephyr is someone I rather respect. It's not a big deal to do him a favor."
Modi shrugged and didn't argue. After all, Bege was the captain.
"Let's go. Time to take over Promin Island," Bege ordered the crew to start the Sky God and head for the island.
"Godfather, it looks like some pirates are heading our way," Wiper announced, having spotted something on the sea with his binoculars.
Bege looked over and saw a group of pirates paddling toward the Sky God on a piece of broken wood.
"Let's go have a look."
The Sky God sailed over. The pirates on the small piece of wood waved excitedly at the ship.
Modi glanced down at them. "That person seems to be Vulture Pheromone, captain of the Vulture Pirates. He's a ruthless man, capable of any evil."
"His strength is decent. Capture him and we'll convert him into a freak," Bege decided Pheromone's fate with an impassive expression.
Enel grinned, pointed his golden staff, and a thick bolt of lightning instantly struck the wooden plank. The entire thing exploded into splinters, and everyone on it was either killed or sent flying by the blast.
Vulture Pheromone, being a capable pirate, saw that Bege and his crew intended to kill him and immediately dove into the sea, trying to escape.
Enel waved his golden staff, and bolt after bolt of lightning crashed into the water, spreading through the sea. Pheromone gritted his teeth, enduring the numbing pain as he swam, but more lightning poured into the water. Eventually, his body went numb, and he was electrocuted into unconsciousness.
And just like that, a notorious pirate of the New World was defeated in such an unceremonious way at the hands of Enel.
An invisible hand then reached into the sea, grabbed Pheromone, and brought him aboard the Sky God, stuffing him into the castle within Bege's body. The crew inside the castle injected him with a powerful drug to render him powerless.
"Morton, the captain of the Black Shark Pirates, is also quite strong, and he's a Fish-Man. If we could convert him into a freak, we'd gain a powerful fighter in the sea. It's just a shame he seems to have vanished," Bege said with some regret, looking out at the vast ocean.
"Should I wait here for a while? Maybe I can find him," Modi suggested.
"Alright. Promin Island is already in the bag anyway, so there's no need for all of us to go," Bege nodded. Wiper volunteered to stay with Modi to search for Morton; his lightning abilities were extremely effective against Fish-Men in the ocean.
Modi and Wiper took a small airship with a portion of the crew and landed on the sea.
The Sky God set off again towards Promin Island. Along the way, they encountered the main Marine fleet that had been intercepted by Little Oars Jr. and the others. The sea was littered with the wreckage of warships. Only a few large vessels remained afloat, crowded with injured Marines.
Two pirate ships were docked beside the large warships. On the prow of one of them sat Weevil, glaring at the Marines on the warship as he gnawed on a large chicken leg.
Little Oars Jr. had gone to occupy Promin Island, leaving him to watch over the prisoners.
Weevil was delighted to see the Sky God approaching. He leaped aboard and walked toward Bege with a grin.
"Big Bro, Uncle Oars and I captured all these Marines," Weevil said with a foolish, ingratiating smile.
"Good job," Bege said, patting his shoulder in satisfaction. He glanced at the dense crowd of Marines on the warship. Then, the gate to his internal castle opened, and several sea vessels flew out, landing on the water.
"Enel, you stay here and wait for Zephyr and the others. When they arrive, hand these Marines and these ships over to them. And personally watch them leave this sea," Bege instructed.
"I understand, Godfather," Enel nodded.
The Sky God set off once more. Half a day later, they arrived at Promin Island. From a distance, they could see the colossal Giant warship docked at the port.
When the Sky God arrived, the port showed some signs of damage, indicating there had been some resistance, but judging from the extent of the destruction, it hadn't been much.
"Captain, Promin Island is completely under our control," a giant who had been sitting on the ground resting immediately stood up when he saw the Sky God and reported the situation.
"Well done. Begin looting the Marine base on Promin Island. Oh, and no random killing," Bege commanded. The crew of the Sky God poured out and swarmed onto the island.
Promin Island was too far from his territory, so he had no intention of occupying it and making it his own.
All the Marines on the island were taken prisoner and locked up. The entire Marine base was dismantled by the crew, and everything of value was carried away.
The island's residents only had to hand over half of their property to be spared, so there were no large-scale bloody uprisings.
Out on the sea, Zephyr arrived with Onigumo and the other surviving Marines at the area where Enel was waiting.
Zephyr's face was extremely grim as he looked at the injured Marines on the warship.
"The Godfather said you can take all these Marines. He also guarantees that the Marines on Promin Island will not be harmed and will be allowed to leave afterward. You can take these men and leave now," Enel said to Zephyr in a carefree manner, his golden staff resting on his shoulder.
Zephyr's face was impassive. He said a few words to Onigumo, telling him to organize the Marines on the ships. Under Enel's watchful eye, Zephyr led the Marines away.
"Instructor, are we really just going to leave in disgrace like this?" Onigumo asked Zephyr, his face a picture of dejection.
"What else can we do? I can't just abandon so many Marines. We lost this battle. We lost badly," Zephyr sighed, his expression unchanging.
He looked out at the sea, towards the other regions of the New World.
"The pirates of the New World have united. I'm afraid the Marines are going to lose this time. Sengoku, you have to come up with a counter-strategy."
"Did the Demon Dragon really just let us go like that? Does he have some other scheme?" another Vice Admiral asked in disbelief.
When he learned that the Demon Dragon was the one leading the attack, he had thought they were all doomed. After all, the grudge between the Demon Dragon and the Marines was a blood feud. There was no reason for him to spare them.
But he had. It was hard to believe. It wasn't just him; all the officers had the same question in their minds.
Zephyr's face darkened as he stared in the direction of Promin Island.
"Capone Bege, I will not be indebted to you for this."